Continued our journey from Alishan 阿里山 back to JiaYi 嘉義, we caught the next train from JiaYi to TaiChung. It's very interesting learn the background and type of train/coach to choose. They have many models and its very assembling what JR train has in Japan. Obviously, trains in Taiwan were built by the Japanese. (Visit Taiwan Railway official web (in Chinese) for more info - 悠遊台灣鐵道）
TaiChung 台中
Transportation: Upon arriving back at JiaYi station, the weather turned warm at ~26C. No other choice but to change my top.
Tips : Do have a spare T-shirt handy in your hand luggage, without needing to search further in the main luggage bag.
We caught the earliest train to TaiChung.
Train from JiaYi - TaiChung
TaiChung train station was not as neat and tidy as I expected. It was so cramp, living very limited space for crowds to move. Plus, it was slightly hazy that day. i-center was rather small and tiny, we couldn't step in earlier. Do not mistake TaiChung train station with its High Speed Railway (HSR) as they are both located at different location nor building. Slight mis-integration in their transport system, however, rapid bus is still available to link both.
TaiChung Train Station
Upon checking in our hotel, which was just footsteps away from the station...
Accommodation : TaiChung Honeydew Hotel 哈密瓜旅店. Location wise its very convenient. Unfortunately I wouldn't recommend it, as we couldn't check in even after 2PM. The check in time was 6PM. It's fine as long as we could still drop our luggage. Overall rating, its below 1 star. Hotel room was dark and moldy smelled. A nearby budget hotel, namely Kiwi Express 奇異果快捷旅店 looks more promising.
HouLi 后里
The haze was quite bad that afternoon. Partner has a few options to choose, if we wanted to go shopping or cycling. Being a minimalist on travel luggage, I chose to avoid shopping at the earlier stop of our journey, reason being we will be dragged upon when maneuvering around the cities later on.
There we head ourselves to HouLi, a suburb of TaiChung. Took a 30min train from TaiChung station. We should have bought a 2 ways ticket, since we knew we are heading back. Heard there were discounted.
Train to HouLi
Small township - HouLi
Bike rental shop just in front of the station
This bike rental shop owners were friendly. We chose single bike for each, while the rental was only NT100-150 each, unlimited ride time as long as we return by 6pm. They would recommend some route, while we could also ride in the town itself. It was a Saturday, and there were lots of families and kids we out there for family outings. The route of ~15KM 2 ways were quite congested with family bikes, it can be slightly stressful, but observing the Taiwanese family lifestyle, it's worth a value to see happy faces and family ties over weekend. Instead back home here, the very famous family outing will be the shopping malls. Sad to see.
Contacts in case anyone interested.
The ride brought us to a horse racing field, towards a ex-train road which then converted to bicycle dedicated route. Cross the river, towards the tunnel namely 九號隧道。I didn't have my GoPro in this trip, instead a compact camera. Here find the short (bumpy) video taken...
Railway Winery
HouLi train station
Returned to TaiChung, we then headed for dinner. Half way through. we stumbled into a very nice ice cream shop. Looks interesting, and the building had a few shops with quite similar design. Anyway, since there are few queuing up for the ice cream, might as well give it a try. Miyahara ice cream 台中宮原眼科, eye specialist? Oh well, it was an old hospital converted into modern hangout place. The 3 scoops on biscuit only costed us NT290, best part was it includes 3 types toppings, ranging from choco chips to cheese cake slice! Awesomely good. Unfortunately, they don't provide sit-down table, we have to stand outside of the shop. Anyway, weather turned chilling that evening. I personally prefer the choco milky type over sorbet.
Varieties of ice creams
Choices
Many types of toppings
Wow!
Plan for the night was in fact Night market at FengJia 逢甲夜市. First mission was food hunting. We settled with every famous (must eat) chicken chop! This came with side dish of cold salad (this caused some miserable experience later on).
Boneless chicken chop
Chicken chop and salad
Miserable experience was mainly my stomach upset after having the cold salad. Running (walking fast) across the congested crowd hunting for a rest room. I remember walking almost 500M before I could settled at the public rest room located at 1st floor of shop lots. I didn't enjoy the shopping spree at those moment.
ChingJing Farm 清境農場 Transportation: On the next day, we bought our our bus ticket at NanTou Bus station 南投客運, practically a shop lot with some other bus agency around. It was walking distance from the hotel. Not too fortunate, our intended 8AM bus ticket was sold out, we waited another hour for the next bus.
Great package by NanTou Bus
Bus station on the way to ChingJing
ChingJing清境農場 is a nice farm place, cooling and slightly commercial. We bought the packaged from the bus agency, and those ticket included the farm ticket. One tip, best to get to ChingJing on a weekend as most shows, i.e. sheep coat harvesting would only be on. We were lucky to get on the place on a Sunday.
Bus stopped here
Fruits though expansive
Cameron called 愛情果
Learned this from my last Taiwan trip. This is the most economical way to keep travel souvenirs! Stamping..
For the interest of time, we settled with 7-Eleven fast food. Pork sausage, Sticky rice and coffee. It can be awesomely tasty on the cool weather.
Fast food
We managed to catch a good sunny day at ChingJing farm. It was scenic when it approached sunset. We took a bus up to the peak of the farm, then walked slowly downhill, till our hotel.
The ever environmentalist country
Safety Messages
Sheep Show
The lost sheep
Scenic Evening
ChingJing Sunset
ChingJing hawker & restaurants
Mail a Postcard
Outdoor band with chilly night ~ perfect
With just beer from 7-11
Transportation : 4AM the next morning, the engaged tour bus (rather a VW 7 seater van) picked us up from sightseeing tour to HeHuan Mt 合歡山, the highest peak of Taiwan. It usually snow during winter, our trip was slightly early, while it was just sometime autumn.
Another scenic sunrise with 雲海
Scenic morning @ HeHuanShan
WuLing 武嶺 - Peak of the peak
Accommodation : ChingJing Bunbury Fruit Ranch Bed & Breakfast 清境民生觀光果園. We had the very basic deluxe room, and surprisingly it was very good! Most importantly, it was clean. All basic facilities available, felt so like a little home. They even provide heater bedsheet, very handy especially during super cool day. Filtered and hot water are ever ready outside the room. The dinning or activity area outside our room looks so like hostel.
Before getting into our room
Upon got back from our tour. Home cooked breakfast was ready on the table. We shared with another group of Chinese mainland backpacker and couple. They were great people, unlike those come in big group and tour bus.
Healthy breakfast
Lastly, I thought of getting back to the essential oil shop to grab more things, at the same time have a better look at their herbs garden. That's my dream of having such beautiful and pull of positive ion place at home, of course with a chilling weather. I won't get it now, yet!
Taiwan, a place in which I may wish to visit most. Been here for the 3rd time, and I still love it. Of course, never expect to enjoy as we did if you are on a tour. If you like nature and chilling weather (except summer and not the boring tropical weather), this is the place where you could find good facilities, infrastructure, public transport to enjoy the preserved nature. Also, in a safe manner.
Kudos to my travel partner, who planned most of the trips to-do and accommodations. While I just spelled out my high level requirement (sounds like a boss! :)) My objective is simple - nature & locals, be it transportations and foods. Except accommodations, we didn't get "local" enough, as the last minute booking didn't allow us to choose for homestays 民宿 type. Our journey time was rather limited, in such we ought to stay nearby the train stations, hence that limited our options.
Part of the main township/cities we hit along this trip.. JiaYi 嘉義, Alisan 阿里山, TaiChung 台中, ChingJing Farm 清境農場, Taipei 台北. Smaller area includes suburb of TaiChung, i.e. HouLi 后里and Taipei, i.e. SanXia 三峽, YingGer 鶯歌, GuanDu 關渡, DanSui 淡水.
Trip Coverage
Tip: Walk in to most i (Tourist information booth) around most cities/town, you will be able to grab more travel info, places to stop, interesting activities around. Example below, cycling path and place for all categories.
Tourist info - Alisan
Tourist info - Jiayi Cycling path
Jiayi 嘉義
Transport : Upon reaching TaoYuan 桃園 airport around 2.30pm. We headed straight to the bus ticket area, hopped on a bus 客運 to JiaYi. We asked the counter which route, bus or high speed train been a better choice. Turned up they recommended bus trip, as it would bring us straight to the destination, which was JiaYi's train station. So we went on the bus.
Accommodation : JiaYi Duke Hotel via Agoda 嘉義凱爵商務酒店 － Not bad, clean and new. Just opposite the train station. They have several hotels (same owner) on the same building, we ended up staying at other named hotel (can't remember the name) since this was under pesticide cleaning.
Meals : We didn't have proper lunch nor tea time. Due to timing, we grabbed 2 herbal eggs 茶葉蛋 & 2 wrapped rice 飯糰 from the airport convenient store. It was nice, we hit to the convenient shop the most over this trip. Japanese wrapped rice was so tasty...
I specifically requested for minced pork rice 滷肉飯 for dinner. Without much prep, we walked a few streets to hunt, in the end landed at a franchise store, quite branded I guess. Not bad as start. A small bowl of minced pork rice usually cost NT$250.
All of our hotels were inclusive of breakfast. Trend today, most hotels don't maintain own kitchen and breakfast area. They will provide a breakfast coupon with the nearest fast food chained. We got McD on the first morning. Too bad they ran out of pork burger... There we grabbed our breakfast and headed back to the train + bus station, getting ready for the next venture to Alisan, 2000+M above sea level.
飯糰 wrapped rice
Minced Pork Rice
McD as Breakfast
Alisan 阿里山
Transport : No other option except bus from JiaYi train station. We preferred the train but the service had been halted few years ago due to some unforeseen incident. Heard they will re-open the line some time soon.
Upon entering National park, visitors need to register ourselves as well as paying a small fees for insurance.
Within Alisan, we could tour around via internal trains. 2 train stations, ones for evening walk, another for visiting sunrise place the very next morning at 530AM. Daily train and sunrise timing is announce in the afternoon around 3-4PM.
Entering Alisan National Park
Alisan ChaoPing Station (Main)
Accommodation : Alisan ChinSan Hotel via Agoda 阿里山青山別館 － They claimed they don't serve 陸客, oh well... the S.E.A. guests can be equally noisy, especially when they come in group. Overall rating is not too bad, cozy hotel.
Checking in Alisan 青山別館
Meals : Upon recommendation from the hotel's front desk, we ended up at a food store nearby the place we told to grab our breakfast next morning. Stumbled into the shop, and picked up some fruits from the food truck outside. We ordered a simple meal - 陽春 soup noodle, a 東波 rice set and a side dish (quite large and pricey too) ginger fried wild boar. Not bad for a chilling weather. It was ~20C that afternoon.
Fruits truck
Soup noodle
Rice set
Ginger fried wild boar
Weather changed pretty soon after our lunch. Turned cloudy and we kinda missed the early train ride out to the jungle a.k.a. national park. The counter break for lunch :( Hence, we need to kill some time checking out places for dinner and other activity upon returning from the jungle track (well, more like walking since they have nice trails). The walk was extremely nice, except for a part we missed in which there were some elevation climb involved... plus midst rain which came in half way through our journey, glad we brought our Uniqlo raincoat along.
Alisan National Park
Dinner was simple yet awesome. We surveyed a few restaurants but its not to our liking. We prefer local and simple food, aiming on places where the local, or taxi drivers would have their meal. I was attracted by the homey and rosewood furniture at the dining area. We ordered a set rice and beef noodle. As usual, I prefer soupy hot noodle since weather was cold. We took away supper along from the same shop, its Chinese pancake 蔥爪餅. It tasted like Malaysian roti canai, except filled with some minced pork, egg and vege, this version was slightly salty, but the pastry was just alike roti kosong garing.
Porky set rice & woody furniture
Beef noodle
Taiwanese Pancake
Our next morning breakfast was buffet coupon, came long with our stay. Again, its at another restaurant. It was served with local dishes, i.e. porridge, steamed bun and other side dishes. Simple yet filling.
Places of interest : Besides the national park trails, you should not miss the sunrise watching at dawn. Train tickets were sole a day in advance, and train timing is determined by the expected daylight timing, by 4PM that evening. There are 2 spots available, one directly at the train station stop, another nicer one (with platforms) located another 500M hike up. I felt a little out of breath upon the destination, it was 2700+M above sea level, one may get acclimatized easily, luckily I was safe.
