Taichung 2014 Day 1 – Arrival in Taichung

Our getaway trip to Sun Moon Lake for the long weekend due Vesak day (who could resist stretching the off work days a little longer) started off with an early morning drive to the airport for our China Airlines flight at 1030 am. We were taking it easy this time, with wife being preggy at first trimester, so we weren’t taking flights available just after midnight. This would also mean less time for travel as there were spent flying there.

These tickets were last minute (for doubt on fit for flying for preggy) and this costed almost 5 times more than cheaper budget air (those that booked way earlier). Were initially going to book Tigerair but found that the last minute prices had went up to $780 per pax. Looked around again and this $680 one showed up unknowingly on Skyscanner. Great!

Getting to the airport was easy on a traffic less Saturday. At the counter in Terminal 1, there weren’t any queues at 2hrs before boarding. However we forgotten to bring the credit card used to purchase the tickets and had to fill in the form to indemnify the airlines from the future claims in case of fraud. All was done smoothly in which we applauded the good service rendered by the China Airlines staff.

It was a 2hrs wait with at the cafe, playing our online games until it was time to board. The boarding was efficient and soon we were seated and awaiting take off, some 30mins later, probably due to heavy traffic.

Arrival at 3mins later than expected and going through the customs was fast as there weren’t many tourists at this time of the day. As we made our way to the luggage pickup, there was a beagle sniffing out the bags for food brought in from overseas, apparently disallowed.

Beagle on a advert in the airport
Beagle on a advert in the airport

Following the signs to the bus tickets counter 2 to Taoyuan High Speed Rail at the ground floor paid off NT30 per pax for Ubus 705 and waited in line. The bus arrived shortly, boarded and waited until there weren’t anymore customers and then we were on our way.

Bus tickets
Bus tickets
Bus stop to THSR
Bus stop to THSR
This is the bus 705.
This is the bus 705.

10mins in medium traffic, we found ourselves arriving at the HSR. The station was pretty busy with a queue at the ticketing counters. Asked for 2 tickets to Taichung and paid NT1180 for the 16:57 train. Had some time and went into 7-11 to get mineral water and kick start out eating journey by getting some Taiwanese oden.

HSR tickets.
HSR tickets.
Oden in 7-11.
Oden in 7-11.
Pick our own
Pick our own

At the platform, there were designated boarding location for the different seats. Boarding the train with a huge luggage bag was ok, as there was also a limited space located near the exit for the luggage, and luckily for us, it wasn’t taken when we boarded. Seats were spacious and adjustable, though it took some time to find the adjustable knob at the end of the arm rest. When it was time, the train propelled us to 300km/hr towards our destination for today – Taichung.

HSR arriving.
HSR arriving.

40mins later and we arrived at the Taichung HSR station. From there, we went on to the connected rail, an older station that did not have escalators. Tried to buy tickets from the auto machine. Managed to find the price but wasn’t sure of the type of train to take. There were 3 prices ranging from NT15 to NT23 and so we just bought the most expensive one. There were multiple choices that had to be chosen in sequence but it should be ok if the table could be understood properly. 2 tiny rectangular tickets were dispensed and we went through the auto gates to the platform.

Cupboard train display at connection to Xinwuri station.
Cupboard train display at connection to Xinwuri station.
Local train tickets.
Local train tickets.
Ticketing machine
Ticketing machine

The signboard showed the local train (cheapest) arriving next but we had bought the most expensive. Though we weren’t sure of the difference but boarded nonetheless after checking with one of the staff onboard. 3 stations later, we arrived at the Taichung main station, just mins walk away from our accommodation – CityInn hotel.

Checking in was a breeze, given a room on the 8th floor. It was a room designated as one that had the fire escape equipment. Only after entering we knew what it was. Some lifting equipment for fire escape located near the windows! Does affect not us much though. Spent some time in the room using the free wifi before boarding a taxi to get to Yi Zhong night market.

 

Dressing table in a corner with open style cabinet.
Dressing table in a corner with open style cabinet.
Bath with rain shower
Bath with rain shower
Twin beds
Twin beds

NT100 got us there along with some sales talk from the cab driver. He was offering to take us to the Sun Moon Lake for NT3000. Without the hassle, it could be worth it. We didn’t agree right away but was given a name card instead.

Yi Zhong night market was a huge area with a mix of ultra trendy (mostly for the young) fashion shops in airconditioned multistory building, shops of casual fashion lining the streets and crowded street corridors, cafés and restaurants, and of course the individual stores that made up the night market. Bearing in mind that our next destination was the bigger Feng Jia night market with much more food, we only bought from 2 stores, but we didn’t know that was also quite a bit to finish up. Took a rest on one of the seats at a open space nearby to finish up the food, we continued to walk off the food by doing some shopping before leaving in a taxi.

Yi Zhong Night market and shopping area
Yi Zhong Night market and shopping area
Preparing our chicken.
Preparing our chicken.
And a queue too
And a queue too
Chicken chop packaging
Chicken chop packaging
And the goodies within.
And the goodies within.
Isn't he familiar.
Isn’t he familiar.
Shopping corridor.
Shopping corridor.
Our food drying on the dryer
Our food drying on the dryer
Puffy egg cakes
Puffy egg cakes

Taxi driver was really chatty about politics, both Taiwan and Singapore, it was really amusing to hear him rant all the way to Feng Jia. We were charged eventually for NT300 for the full journey, a little more expensive than the metered fare. I supposed he didn’t have the change (as we have him NT500) and we were also getting off quickly with the customers waiting outside. From here we walked towards the huge area, lit brightly by the signboards and shopping area, with more intense amount of Saturday crowd.

In terms of size, Feng Jia was at least 4 times bigger, and therefore the crowd. There were a lot more shops and stalls though some of the more popular stuff were repetitive. We had to try the papaya milk and Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang, meaning wrapping small intestine with big intestine. It was actually a sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice layer, and it was tasty. For NT40, it was good deal.

Alighted near Feng Jia University
Alighted near Feng Jia University
Feng Jia Night market
Feng Jia Night market
Inside one of the malls
Inside one of the malls
Feng Jia Night Market
Feng Jia Night Market
Papaya Milk Store
Papaya Milk Store
Papaya milk is delicious
Papaya milk is delicious
QQ Chang Fen
QQ Chang Fen
As what is described by the store name, Q.
As what is described by the store name, Q.
Big intestine wrap small intestine store
Big intestine wrap small intestine store
Various ingredients.
Various ingredients.
End product, great tasting Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang.
End product, great tasting Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang.
Main road at Feng Jia.
Main road at Feng Jia.
Crowded at 11pm still
Crowded at 11pm still

We hadn’t much eaten anything else as we were too full by then. Walked the various streets till about 1130pm (yup, still opened. Probably due to weekend.) then got in a cab and got back for NT250.

Back in the hotel, refreshed ourselves and watched some tv. There were some free bluray VOD but we were too tired to utilise it. We had to prepare to wake up early the next day.

Escape to Sun Moon Lake, Taichung in May 2014

A brief summary on the itinerary

Escape Plan to Sun Moon Lake in May 2014:

Total duration 4D3N
Singapore is in the same time zone as Taichung, Taiwan.
Flight time is 4hr45mins direct flight on China Airlines from Singapore to Taipei.
Morning flight on 10th May and arrival in Taipei at 3pm on the same day.

Day 1 Arrival in Taichung
Day 2 Sun Moon Lake
Day 3 Back to Taipei, Raohe Night market and Wu Fen Pu
Day 4 Ximending and Home Sweet Home

This escape plan was to getaway on a long weekend due to Vesak day. Due to wife expecting, we had a change of plan for our long Europe trip into a shorter getaway. Took China Airlines as all the budget airlines were really expensive as we booked very late and close to the travel date. The tickets weren’t out the initial time we saw and we actually intended to book Jetstar. It was until when we wanted to purchase the tickets (after planning) that there was another price hike which forced us to relook again (luckily), and it seemed like an extra trip offered by the airlines, co-sharing with Garuda.

Budget nature: Affordable travel and cheap eats. 

Moving around Taiwan was easy and pretty affordable compared to Singapore. The public transport was cheap, even the taxi was of compatible costs. Of course, expect tourists price at the Sun Moon Lake, but these costs aren’t also sky high.

Eating is definitely cheap, though quantity wise, it was smaller too. But it is so that you can eat as much variety as you move around the night markets. The food is pretty tasty too.

Complexity: Easy to get around

Travelling between cities is really easy, linked by the ultrafast bullet train and MRT networks. Getting to Sun Moon Lake required a bit of reading up although the hotel receptionist and the taxi driver can easily guide you to the long distance coaches. Our main transportation tools at Sun Moon Lake was the ferry but due to time constraints, we did not venture out, which the buses could easily do the job.