Taiwan F&E

Hi girls, just some photos to share with you... Will post more along the way...

Taipei Main Station where the MRT interchange that you will most often past through is and where you take the trains & coaches to other parts of Taiwan. On the bottom right is one of many MRT entrances.
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The shop on the right is a popular chain for guo tie and shui jiao. The zhaopai and spicy one is quite good. Lots of beef noodle places around too.
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A road around the Taipei Main Station. You can see the thai restaurant i mentioned at the corner of the right building.
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Hmm, thanks for the itinerary YY
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Pierced, I haven't received ur itinerary, don't forget me plss :D

Kat, u're making me hungry, esp the guo tie pic!

Btw gals, is the time over at Taiwan, same as our hours?
 
Hi YY, Hou che zhan is near the taipei main station. Think nuttyazn gave you the exact location, with the roads that enclose the area. (Chongqing North, Taiyuan Lu, Civic Boulevard (Shi ming da dao) and Chang An W. Rd) All MRT stations have the map of the nearby roads and you can check it on the map before you head your way there.

The local time in Taiwan is the same as in Singapore. Daylight starts at 5am now over here cos it's summer but still ends around 7+.
 
hi kat,
wow seems like ta shun hotel not bad..me n hubby gng to taiwan on 25th august..so will book that hotel...now gng to book our flights on jetstar asia...
 
hi wong yy, i juz came back from taiwan!!! brought forward the trip cos scare hit typhoon in august. anyway, on the day upon reaching taiwan, was told of a typhoon coming a few days later. but not as bad as we tot. only rain on mon, but stopped on & off so can still walk ard. in fact, they very resourceful on the weather. the news will keep updating the status every now & then. but afterall really enjoy the trip. miss the alisan cos of typhoon. next time will go there again.

but before the typhoon came, weather really really hot... so must wear something light. if you going to shilin nite market, must try the xue pian leh. the one ever shown in a taiwan show. something similar. very very nice. there is a couple of shops that selling ice, but only one that sell this xue pian. very popular among the students. the mango, coffee, green tea red bean & peanut xue pian is very nice & highly recommended. me & my hubby went back to eat again hours before we fly back spore. luckily it got open in the day.

enjoy ur trip there!
 
Hi all,

Joyousonline was right... there was an earthquake here yesterday at about 3pm. The epicentre was off the eastern coast away from Ilan. The tremors could be felt 5km away. I was at home when it happened. Could see the walls around me shaking a little. At first I thought I was shaking, but then my hubby called back shortly after and told me it was an eartquake. It was a little scary but it lasted only for about a minute.

Don't stay too high up in the building when you're here. I think it doesn't shake as much when you're nearer the ground.

Anyway, I'm going to Hualien soon... pray for good weather and no earthquakes! Catch up again when I'm back!
 
thanks AK for the updates.

Typhoon is bcos of change of season. Is good that you update on it cos from what i see in Singapore news is like so "terrible" over there in Taipei.

Though weather is hot but is it humid? I cannot tahan humid but can stand hot. Singapore is humid and hot that is why i always ache here and there. By the way, is there any decent foot reflex / body massage shop in taipei that you can recommend me to go?

xue pian ....ok will look up for it and try it.

Hi all,
When i surf the net i came across the "The Jail" and "The Coffin" resturan anyone knows where is it near too and how to get there? seems like TW got many theme resturant any recommendation?
 
Joyousonline,

have you booked the air ticket with Jet Star?

wanting to tell you that SQ having a promotion maybe you want to chk it out?
 
Hi mitzi, have juz sent the itinarary over to u.
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Kat, yup, we planned everything by ourselves with the help of lonely planet. then from there, we went around in TW talking to the locals and getting more info.
the waterrafting in Hualien is fun! around 4 hrs, but we will get off halfway to eat lunch at one spot along the river. Not very tough coz there's 8 ppl altog in the boat. u should try it when u go there. book from the hotel and they will pick u up. the lunch box is act quite nice. they call it the 'ci shang bian dang'
hope ur trip to hualien is not affected. was quite disappointed the hot spring there was closed down coz of landslides.

mitzi, no need to buy, juz grabb the free sim card from the airport. itz like our local top up cards, so u juz top up at the local 7-11s. very convenient to buy. but do bear in mind top up is around 300NT. i use it to call hm too and make calls in tw.

WongYY, i went to the toilet bowl themed cafe in Kaohsiung. but i thk they have one set up in taipei now. can go try it. the icecream portion is huge for 60NT!!! mi and hb ate till our mouths were blue!
if u interested to see, can share with u the pics i took there.
 
Pierced,

what other places u've been too majorly.. u go 18days trip every yr? :p

anyway, share wif me the pics pleassse...
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hi joyousonline,
No leh. I got it for travel by 2 leh. I not into budget cos heard the seats is not that comforty and most impt there is nothing (as in food and drinks) serve on board and that explain my size...Hahahah..... I need food, no food, no tv, no drinks i will be very uncomfortable. Somemore dun noe how long to travel from airport to hotel.....I need food!!

pierced,

pls send me your pic to [email protected]
"toilet bowl" is also an interesting place to go BUT prob is i not into ice-cream and i think that shop sell other finger food, right?

Me thinking of going to "Ma La steam boat" BUT mi afraid my hubby not wanting to go cos he is a stingy "old" man and also he prefer street food.
 
Hi all! I'm back! A must see place! The only downside was the hot weather... if it was cooler, I would have loved to stay there much longer. Favourite trail was the Shakadang trail. Should go down and play with the water. There's an easier way to go down if you walk further into the trail. Don't go down near the road as the slope is really steep and scary. This is the only place where the all the water's blue and not grey... Water's so clear and cool. Really nice to just sit there, put your legs in the rushing water, enjoy the massage and chit chat... Would love to have been able to go into the water...

Some pics from Taroko Gorge to show you...

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The photos don't do justice to the place. The gorge and mountains are really majestic looking. I'm trying to upload more photos of the Taroko Park and Hualien to the web. Let me know if you wanna see...

Hubby and I took the scooter up the park. Took us about an hour to reach Taroko from Hualien but the ride was really nice... You get a cool breeze even though the weather was hot. Reached there about 1115am and left about 430pm. Would have stayed longer and explored more but the scooter was running out of petrol when we reached Tianhsiang. Was so afraid there wasn't enough to get us down to the petrol kiosk and we'd have to push the bike down... Remember to go up with a full tank of petrol if you do decide to try this out
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Anyway, the experience was great. If you have a chance, try taking the scooter up. You can stop anywhere to take photos, and parking's easy. And you get to enjoy the breeze and the dripping cool water as you go under tunnels and it's just really nice... You got to try it to understand. And it is cheap! We got a room and scooter for NT1000 and petrol for the a whole tank is only NT80.

The Nanbin Night Market was quite a disappointment. Better to spend the night going around the shops at their commercial district, which is between Zhongshan, Zhongzheng and Zhonghua roads... The food at this area is much better than the night market. One shop you must try is the Xiao Long Bao at the corner of Zhongshan Lu and Gongzheng Jie. We ate there 3 times in the weekend we were there! The xiaolongbao is different from what you see in Dingtaifeng but you must try it with the sauce. It was yummy!

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Qixingtan was so so... I guess maybe the weather was too hot for the beach and personally I felt it was nothing great compared to the Taroko Gorge. Think if the weather was cooler, you should take the bike and cycle along the beach all the way to Nanbin Night Market. Saw many people doing that. Can pay Shiyijie a visit to see the different kind of stones and sculptures they have. Got some live performances by their aboroginal tribes but it wasn't a place I could stay long at.

I think if I were to go Hualien again, it'll just be to try the waterrafting and go see the Gorge and maybe out to sea to see the whales/dolphins.

Pierced, can I see your photos too? Any high drops during the whole route? How much to go rafting?

Hi YY, there's food on Jetstar. You just have to pay for it but it's not expensive considering how much you save on the airfare. Anyway, is 500 on SQ including tax? Weather here is humid. As bad as Singapore so be prepared for it.
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yup kat...all tax inclded.

I did not think so much on airfare cos in the very initial stage, i state to hubby i will onli go on normal plane and not budgeted ones cos i need comfort even on 4-5hrs flight due to some neck prob. I will either go on China Airline and SQ. When i book, China Airline Pricing is abt $20 lower than SQ so i go for SQ.

Humid....oh gosh!

BTW Kat, those nice pic of water is not within Taipei isit? If in Taipei, I will sure go if not then.....sigh....
 
I want to go to Hualien also leh!! Think I book online first for the train tics before I go for the trip.

Girls, any recommendations for hotel near the train station? Affordable and clean hotel hehe.. My fren also asked me to go to Kaoshiung? Is it convenient to go from Taipei as well?
 
Hi YY, incl tax is quite cheap for SQ! Is the promotion still on? The photos of the water is in Hualien. No nice water photos in Taipei that I've seen yet. How about changing your itinerary a bit? You could do a day trip to Hualien... take the early morning (about 7+) train, arrive at Hualien at about 10+am and then take the 8pm train back to Taipei.

Btw Mitzi, you have to collect the train tickets within 3 days of booking, not 3 days before your trip. So you have to book a day or 2 before you come. And I found out why the tickets are so hot at this time. It's because of the school holidays. It's in July / August. So if you come after, may not be as tough to get the tickets.
 
OH!! Kat, I'm going end of December wor.. don't kw considered peak still? No more school hols though.. but end of year many travellers as well
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Hey kat

i am not too sure if SQ promo is still on but u can chk their website to find out.

I think i will still stick to Taipei. Hubby will not wake up to travel early, he need lotz of sleep. Tried that when we in NZ. We have to wake up 7am to catch bus to bring us to another state and he fall sick the very next day due to exhausation. So i think travelling too far not advisable here...

Natural beauty....Nothing can compare to its beauty. BTW the pic of the stream looks like the lake i took in NZ...have a look:


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Here are the addresses of the more well known theme Restaurants in Taipei :

The Jail (Dunhua South Rd Section 1, Alley 187, No. 37, B1-1.)

The Coffin Shop (160, Bade Lu Section 2)

Bu Bu Restaurant (Zhongshan North Rd Section 7, Lane 140, No. 1) - from Meteor Garden Drama Series
 
Thanks kat...i know the addresses leh but i need to know is near where so i can plan my eating out leh.


Where's Dunhua, Bade Lu? Near where? Please advise....
 
idono, depends on how long mi sch hols is for june and dec.
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wongyy, yup, the cafe sells other stuff, they got this cute steamboat thingy that u eat fr a toilet bowl.
street food is plentiful in Tw. i mostly ate from the stalls and nite market. no pt spending so much $$ eating from rest. some of the food there are not that nice either. u get the local flavour from the street food.

Kat i like the shakadang trail as well. we climbed down illegally to the water and took pics. hehe...
not many high drops during the waterrafting, the river not that rough like NZ ones. got grade and itz ard mid range?? price is 800NT per pax, inclusive of lunch and transport.

mitzi, u can try booking but thk i heard fr another person in VT forum that quite troublesome to bk online. otherwise, there's plenty of trains to hualien so no need to worry.
ur rec for hotels near train station is in Taipei or other parts? if itz other places, i stayed mostly near train station so u can view mi itinaerary to check.

wil send mi pics for u all to view in a while.
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YY,

Nearest MRT station to Dunhua South Section 1 is ZhongxiaoDunhua station. The road is just outside the station. Not sure where alley 187 is.

Bade Lu Section 2 is right in between Zhongxiao Fuxing and Nanjing Dong Lu stations.

Pierced, is it illegal to climb down? There were so many people down there...
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Will probably go rafting in Sept / Oct. Can't wait to see your photos...
 
Hi Joyousonline & Wong YY, actually the typhoon not that bad. only rain in taipei on my 3rd day. not very heavy also. the taiwan news keep reporting every now & there. I think Spore news more exaggerating cos it is news to us. To Taiwanese, it is their everyday thing cos it is very common so on the street, people dun really get fret out when knowing a typhoon is coming. but they does do precautions like putting sand bags at their shops, etc. As told, in taiwan, they have more than 3000 times earthquake a yr leh. so this is normal to them.

i stay in Delight Hotel. in fact wanted to stay at cosmo but it is all full liao. quite a cosy hotel although it is not a big hotel. their service quite good & it is newly renovated.

btw, Wong YY, i also bought my ticket via SQ promo. i think it is a jul promo. the flight must be by latest Aug. Same thing the EVA airline pricing not much diff as compared to SQ, so i take SQ with all tax included.
 
Pierced, u stayed mostly near train stations? Cos my fren asked me to stay in hotels near train stations for Taipei / Hualien if possible. So that travelling is easier.. If stay near XMD, nothing much.

But if stay near Hualien's train station, once we get out, what are the transport available? Do we take cabs? Or bus?? to the nearest tourist attraction?

Sorry if I sounded like an idiot haha.. cos really new to Taiwan
 
Hi Pierced

I will love to see your photos as well. can send to me also. Thanks.

I am so excited cos planning for HM also but not sure whether just travel to TW or mayb go hK oe beijing as well.

Going next year. what time is best to go tw march?
 
Hi Wong YY,

yah that was what i was told by the agency.

as for heat, i would suggest bringing addtl light wear during the trip if you lazy to wash.
 
sorry gals, something wrong with the pics link. will send the pics over as soon as itz up.

Kat, act sort of illegal, there's signs to tell us not to climb but lots of ppl did it too, coz they are afraid of rock fall as itz quite common there at the valley. so will be at ur own risk.

Mitzi, for kaohsiung, hualien, tainan, i stayed near train stations. but for taipei, u dun really need to coz u be travelling around. there's the mrt and taipei main station where the train station is, itz juz one stop away fr XMD. i didnt find main station at taipei having much lodging avail there. XMD easy to get food everywhere and more 're nao' so u wont get bored. plus the big KTVs are there if u are a fan.

for hualien, i basically walk around the town area but if u are not a big fan of walking long dist, can take cabs. plenty around.
U can either wait for public bus up to taroko gorge or rent a cab. we chose to take public bus but u have to ask the local bus tic counter regarding the timing. plus there's no bus stop once along the way, so juz wait along the rd for the bus to arrive. i ask the locals where exactly to wait for the bus but public bus is better as u might not want to rent cab for whole day. plus act taking cab u still have to walk a bit to the sights in taroko.
the tunnels there are pretty exciting, fun and heartstopping to see how the buses and cars manoeuvre themselves around the narrow tunnels along the way up.

apple and xiang, itinerary sent!
 
Hi guys, just discovered some places you may wanna visit around Taipei along the Northeast Coast... in Nanya, Bitou and Longdong. Seldom read about these places. Happened to take a brochure on this place at the visitors centre yesterday. There's a website on it at www.necoast-nsa.gov.tw. Now planning a weekend trip there to include those places and Keelung/Rueifang...

Oh Mitzi, I'd recommend that you stay around the commercial district in Hualien so you have things to do around you till late at night. That way you save some transport cost. And maybe safer too cos got more people around. It's around Zhongshan, zhongzheng and zhonghua roads... Some of the minzus there provide free pick up from and to the train station. Try for those... The train station is a little far from all the places you'd want to visit so I wouldn't recommend you to stay around there.

Oh btw, when you take the buses here in Taipei, look out for a lighted sign above the bus driver that tells you whether to pay when boarding or alighting. If not sure, just follow the rest of the passengers...
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Btw, I've got my photos up from the Hualien trip and some Taipei photos too. Let me know if you wanna see them.
 
Hi all, have sent the link to mi pics. gotta bear with the 500 pics that i took there. so might take some time to view only those u wana see.

mitzi, not too sure if u have received mi itinerary coz i got a bounced back email. but juz resent it in case u didnt get.
yup, wont regret gg hualien, act hualien itself nothing much, more of a gateway to Taroko coz that's the must see.

should go to tunnel of nine turns too coz the locals there say that's the one if u dun go, u havent been to Taroko Gorge.
if u want, u can stay at tian hsiang instead of hualien. I act wanted to stay at leader village which was recommended by some. can go to the website in mi itinerary to view.
 
wow pierced

received your photo liao.....i onli manage to see 40% of it and will cont after work today. I understand you went penghu....the 仙人掌ice cream....wanted to try manz...isit nice?

Do you think i have time to go there??

the weather looks cooling....cos i dun see any "sweat" on both of your faces...can tell me again when you went? Saw the news the temp in Taipei is 26 & 31.....and I am going there this Sunday....
 
Hi YY, yesterday's temperature here in Taipei was 37 degrees... it's super hot... i'm hoping it'll cool down soon but it still looks very hot today...

Pierced, so many photos! You are very photogenic... thanks for sharing!

Mitzi, we went into Leader Village hotel for a while to enjoy the aircon...
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It's at the Buluowan trail which is somewhere between the entrance of Taroko and Tianhsiang. Think it'll be great to stay there. The surroundings are really nice...
 
kat, you still in Taipei?

I will be in Taipei on Sunday...want meet up for dinner for the first night? I staying Rainbow Hotel at Ximending...maybe can go "the Jail" or Coffin resturant?
 
Kat & Pierced,

Thanks for sharing all your nice nice pics!!!

Wow, very tempting leh, feeling like going NOW!!!

U guys really know where to go & what to see!!
 
Ok ok, so for Taipei, can stay XMD (recommended)..

Hualien - take train from Taipei trainstation then can either stay near the trainstation at hualien OR Leader Village Hotel (This one how to go from the trainstation of Hualien? Cab?) Rates affordable mah?

Btw Kat, do u know roughly the weather range in late Dec - Early Jan?
 
Jac is very pretty one.. I've seen her wedding pics before hehe.. Very very photogenic.

Btw OT abit, I'm gonna be your neighbor in future leh, Jac.. Fernvale Grover too!! Blk 436C too! hehehe.. Next time must meet u treat u kopi liao, cos keep trouble u for this taiwan trip!

Kat, dunno how to treat u kopi leh.. maybe if u come back SIN, then can meet Jac and me :D
 


Hi Wong, hee...can understand. took mi a long time to post up all mi pics online. Penghu is nice, should try to go since itz still having summer time. the cactus icecream alrite, thk depends on pref. mi hb didnt like it though. taste a bit like those sorbet u buy at the icecream shops.
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can try taking domestic coz itz quite value for $ and saves time, plus very fast. from kaohsiung to penghu only 10 mins. thk from taipei abit longer.

erm, when we went, it was june. it was pretty hot everyday and humid too except in tainan where it rained a lot.
 

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