My 12-Day Taiwan Vacation 6 to 17 March 2014
Taiwan is not a popular destination for foreign tourists, especially compared to some of its near neighbours such as Japan, China, Hong Kong and Thailand. That said Taiwan still has some excellent attractions and is a worthwhile place to visit. For example, the National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物館) in Taipei is home to the world's best and largest collection of Chinese historical artifacts. Taiwan also has the highest mountains in North-east Asia.
Taiwan's Jade Mountain (玉山 Yushan), just short of 4,000m tall, is taller than Japan's Mt Fuji. Taroko Gorge (太魯閣), near Hualien (花蓮) on Taiwan's east coast, is spectacular and an absolute must see if you are in Taiwan. The scenery in the central mountains and along the east coast is also impressive.
While Taiwan's cities are often crowded, there are many beautiful temples and an extraordinary array of delicious food to be discovered.
It is for these reasons that I planned a round Taiwan 12 day vacation to experience some of the wonders of this island, also called Ilha Formosa -- the beautiful isle. My itinerary focuses on visiting the beautiful landscapes and the smaller but more historic cities. Hence I by-pass the second tier cities like Kaohsiung and Taichung. Also, spring is a good time to go because it is much cooler for my long walks and outside of the typhoon period.
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| My Round Taiwan Trip |
Depart Singapore 8.30am - Arrive Taipei at 1.30pm
Take bus to Taipei Main Station and take the 4.30pm Taroko Gorge express train to Hualien. Arrive Hualien train station 6.30pm. (See link on how to order train tickets online)
Day 2 Fri 7 Mar
Hualien. Visit :
- Baiyang Trail (2 hours)
( 2 Nights in Hualien – 6, 7 Mar )
Day 3 Sat 8 Mar
Leave Hualien at 11am for Taitung via express train (
about 2.5 hours)
Taitung. Visit:
( 1 Night in Taitung - 8 Mar )
Day 4 Sun 9 Mar
Leave Taitung 7.40am for Tainan via express train (about
4.5 hours)
Tainan. Visit:
( 1 Night in Tainan - 9 Mar)
Day 5 Mon 10 Mar
Tainan.
Visit:
Leave Tainan at 4pm for Chiayi via express train. (40
minutes)
From Chiayi, take a 5.10pm midi bus to Alishan (Shizhuo -
where home-stay is). Journey takes 1.5 hours.
( 2 nights in Alishan home-stay)
Day 7 Wed 12 Mar
- Fenqihu
Arrive at Chiayi after 2.5 hour train ride.
From Chiayi take a taxi to Sun Moon Lake (arrive around
7.15pm)
Day 8 Thu 13 Mar
( 2 nights in Sun Moon Lake - 7, 8 Mar)
Day 9 Fri 14 Mar
Depart Sun Moon Lake for Taipei via 1.20pm direct bus (
3.5 hour ride)
Arrive in Taipei at 5pm.
Visit Ximen night market.
Day 10 Sat 15 Mar
Taipei. Visit :
- Longshan Temple
- Bopiliao Old Street
- Guangzhou Street night market
- Xichang Street night market
Day 11 Sun 16 Mar
Taipei. Visit:
- National Palace Museum
- Shilin night market
( 3 nights in Taipei)
Day 12 Mon 17 Mar
Depart Taipei for Singapore around 2pm.
Note: This is my second time to Taipei, so I'm taking it easy. During my first trip to Taipei, I've visited interesting sights in like Beitou hot-spring, Danshui, Jifen, Yehliu Park, Taipei 101, Yang Mingshan etc.
Taiwan's Express Trains - Buy On-line Train Tickets
Some tips here on how to buy train tickets on-line for inter-city travels. Taiwan's express trains are clean and efficient and I would recommend the in-cabin travel experience.
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| Express train - Taitung to Tainan |
Wifi in Taiwan - Rent 4G Rental Pocket Wifi
It is always useful to have wifi on the go while you are travelling. WifiTaiwan provides a good service and up to 10 simultaneous users/devices can be activated. Book early!
Another provider is iVideo. Check it out.
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| wifiTaiwan |
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| iVideo |
thanks for sharing your experience!
ReplyDeletehi readers, in case you are also looking for sample itinerary of taipei, you can read here