Tips for preparation of the trip

Today I shall list down my tips for the trip:



Guide book for preparation: The rough guide to Taiwan, bought @ Borders (A very good guide. It shows quite detailed way of getting to a place and entrance fee etc, a must-buy book if you are planning free & easy trip).



Websites for info:

http://crazy_azn1.tripod.com/taiwan/index.html (i relied alot of info on this web. There's even planned trip for free & easy tours depending on how many days you want to go. So for those, who wanted to go free & easy but yet is lazy to plan, you can just pluck out the itinernary from there).

http://www.virtualtourist.com/ (this is a good travel forum, if you visit the taiwan / taipei side, there's a guy call Nuttyen who is always very helpful to answer queries. He should be the one that started the website mentioned earlier).

http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Taiwan/Taipei_Shih/Taipei-1074413/TravelGuide-Taipei.html (same as above. But this link provides general info).

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g293910-i9303-Taiwan.html (see itineraries of others)

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g293910-i9303-k587086-Itinerary_thread-Taiwan.html (this thread gives very detailed itinery - take a look, fr same website as above)

http://www.cksairport.gov.tw/chinese/transportation/taipei.htm (to find out transport from airport to the hotel or place you want to go, To alight at Main station, just take GuoKuang（國光）cost NT125).

http://www.thsrc.com.tw/tw/index.htm (taiwan high speed rail aka bullet train website)

http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/ticket/ticket-1.aspx (website of train ticket)

http://www.thsrc.com.tw/tw/ticketing/timetable.asp (timetable of the High speed rail. You can also get a copy of the timetable from the counter @ the sales of the bullet train ticket).



Hotel in Taipei: (good location, opposite Taipei Main Station, next to Xin Guang San Yue 星光三越shopping mall).

Hostelling International Taipei ( HI-Taipei ), Taiwan

13F - 38 No. 50 Sec 1,

Zhangxiao W Rd, Taiwan 100, ROC

Taipei

Phone: 886 2 2388 0885

Fax: 886 2 6632 9288

E-mail: yhtaipei@hotmail.com

Website for booking: http://www.hihostels.com/



Hotel in Taichung:(boutique hotel, 10mins walk to Fengjia Night market, voted as one of the best hotel in Taichung)

The Galerie Hotel

No. 242-33, Sec 2, Cing Hai Rd,

Si Tun District,

Taichung City

拓程商旅　　

407台中市西屯區青海路2段242之33號

t: 886-4-2708-9000　

Website for booking:http://www.thegaleriehotel.com/



Cabby driver: 陳獻周

Tel: +886 25952144 / 2595 1335 / 2551963

HP: +886 910140026

Email: w24286950@yahoo.com.tw

Trip from hotel to airport cost NT800. From Airport to hotel will cost another NT100 more for waiting time and parking. This driver is very friendly and good. Doubt he speaks English. But one thing good is you can book him via email. Tour Keelung, taipei, jiufen, yehliu, jinguashi would cost around NT3200 for whole day. He will also purposely go by longer route for you to see the scenery)

陳義河 (For Wulai. He was the one who brought us to the hotspring).

Tel: +886 930 199 585

Maps: Don't need to buy any maps. You can easily get alot from the visitor information counter @ the airport as well as the train station. In fact, @ alot of the MRT stations, there's also visitor information counter. If not, there'll also be brochures which we can take)

Shop for facial masks: COSMED (康是美） www.cosmed.com.tw,

　Recommended brand: 我的美麗日記

Watson

Taiwan's popular bookstore: Eslite (誠品）www.eslitebooks.com

(there are branches in alot of place, just like our popular bookstore)

Taiwan--Day 07

Today is our final day in Taiwan...abit sad...I really love the place and the people...most of them very friendly...I guess Singapore still has a long way to be a gracious society. In Taiwan, people automatically stand on the left side of the escalator, they don't anyhow throw rubbish ( i even saw one lady, very beautifully dressed, picking up a scrap of paper from the MRT seat and put it in her paper bag waiting to be throw away), they even give up seats for the old.
Anyway, today being our last day, I had to grab books...so off we went to 書街 which is just 2 streets away from our building. Chinese books are considered cheap and of better quality than China (but of cos' books from China are even cheaper, but very poor paper quality).
I also bought alot of facial masks which is very cheap. One box cost NT160. I'll put all that up in my next post with the links all shown.
We spent our final cents in the airport, buying lots of taiwanese titbits like 太陽餅, 黄梨塔.....
And its home sweet home!!!!

Taiwan--Day 06

Today is free & easy day...we woke up late, did abit of packing and off we head to Wufenpu(五分埔）for shopping... One thing about shopping there is most of the shops do not allow you to try on since its a distributor area where pple buy in bulks for sale in night markets or internet. But i had a lucky grab for jean skirt which i had already wanted to buy in Singapore, but didn't manage to spot any suitable for me as its all very short. But there, i went to a shop that sells only jeans material....

Wufenpu is huge and you can take entire day to shop there. We almost lost our way as well...But as a warning note, most of the clothes are free sized and since most of the ladies I saw on the street are slim or thin, it would be difficult to get clothings if you are buying L size in Sin.



Next we went to the high-end district where the 101 building is located. Actually we wanted to celebrate X'mas eve as well, but to our disappointment, they don't celebrate X'mas eve...so the mood is just not there. They don't even have holidays on X'mas day. Anyway, we spot a shop, NETS which is their own local brand. I guess its like our Bossini or Giodarno. In there, there are different types of clothings and some can be very cheap. They have different sizes and of cos' you can try on. If i'm visiting Taiwan again, i'll sure visit NETS agan.

Today I also tried something new, I had my hair permed..haha....thought it would be at least cheaper, but it had cost me NT3600 which is almost $200 SIN. But it was quite fast, had it done within 2 hrs. Hair

Taiwan--Day 05

Today was again another day to be rushed...need to go to Yeliu, Jinguashi, Jiufen. Original plan was to catch a bus to Yehliu from the bus station. However, a cabby offered to bring us there for NT600. It was again another good offer to us since bus fare would have cost close to that per pax and we dunno how long we have to wait.
Yeliu Geopark is indeed a place worth visiting. Again we have got cheaper rate with the youth pass, NT40 i think...Normal rate should be NT60.

http://f6.wretch.yimg.com/wsh79/32764/1979337531.jpg"/>
>
Also a scenic place since you can see beautiful views. Unfortunately for us, it was raining heavily, so everywhere was mist. The highlight is the Benshan Fifth Tunnel, which we have to pay another NT50 to go in and experience the "inside" of mines...its a bit errie though...haha....luckily we have to go in groups.

Another highlight is viewing of the Japanese Crown Prince chalet. Apparently Jiufen and Jinguashi was occupy by the Jap @ that time and chinese men were make to work in the mines. They did earn high salary but had to endure hardship since they were also tortured.
Over there, there's also a small trail where sakura trees are planted. Always see the beauty of it in TV, but today I finally had a chance to see them bloosom,....

Taiwan--Day 04

Today we travelled back to Taipei via High Speed rail. By the time we reached and settle down, it was already 1pm. There was some event going on @ our building downstairs...It was some sort of album promotion by a group "快樂幫"... Didn't stay for the concert as we had to go to the National Palace Museum (故宮).
Entrance fee to 故宮 is NT160，but with youth pass, its only NT80. Again we took MRT to Jiantan and transfer a bus to the Museum. No camera is allowed inside, but outside is free for shooting:

Taiwan--Day 03

Today is hectic since we need to packed our luggage and leave it @ the train station and rush down to Taichung. There are a few types of locker compartment. The one we used to put our big luggage is located at the left end of the ticket counter for Highspeed rail. It cost NT100 per day if i'm not wrong. Anyway, this locker calculate by per day whereas some locker is by per hour which will be very expensive (those lockers calculated by per hr are usually the smaller type). Remember to keep more shillings for such use.
For the high speed train, we bought the standing ticket which is much cheaper (NT555) to Taichung. Standing ticket doesn't mean that you have to stand. It just simply means that there is no fixed seat. So if the compartment is full and no more seats available, then you have to stand.
From Taichung station, we took a bus (NT160) to Sun Moon Lake (SML or 日月潭). Better go to the loo first before boarding the bus cos' the journey is long and there's no stopping for toilet in between. The bus will pass by Puli etc, so it also goes to Formosa Aboriginal Cultural village.
Bus will stop near to SML visitor centre. At SML, there's a vegetarian shop right beside the visitor centre. (see the yellow sigboard with red wordings that says "Vegetarian")

---

SML visitor centre

The service attendant is quite friendly and advise us of 3 ways to tour the place.
1. By cab
2. By electric motor
3. By ferry.
By Cab - we took this way since the guy @ the visitor centre told us this is the best way to view. can see all the visitor attraction in SML. It cost us around NT1200 for around 3-4hrs. The cab was recommended by the visitor centre as well. They didn't go strictly by hours, but they will bring you to all the tourist places there.
By Electric motor - though you don't need a license to ride, it would be preferred if you know how to ride a motor bike, so that its easier for you to manoveure. However, battery doesn't last long enough to tour the entire lake...need to call up the shop when the battery runs flat..so not a really good choice.
By Ferry - Tour around the lake, so there's only chance to see 2 tourist spot...n u stay in the lake all the time...but i guess it would be different to see the entire scenery from the water.,...Ticket cost NT300.
We went to Wenwu temple, which is one fo the most popular tourist attraction in SML.


Itashao Village - over here, i bought honey which cost NT350 for 2 bottles. The honey is one of the best thing i bought from Taiwan. It has a nice flower fragrance. The lady told me they had their own bee farm nearby and was very ready to invite me to their bee farm..i rejected of cos'!!! Over there, its not that crowded...and people readily let you try samples even though you may not want to buy. I also bought ginger cubes, seaweed cubes (to boil with water for health).

Other than the above places, the rest were just temples and a small peacock farm

This is one of the most satisfying pix i took in a buddhist temple there...the temple is very serene and quiet...a good place for cultivation.
By the time we head back to Taichung, it was already late. We settled down in the Galleria hotel and headed to Fengjia night market which is just a 10mins walk.

In this market, there are 3 vegetarian stalls and food definitely taste better than Taipei.

Fengjia night market is a big night market and sell lots of cheap stuff. You really have to explore the shops cos' some shops when seen from outside looks small, but actually had a big underground space. Shoes cost as low as NT190. In Taipei night market, cheapest shoes cost NT10 more. There's also a lot fo stuffs to buy. I bought shoes, watches, skirts from here. They even have hair accessories from NT10. Can shop the entire night here.

Taiwan--Day 02

After all those late nights, waking up early in the morning is indeed a struggle...but good thing is first thing we are going for the HOTSPRING!!!! Following, all the instructions, we alight at Xindian (新店）MRT…A cabby called us on...One good thing abt this trip is there are 4 of us, just nice to fit into a cab n share the costs...cab cost ard NT300 to reach there. Cabby recommended us to this hotspring (情人溫泉）which is popular among the locals. Cost NT300 for a room, shared max by 2 pax.

One big mistake i made, thinking that Taiwan is "small", i cramp a few places together. Anyway, after hotspring, it was already 1pm by the time we reached Taipei main station. Lunch time.... we eat at Huaining St (懷寧街）

Along this street, which is one street next to Xin Guang San Yue (星光三越）, there are @ least 3 veggie stalls. Food cost about the same as Singapore, but i realise that the portion is slightly smaller....

Next we head to Yangmingshan. By the time we reached there, it was already more than 3pm. We took a long walk to the visitor centre (didn't know that it was that far since we only follow the signboard, think we walked more than 2km).





See pix of the visitor centre











































Btw, we reached here, it was already 4.30pm. The service attendant @ the visitor centre said it was too late to go up the hill, so i only manage to take pix of the magnificient hill. I vowed to explore the hill the next time i come.



Next we headed to Danshui...by the time we reached, it was again too late to catch ferry to Fisherman Wharf...Wat luck!!! We can only explore the market and walk around Danshui old street and Gongming street.