Day 1 Singapore - Taipei - Hsinchu 新竹 - Neiwan 內灣
Day 2: Taipei (Maokong > Taipei Main Underground Shopping Street > Qsquare)
Day 4: Taipei > Taichung (Taichung Train Station > Miyahara Ophthalmology Department > Fengjia Night Market)
Day 5: Taichung (Rainbow Military Dependents` Village > Great Buddha of Baguashan > Lukang Old Street > Taiwan Glass Gallery & Glass Temple > Gao Mei Wetlands)
Day 6: Taichung (Stock 20 > Taichung Park > Yizhong Shopping Street)
Day 7: Taichung > Kaohsiung (Formosa Boulevard > Dream Mall > Ruifeng Night Market > Hanshin Departmental Store > Liuhe Night Market)
Day 8: Kaohsiung > Kenting 墾丁(Fu An Temple 福安宮 > Eternal Flame 出火特別景觀區(恆春出火) > Jialeshuei Scenic Area 佳樂水風景區 > Longpan Park 龍磐公園 > Eluanbi Lighthouse 鵝鑾鼻灯塔> ShaDao Eco-Protection Area 砂島生態保護區> Chuanfanshih 船帆石 > White Sand Bay 白沙灣)
Day 9: Kaohsiung (Cijin Island > The British Consulate at Takao > 壽山LOVE情人觀景台 > Kaohsiung Martyrs' Shrine > Takao Railway Museum > The Pier-2 Art Center > Love River Ai He > Lotus Pond > Kaohsiung Airport)
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It's our yearly Taiwan trip! Flight scheduled at 12.45am and took off as planned. Luckily NO DELAYS!
We reached Taoyuan Airport pretty early and hanged around till 8am for the telco service. There were 3 telco companies to choose. The telco in the middle of the other 2 telco companies started operation before 8am. But we opted for the Taiwan Da Ge Da and waited patiently till 8am.
Going Taipei from Taoyuan, there were a few options:
1. Taxi (Costly, approx NT$1000~NT$1300)
2. Take the shuttle bus (15mins ride, NT$30) from Taoyuan Airport to Taoyuan HSR and take the HSR to Taipei Main Station (20mins ride, NT $175)
3. Take a direct bus from Taoyuan Airport to Taipei Main Station (an hour ride, NT$125)
Opted for option 2 as we thought it would be faster but not really. The wait for the shuttle bus was approx. 15mins. We spent almost the same time we needed if we opted for the direct bus.
Our 3 days 2 night accommodation in Taipei was @ Apartment 10F, which was easy to locate from Taipei Main Station. There were 2 rules: No eating in our room if possible (to eat at the lounge area) and have our footwear changed to in-house slippers. (There is a cabinet for our footwear located at the entrance.) The staffs were friendly and provided us with a lot of information for our travel needs.
The view from main lounge
A cosy sofa at the main lounge
The table for dining
After resting for a while in the main lounge, we headed for Neiwan. Unfortunately, we took the longer route. Instead of taking HSR from Taipei Main Station to Hsinchu, we took the train which took an hour more compared to taking HSR. We alighted from Hsinchu Train Station to explore around Hsinchu. Note: Hsinchu train station and Hsinchu HSR are at different locations.
Hsinchu Train Station
Mashed Potato
After a quick bite and much determination, we headed for Neiwan. From Hsinchu train station, board the line that goes to Zhuzhong-Liujia and at Zhuzhong station, transfer to the Neiwan Line and alight at the last stop.
The two train while waiting for our transfer ride
The train platform
The train to Neiwan
The original planned route to go Neiwan was to:
Travel to Hsinchu HSR Station > Walk to Liujia station and take the train to Zhuzhong > Transfer to Neiwan Line
After more than an hour spent to transfer rides, we finally reached Neiwan. We did a quick check on the next train arrival timing. Train frequency: An hour!
Neiwan Train Station
Walked into this entrance and at the end of the staircase, there is an art culture store at the left side while straight away is a school.
Neiwan View
Neiwan View
Neiwan View
Grelims spotted!!
bamboo holder with wishes written.
Write your wishes on a blank bamboo holder which is available at the coffee shop. Can't rem the cost though.
Pink guava! Oishi!
Fried Ginger Lily（野薑花）
Can't resist the temptation despite not hungry. But still~~~I bought it. And yummy! Tasted like onion rings with a mild sweet taste but not overpowering and keeps you going for more. Before you know it, it's gone!
"Neiwan is a community surrounded by hills and waters, with mostly Hakka peoples gathering and living in this lovely town." - quoted from TravelKing
You can easily find Hakka foodies in any of the nearby eateries. Not as packed as Jiufen or Danshui on the human traffic so it's nice to just stroll through to buy or dine.
The only disadvantage the travelling hours from from Taipei to Neiwan. We started our journey at 11am, spent less than an hour at Neiwan and Hsinchu each, and ended our journey around 7pm (when we reached Taipei Main Station).
A quick calculation 6 hours on travelling!!
Taking a train to Hsinchu from Taipei Main Station was already 2 hours 15mins.
(Take HSR if to save travelling time)
From Hsinchu to Zhuzhong and from Zhuzhong to Neiwan is roughly 45mins BUT if you missed the timing, that's where everything gone wrong. We spent almost 30 mins waiting for each transfer!
Conclusion: Plan your time wisely!!
Waiting for the train at Zhuzhong station to Liu Jia Station
It was already turning dark at was not even 6pm!
Instead of going to Hsinchu train station, we headed for Liu Jia train statioin in order to board the HSR at Hsinchu HSR Station. With a better time estimation, we took less than 2 hours to reach Taipei Main Station. Exhausted, we hunted for our dinner at Qsquare.
Hotplate Dinner! Nice Nice Nice!!
Oreo Coated Cream Puff with Earl Grey Filling!! But too much cream given and I scrapped almost 1/4 of it away!
Finally back to our accommodation and ta-da!
Guess what!! I achieved my minimal 8600 steps for today!!
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