Taipei Ximen BackPackers

Taipei Ximen BackPackers is a nice, relaxed place to land in Taipei. You get a map of the local area with all the food, shopping, and banks marked on it. There's free internet and WiFi and no curfew and the owner Ice has several walls of great guest comments which speaks volumes.

The Location

The hostel's located in a busy central area of the city, easy five-minute walk from Ximen MRT station. The airport bus 61 runs to Taipei Main Station, then it's one MRT stop to Ximen and go out exit 6. Walk down Chengdu Road to Kunming, then walk south (left) and you're there! You'll pass all kinds of shops, cafes, and massage places and there are nightclubs and pubs in the area. Inside the hostel is quiet and you wouldn't even know that right below the streets are full of life.

Rooms and Bathrooms

Everything's very clean and new, the dorm beds are pretty solid and wooden, doors have locks and lockers in the hallway. A dorm room has four or six beds and they have twin rooms as well, and nice doubles in an annex building. Showers are great and there's a huge collection of left-over shampoos and shower gels so even if you forgot all your toiletries, you're set. Toilet paper's provided and there's never a wait for the bathrooms.

Common Spaces

There's a TV in the kitchen and in the common room, three internet stations, and an area for drying your hair and dolling up in front of a mirror. There's a fledgling book exchange, so use it! Everyone we met during our stay was friendly and mellow. The kitchen's a congregation area for laughs and conversation and you can smoke in there. This cigarette-smoke-and-food combination is really not ideal, but at least the door is always closed and that keeps the smoke from getting out into the hostel, plus a fan does its best to replace the air with a fresh breeze from outside. For cooking there is only one hot element, a rice cooker, and toaster, so no wild five-course dinner parties unless you plan it really well. There is also a plethora of restaurants around the area and two twenty-four-hour supermarkets less than a five-minute walk away.

Summary

We're glad we found Taipei Ximen Backpackers. It seems that good, interesting people gravitate towards this hostel.

— Avis exclusif de Hostelz.com
September 2008