Taiwan 2015 Day 1 & 2: Taichung - Sun Moon Lake

DAY 1: 1 JAN 2015

It's a brand new year, and a new adventure!

My friends and I decided to go for another trip together before school starts,

and we settled for Taiwan.

We only booked our flights in early October, but we managed to get the tickets rather cheap,

with a total of S$340 for a return trip.

We arrived in Taoyuan international airport at around 12pm via Jetstar.

Immediately after immigration, we headed towards the telecommunications service counters

to get our prepaid SIM cards.

All the companies had the same differentiated rates for their various plans, and we chose

Taiwan mobile because their connectivity is better in Taiwan.

As we will only be in Taiwan for 5.5 days, we decided to get the 5 days pass, which will last

us till the night of 6 January.

The pass only costs NT300, and it includes unlimited data usage and free NT50 worth of calls.

The activation was immediate, and we were all set for Taiwan!

Our first stop was Taichung.

From Taoyuan airport, we took Ubus 705 to Taoyuan HSR station, which costs NT30.

It was a short 20 minutes ride, and we arrived at the HSR with some time to spare.

As I have booked our HSR tickets online, we skipped the queue by using the self-service

machine to collect our tickets!

It was a 40 minutes ride to Taichung HSR, and the ride was really comfortable.

Upon arrival, we headed to the bus station at the HSR and boarded bus 69 to get to our hostel.

Our accomodation for the night is at Unicorn hostel, located near Shin Kong Mitsukoshi.

We stayed in a six bed female dormitory, and it was pleasant stay except that the temperature

of the shower wasn't consistent.

As it was close to sunset, we decided to make our way to Feng Chia night market,

which was a 20 minutes walk away from our hostel.

This night market is huge!!

Feng Chia night market

The crowd started coming in slowly, as we walked closer to the heart of the night market.

There were tons of food stalls in the night market, and the food variety is really widespread!

We spent close to 3 hours shopping and eating at the night market.

大肠包小肠

This is one of the must-eats in Taiwan.

Initially I thought it would be intestines as inferred by the name.

But, it is essentially sausage wrapped around with glutinous rice.

Although we didn't get it from a popular stall, this tasted really nice.

A great combination of a subtle sweetness in the rice and saltiness in the sausage.

Feng Chia University

卤味

You will actually see many of such stalls around Taiwan.

These stalls are actually selling yong tau fu cooked in braised sauce.

All you have to do is pick the ingredients and place them in your basket.

Once you are done, pass the basket to the owner and they will cook it for you!

This is one of the good alternatives if you want to avoid fried food.

Cheap and really good.

臭豆腐

Another must-try in Taiwan - smelly tofu.

It smells like sewage to me, but I kind of got used to it after a few days in Taiwan.

The initial bite was alright, but it left an after-taste which I didn't like.

One try is enough for me, haha.

Fried enoki mushrooms

There were many stalls selling different kinds of tempura, in particular, fried mushrooms.

Phoebe highly recommended it, and so we bought it right away!

There was a good mix of mushroom types in that cup, and each of them tasted really good.

Other than street snacks, there were many shops selling handphone accessories and clothes.

Having been to Bangkok not long ago, I wasn't in the mood for clothes shopping.

So, we just kept eating non-stop at the night market!

This night market definitely lives up to its standard of being one of the best in Taiwan.

I would recommend you to visit Feng Chia night market if you happen to be in Taichung!

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DAY 2: 2 JAN 2015

We got up early today as we were going on a day trip to Sun Moon Lake!

We took bus 151 back to Taichung HSR and headed for the Nantou bus company counter

located at the bus station.

You should be able to identify the counter easily due to the long queues.

Before embarking on this trip, I did some research and found a package sold by Nantou bus

which was pretty much value for money.

This package costs NT680 and includes a return bus trip to Taichung, SML ropeway tickets,

unlimited SML ferry rides, one day round-the-lake bus pass and a bus ticket to Xiangshan.

We bought this package and we made use of all of the vouchers except the last two.

It is really worth it if you are heading to Sun Moon Lake for a day trip!

There were buses going to Cingjing as well, so you need to make sure you are in the right
queue to board the bus to Sun Moon Lake.
We managed to board the 8.55am bus and we arrived at Shuishe visitors centre at around 10.35am.
Once we alighted, we went straight to the information counter to deposit our luggage.
The baggage deposit service is free by the way, and fuss-free!

As we wanted to take the ferry rides, we had to exchange our voucher for a ferry ticket.
This can be done at the ferry ticketing office located on the left of the visitors centre entrance.
Once we got our tickets, we walked towards Shuishe pier to take the ferry to Ita Shao.
Do note that at the pier, you will need to get your tickets stamped by staff wearing blue,
and get a chop on your hands too!

As it was a public holiday, the ferry comes every 15 minutes.
We decided to skip Xuan Zang temple because my friends weren't keen on visiting temples.
So, we took the ferry to Ita Shao pier, which brings us right to the Ita Shao village.
Ita Shao village houses a small group of Taiwanese aborigines, known as Thao people.
This village is bustling with many street snacks and unique Ita Shao crafts.

Sweet potato fritters

After filling our stomach with yummy street snacks, we decided to make our way to the

Sun Moon Lake ropeway, which was 10 minutes away from Ita Shao pier by foot.

We took the lakeside trail, and the walk was really pleasant and scenic.

Fishing boats

Lakeside trail with autumn colours

We arrived at the entrance to the ropeway and there was a short queue awaiting us.
By the way, each return ropeway ticket costs NT300!

Up the ropeway

View from the cable car

I really enjoyed the cable car ride, even though the ropeway can be really steep at certain sections.

But you shouldn't let your fear of heights deter you from amazing views of the lake!

If you do get the Sun Moon Lake pass, you should definitely try out the ropeway.

After the cable car ride, we headed back to Shuishe pier, and took a walk down another

side of Shuishe.

Makeshift pier with hanging Chinese lanterns

The trail which we took was definitely less crowded, even though Chiang Kai-Shek's boat

was one of the attractions situated along the trail.

But I really appreciated the quiet atmosphere, because I needed to be away from all the hustle

and bustle.

After some time, we decided to catch the bus back to Taichung HSR because our train

is set to leave at 6.40pm.

I definitely enjoyed my time at Sun Moon lake, but I would have loved to visit at least one

of the temples during our time there.

Anyways, the line for the bus back to Taichung gets really long, and it is best for you to join

the queue as early as possible.

Also, there will be lots of traffic on the way back.

We arrived at the HSR an hour late and missed our original train!

Fortunately, the staff allowed for a change of train without any additional fees, and we were

set for Taipei in no time.

Our Taipei accomodation was at TaipeiTaipei hostel, which was a 10 minute walk

from Taipei main station.

I really liked this hostel, because it had everything we needed!

However, like Unicorn hostel, this hostel doesn't have a heater in the room, which gets

rather cold during winter.

But the location makes up for everything!