Taiwan Trip 2011

I have dedicated a page to share my wonderful trip to Taiwan. This trip is a very meaningful trip for me (you will know why as you read on). My trip is 10 days long and on the journey, I took many photos, chatted with many people and made new friends. Inside this page, you will also find contacts to the accomodations (particularly minsu) and drivers who had provided their services. Before I start blogging about my Taiwan trip, you may want to read up a bit on Taiwan's history, particularly during the Japanese rule period and Taiwan and Mainland China's relationship.

Day 1 - Taipei

On the 12th May 2011, my girlfriend, her sister and me made our way to Changi Airport Terminal 3 for our 1 am flight to Taipei. We were very excited as we had planned this trip for a long time and only now that we took actions. We arrived Changi Airport around 10.30 pm and check-in was quick. We had some coffee at Coffee Club before we cleared the immigration into the waiting area. Though it was near our sleeping time, we were not sleepy and looking forward to our SIA flight with on board entertainment.

The plane finally took off as we waited impatiently. We watched some movies and played some games. To avoid over exhausting ourselves on the first day, we took a little nap. About 1.5 hours before we reached Taoyuan Airport, breakfast was served and we were not disappointed.

Our breakfast on SQ flight to Taiwan

It was not long before we saw our first sunrise in Taiwan. My girlfriend, who was sitting beside the window, took the opportunity to take this beautiful sunrise.

Greeted by beautiful daybreak scenery before landing

After we arrived at Taoyuan Airport, we had to wait till 7 am for the information counter to open and collected our Youth Travel Card. We also wanted to collect a free sim card but was told that we needed register 1 week before. We could still go to the main branch in Taipei but decided against it due to time constraint. We went up to the departure hall to get a Taiwan Mobile (台湾大哥大) sim card as we understood that this company is the only one that offers both talktime and 3G service in a sim card (in the end we didn't use the 3G service as all of our accommodations have free Wifi)

We proceeded to Free Go Bus (飛狗) counter and purchased return tickets. The lady told us that we were too early too early to board the bus that will bring us directly to our hotel. But we could take the bus to Zhongxiao Fuxing Station (忠孝復興站) and transit using the metro train service by Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation (台北捷运公司) or could wait till 8.30 am for the direct bus. We opted for the former. At Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, we took the train using EasyCard  (悠遊卡) which entitles us 20% discount on all fares. What a treat!

We arrived early at our accommodation, TS Hotel (大顺大饭店) which is only 5 min walking distance from Ximen Station (西门站). We just left our luggages with the reception and made our way to explore Taipei. But before that, we needed to replenish some energy first. We found a cafe near our hotel called "JSP 甲尚宝小吃店". So we tried their egg roll with chicken patty. It tasted sweet and good when served hot.

Our yummy snack JSP 甲尚宝小吃店 after checking in at our hotel (TS Hotel) - Egg Roll

Ximending (西門町) is near our hotel but we did not spend our day there yet. Still it felt great to be there. Seeing the Dragonball adventisement reminded me of my childhood playing its video games and collecting cards.

Here we are at Ximending , woo hoo!

 Dragonball Online advertisement

We took the TRTC to Longshan Temple Station (龍山寺站) to see the Long Shan Temple. There is also a man-made waterfall inside.

 Longshan Temple - Famous Temple in Taipei

A man-made waterfall in Long Shan Temple

From Long Shan Temple, we went to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. Back to Long Shan Temple, we went into at 7-11 shop (the locals like to call it as Seven) and bought some packets of milk to try.

3 packets of milk - I like the chocolate one while the plain milk has rich flavour

The nearest TRTC station to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station (國父紀念館站). We had a brief history lesson there.

On our way to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

An iconic statue of Dr Sun Yat-sen

Then it was time for lunch! The ladies were looking forward to Mr J restaurant, opened by Jay Chou himself. We were so excited that we walked in the wrong direction! Going round and round Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall until we gave up and took a cab, and then realised it was only around the corner. Lolz. 

According to the waitress, Jay Chou opened this restaurant as a gathering place for him and his friends. Unfortunately, we had much higher hopes for the food but overall, it was an interesting exprience dining in a Jay-themed restaurant.

Here we are at Mr J Restaurant, restaurant founded by Jay Chou and a figurine of him. Cute!

Jay Chou's collections 

 

Our coffee cake dessert at Mr J

After taking photos with Mr Jay (his posters and wallpapers), we moved on to the next destination Taipei 101. This one we did not lose our way as we could see the tall building and just had to walk in that direction. Along the way, we realised that Mr J restaurant was located in the area where each street houses many restaurants.

The weather was not very good when we reach Taipei 101. It was drizzling on and off, giving rise to the fog. We decided that it is not wise to pay for the tour at the observaotry. We then left for Wu Fen Pu.

Hazy Weather at Taipei 101

The nearest TRTC station is about 15-20 min walk from Taipei 101 so we decided to take a cab instead. The friendly cab driver stopped us at the entrence of Wu Fen Pu. Actually there is no real entrence, any street is a possible entrence but the cab driver recommended that location as it has more fashion clothes shops there. We wanted to bargain for more discounts with the shop owners but felt that the they knew we were tourists and did not wish to reduce the price further. Nevertheless, the clothes here were quite cheap.

Shops inside Wu Fen Pu - Some random street 1

Shops inside Wu Fen Pu - Some random street 2

After some serious shopping at Wu Fen Pu, we went across the road to try the famous 鬍鬚张鲁肉饭. We wondered what is 鲁肉饭. Is it like claypot rice? Actually, it is nothing more than plain rice with the 鲁肉 sauce on it. The sauce made the rice tastier. We ordered some dishes to go with it. The beancurd and green veg were alright, while the 猪肉腱 (shown in the picture) went well with the rice.

鬍鬚张鲁肉饭

After the intensive shopping and hearty dinner, we moved on to the last attraction of the day, Raohe Street Night Market, by cab. We decided to try the desert Strawberry and Mango Ice there and bought back with us Wild Boar Meat and Oyster Omelette to our hotel to try. They were already cold when we reached hotel but still the food tasted good. The Wild Boar Meat was spicy and I was surprised that Taiwanese like spiciness to this extent. Oyster Omelette tasted sweet with the sauce, different from the one we have in Singapore. Nevertheless, we liked them both :D

Raohe Street Night Market

Strawberry and Mango Ice

Wild Boar Meat (Left) and Oyster Omelette

Day 2 - Taipei

Our 2nd day in Taipei started off with showers of blessing. It was raining but we were not complaining. You may be wondering why. Firstly, the rain was not heavy downpour, it was more like heavy droplets. Secondly, at that time Taiwan's central and southern regions reported lack of water. So, our hearts went with the Taiwanese and the rain is more of a blessing for them.

Early Umbrella-Carrying Crowd at Ximending

After we woke up from our well-deserved sleep, we went to the hotel cafe for our complimentary breakfast. It was a simple breakfast and what you see on the picture is roughly the spread of items available. But it was alright for us as we intended to explore more food in Taipei. We had a chat with the receptionist in the hotel and she advised that between 10 am and 2 pm, it is not good for to take a hot spring bath (health reasons). So we decided to take the time to go Taipei Main Station Underground Mall for shopping instead.

Breakfast at TS Hotel

Our programme of day started with the exploration of 阿宗麵線 in Ximending. As it was a Saturday, Ximending was already getting crowded even in the morning. The 阿宗麵線 shop was quite easy to locate and there was already a queue forming. But we didn't have to wait very long as the noodles were already cooked before hand. We just queued to order, then paid and collected our food.

 阿宗麵線 Shop in Ximending

3 bowls of 阿宗麵線

We went on to the Taipei Main Station Underground Mall to do some shopping. There were many shops selling the latest fashion (clothes and shoes) but I felt that Wu Fen Pu had more options and value for money. There was also a Panda themed restaurant but we didn't try. In the end, we shopped for nearly 2 hours before heading to Xinbeitou for our hot spring.

Taipei Main Station Underground Mall 

Panda Themed Restaurant - Does it remind you of Po from Kung Fu Panda?

Xinbeitou Station (新北投站) is actually an extension from Beitou Station (北投站). The train servicing this route is really colourful and gives a refreshing feel. We looked for information counter and the lady tending it told us that the Taiwanese government wants to promote this hot spring town which resulted in investments in these infrastructure.

 Colourful Train to Xinbeitou Station

Interior of the Colourful Train with 2 sets of TV!

There are many hot spring resorts in this area and each of them prices differently. We finally found one (新秀閣大饭店) that was cheap compared to others and provided private cubicle for each of us. The resort charged us NTD250 per person and NTD30 for each towel. The receptionist told us we could stay for about 2-3 hours inside. In each cubicle, there was a bath tub and hot spring water was transfered into it through a tap.

Value for Money Hot Spring Resort - 新秀閣

Feeling refreshed from the hot spring bath, we moved on to our next destination Fisherman's Wharf. To go to this place, we needed to get to Danshui Station (淡水站) first. By the time we reached there, it was already 6 pm. We quickly queued for the next R26 bus to Fisherman's Wharf. Just a tip for you, EasyCard can be used for this bus ride and there is discount (cannot remember how much). We took some photos of the Lover's Bridge and had dinner at a restaurant. Since it was raining, we could not get our portrait drawn but there was a surprise waiting for us back at Danshui Station

Lovers Bridge at Fisherman's Wharf

Back to Danshui Station, we saw a talented artist making figurines. She has very delicated hands and each figurine resembled the cartoon character she was trying to make. We were so impressed that we bought a few of them (cartoon figurines). She told us that she will normally be in Taipei City instead of Danshui Station. Only on rainy days, she will set up her stall here instead. I asked her if it is possible to make figurines of my girlfriend and me. She replied that she would need some time and our photos, we arranged to meet at Taipei again a few days later. She is also a generous person, gave us 50% on one of the figurines and the another for free.

A Talented Artist at Danshui Station

It was almost 10 pm that we left her stall and went to Danshui Old Street. We were lucky that the one of the shops was still open and got the famous Iron Egg (鐡蛋) and fish crackers. We also managed to buy an 阿给 and brought back to our hotel for supper. Back at the hotel, we quickly e-mail the artist our photo. After that, we went to a nearby 24-hour supermarket to buy some Taiwan cup noodles that Singaporeans are so crazy about. They were quite tasty.

 阿给

Yummy Taiwan Cup Noodles

Day 3 - Taipei --> Alishan (Part 1)

We woke up at about 7.30 am in the morning to have our breakfast in the hotel cafe and went back to our room to prepare for our journey. We left some luggages with our hotel as we would be coming back after this out-of-Taipei trip. It is quite fun to have a trip-within-trip kind of thing.

To get to Alishan, we had to take the High Speed Rail to Chiayi HSR Station (高鐡嘉義站) first. In Chiayi, there is another Chiayi TRA Station (嘉義車站) that is often confused with the HSR one. If you search online, many people would recommend you to take a shuttle bus from Chiayi HSR Station to Chiayi TRA station, then change onto another bus to go to Alishan. I will share with you a "secret" later on how to get to Alishan directly from Chiayi HSR Station.

Another tip, book the High Speed Rail online (pay with credit card) early to enjoy some discount, should be 30% off if I remember correctly. Then collect your tickets at Seven (it is actually the 7-11 shop there, Taiwanese just call it Seven), an administrative fee of NTD10 will be charged. When you book the tickets online, key in the numbers of your passport only. The system does not recognise alphabets.

Our Tickets

Ok, back to our journey. We took the TRTC train from Ximending to Taipei Main Station to catch our HSR train at 9.30 am. The HSR left the station punctually. The seats are arranged quite similarly to an airplane's. On this train, eating and drinking are allowed. As the train began to pick up speed, we were amazed that we were traveling so fast on land! The train felt as if it was floating on the railway. We reached Chiayi HSR Station after 1 hour and 30 min. The weather in Chiayi was much warmer than Taipei and the air felt stuffy (the kind of feeling that the air just stood still, no wind).

Interior of HSR Train

Arrived at Chiayi HSR Station

Initially, we wanted to take the shuttle bus to Chiayi TRA Station but the bus had not arrived. So a taxi uncle offered (with a price) us a ride instead. As we chatted, he discovered that we wanted to go Alishan so instead of hard selling his service to us, he told us there is actually a direct bus from Chiayi HSR Station to Alishan. That was very nice of him. And this is the "secret" I wanted to share with you. There are 2 timings departing from Chiayi HSR Station namely, at 10.10 am and 11.40 am. We took the later timing. EasyCard can also be used on this bus.

Alishan Bus Schedule

The bus passed through some farmlands and we could see some plots of land that are dried up. The Central and Southern parts of Taiwan were lacking rain at that time. While the bus was traveling up the mountains, there was a road block and we were unable to continue our journey. What happened was there were some fallen rocks blocking the road and the workers were trying to clear them up. We had to wait till 2 pm before the road is open for traffic again. Our driver is a friendly man, he shared with us some ground nuts while we waited. The ground nuts tasted much sweeter than the ones I had in Singapore.

 The Farmland had Dried Up

Unexpected Road Block

Highly Addictive Ground Nuts

Finally 2 pm arrived and we could continue our journey. The bus driver stopped at a small town around mid-hill for toilet break. We took this opportunity to take photos of the bus. We reached Alishan slightly before 4.00 pm. Visitors to Alishan had to buy entry tickets and the proceeds go to preserving this natural forest. Youth Travel Card holders are entitled to some discounts. We made our way to Xin Xin Minsu ( 欣欣民宿). Before that, we made our booking with them through facebook. We were very lucky to have the owner upgrading our 4 persons room to a 6 persons room. The 6 person room is like a mini penthouse with lower and upper decks. At the lower deck, we felt the room was grand as it has a high ceiling. At the upper deck, there is a roof window which we could enjoy the starry sky while lying on the mattress. Thank you 欣欣民宿 for upgrading our room!

Our Bus

 Lower Deck of our Room

Upper Deck of our Room with Roof Window

We were so attracted by the room that we nearly forgot that we didn't have lunch! We were not that hungy too as it was way past our meal time. The owner suggested to us that we could tour one part of Alishan first and tour the other the next day. We took his advice. We proceeded to a nearby restaurant for our late lunch, ordering 2 rice sets and 1 main dish. One thing about having meals in mountainous areas is that the vegetables are really nice. Ironically, this recommendations comes from someone (yours truly) who does not like eating vegetables in Singapore. Haha. The vegetables from these mountains are crunchy, sweet, delicious and fresh.

 Main Dish - Three Cup Chicken (三杯鸡)

 Rice Set 1- Pork Cutlet Rice with Vegetables

Rice Set 2 - White Chicken Rice with Vegetables

Once we have replenished our energy, we started our hiking route as recommended by our minsu owner. I found an Alishan map here. Our route started like this: Parking Lot --> Shopping Centre --> Dormitory --> Alishan House --> Three Generation Tree --> Elephant Truck Tree --> Pagoda of Tree Spirit --> Tse Yung Temple --> Museum --> then back to minsu. If you are taking a walk at Alishan in the late afternoon like us, I would like to recommend this route because by the time you reach the Tse Yung Temple/Museum, there is a platform (not shown on the map) where you can see the sunset.

Three Generation Tree (三代木)

Elephant Trunk Tree (象鼻木)





A Giant Tree - There are many of such trees in Alishan

Sunrays into Alishan Forest, Providing Warmth for the Trees and Us

香林橋 - Only when you step on it, you can smell peppermint scent. Even when I was taking this photo, I smelled nothing. It is magical!!

Alishan Museum

Sunset at Alishan

When we reached our minsu, the sky has turned dark and the temperature dropped rapidly. We had some rest in our "penthouse" room before we went for dinner. Exploring the nearby restuarants, we found a theme restaurant called "日出有大美". From outside, it looked like a shop selling soft toys of bears. As we enter, a very young waitress attended to us and brought us to the dining area at the 2nd storey. I can still remember vividly that the aroma of the 元氣茶 and the yummy steamboat we had on a cold night.

14^oC at Night

Among all the themed restaurants in Taiwan, I like this one the most. In terms of decorations and feel, nothing beat this restaurant. This restaurant was decorated with many soft toys and it had a fairy-tale feel. Even the toilet was nicely decorated. There were cards of touching messages displayed all over. The staffs were young teenagers that the restaurant owner employed and I could tell that they feel they are all part of a big family (even though the owner told me they were not related at all). The 3 of us fell in love with this place.

日出有大美 (Click for a larger picture)

This restaurant also held a special meaning in our hearts. We were the last customers. The owner told us that the restaurant will be relocated somewhere mid-hill as the lease had ended. It is a pity that future Alishan visitors will not be able to enjoy this restaurant and the hospitality of the "family members".

As the final lights of the restaurant went out, we bidded goodbye and returned to our minsu. Time to have our much needed rest for the BIG EVENT the next day morning.

Day 4 - Alishan --> Sun Moon Lake --> Cingjing

Ring Ring!!! That was our minsu owner giving us a morning call at 3.30 am! We had to wake up at this timing in order to reach Jhushan (祝山) or sometimes spelt as "Chushan" on time to catch the sunrise. The location to view it is near the Penoy Garden and Sun Viewing House (refer to the map mentioned on Day 3).

Our minsu owner drove us to somewhere near Chaoping Station and we had to take Path to Chushan followed by a winding road up. Although there is a road up, visitors often prefer to trek to Chushan instead. The Path to Chushan is actually a forest trail uphill. For the normal city people like us, the journey was especially tiring with the lack of oxygen. Mountain air is much thinner.

Another couple (from Malaysia) joined us in our journey to ascend Chushan. While walking, there were small lights on the trees which seemed quite eerie at times. But actually they are just the eyes of owls. We moved off from the Path to Chushan in the 2nd part of the journey. This is actually a winding road so the walking was much easier even though it is mainly uphill as well. Overall, the journey took us almost 2 hours to reach Chushan. The morning temperatue was cold but we were perspiring inside. We were perspiring inside despite we were feeling cold outside (sounds "HUH?" right?).

At last, we reached Chushan! The sky had just begun to turn brighter. There were 2 guides standing at the edge of the cliff giving an introduction of this place. On a closer look, we realised that they were standing behind the safety barrier and it was quite dangerous. Looking across, we could see Yushan (the highest mountain in Taiwan). The guide told us that there is lone cypress tree at the cliff, although it looks young, it is actually more than 100 years old and under protection.

Guide at Chushan

Yushan & The Lone Cypress Tree

As the sun emerged from Yushan, we saw the first ray dispersing from the clouds. The guide congratulated all of us there as for the past few days, the weather was not at its best and visitors could not see a good sunrise. We were the lucky one.

Remember that I mentioned in my previous day post that there would be a BIG EVENT? After waking up so early in the morning, walking uphill, perspiring in the cold and catching our breath, and being the really blessed ones. I proposed to my long time girlfriend at in front Yushan and the beautiful sunrise that gave us warmth and comfort. This start of the day at Alishan also meant the start of our new journey. A special meaning to our hearts.

First Sight of Sunrise

There were also some stalls set up there. The owners gave us some hot honey drink to try. With the morning sun rays shining at us, cool temperature, a tired body but a cheerful mood (from the proposal) and the sweet warm honey drink, I could not describe a much more perfect feeling than this. The honey is made from the cherry blossom nectar and has a very nice fragrance. In the end, we bought 4 bottles of honey from them. The owners were very considerate, they offered to bring the honey to our minsu for us as the bottles were quite heavy.

We then continued with our journey. With reference to the map (mentioned in my Day 3 post), we took the advice from our minsu owner and walked this route: Chushan --> Path to Chushan --> Alishan Train Cottage --> Alishan Cabin --> Alishan Go Hotel --> Sisters Pond --> Primary School --> Shou Cheng Temple --> Xin Xin Minsu.

On our way to "Path to Chushan", we saw many nice sceneries.

Road to "Path to Chushan" and Railway Track

Dense Clouds over the Mountains

Walking downhill is definitely much easier than up. With lightened footsteps, we quickened our pace and reached Sisters Pond. It is actually 2 seperated ponds close to each other. It has a story that goes something like this. Both the sisters actually liked the same man (fortunate guy ya...) but in order not to hurt each other feelings, they committed suicide. Around this area, we also saw "Three Brothers", "Happiness from Golden Pig" and the famous Heart-Shaped Tree.

Three Brothers - They are from the same parent tree

Happiness from Golden Pig

Heart Shaped Tree - This place has a romantic feel

We continued our route and eventually reached Primary School and Shou Cheng Temple (受鎮宮). This area is also like a small market place where there are stalls selling drinks and gifts.  From here to our minsu would take about 30 - 45 min of walking. We wondered if there was any transportation. We asked the stall owners. To our surprise, she told us there are indeed "cabs" fetching tourists but we did not remember this was mentioned when we were doing our research online. The stall owner was very kind to help us call for one. I remember clearly that it was around 7.50 am that time as the stall owners told us the cabs would only start operating 8 am. The cabs are actually blue colour vans and we saw them while walking Alishan Part 1, just that we didn't know. We shopped for a few gifts and thanked the stall owner for her assistance. The cab driver charged us NTD 50 per person.+

 Shou Cheng Temple (受鎮宮)

Primary School

After a 10 min ride, we reached our minsu. As we still have some time, we took the opportunity to have some rest before our driver came to pick us up. Our driver was Mr Lin Hongqing (林鴻慶) and he would reach Xin Xin Minsu before 9.30 am. We engaged his service to drive us to Cingjing (清境) and in the middle of the ride, stop at Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) for a couple of hours. Such a drive would take almost the whole day.

There are 2 main reasons why we booked a driver:

1. To take a more direct and time-saving route (public buses or coaches are not allowed to travel on direct mountainous routes)
2. Drivers often take on the role as a tour guide and bring us to places not accessible by other means of transportation

Today's journey would almost be impossible without a cab driver.

The 1st attraction Mr Lin took us to was Lu Lin Shen Mu ( 鹿林神木), which is the 2nd largest tree in Taiwan. The photo below is doing injustice to the tree as it cannot effectively show how big the tree is, but that was the best I could take. All I can say while standing beside it was "Awesome!". And this tree is around 2,700 years old.

 鹿林神木

鹿林神木 Information Board

Not far from 鹿林神木, we reached another place known as the Husband & Wife Trees (夫妻树). This pair of trees look like they are holding hands. In fact there is a story behind it. One tree had died due to disease and a few years later, the other was struck by lightning.

夫妻树 - Can you see they are "holding hands"?

Our next stop would be 2 hours away and Mr Lin shared with us a story on Wu Feng (吳鳯), a Han Chinese who sacrificed himself to persuade the Aborigines to give up their headhunting practise. This story is, however, considered offensive to Aborigines and best not to speak of when meeting up with Aborigines.

Driving along, we traveled from the higher plain to lower ground. In this valley, we saw many rock deposits. This was a result from Typhoon Megi. When it hit Taiwan, it brought in strong wind and heavy rain. As the water moved from the mountain top into the valley, it formed a temporary gushing river, washing away every rock in its path. When the river dried, what remained on the banks are these rocks. The amazing thing along the 100 km stretch of road we traveled on was, we could see the same rock deposits. Imagine how far the river stretched to. Sadly to say, the sudden water rush also destroyed some village structures in the valley.

Rocks in the Valley 

 The Destruction of a Village School

I studied Geography when I was younger. The information on book cannot replace the personal experience I had here. This was my first outdoor Geography class.

Mr Lin drove us to have a quick lunch in Puli. We asked Mr Lin to recommend us some of the nice food at Puli. Mr Lin was very considerate, worried that we might not have the same liking in taste as Taiwanese so he asked us what we would like to eat instead. I assured him that we came to Taiwan to experience the Taiwanese flavour and won't do us a disfavour if we had something we didn't like. He drove us to have some pork and beef noodles, and this famous meat ball  (肉圆). We also had bubble tea to quench our thirst.

After we had our tummies filled, we proceeded to Sun Moon Lake which was only about half an hour ride from here. We intended to stay here for 2 - 3 hours, taking the round-the-lake ferry and cable car. Sun Moon Lake is a favourite hotspot for the Mainland Chinese too. At that time, the water level has dropped slightly due to the dry weather but the good thing was the ferry service was not affected. On board the ferry, we passed an island (Lalu) in the middle of the lake.

Side View of Lalu Island

The Cable Car Station is about 15 min walk from the Ferry Terminal and we walked through their market street. It is like the night market we saw in Taipei except that they are also open during daytime. We purchased our cable car tickets (NTD 300 per pax) and hopped on to the cable car. The destination of the cable car is Formosa Aboriginal Culture Village (九族文化村). We did not go into the Village due to time constraint but we did manage to find out that Youth Travel Card holders are entitled to discounts on the entry tickets. The cable car ride offers a splendid view of Sun Moon Lake and will pass 2 mountains before reaching 九族文化村.

 Cable Car to 九族文化村

View of Sun Moon Lake from Cable Car

After enjoying such a nice view, we took the cable car back to the Ferry Terminal and then the ferry to the entrance of Sun Moon Lake where Mr Lin left us initially. On this return ferry, the guide told us that the Taiwan Government treats the Taiwan Aborigines very well. They have many perks for them and so many that I could only remember a few. For examples, aborigines already have 30 marks scored on national examinations; aborigines will be given money if they have babies (cannot remember the exact amount but know that it is quite a huge sum); school fee is heavily subsidised that they almost don't have to pay for it, the government will give a certain sum every year to help with the family expenses until the child reaches a certain age. So what do the guys do then? Relax, drink beer and have more babies. When we reached the harbour, the guide told us who wanted to join the aboriginal tribe could stay behind. I nearly didn't want to get off the ferry if not for my fiance who pulled me out of it. Actually both of us could stay back too. Ok, back to reality for me.

Mr Lin greeted us and we moved on to Cingjing. Our accommodation at Cingjing is Starry Minsu (觀星圜). The minsu owners are 李大哥 and 李大嫂. When we reached Starry Minsu, it was cold and drizzling. 李大哥 welcomed us at the door and helped us with our luggages. We bidded Mr Lin goodbye and thanked him for his services.

In the cold weather, we got hungry easily. So, after we put our luggages in our room, we went to have our dinner at the minsu hall. 李大哥 brought out the steamboat to our table with all the ingredients. We had heard of many praises of his steamboat and we also felt that his steamboat 决对不是浪得虚名. The vegetables and meat slices were fresh and sweet. The soup was well-balanced and without the use of MSG. The weather was cold outside but we were warm inside with a homely feel.

The Famous Steamboat

Thinly Sliced Pork

Fresh Vegetables

After a hearty dinner, we chatted with 李大哥  and 李大嫂 for a while before we retired to our room. We purposely planned to stay here for 2 nights as we knew after 4 days of intense travel, we would need a good rest before we could enjoy the rest of our trip. 李大哥 had upgraded our room to a 6-person and it was very spacious inside. Each bedroom had a electric comforter which can be heated up so that the guest will not feel cold when they sleep. We feel especially warm that night.

Details of Mr Lin (Driver of the Day)

Name: Lin Hong Qing (林鴻慶)
Contact No: 886-920-266276
E-mail: papa23tw@yahoo.com.tw


Day 5 - Cingjing

Day 5 was the designatied day for us to relax after 4 days of intense traveling. Our main attraction here is the 青青草原. We woke up at 5 plus in the morning initially to catch the sunrise. However, upon hearing heavy rain drops outside our room, we knew there was not any chance of seeing the sunrise. To add on to the cooling weather, the electric warmer attached to our comforter made our sleep even more comfortable that we continued our dreams in lala land.

We woke up at about 7 plus (near 8) and prepared to go for breakfast. We thought we woke up pretty late but guess who was still sleeping... 李大嫂 served us her homemade breakfast consisted of a big square toast (half with peanut butter and the other with melted cheese), french toast with cheese and ham, sunny side up egg, fruits and choice of tea or coffee. It was a very delicious breakfast.

Dooby is still sleeping

The rain was still on going and after a discussion with 李大哥, we decided to return to our room and wait for a little while more to see if the rain would stop. It didn't although it became a bit smaller. We decided to go ahead with our plan anyway. 李大哥 drove us to a Seven to get raincoats and then to the main entrance of 青青草原.

We purchased our tickets with discounts from using our Youth Travel Cards. Our initial plan was to walk through 青青草原, 步步高昇 (route 4 in green) and lastly 清境農場旅游服務中心. There is also a "7-11 清境農場旅游服務中心" near 清境農場旅游服務中心 (above sentence). It is quite confusing but try to understand these 2 are different places and just that they are near each other, so the locals may consider it as the same place but actually they are about 10-15 min walking distance apart. Also note that 7-11 清境農場旅游服務中心 is a slightly downhill from 清境農場旅游服務中心.

Entering into 青青草原, we found an interesting rock that says something like "Closer to the soul". 青青草原 does not feel like a farm, rather like a place of serenity. Due to the fact that it was a weekday, there were very few crowds. We walked into a souvenir shop that sells many gifts that have sheeps on them. They even sell ice creams made with goat milk. There are also stalls selling hotdogs, sausages and drinks. We had some hot snacks before we moved on to look for "mehs mehs" (sheeps)...

 Rock in 青青草原

Souvenir Shop in 青青草原

The sheeps were grazing on a grassland area beside the stage. This stage was used to present the show on how the fur of the sheeps are shaved off. We wanted to catch this interesting show at first, but it was cancelled due to the rain. Nevertheless, we were still able to see the sheeps in the open and they got very excited when they saw us. They got up from their comfortable positions and moved towards us, it seemed like they were expecting something from us as they kept "meh...meh..." non stop. They also gave us their classic blur sheepish look while we kept smiling "So cute, so cute". Then it suddenly occurred me that they wanted us to give them food. And we bought them some feeds from the dispenser nearby.

Sheeps lazing in the rain 

 Giving us the blur sheepish look

Sheep Feeds Dispenser

Subsequently, we walked further downhill and exited 青青草原. We were at this market place but most of the food stalls were not open, except those selling dry packet food. We then walked on the road side hoping to reach 清境農場旅游服務中心. After about 20 min of walking, we sensed something was amiss as we did not reach our destination. We decided to stop a vehicle and asked for directions. The passengers told us that we had overshot and should walk back uphill. Now we were confused but we felt best to walk back to the market place as it was still raining.


We gave a call to our minsu. 李大嫂 was very kind to pick us up and drove us to 7-11 清境農場旅游服務中心. Previously, we had a chat with 李大哥 and we arranged for a hotspring session later at night. So, 李大哥 would fetch us from 清境農場旅游服務中心 at around 4 pm and we would have an early dinner before we went for the hotspring.


At 7-11 清境農場旅游服務中心, we had our late lunch as well as some shopping for souvenirs. And next, we would be going to 清境農場旅游服務中心 which was about 10-15 min walk uphill. At this moment, we saw a very skinny dog. It overheard our conversation about going to 清境農場旅游服務中心 and started walking in the same direction as us. Then it overtook us. When we slowed down, it stopped, sat down and turned to look at us. When we walked closer to it, it started walking again like wanting us to follow it. This happened a few times and we realised that it was trying to bring us to our next destination. And yes, it really brought us to 清境農場旅游服務中心. Such a nice doggie!

Skinny Dog leading the way :)

But this doggie was too nice for its own good. This was because he always got bullied by the other dogs in the area. When we reached 清境農場旅游服務中心, I bought him a sausage as a reward. But it didn't dare to take my sausage. From a distance afar came a bigger dog and pushed it (skinny dog) away, snatching my sausage from skinny dog. Poor thing!! Skinny dog looked at me with pitiful eyes. I waited for the bigger dog to go away and bought another sausage for it. It still didn't dare to eat until I put it near its mouth and the bigger dog was far away from it. He ate it hungrily. We waited for skinny dog (protection) to finish his sausage before we entered 清境農場旅游服務中心. This place actually sells more tibits and clothes (清境 theme) than smaller gifts.

After we purchased bags of goodies for our families, we hopped on to 李大哥 car and headed back to
Starry Minsu. We went back to our room to put our stuffs and rested a while before going down for our early dinner. The steamboat and ingredients were the same as the previous day except that 李大嫂 let us try mutton slices instead of the pork ones. And the whole steamboat had a new taste that kept us wanting for more.


Our hotspring was at 碧樺溫泉會館 about half an hour ride from Starry Minsu and our driver was Jacky. The arrangement was made by 李大哥. We reached Lu Shan where there were many hotspring resorts. As this period was not a peak period. we had the whole hotspring bath to ourselves. The hotspring area even had a big TV and was playing the news at that time. After a 2 hour of good soaking, we decided to go back. Jacky drove us back to Starry Minsu and during the ride, he mentioned to us that he does round Taiwan trip for his customers. In fact, he is like a 1-man tour agency where he will even take care of his customers' accommodations. I will post his namecard at the end of this article, so if you are interested, can try to contact him.

Hotspring where we had the whole pool to ourselves

The weather has turned much better with the rain stopped and clouds were clearing as well. From Starry Minsu, we could see a very clear night view of 清境. We had a good time taking photos and enjoyed every bit of the scenery before we called it a day.

Night Scenery from Starry Minsu (觀星圜)

Details of Jacky (Driver of the Day)

Jacky's Namecard

Day 6 - Cingjing --> He Huan Shan --> Taroko National Park --> Hualien 

Our day 6 started with a beautiful sunrise in a perfect morning. The rain had stopped previous night and the mist have cleared. At 觀星園, we could see the morning view of Cingjing and as given the good weather, we managed to see the Sea of Clouds (云海).

 Morning View at Cingjing with the Sea of Clouds

Morning Sunrays at Cingjing

We requested to have our breakfast outdoor and as we were appreciating the beautiful scenery, we saw a waterfall somewhere afar. 李大哥 told us that we were a lucky lot as this waterfall does not appear often (only a few times in a year) We were indeed lucky to able to see it.

A Rare Waterfall in Cingjing 

觀星圜

After a good rest at Cingjing, we felt rejuvenated for our next destination Hualien (花莲). Along the way, we would pass by He Huan Shan (合歡山) and Taroko National Park (太魯閣國家公園). We engaged a driver (Li Te-Ming) for this journey. He is the husband of Tiffany who we first contacted. Tiffany does not take the route - Cingjing --> He Huan Shan --> Taroko National Park as Mr Li thinks it is dangerous for a lady to take route, especially if the car breaks down somewhere on the way.

Our first attraction was He Huan Shan. At 11^oC, it was quite cold in the sunny morning and at 3275m above sea level. The views here are breathtaking and during winter, visitors may encounter snow. One would easily associate the sceneries at He Huan Shan with those at New Zealand and Switzerland, but I think the Taiwan mountains deserve a reputation of their own.

 3275m above Sea Level

Panorama View at He Huan Shan (Click for a bigger picture)

We proceeded on to Taroko Gorge after our admiration of He Huan Shan. Taroko Gorge is part of Taroko National Park and it would take about 2 hours of car ride. We chatted with Mr Li on the way about his life in Taiwan. Mr Li stays in Hualien and commented that most tourists who travel free and easy actually know more fun places in Hualien than him. I think it is very true to some extent. Even in Singapore, sometimes I do not know every attraction.

Taroko National Park

When we almost reached Taroko Gorge, Mr Li stopped the car so that we could see Taroko Gorge with a bird eye view. Our first attraction was Xiangde Temple (祥德寺). But before we could reach Xiangde Temple, we encountered another road block due to fallen rocks. We took this time to do something creative to pass time. That was to take our cute mushroom toy and do poses. We really had a good time "fooling around" while waiting for the road to be cleared.

 Bird Eye View of Taroko Gorge

Mushroom waiting Impatiently for the Road to Clear

Mushroom, Happy to Pose with "慢"

Xiangde Temple is located at Tianxiang area (天祥) in Taroko National Park. There were some stalls selling food and we decided to have our lunch there. We took this opportunity to try the Purple Rice in Bamboo and Taiwanese Carrot Cake. The rice tasted plain and required some other dishes to go along, while the Carrot Cake was kind of salty with the sauce. Overall, I think it gave us a an taste of the Taiwanese local food. We also met Tiffany there as she was taking another group.

Purple Rice in Bamboo 

Carrot Cakes

As we went further into Taroko Gorge, we saw many attractions such as Cimu Bridge (慈母桥), Eternal Spring Shrine (长春祠), Nine Tunnels Trail etc. I find it hard to describe the beauty of Taroko Gorge but I think the word "Magnificent" is very appropriate to describe this place. We ended our journey of Taroko Gorge around the entrance (from Hualien).

Stone that looks like a Pig

A Suspended Bridge 

Eternal Spring Shrine

From there, Mr Li took us to the place where there is a beautiful view of Hualien. In fact this view is often used in Hualien promotional poster but taxi drivers seldom brings their customers to this place. So many visitors do not get to see this view. There is actually no name for this place, just that it is a stop along the coastal road. Mr Li explained to us that the road we were traveling on was non-existant in the past. In the older days, the road used was very close to the edge of the cliff. Making it very difficult to travel on and accident-proned. There was an incident whereby a bus fell over this cliff and both the bus and passengers (including driver) could not be found. Did I mention that beyond this coast is the Pacific Ocean?

Seaside Cliffs in Hualien 

 An Old Road in Hualien - Left is edge of the cliff and on the right (out of picture) is the new road

Famous View that is often seen in Promotional Poster

We met up with another road block (due to fallen rocks). As the traffic is heavier along this road, we saw many cars bulit up. The thing about Taiwanese drivers are that they are very understanding towards the situation. We were held up for about half an hour but we did not hear a single horn. Everyone was patiently waiting. Some of them stepped out for a smoking break and we even chatted with them. When the big truck came to carry the rocks away, Mr Li became the hero of the day. He directed the traffic to accommodate the truck passing through the car queue. We could tell his efforts really helped to cut down the waiting time.


As we headed back to Hualien City, we stopped by Chisingtan (七星潭). Actually it is not very correct to describe this place as "潭" (which means lake) since it is actually a beach by the Pacific Ocean. There were many people on this beach to enjoy the sea breeze and water. Some vans were also there to sell food and drinks. We didn't try as we already planned to go Hualien City to have dinner. Before reaching our minsu, we dropped by a whale touring vendor to sign up for a whale/dolphin watching cruise next day morning. Youth Travel Card holders will have discounts.

七星潭

Our minsu for the night is 被浪打到 Minsu. We saw online that their rooms are very well furnished and have a superb view of the Pacific Ocean. We were not disappointed by the rooms.

Our Room in 被浪打到 Minsu 

Bathroom 

Balcony

One of the best things about this minsu is that they lend their guests bicycles to move around Hualien City. Initially we wanted to borrow and cycled into Hualien City but decided against it as we were tired and unfamilar with the traffic conditions. It only took us 10 min to reach Hualien City. We went to the famous 曾記麻吉. It was hand-made on the spot and had to be consumed within 24 hours. We bought a few flavours (green tea, red bean, peanuts and sesame) to try. They were so delicious that we ate them up and forgot to take photos!

We had our late dinner at this place that sells goose meat 鹅先生. I found the meat pretty good but the ladies thought that the meat is a bit on the salty side. Nevertheless, all of us finished the meal without leaving a single piece of meat behind.

Hualien is the biggest county in Taiwan and having the smallest population density. The Hualien City has many popular shops and I wonder how the population actually can support this city. Another observation I made was that there was a higher percentage of western tourists in Hualien than Taipei, Alishan or Sun Moon Lake. I wonder what attracts this group of tourists to visit Hualien. Maybe it is the sun, the Pacific Ocean and the beach.

We shopped around Hualien City for about an hour or so and then went to Zi Qiang Night Market (自强夜市) for supper. It is about 20 minutes walk from Hualien City we were a bit tired especially after a long day. So we took a cab. Zi Qiang Night Market is mainly a food market and is quite small. But I feel that this place sells the freshest and greatest tasting seafood, and with many stalls to choose from. Another thing was that the fruit juice was the sweetest, especially the water melon as it was its season at that time, slurp! After a hearty supper, we took a cab back to our minsu. Due to keen competition, the driver actually oftered to charge us only NTD100 for the ride. We knew it would cost much more than that so we quickly took up his offer!

自强夜市

Details of Mr Li Te-Ming (Driver of the Day)

Li Te-Ming and Tiffany's Namecard

Day 7 - Hualien --> Pacific Ocean --> Taipei

The feeling on warm sunshine on our face and cool wind on our skin made it a terrific morning for us to wake up into, and to mention the very good rest we had in our room. Our breakfast was a simple burger from Seven, some cut fruits and a cup of hot tea. We saw this burger before in Seven but we didn't try, such coincidence that we had it for breakfast.

Our Breakfast at 被浪打到

A Cycling Track Outside Our Minsu and Along the Coastline

After the breakfast, the passenger van from the dolphin-watching company came to pick us up. Previous night, we had arranged with them to pick us up (at no cost) from our minsu to Hualien Port. Another good thing about this company is if the dolphin-watching trip is canceled due to weather conditions, the fee will be returned. But we wanted to go and see the dolphins! Our ride was about 15 min and gave us the opportunity to see more of Hualien.

Dolphins Watching Organiser

When we reached the harbour, there were already many other tourists waiting. After we took our attendance, ensured we had our passports with us and gone through the briefing on the safety procedures, we were off to the cruise. It just felt different being in the Pacific Ocean. I find it hard to describe the feeling. It just felt like we are so small, the ocean is mystic and a sense of freedom, well, something like that...

A Breakwater on our Ride to the Pacific Ocean 

A Red Lighthouse 

View of Hualien from Pacific Ocean (Click for a larger picture)

From afar, we saw some black patches moving towards us. Yup, they are the dolphins. According to the organiser, these dolphins are wild and the company does not feed them food to attract them to the cruise. In other words, they are just friendly and curious dolphins who comes to welcome any visitors to their home, the Pacific Ocean. Of course, we did not miss this opportunity to take lots of photos!

Pod of Dolphins Swimming Towards Us 

Showing Off with a Leap Out of the Water

The organiser sent us back to our minsu and after we washed up, our minsu owner gave us a ride to Hualien Railway Station. As we didn't have lunch, we bought the lunchboxes (便當) from the station to try. We were quite hungry so we ate them before boarding the train. The train would take about 2.5 hours to reach Taipei Main Station and pass by Yilan where we saw beautiful farmlands and mountains. It was a very good ride for us to recap on our trip so far. I took the time to jot down some thoughts on our trip.

Farmland and Mountain of Yilan

We reached TS Hotel 6 to do our check-in again. The receptionist recognised us and prepared our room for us. We picked our luggages (the ones we left behind) up and went to our room for a short rest before we looked for dinner in Ximending. We saw a long queue at 繼光香香鸡 and decided to follow the crowd. All I can say is that I highly recommend this yummy chicken! Then came a bright idea. It was to have the 香香鸡 with the Ah Zhong Mian Xian. The result is... A delicious dinner for the night!

Crispy Chickens Worth Queueing For

We spent the rest of our night shopping and drinking bubble tea in Ximending. Ximending is the place where adventurous youngsters hang around. There were many shops selling things with new ideas. For example, we went into a 2D simulation shop where we could sit on a movable machine as if we were on a roller coaster. This shop is run by young people trying to start out a business on their own. The price of things sold in Ximending is slightly on the higher side. I bought a iphone cover in (Shilin Night Market, later on of my trip) for NTD99 and a similar one was selling in Ximending for NTD200. Another example was that I bought a beach bermuda shorts in Hualien for NTD100 and the same shorts was selling in Ximending at 1 for NTD120, 2 for NTD200. After 10 pm, some roadside stalls will suddenly appear due to less policemen patroling.

Ximending at Night

We ended our day after we paid a visit to Carrefour near TS Hotel around 12 am.

Day 8 - Ximending --> Taipei Main Station --> Yehliu --> Shifen --> Jiufen --> Jinguashi --> Keelung --> Miramar --> Taipei Main Station

Our day 8 activities began with Meeky Yang bringing us to above attractions. Once we finished our breakfast at TS Hotel, we checked out and loaded our luggages into Meeky Yang's cab. Our first location is to buy Tai Yang Bing (太阳饼) from Li Ji (犁记). Their Tai Yang Bings were made daily with no preservatives. How nice are the pastries? Well we purchased more than 10 boxes, if not for the weight limit on flight, we would have bought more. We made a stop at Keymans Hotel (懐寜旅店) near Taipei Main Station to deposit our luggages and Tai Yang Bing before we carried on with our trip.

The journey to Yehliu would take around 1 hour and we had a good chat with Meeky Yang. He knows alot about Singapore such as the latest news about floods in orchard, politics (election at that time) and casinos. He mentioned that the Taiwanese government is looking to open casinos in Taiwan as well, probably on one of the offshore islands.

When we reach Yehliu Geopark, there were many vendors asking us if we wanted to have a seafood meal which we politely declined as it was still early to lunch time. We bought our tickets and went into the park. At the Queen Head, we found the temperature is distinctively higher than at the entrance. There was also a long queue of people waiting to take photos with the Queen Head. There were a number of "Queen Head look-alikes" but it was not difficult to identify the correct one. There was also a long queue of people waiting to take photos with the Queen Head and it has a "necklace" around it. We heard that after the Japanese earthquake, many tourists (including Taiwanese) went to the park to catch a glimpse of the Queen Head, fearing that tsunami might destroy it.

Yehliu Geo Park

The Real Queen Head is the One with a "Necklace" and a Long Queue Waiting to Take Photos

Our next stop is Ping Xi (平溪) at Shifen (十分). It is an old town with an old railway running through it. The railway was used to transport coal in the past. Now, Ping Xi is a town famous for releasing sky lanterns. When we reached there, there were many school children releasing the sky lanterns into the sky. The old railway had not stopped working too. We encountered twice that the train needed to pass through the town. It did so slowly for safety reasons and it was interesting to see the livelihood of this town. We had our lunch first before it was our turn to light the lanterns. We wrote some well-wishes and released them into the sky.

Black and White Photo of the Railway Track - Does it look emo?

Train Coming

Our Sky Lantern, Up Up and Away

Meeky Yang drove us to Jiufen next. It is an old gold mining town. Secretly, I was hoping to be able to pick up some gold ore on the street but I didn't have the luck. Jiufen old street is a narrow street with shops at both sides. We tried their famous fishballs, lychee jelly, grilled mushroom and escargot. It was a food paradise street. At the end of the street, we found ourselves at the cliff of a mountain slope with a very nice view of the mountains. On our way back to Meeky Yang's cab, we bought some charcoal-baked peanuts and jellies for our families.

 View from Jiufen Old Street

A Grill Store in Jiufen 

Near Jiufen is Jinguashi (金瓜石) where we get to touch the 220kg gold bar. Normally, cab drivers will drop their passengers at bottom of the mountain and walk upwards to rejoin the driver later. But since we were pretty late, Meeky Yang drove us to the top and we walked downhill instead. Actually we prefered this instead. It is easier to walk downhill than uphill. We went to the museum where the gold was displayed and we had a good time touching the gold. How I wish I have one displayed in my own home! Haha!

220kg Gold Bar

On our way downhill, we passed by Golden Waterfall (黄金瀑布) saw the Yinyang Sea (阴阳海). The Golden Waterfall is so called because of the yellow soil. As the river extends into the sea, it forms the Yinyang Sea which has 2 colours. One is the ocean blue and the other yellow.

Golden Waterfall

Yinyang Sea

The sun began to set behind us and we moved on to our next destination - Miaokou Night Market (廟口夜市) at Keelung (基隆). We had about 1.5 hours to shop and have our dinner at this night market. We were quite surprised that this night market was quite big and it stretched from alley to alley. Many different kinds of food were being so sold and they looked and smelled delicious. We also heard that the seafood is a must-try so we went to the stall that had longest queue and ordered some crabs. And they were really good.

Stir Fried Seafood at Miaokou Night Market

After we had enough food savoury, we met up with Meeky Yang. Normally, his customers would be going back to their hotel in Taipei but we planned otherwise. Since we were going towards Taipei, we planned to go Miramar Entertainment Park (美麗華百樂園) and Five Dime Drift Wood Restaurant (伍角船板). At the end of the night, we could take the TRTC back to Taipei Main Station. When we reached Five Dime Drift Wood Restaurant, we thanked Meeky Yang for his services.

Five Dime Drift Wood Restaurant is a Zen-themed restaurant. I also felt that it is like an "underwater" restaurant probably because we had to walk up a spiral slope to the reception, then walked down the stair to the dining area. There were also a canoe and many fishes. The tiramisu was pretty good. We went to Miramar Entertainment Park which is across the road for the ferris wheel ride. It offered a very good view of Taipei City and Taipei 101. We were pretty much done with the night and made our way back to our hotel after a very fulfilling day in Taipei.

 Five Dime Drift Wood Restaurant

Canoe in Five Dime Drift Wood Restaurant

Many Fishes

Details of Meeky Yang (Driver of the Day)

Meeky Yang Namecard

Day 9 - Taipei Main Station --> Zhongxiao Fuxing --> Yangmingshan --> Shilin Night Market --> Taipei Main Station

This is the 2nd last day (Saturday) of our Taiwan trip. So far, the places we went to were mainly famous tourist attractions, we had alot of fun and totally enjoyed ourselves. We designed this day to explore Taipei to find where the local Taiwanese hang out and spend their weekend.

After our light breakfast at Keymans Hotel, we went to Din Tai Fung (鼎泰豐) at Sogo at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. This restaurant is very popular with Taiwanese. We had to go a bit earlier to queue as they didn't not provide phone reservation and it was a Saturday. When we reached, there was already a queue forming and we had to get a queue number. About half an hour later, we managed to get into the restaurant. We order the famous Xiao Long Bao (小龍包), pork chop fried and chicken soup. The Xiao Long Bao turned out a slightly below our expectations as the soup is little inside. The chicken soup, on the other hand, was a prized dish. It was made using a more yellowish chicken which has a very strong aroma. Writing this now, I am drooling...

 小龍包

Pork Chop Fried Rice 

Chicken Soup

Once we finished our food, we went ahead to explore Taipei as the locals would. We realised that Zhongxiao Fuxing Station is actually an "train interchange" and it has a huge underground mall that links to Zhongxiao Dunhua Station (忠孝敦化站), a great place to shop. Above ground, we realised this area houses Shin Kong Mitsukoshi (新光三越) , a large departmental store which sells many branded products. Along the streets, there were many other stores. This place is like a "secret" shopping district for the locals. The ladies were, of course, very happy to shop here.

Our next stop is Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園), to a restaurant called "The Top" (屋顶上). This restaurant offers a superb view of Taipei City but its location is quite hard to be located by tourists as there is no direct transportation to this place. We traveled to Jiantan Station (劍潭站) and switched Bus R5 (Red 5). We were supposed to alight at Chinese Culture University (中國文化大學) but we overshot by one bus stop so we walked back a bit. We then walked into the University, passed by a small campus town/village and into administration building. Finally we were close to the campus gym (an important building in order to reach "The Top") and we knew we were at the right place.

Trees in Chinese Culture University - I wonder why the trees grow like that

There were many students hanging out at this place (because the beautiful view) and the restaurant had a long queue of waiting customers. We also joined in. Our objective of finding a hangout that the locals knew but tourists do not was met. How do we know they are locals? Most of them brought their dogs along. We ordered a bbq set and found the food was great especially in this ambience (sunset view of Taipei City). As the sun disappeared into the horizon, the lights of Taipei City lightened our moods.

 Sunset View of Taipei City

The Top Restaurant

Our BBQ Meal 

Night View of Taipei City from The Top

Our next destination is Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) which is just beside Jiantan Station. From "The Top" we need to book a cab to go there. The waitress who made the call for us told us that it would not cost more than NTD300. Indeed, our fare was only NTD290. Shilin Night Market is a big market and had a huge crowd. We tried many different foods there and had our first Stinky Tofu from a stall that had the longest queue. Stinky Tofu was ok but after a few slices, I found it too be too oily and did not continue. We also had a very nice cranberry juice. I also bought a iphone cover there. Overall, I found Shilin Night Market sells many things and it is a great shopping place.

The Stall in Shilin Night Market Where We Bought Our Stinky Tofu

And with that ended our Day 9 in Taiwan.

Day 10 - Taipei Main Station --> Ximending --> Taipei 101 --> Home Sweet Home

I kind of hesitated to write Day 10 article as it would mean I stop reliving the memories of Taiwan. But as the Chinese saying goes "天下无不散之宴席" or "All good things must come to an end" in English, I know I must finish writing everything before I forget. So here goes:

Day 10 was the day we woke up with a heavy heart. We might be a little tired after 9 days of traveling but the main contributor was it was the last day in Taiwan. After we washed up, we headed for a light breakfast at the hotel's caferia. Then we went back to pack our stuffs in our room before we proceeded to check out. Before we stepped out of the hotel, we made a pact that we have to spend our day fruitfully and stayed cheerful.

We did not really have an itinerary for Day 10. We only had half a day so we set this day to visit places that we couldn't go previously or just do some last minute shopping. After our check out, we proceeded to Ximending for some shopping and lunch. We had our lunch at the Modern Toilet Restaurant (便所主题餐厅). We literally had our meals on a bathtub and sat on toilet bowls. Quite frankly, I found that the food there was not exactly very fantastic, probably because of the theme. Still, it has been an interesting experience.

Dining Area Completed with Toilet Bowls, Sink, Showers

Set Meal - Curry Chicken, Hmm...

Ice Cream that looks like....

Their Utensils for Sale

Our first day in Taipei, the weather was not very suitable for us to go to Taipei 101 observation deck. So today, we made our way again to Taipei 101. The weather has changed for the better and we had the chance to view Taipei from a height of 88 storey. Before we left Taipei 101, we went across the street to collect our figurines from the artist and then we took a cab back.

View from Taipei 101 - Does the building look familiar?

Tiny Cars

Mass Damper

Our Souvenir from Taipei 101

The freego bus came to pick us up but it was crowded and we had to stand with our luggages. Then the company arranged another bus to pick us up at another boarding point. It seems that freego bus is very popular with tourists. We reached Taoyuan Airport exhausted and a bit sad as 10 days seem to just zoom passed us.

We recounted the days we were in Taiwan and agreed that we really had fun and it is worth every bit effort during planning. We hope to visit Taiwan again and it will be those places that we did not go, such as Taichung, Gao Xiong, Kenting etc and maybe one of the offshore island.

Some Tips For Sharing

• The very first tip I want to talk about is to always go an oversea trip with a cheerful heart. There is really no need to get upset over small glitches. Always remember to stay happy to enjoy a really good holiday!
• All the things I did in my blog can be adjusted with regards to the timing as I did not really jam-pack each day. In addition, I set my last day as an open option to revisit some attraction missed or last minute shopping. So there is no need to rush or worry that an attraction will be missed.
• If you are planning a long trip like us (10 Days 9 Nights), it is actually like 2x 5D4N trip. So perhaps you would like to consider a day or night in the middle to rejuvenate yourselves before embarking on the later journey.
• Taiwanese are frank and friendly people. One of the best experiences I had was conversing with them and sharing of ideas. It is always good to know their culture and some Mandarin beforehand so that you can make more friends.
• When shopping, always remember to ask for discount or negotiate with the stall owners on the prices. Sometimes, they may not always bring down the prices but if you know some of the Chinese customs it will help. For example, I bought some souvenirs in Hualien, 3 for NTD100 and we bought 9. We asked the shop owner whether she could give us a discount which we did not get. So we said perhaps can give us another 1 free to make the purchase 10. 10 is considered a good number as it is "complete" and yup, we got a free gift :)
• Traveling on mountainous routes can be unpredictable sometimes due to fallen rocks. So it is advisable to stay one night between destinations just in case you arrive late and need another day to visit the attractions.
• When in doubt, ask the locals!

Need more information? Visit my friends' websites too!

Escape to tour Taipei, Taiwan where no boring travel guide will bring you!

If you would like to contact me...

It has come to my attention that my readers who left a comment on this page that they have problems receiving e-mails from me. Perhaps, it would be better for you to send me an e-mail to n_rider83@yahoo.com and I will reply from there. Thanks for all your support and from the bottom of my heart, I hope you have a wonderful Taiwan trip and enjoy as much of Taiwan as I did!