Changi International Airport Terminal 2: At 6.20am, half awake, after villager's wedding, we're going to Taiwan!!!!
Taoyuan
International Airport: Taiwan, here we
come!!!!! We reached there before stated arrival time, at around noon. Our
driver, Tim was there to pick us up and embark on a 5 days journey with us.
MiaoLi
Sheng Xing Train Station: The little county was vibrant during Sundays, it
seems like a little carnival with mini trains hovering on the tracks. There was
a steam train which will pass by this station daily at around 2pm, however we
were minutes late and missed it! Lunch was settled here in a restaurant serving
MiaoLi specialties.
Long Teng Broken Bridge: broken due to earthquake, went up to another
railway track to snap some shots before leaving….
Jouney to Taichung took about another hour, Kio and I just slept throughout the journey, fatigue / tiredness…
Taichung
minsu: We checked into the minsu at around evening, rested for a while before
leaving. This minsu was a little cramped but it has almost everything, what’s
more a computer! The best was so soft
that I shook the whole bed whenever I tossed and turned… Thankfully I did not wake up my travel partner with my constant turning and tossing in bed! All we need was a bed to sleep and a bathroom to shower, normal place but great stay. Damage: SGD50+ per night per room.
Fengjia Night
market: it was a bustling street where
you could buy almost everything! It’s the best night market and shopping area I
liked best throughout my stay!
Day 2
Checked out
of Taichung minsu before proceeding for breakfast. Tim brought
us to local eatery for soya bean breakfast.
Wenwu
Temple: Prayed to Confucious, Yu Fei and Lord Wen Chang
Peacock
Garden: Saw a wide range of birds and peacocks.
Bee Farm:
Bid hello to thousands of bees and buy honey in return.
Paper Dome:
This church was built by pillars of paper / cardboard boxes
Old England
minsu: As depicted by its name, the architecture was just fantastic, it’s
rather expensive to stay here, be prepared to pay about NT10,000 and above for
a night’s stay
Cingjing Mist Plaza: Buy some snacks and instant noodles before heading to our minsu, just in case we get hungry at night...
Carton King: Heard so much reviews about this place, it has exceeded my expectation, a very interesting place where you can buy wooden postcards and mail it home.
Misty Villa: We reached our minsu just in time for dinner, our 5-6 course dinner was served by foreign talents who doesn’t look locals at all. Had a sumptuous dinner, the weather became cooler and we explore the surroundings of the minsu, very cozy and quiet… We could hear crickets and other insects throughout the night. This minsu was the most expensive throughout our stay in Taiwan, the room was huge and spacious, and the toilet too. The balcony overlooking the hills had compensated for the limited variety of food for breakfast. Damage: SGD120 per room per night
Day 3
Checked out
of Misty Villa after breakfast and proceeded to Cingjing Farm
Cingjing
Farm: It was one of my must-Go for this trip! It resembles New Zealand,
according to some reviews. We were in time to catch the sheep shearing
show! It was rather hot despite the
altitude and there weren’t any clouds in the sky to block the sun’s rays!
Caught half of the horse show before we decided to leave.
He Huan
Shan – Wu Ling: It was the highest point where cars could ascend to!
Taroko
Gorge (Tian Xiang, Ci Mu Bridge, Yan Zi Kou, Chang Chun Ci): All these are
attractions of the Gorge, very natural attractions in the forest, natural
beauty
Qi Xing
Tan: I’m quite surprised that there’s not even a grain of sand on the beach,
instead all I see was pebbles, pebbles and more pebbles! The big body of water
beyond the beach is Pacific Ocean!
Hualien
minsu: We checked into this minsu rather late, before heading for dinner at Zi
Qiang Night Market. This minsu was owned by a local who married a Hong kong wife. The flowery style of the room was to Kio's liking but not mine. It's isn't very spacious but it has almost all the basic necessities. Something ironical was that it was till this day that we were told that toilet papers were not supposed to be thrown into the toilet bowl!
Day 4
Checked out
of Hualien minsu before packing take-away breakfast. We went to
the harbor to board the ferry that will bring us to Pacific ocean for whales
watching. The weather was sunny, perfect for outdoors!
Whales
watching: The trip to Pacific Ocean was quite a distance away and we came
across mountains after mountains donned in white fluffy clouds! We didn’t get
to see any whales at all, but we saw lots of bottlenose dolphins swimming
around us. The whole trip in the ocean took about 2 hours before heading back
to the harbor.
Lunch by the harbor: There were some restaurants operating near the shore which serves fresh seafood. We had lunch there before heading off.
Chihsing
Tan Katsuo Museum: This museum is famous for producing bonito flakes from that
fish, can’t remember the exact name of that fish. From the moment I stepped
into the museum, I could smell the bonito flakes from the entrance all the way
to the exit… Fishy smell…
Qing Shui Cliff: This attraction had a terrific view of the cliff, the sky’s blue, the
cliff’s green and the ocean’s light blue makes a perfect combination, very
soothing to the eyes!
Nan Fang Ao Observation Deck: It’s very windy here! Splendid view overlooking Su Ao county!
Su Ao
County: We went to the Ma Zu temple featuring a Jade Ma Zu and a gold Ma Zu.
Visited the fish market where there were exotic fishes to be seen.
Bei Bin
Beach: The beach here was a little difficult compared to Qi Xing Beach. The
pebbles I saw here was thinner and finer compared to Qi Xing Beach. I played with the pebbles and arranged them till it looked like a spectacular attraction. How fun!
Luo Dong Night Market: We went to have a taste of the XXL chicken cutlet and other Yilan specialty. The chicken cutlet was so huge that it could not withstand the weight and crumpled in the bag.
Jiaoxi
minsu: The minsu we stayed here was really a traditional minsu, with only 4 rooms
to itself, we felt so pampered! We had a living room with a sofa bed, a master
bedroom and a Jacuzzi bathtub! It was a real homestay! The owner was there to welcome us and help us with our luggage. The bedroom had a clear view of the toilet, it was extremely romantic for couples, and we ladies felt awkward about it! We let down the curtain so that the view of the bathroom will have its own privacy. The living room was rather well equipped with a hot flask and some playing cards. Damage: SGD60 per room per night.
Day 5
Checked out
of minsu and proceeded to have breakfast before heading to Taipei!
Shifen: It
was a long journey after breakfast, we managed to catch a wink before reaching
Shifen. Shifen was well known for its sky/heaven lantern, and it’s old town. I
super-liked this place where the railway tracks were sandwiched between two
rows of shops!
Jiufen:
This is another old street full of food specialty and other local products. We
hung out from shops to shops having lunch, shopping, snapping photos. The pavement between the 2 rows of shops were crowded with tourists and gluttons! Everyone and anyone was seen eating or drinking something.
Yeh Liu Geopark: This scenic attraction features rocks weathering sea-erosion landscape. Admission fees of NT50 applies. It was famous for the Queen's Head and other eroded stones featuring special names given to them.
Taipei Wish Hotel: It was located near Shuang Lin MRT station, though near, it wasn't my ideal location, as we had to take train to anywhere we would want to go. We were here for 2 nights and I really love the toilet bowl with the butt washing function. The washer can be adjusted according to pee or poo, the water can be warm or cold and the toilet seat can even be warmed. How thoughtful! The room was a little cramped as our luggage took up a lot of space. Every night, we would come back with more damages and add on the weight to our luggage. Damage: $100 per room per night.
Day 6
Had
breakfast at our hotel before setting off for the day. We were on our own for 2 days to explore Taipei on our own. With it's extensive infrastructure and friendly locals, we weren't afraid of getting lost or being conned. We took the MRT to Tamsui, the distance was about 45 minutes. We had to transfer to a bus at Tamsui to bring us to Fishermen's Wharf.
Tamshui
Fishermen’s Wharf: Famous for sightseeing, sunset. We were there in the late
morning, suntanned!
Lover’s
Bridge: Another picturesque view for phototaking!
Tamshui Old
Street: An old street alike Jiu Fen, but with ample walking area! Found an
eatery with Jay Chou as the “live signboard”, the food was nice and cheap. Many
tourists were there too. They carried a guide book just like me! Tamsui was famous for tie dan too.... Marinated or fermented quail eggs to be exact
Taipei 101: Half the day was spent exploring Tamshui, came back to the city area in MRT to ascend the highest building in Taipei! It had rained before our ascend, therefore we were unable to go to level 91 for the open observatory!
Shilin Night Market: It was a highly recommended night market when I read up travel guides. However I was in disappointment when I saw the structure… Only some stalls are outdoors while most of them are enclosed. It did not carry any atmosphere of a typical night market!
Day 7
Last day at
Taipei, last minute shopping !
Long Shan
Temple: a famous old temple for Buddhist and Taoist followers.
Ximending:
A fantastic shopping paradise for the youths and young adults! We were there in
search of STAGE, a shop by Taiwan artiste; Show Luo Zhi Xiang. We had the
famous Ah Zhong Mee Sua and some other local food for lunch before heading back
to the hotel.
Nice weather with no glitches complemented with 7 absolute days of discovery, fun and adventures. The train, the ship, the cab, the bus.... We had a taste of almost all transport carriers available. It was a real eye opener for me to be immersed into their culture and eat, play and love Taiwan. I am glad that my travel partner was an adventurous pal and did not grumble or complain despite the hot weather.