Trip summary: Bubble Tea and Stinky Tofu!

Taipei: Trip summary and "bucket list" evaluation


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01. Trip report introduction
02. SAS A320 business class, Stockholm to London
03. SilverKris Lounge, Heathrow
04. Thai Airways A380 Royal First class, London to Bangkok
05. Thai Airways Royal First Lounge, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi
06. Thai Airways A330 Royal Silk (business class), Bangkok to Taipei
07. Pacific Business Hotel, Taipei
08. Photo Essay: Taipei
09. The Infinity Lounge by EVA Air, Taoyuan Airport
10. EVA Air B777-300ER Royal Laurel (business class), Taipei to Amsterdam (via Bangkok), part 1
11. EVA Air B777-300ER Royal Laurel (business class), Taipei to Amsterdam (via Bangkok), part 2
12. Steigenberger Airport Hotel, Amsterdam 
13. SAS A320 business class, Amsterdam to Stockholm
14. Trip summary
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After 16,409 miles, it felt really good when that A320neo touched down at Arlanda. This had been a great trip, and I had really enjoyed myself. I had tried out two new-to-me airlines in THAI and EVA Air, flown in premium cabins, and enjoyed the fascinating city of Taipei. Now it's time to take a look at that "bucket list" that I wrote in the trip report introduction for this trip, and whether or not I managed to do, get or see what I was hoping for.


#1 Getting a good view of downtown London upon descent into LHR - NO
Yes, I had a seat on the right hand side of the cabin, and yes, we landed on runway 27. But did we get a good view of downtown London? Sadly, no. London was really foggy this morning, and I didn't see the ground until just a few seconds before touchdown at Heathrow.

Just before touchdown at LHR

#2 Being upstairs on an A380 - YES
As I mentioned in the introduction, THAI are notorious for their equipment changes. And they did actually change the flights for this trip, but luckily only the BKK-TPE leg, from a Dreamliner to an A330. The superjumbo from London stayed, and I was able to spend eleven hours upstairs on the A380 in the first class cabin!

The view from seat 2A, upstairs on THAI:s A380

#3 Eating oscietra caviar - YES
I mentioned that I'm not really a caviar guy, but that I'd like to try it if they served oscietra caviar in THAI first class. Well, they did, and I tried it. It was absolutely delicious, so I'm glad to have tried it!

A small jar of oscietra caviar

#4 Getting a Rimowa amenity kit - YES x2
Both THAI first class and EVA Air business class provided the hard-case amenity kits from the German suitcase manufacturer. They came in different colours too, with the airline logos on them. Perfect - one for me and one for my wife!

THAI Rimowa amenity kit, I'd call this colour "champagne"

EVA Air Rimowa amenity kit - I think they call this colour "California blue"

#5 Drinking Veuve Clicquot or KRUG champagne - YES
THAI served Dom Pérignon on board the A380. It was definitely tasty, but the real gold was served between Bangkok and Amsterdam on EVA Air. Yes, they had Veuve Clicquot "La Grand Dame". I wouldn't dream of spending whatever it takes to buy one of those bottles, but I'm certainly happy to have tried it!

*omnomnom*

#6 Eating "stinky tofu" - YES
On my night in Taipei, I had two main goals: Finding "stinky tofu" and finding bubble tea. I found the stinky tofu (which is fermented tofu) close to a night market in the Xinyi area. I ordered it for around €2, and it came with some sort of vinegar and some pickled cabbage. My verdict - it was really good! I'd definitely eat it as snacks on the go if they had it in Stockholm.

I'm getting cravings just looking at this picture - this was GOOD!

#7 Drinking bubble tea - YES
This was easier to find than stinky tofu. I went to the mall at Taipei 101, and there were several juice and tea vendors that sold this Taiwanese drink. And unlike stinky tofu, this is actually possible to get in Stockholm, so I'll make sure to get it every once in a while!

Iced milk tea, with a big straw to be able to get the chewy tapioca balls up

#8 Visit Taipei 101 - YES
I already gave it away when I wrote about the bubble tea, didn't I? I didn't visit the observatory, but I did visit this 509 metre skyscraper at ground level, including the humongous mall located there. It's a beautiful building, really, and I much prefer it to Burj Khalifa in Dubai which superseded it as the highest building in the world.

Detail of Taipei 101 in the sunset light

Taipei 101 by night

#9 Making every connection - NO
Well, my shortest connection is also were it went south. The EVA Air flight was delayed from Taipei, and to make matters worse, spent a lot more time on the ground in Bangkok than it should have. As a result, we landed just as my flight to Stockholm left, and I got to spend one night in Amsterdam. I wasn't too happy about it, but the hotel did turn out to be really good.

Leaving Amsterdam one day later than intended...

So - 7 out of 9 is pretty good I guess, considering the fact that many of these goals were beyond my control. And as a matter of fact, I actually did get a spectacular view of downtown London on another flight (trip report coming soon).