TAIWAN TRIP......NEED ADVICE

woof

New Member
hi pple....i'll be gng on a tour package to taiwan this dec....any advise like wat can buy n wat are the things tat u cant miz....
oso a 8days trip...how much do u think i nid to bring?
 


adelene

Member
Which part of taiwan are u going? Night Market can get cheap and cute stuff, book and comics. Clothing is expensive in shopping mall, shoes are expensive but durable, worth buying. Lots of ¤p¦Y and ice monster in taipei too. Don't like the restaurant, go for street stall.

There is thread on taiwan under honeymoon and travel. you can read more over there.
 

newbbi79

New Member
d woof,
when u going to taiwan? me going in feb for honeymoon too..hehe..signed up with Hong Thai lor. Will be going to taichung,hualian,kaoshiong,minature musem,3 nite markets lor...and the yangmingshan too...

how much to bring depends on whether u intend to buty alot of things there anot lor...hb and I intend to change $1k to bring over lor..cos i wan go there buy hello kitty things lor...

heard that the nite market sells alot of tshirts and bags...
 

powder

Active Member
1k shuld be enough cos tat's wat me & gfren spent each... over a free-&-easy trip last october.

Hualian u won't spend much except on snacks. there's not much shopping but PLS bring your own swimming attire for using the hotspring.

Taichung i went on another trip, the nitemarket fun & good, abit like hkong Nu Ren Jie...

Kaohsiung i went 10yrs ago so not applicable.

Why no Taipei? quite wasted... if the 2 of u can afford time/money, u might like to extend the stay, take a train up to Taipei & arrange to take flight back hom from there... seems like there's still some time to make arrangements. Taipei hotel not cheap, but there's a few u can hunt along the way... i recommend Rainbow, which is in the middle of Ximending... wonderful! come down & u're at the nitemarket liao... the feeling is FANTASTIC!

one thing not many pple know... if u do spend a larger amount in come of those 'fixed shops' amongst the nite market (not the make-shift type hor...)... u may be able to use your credit card. i only discovered this when i spent $300+ on 2 suits there... hehe...

have fun!
 

woof

New Member
hi adel,
gng to cover a few places.....taipei,tainan,kaoshiong,taichung....
i'll be gng on a tour package....

hey newbbi,
congrats!...for me, gng wif my friends..hehe leaving my hubby here so tat i can spend more...hahaha..
i'll be gng in dec wif CTC.....signed up during their in house fair...how much did u pay? covering taipei,tainan,kaoshiong,taichung....

hey powder,
watz the name of the nitemarket in taichung? i'll be gng to Fang Jia Night Market....
oh yes, muz bring swimwear for the hotspring......
 

powder

Active Member
the taichung nitemarket me not sure leh, so sori... we just tell atxi driver "ye shi" n he bring us there... keke
 

woof

New Member
hey powder,
thanx anyway
happy.gif
 

woof

New Member
hello kei_ko,
wan to find out more...r u on tour package or F&E.....
wan to know the weather now as well.....oso wat r the things tat can buy (i mean cheap) n things which are expensive....
how much did u bring?
 

kei_ko

New Member
hi dwoof

i took the 7 days tour package from Chan Brothers

weather was good when i was there from 2 to 8 Nov. very minimal rain. cool temperature and sunny.

i didn't do much shopping. only got local snacks as souvenirs for friends. branded stuffs are more expensive than singapore due to their high import tax. stuffs available at their night market and shopping area have been mentioned by others (see above posts).

i brought and used around S$800. mostly for food, drinks, taxi, souvenirs, etc.

happy.gif
 

kei_ko

New Member
hi dwoof,

sorry the photos not ready yet. around 500 photos are still in my 1GB memory card... haha

tipping for local guide (note: he will split with driver, if any) is NT$100 per person per day, as recommended by Chan Borthers.

btw, my S$800 spent included tips for the local guide. sorry forgot to mention it
happy.gif


hey, are you planning to go Taroko Gorge? there is some safety issue there so you may have problems getting into the park.

cheers!
 

woof

New Member
hello kei_ko,

u haf been very informative....thanx in advance

do rem to show me the pics once they r ready....

dunno whether we will be gng to Taroko Gorge.....haven really study the iterary...
 

adelene

Member
Actually, Taiwan can easily F&E. A lot of my friends did that and all you need to do is to get brochures and ask the lady at Taipei Bus Interchange Information Counter. They are very helpful. Easy for first time traveller as well. Somehow, we share the same language and the citizens are very helpful.

My expenses never exceed S$1K include everything (Gifts,, accommodation, food, flight). Unless you are buying electronic items.
 

kei_ko

New Member
i think it depends on what you want to do... with F&E, you can customize where you go and what you to... with packaged tour, you can cover more area without much planning
happy.gif


but i agree Taiwan will be easy for first time traveller. the people is very friendly and crime rate is low

cheers!
 

adelene

Member
Yap, d_woof. Depends on wat u want to see.
I went there thrice.
First, 高雄 to å°åŒ— and back. To 阿里山,å°å—,å°ä¸­ã€‚
Second, only in å°åŒ— (just 3days stay)- ä¹ä»½.
Third, to the east coast (è‹æ¾³,美浓,茂林,å份,etc)and 高雄.
Mainly go there for the hot and cold spring, food, shopping, sightseeing.
I'm planning to go 绿岛,æ³°é²è‘›,玉山 next year.
kao_embarrassed.gif
 

princessjen

New Member
hi keiko,
thanks for the info..hmm i jus chk e temo is 19-22 quite cold hor..

hi adel,
include evything oni abt 1K ah..quite reasonable leh..u beri steady leh..got chinese wording some more..keke..i wana concentrate in taipei leh..wat shopping areas not to be missed?So far i only know e standard ones like shilin nite market,101tower & Ximending..
 

dingdang

New Member
Wonder how's the weather like in Taipei in first week of Dec. Issit cold? Do we have to bring a winter coat and scarf along?
 

adelene

Member
Hi Fiona,
I went Taipei near christmas. Unfortunately, it was raining heavily for my 4 days stay, before and after are sunny weather. Everyone was wearing winter coats and scarf, but we wore t-shirt and jeans that time, prepare a wind-breaker. Temp is abt 20 degC, consider air-conditioner temp. But up in mountain area is colder (10-15degC), you need to layer yourself. Taipei is colder than Kaoshiung as it is at the northern part of taiwan. But no need winter wear. This data is for those who really scare of cold weather.

Hi pjen,
Apart from those u mentioned, around Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, there is a street next to 鼎泰丰 and near the famous dessert shop call Ice monster. The entire street sell nice, trendy clothing like those in Far East Plaza. I went there in Summer, hence not sure if they will sell winter wear during winter. Can also go to SOGO, it is a 7 storey high shopping department store. Enjoy the salesgirl and liftlady service. Very good. Another place is 新光三越. 101 Tower sell only branded clothing like D&C, Allure, Tommy, etc. Things and food there are expensive. I won't go shoopping during winter cos it is mainly winter wear not very practical for singaporean. And price is not cheaper for those in shopping centre, cheap stuff are mainly found in nightmarket. If you are going for comic and books, there is a book store street near Ximending. Comic are reasonably cheaper. If you sell many, they can give u discount. Since u r going to Shilin mkt, I'll suggest that you travel to æ·¡æ°´(Take a bus no 红14 to tour ard the town and the final stop is at 鱼人ç å¤´nice view during sunset),北投 in the day(hot spring), then can go shilin mkt at night. For these 3 places I mentioned, will need a day of walking around. Other than that, can go sightseeing and enjoy the hot spring and food at 阳明山.
 

adelene

Member
No clue, can try Suntec one. But there's no money changer in Taiwan. Only banks do money transaction. But Visa, MasterCard and Plus card can be used at their ATM, just look out for the card sign on each machine.
 

kei_ko

New Member
for me, i always change $$$ in changi airport at the last minute
happy.gif


in general, i did not see many ATM in Taiwan, especially outside the city areas
sad.gif
 

fion

New Member
yohoo!! Just to check anyone koes abt the cafe wif cars concept.. meteor garden got show one..
 

adelene

Member
Hi babycupid,

Happy New Year.
Sorry din see your post.

The coffin restaurant is 鬼è¯è¿žç¯‡ï¼Œå°åŒ—市,八德路二段160å·ï¼ŒReservation tel no:(02)87733655/7

The plane restaurant is 飞店,å°åŒ—县淡水中正东路二段51å·, reservation tel no: (02)28082345/(02)28092787. Alight at MRT stn “红树林â€
 

woof

New Member
hi,

went taiwan last mth n haf some currency left....anyone gng n keen to xchange.....pls let me noe
 

metta

New Member
hi,
I just came back from Taiwan. Regarding ATMs, you may be able to find one in the bigger 7-Elevens. I withdrew money using my POSB savings ATM card (Cirrus) in one of Hualien's 7-Eleven. S$5 service charge will be deducted from your account (I checked when I came back). Amazingly, the ATM receipt will also indicate ur account balance!
 

newbbi79

New Member
Hi All,
I am going taiwan next thurs and quite excited abt it...

Anyone going during this time? I am going by tour with Hong Thai. Is there any nice and cheap stores at shili nite market where i can buy those cute things like hello kitty?
 

panggou

New Member
hi newbbi, try not to buy at the first stay in the night market, check out the price along the whole stretch then turn back again :p

it is cheaper when you buy in bulk.
 

september

New Member
hi newbbi79, go to wu fen pu which is the wholesale market their local go...there is alot of clothes, shoes and bags to get from there...as for hello kitty stuff, i am nt too sure coz me nt a fan of hello kitty....
 

powder

Active Member
to maximize your time....

daytime - ximenting
evening - shilin
late nite - wufen pu (upto abt 3am)

ximenting near train station, quite accessible. more upmarket of the three...

shilin abit further but quite a fun walk

wufen pu the furthest and it's basically wholesale of ladies' clothes n some men's tailor. so No Hello Kitty.
 

blackjazzboy

New Member
WufenPu is a wholesale mkt, so those shop owner wl go WufenPu on Monday to stockup their stock after the weekend sales.

my friend go there on Monday, some of the shop chase them out .. becos we only buy one pcs and those shop owner who stockup their stock wl buy in bulk ..
 

tingting84

New Member
Hi all...
As Im going to to taiwan for 5 days 4 nights...me and my friends planned to spend 1 day in Hualian too..im thinking whether is there a need to spend overnight in hualian..if spend overnight..maybe i'll stay in a Min Su so..i am planning to take early morning train to hualian...and like some cotter suggested, i will book a cab and ask the cab driver to drive us around hualian..i am thinking..if i'll be spending 1 night at hualian..means i also need to carry my luaggage around for the whole day? that would be very tedious..or is it advisable to spend overnight at hualian or can just return to taipei at the same night? anyone can advise?is one whole day enough for hua lian?anyone can advise? thanks...
 

powder

Active Member
u dun really have to drag your luggage in Hualian. when u hit train station, u grab a cab and u end up straight in hotel... u can leave the luggage there. 1 nite in Hualian is MORE THAN ENOUGH. if not i actually dun recommend the place cos the serenity is otherwise intruded by tourism. i went to Hualian at the recommendation of my taiwanese frens but was nothing to shout about, just a spring spa which to me is like soaking in hot water... i prefer in the hotel anytime... keke

so if unplanned, u might like to skip. i'd rather spend the day at Taroko... i think i only remember Hualian for the dinner i had there eating streetfood... tat's how memorable it is for me. why not replace Hualian by spending some time at Danshui just to mingle and be relaxed... catch the sunset... it's very nice there.
 

tingting84

New Member
thanks powder for the advice..
but i thought taroko is located in hualian?haa taroko is the purpose that im going to hualian...
 

powder

Active Member
yup, it's there... nothing much so just the day will do... but the long journey there just for Taroko feels abit wasted, so only the day at Taroko which u'll prob feel abit tired after. i'd prefer if i can go straight back to taipei... most pple will stay overnite for the spring spa but i feel tat can be skipped... if i can do it again, i'd prefer to head back for taipei nitelife... sleep on the train back. so basically no luggage, leave at hotel. keke. anyway i'm very much a city boy...
happy.gif
 


tingting84

New Member
hmm..so powder, u suggest that we only spend the day at taroko...and head back to taipei at night right? in the case, how do u purchase the train tickets?and from hualian station, how do u travel to taroko? by cab?
 

Top