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OFF THE BOOKS TRAVEL

Adventures Beyond the Spreadsheet

Solo travel, hidden gems and real costs – from an accountant who’d rather be anywhere else

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🛖 Accommodation Review: Meander Taipei 💰 £50/night 🛖 Accommodation Review: Meander Taipei💰 £50/night · 3 nights⭐️ 5 starsAfter a 14 hour flight and a metro ride across the city, I got off at Ximen Station and walked 5 mins to Meander Taipei — my base for the next 3 nights.Nothing much to look at from the outside, but I was pleasantly surprised inside. Open reception, loads of communal space — small groups chatting quietly, others tucked away on laptops. Exactly the vibe I was after.Meander was highly rated on Hostelworld and promised the right balance of privacy and social energy. It delivered. 🙌.What sets it apart from anywhere else I've stayed:📱 An active WhatsApp group — genuinely the easiest way I've found to meet people on the road. Through it I found a small crew to split a taxi to Jiufen with, and ended up spending most of my 3 nights with them.🍜 2 meal vouchers a day, redeemable at a small selection of walkable local spots.The room itself was comfy, the shower was one of the better ones I've had in a hostel, and — unlike a lot of places offering "private rooms" as an afterthought — this one actually felt worth the upgrade. Free water top-ups daily too, which mattered a lot given how much I was drinking in the heat.📍 It sits right in Ximending, so despite being a short walk from the MRT, you're actually bang in the middle of the action rather than out on the edge.If you're headed to Taipei, Meander gets a big recommendation from me — private room or dorm, both looked excellent.#Taipei #Ximending #HostelLife #SoloTravel #TaipeiTravel OffTheBooksTravel
🌿 Restaurant Review | Chao Stir Fry, Taipei @chao_ 🌿 Restaurant Review | Chao Stir Fry, Taipei@chao_stir_fry📍 Da'an District, Taipei💰 £10–15 + mandatory 10% service charge⭐ 4/5Fresh off the Elephant Mountain hike and running on fumes — this was exactly the kind of meal I needed.Chao is a fully vegan/vegetarian restaurant built around the Taiwanese re-chao (熱炒) tradition — think late-night stir-fry joints where friends crowd around metal tables, order plates of garlicky food, and wash it all down with cold drinks. Neon signs, deep reds, buzzing atmosphere. Chao takes that whole experience and makes it entirely plant-based, and honestly? It works.Found it through @happycow , my go-to whenever I'm winging it — never lets me down.I ordered:🍋 Thai Lemon Monkey Head Mushroom Tempeh — with extra chilli obviously🫙 Black Pepper Sizzling Tofu — with garlic, onion and chivesMostly customisable (chilli levels, garlic, onion, chives) which I loved. The tempeh came fast, the citrus hit hard but not in an overwhelming way. The tofu took a while to arrive — the restaurant wasn't particularly busy so I'm not sure why — but when it came it delivered: generous portions of tofu, aubergine and spring onion in a silky black pepper sauce, still sizzling at the table.The ordering is done via QR code — you pick an avatar and build your order from there. Cold drinks are grab-and-go from the fridge.Pricier than your average Taipei meal, but the quality is there.P.S. The pictures for the front and the entrance hall are from Google as I only took pictures of the food...#TaipeiFood #VeganTaipei #PlantBased #offthebookstravel #vegetarian
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