I literally cannot believe that my ji mui's & I went on our first trip together! It's been almost a year now but the memory feels so fresh like it was just last week. I still get hyped up just by looking at our photos. It was our first trip & it was to somewhere overseas & it was to celebrate the mark of our 21st birthdays. To be honest, I just felt extremely blessed to have most of my high school gang at the trip & it was all our first time travelling with friends. We went to Taiwan during the end of September which was quite a low season since the weather was as hot as KL, but it was nice because most places weren't as crowded & there are less photo bombers.
Disclaimer:
Why am I blogging about it eventhough it's been so long? I guess I just wanted to keep something for me to reminisce the memories as I can be quite forgetful, it would be nice to read this again in a few years & remember how nice of an experience this was. If my experience & tips on the trip could even help a reader or two, I'm happy. :) I would love to be updated with my current trips when I'm done with writing my past ones!
Of course, when on a trip with a bunch of girls, selfies anywhere & everywhere are unavoidable. Dont say I didn't warn you in advance ok.
DAY 1 (KUL-TPE-TC):
Exhibit A: at the airport
Exhibit B: in the plane
Exhibit C: when landed & heading to train
TBH if we planned in advance that we were going to Taichung, we could have booked a direct flight there instead. But it was nice experiencing the high speed train too which took only 1 hour to reach Taichung (ticket: NT600). If you're not in a hurry, it takes about a little more than 2 hours by bus (国光1860 / 统联1623 / 和建明5503) at NT240.
How to take the high speed train from Taoyuan International Airport to Taichung (Taichung HSR station):
- Purchase an Easycard (used for trains & buses) for NT100 (no value in card) as within a short distance traveled by bus, the fare is free of charge! The remaining balance can be spent at convenience stores & any remaining payment can be paid using cash.
- You'll have to take a bus (a very, very bumpy bus, you have been warned) to the train station because there isn't any direct high speed trains from the airport. Ask around the airport staff if you're unsure because they are really helpful!
- There is one train every hour so if you're like us who missed it, spend some time snacking at the convenience store at the station.
- Be sure to wait at the station 5 mins prior to avoid missing the train.
- Check if the train arrived is yours because several trains share the same track.
Also, the data plans in Taiwan are really affordable & they offer unlimited data plans that are priced by how many days needed.
The first stop we headed for after getting off the bus was to Fengjia Night Market, also where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. Eventhough the travelling time from Taichung station to Fengjia Night Market was about an hour, the fare was free because we had the Easycard! (remember to buy because it's way more convenient with it!) Our Taichung Airbnb was really convenient as it was just above Fengjia Night Market. You would think that it being in such a happening location would mean it would noisy, but surprisingly it wasn't! The room was quite small but it was cosy because it was like a sleepover for us. The downside is there was a flight of stairs before the lobby to the lifts and it wasn't that easy to find if you're unfamiliar with the place so you'll have to get the host to bring you over. If you're lucky, the host might get his employee & his employee is a tall, handsome Taiwanese boy. hahahahah!
We dropped off our bags & headed straight to get our late dinner. The best part about staying near a night market is you can always get food till late! Here are some food & drinks to try while at Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市:
- Food: Taiwanese sausage wrapped with glutinous rice 大肠包小肠, Minglun pancake 明倫蛋饼, Taiwanese stinky tofu 台灣臭豆腐, Taiwanese fried chicken chop 台灣炸雞扒, Egg shape pancakes 雄爺雞蛋糕, Fengjia sweet potato balls 逢甲地瓜球, Cheese potato 起司马铃薯, Fried squid 酥炸大鱿鱼…
- Drinks: Taro iced drink 芋头冰, Bubble Tea, Papaya milk 北回木瓜牛奶…
- Nearby eats: Overlord Taichung / 台中市西屯區福星路528號 – Kobe beef, fries & coke
The thing I noticed about Taiwanese street food is a lot of it is fried. Do drink loads of water when there because you wouldn't want to fall sick during a trip. I don't eat fried food or snack food as much because I need rice to fill my tummy (hands up if you're a rice bucket too!). Thankfully there is always braised meat rice (Lu rou fan 滷肉饭) available everywhere & happy girl is happy when she eats her rice. Another thing is, you'd expect night market food to be cheap but it really really isn't. The price of food in Taiwan surprised me because I didn't expect it to be pricier than Malaysia (eg. RM14 for 1 cheese potato). My estimated budget on food was less than expected so all of us almost went broke towards the last few days & ate mostly convenience store meals for breakfast.
DAY 2 (RAINBOW VILLAGE 彩虹眷村 | TUNGHAI UNIVERSITY 台中东海大学 | TAICHUNG NATIONAL THEATER 臺中國家歌劇院 | LIHPAO 麗寶 OUTLET MALL | ZHONGSE FLOWER MARKET 中社觀光花市 | GAOMEI WETLANDS 高美濕地):
We hired a driver, Mr Chen for a full day (because we tai tai & enjoy life like that, jk.) because most of the places we wanted to head to wasn't far but it would take a crazy long time by bus so we figured it wasn't worth saving several bucks. He was super nice & bought us all drinks + treated us some food too! + he didn't solely play his role as a driver but he helped us take plenty of IG worthy group photos & all had the stamp of approval by the very picky me. If you're travelling in a small group like us to Taiwan soon & would be interested in getting a driver, I highly recommend Mr Chen. (drop me an email at kimmiemaey@gmail.com or insta dm me for his contact!)
So we started our morning trying out breakfast food nearby our airbnb. It was right outside a university nearby where we stayed called Fengjia University. After trying out every stall & filling our tummies, we headed to Rainbow Village, a former veteran's village painted colourfully by a former soldier in order to save it from being demolished.
Taken by our driver Mr Chen! Told you he's good. The best part is he's super patient & kept giving us plenty of variety like portrait & landscape shots.
If you're lucky, you might meet the former soldier aka Rainbow grandpa, Huang Yung-Fu himself. He's super friendly & young at heart as he posed cheekily with us AHAH! How cute!
We spent less than an hour there since it wasn't very big & headed for our next stop, Tunghai University to visit Luce Memorial Church. Well we intended to but did not make it in the end as we spent way too much time taking photos while walking in. If you do intend to visit Luce Memorial Church, allow 20 minutes of walking time to slowly enjoy the nice surroundings because the university grounds are pretty big & the church is situated deep inside.
This is why we didn't make it to the church. LOL.
Then, we headed to Taichung National Theater, famed for its unique architecture. Finally a place with aircond for us to cool down for abit. There isn't any entrance fee if you're just wandering around the place, but if you love dome like ceilings & minimal staircases, this is the place for you.
We had our lunch at a small noodle shop recommended by our driver while we were on our way to Lihpao 麗寶 Outlet Mall. To be honest, Lihpao Outlet Mall was a waste of time to go because the shops were pretty dead & you can probably get the same or even better offers at our local outlet malls. The most time you can spend there is just outside the mall because it's painted in the prettiest pastel shades & has a ferris wheel on top of the building.
Pretty but not worth to go all the way just for a photo in my opinion.
Since our visit at Lihpao Outlet Mall ended way quicker than expected, our driver recommended us to visit Zhongse Flower Market 中社觀光花市 which was a short drive away. I previously been to Amsterdam's Keukenhof festival & saw plenty of giant almost the size of my face kind of tulips so at first I felt okok visiting Zhongse Flower Market.
But as I walked around, I just felt really good & instantly lifted my mood as I walked in a garden full of flowers. We felt like we rented the whole place out because it was low season & there really weren't many people around.
We spent around an hour there before heading to Gaomei Wetlands 高美濕地 because we wanted to arrive just in time to catch the sunset.
We had a quick photo stop at some paddy fields by the road side because they were so pretty!
We first arrived at Gaomei Wetlands scenic bridge which allows you to take closer photos with the windmills.
We then took the car to Gaomei Wetlands itself (there's a wooden walkway & the spot at the end is the best for photo taking) because the walk was too far to make it for the sunset. I saw this cute couple infront of us & had to sneak a shot of their cute moment!
We didn't walk all the way to the end cuz we found a nice spot to get a great shot. The sunset was so beautiful I cant even!
I actually came back again three months after this trip to Gaomei Wetlands during the winter & the sunset wasn't nice at all! Super gloomy & greyed out. Compared to this photo which is 100% unedited! So I'd definitely recommend maybe the spring or autumn time to visit will be the best.
DAY 3 (TC-TPE, WU FEN PU FASHION DISTRICT 五分埔商圈 | RAOHE NIGHT MARKET 台北饶河街夜市):
We spent our third day travelling by bus to Taipei. It was a really relaxing day & time just flew by as we napped our way there. Our Taipei Airbnb was more spacious & was at a great location as well. However it was on the 4th or something & there was no lifts so carrying the luggages were a pain. This Airbnb is pretty convenient as well since it's nearby public transport but no handsome host to bring you there. AHAHAH! I remember when I was hunting for Airbnbs, most of them usually only has 1 toilet so it was a pain every morning because 6 girls... It's okay we made it & we're all still friends LOL.
After checking in, we headed out again to Wu Fen Pu fashion district. No photos here because once we arrived, we went straight to shopping because girls being girls... It's best to shop here during off season whereby most stores are clearing stocks for the new season. Most shops sell in bulk but you can still purchase them at a higher not very worth it price. Usually what we do is just to look at those on the sales rack as you'll be able to find bargains from RM7 onwards! Most of our purchases were under RM28 because we only looked out for stuff at NT200. There were even offers for 2 for NT100 (RM7 each)!
DAY 4 (YILAN DAY TOUR - HAPPY TRAIN STATION 幸福轉運站 | LANYANG MUSEUM 蘭陽博物館 | MEIHUA LAKE 梅花湖風景區 | LUODONG NIGHT MARKET 宜蘭羅東夜市):
We traveled to Yilan by hiring a driver as you can only travel around Yilan by bus which is too time costly. I think the weather was the hottest on this day because there weren't any clouds to be seen. We wanted to go to Artemis Garden cafe which is a super pretty IG worthy cafe but there was a minimum spend per person & an entrance fee which wasn't worth to pay. Apparently alot of pretty cafes in Taiwan has a minimum spend per person rule which I didn't know about.
We ate elsewhere & headed to Yilan's happy train station 幸福轉運站. There's a really cute pastel pink playset beside a cafe which if the weather is too hot, you aren't allowed to enter. Unfortunately for us we couldn't enter, as the playset was burning hot at 45.5 C°.
The happy train station doesn't just end at the pastel pink playset but there's more photo spots along the same street to take photos at.
We then headed to lunch at Yilan's famous hot spring chicken 甕窯雞 which btw, was yummeh! It's cooked in an urn & served as a whole.
After filling our tummies with good food, we headed to Lanyang museum for more photo taking! Lanyang museum is famous for its angular structure & its location which is in the middle of a lake.
After Lanyang museum, there was still extra time before Luodong night market opened so our driver recommended us to visit Mei Hua lake.
The view was so pretty but all of us melted in the weather.
Luodong market wasn't much difference as I guess since we've went to Fengjia night market, Luodong's doesn't feel very special anymore.
DAY 5 (DI HUA STREET 迪化街 | XI MEN DING SHOPPING STREET 西门町商圈):
After several days of sightseeing, our 5th day was a more laid back one, filled with shopping nonetheless. I realized that I didn't get to take many scenic & building pictures since I was the tour guide so forgive me... :(
We had our brunch at a random zhap fan (economy rice) shop along Di Hua street 迪化街 & it was good! They had plenty of choices like a buffet & different types of soup to choose from! I literally poured a bunch of lu rou cuz its my fav fav fav ever even if it's fattening AF.
All of us easily bought a year supply of masks that day & have to eat convenience store food for the rest of the days but happy then can liao. :D
DAY 6 (BEITOU HOT SPRING MUSEUM 北投温泉博物馆 | GEOTHERMAL VALLEY 地热谷 | TAMSUI OLD STREET 淡水老街):
Going to Beitou Hot Spring museum 北投温泉博物馆 in a weather like KL's was not the best idea ever. There are plenty of hotels around the area providing hot spring private rooms so just go to any that suits your budget. Thankfully there's a hot spring & a cold spring which saved us from the hot weather.
Our skin felt soft after a good hot spring & we walked to the Geothermal Valley 地热谷. People usually go there to feel the natural steam but it was too hot to handle with the weather & sun!
DAY 7 (XINYI SHOPPING DISTRICT | TAIPEI 101):
Approaching our final 2 days, we finally visited the iconic Taipei101. There are lots of malls along Xin Yi shopping district like ATT4fun, the flagship Eslite bookstore, Neo19, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Xinyi Place & Breeze. ATT4FUN is more for youngsters & there's a Zara home there! One of my favourite Japanese brands GU is there too & all of us bought stuff there. We also went to Eslite bookstore where we saw Lee Dong Wook!!
I mean, who wouldn't?!
Since it was our second last day & we had some ah gong money left, we enjoyed a hotpot buffet feast! We had to end the night early since we were set to fly home the next day.
DAY 8 (JIUFEN 九份 | SHIFEN OLD STREET 十分老街 | SHIFEN WATERFALL 十分大瀑布):
We were so lucky that it didn't rain during our visit to Jiufen & Shifen as a friend of mine told me that it rains there 80% of the time! You can find lots of eateries there & some shops selling traditional cheong sam too! We only ate & didn't buy anything because most of us were already broke by the second last day.
The streets at Jiufen can be quite narrow & uneven so best to avoid weekends & peak seasons.
It was quite a long walk so we didn't go all the way to end since we have yet to visit Shifen & we had to rush to the airport after. The bridge was kinda shakey & slightly scary.
After that, we proceeded to Shifen Old Street which we were more excited about as we could finally light up our paper lanterns & take photos on the popular railway tracks! The railway tracks were actually quite dangerous because it is still being used! They should warn tourists not to go too far because there isn't much space to stand at the sides. The first time the train approached, it came way too sudden & we were quite far from the exit so I was trapped at the sides because the rocks on the ground were too difficult to run on. I had to support myself on some rough terrains which was not fun. :(
Us & our paper lanterns! A must do thing while at Shifen. I drew all of us including Yilin & Huiting who couldn't join.
Grabbed some stuff to eat & a cute stray doggo kept staring at me. So weird that all the stray dogs that I've seen throughout the trip were mini sized like this one!
Finally after a good 8 days of fun, it was time to head home & end our holiday. I still think about it everyday & how time flew by so quickly! Even if we went on holiday for a month, I think we would still be chatting endlessly everyday.
I guess that's the beauty of true, lasting friendships. ♡
If you're interested in my Taichung, Taipei & Yilan itinerary (includes added night market locations, food places not in blog post), feel free to drop me an email at kimmiemaey@gmail.com :) Note that the itinerary is mostly in English with some Chinese terms & names for convenience in finding certain places. Also, some places were changed last minute & are not shown in the itinerary but you can find it in the blog post.
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