Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Taipei- City of China Fashion! Part 4

BeiTou (Hot Spring) 北投
Getting Here:
From Yang Ming Shan, take bus 230 to Xin Beitou MRT
Recommended:




Travel to Danshui 淡水
After Yang Ming Shan/Beitou, board the MRT to travel from Xinbeitou to Danshui.
Transfer at Beitou Station as Xinbeitou is a one station branch line.
(MRT stop Danshui or淡水)
Last stop on the red line
Danshui Old Street 淡水老街
Getting Here:
Turn left as you exit the MRT and then turn right along the river to get the DanShui Old Street.
阿婆鐵蛋 iron eggs
•Locate an aunty selling preserved prune (suan mei) and cherry (yang tao)
•Yu Shu
•Fisherman’s Wharf

Night Market




Taipei- City of China Fashion! Part 3

士林夜市 Shilin Night Market (MRT stop 劍潭站 )
红油抄手 wanton in spicy soup sze chuan style
大肠包小肠 small sausage in big sausage
棺材板
鸡扒

•Beef Steak


Yangmingshan --> Xinbeitou Hot Spring/Museum/Hell Valley --> Danshui (Lover's bridge & fisherman's wharf) --> Danshui Night Market
1)Yang Ming Shan & Bei Tou
Yang Ming Shan National Park 陽明山國家公園
Getting there: 
1) Board bus 260 from outside Taipei Main Station (exit M1). Travel time: About 1 hr 10 mins.

2) You can also board bus Red 5, 260 from outside Jiantan or Shihlin MRT Stations. Bus Red 5 serves the link between Jiantan MRT Station and Yang Ming Shan.
The bus ride from Jiantan or Shilin MRT Stations takes about 45~50 mins.

3) The fastest way is probably by MRT train to either Beitou or Xinbeitou Station and transfer to bus S9 (minibus), 230 to Yang Ming Shan. Bus S9 brings you nearer to Zhuzhihu (white calla lily farms).
Use stored value Easycard to pay the MRT / bus fares.
Yang Ming Shan shuttle bus 108 serves all the main attractions on Yangmingshan:
Yangmingshan Bus Station → Visitor Information CenterYangminshuwuZhuzhihuXiaoyoukengLengshuikeng Service CenterQingtiangangLengshuikeng Service CenterSongyuan Stop → Jyuansi Waterfalls → Yangmingshan Bus Station. 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The bus returns to the same bus terminal where it started its route.



Taipei- City of China Fashion! Part 2

East District东区
This area is dominated by 3 Sogos at the start, middle and end but it’s better to walk along the narrow back
streets and explore all the interesting independent shops.
ZhongXiao DunHua Exit 7 (忠孝敦化 ).
Zhongxiao Fuxing Exit 5 (忠孝覆兴 ) near a big WHITE sogo. Turn into DaAn Road Section 1 for small clothing
Shops

Hello Kitty Sweets Café
Address:台北市大安路一段90
Business Hours:11:30~22:00(週一到週日)
Directions:
From Zhongxiao Fuxing Station Exit 3
(opposite Sogo), walk towards Omega
(a couple of steps away) and turn right into the
first alley.
It should take you less than 5 minutes. Alternatively, you may use exit 15 of the East Metro Mall. The cafe is along the alleyway just outside.





XinYi District (MRT stop Taipei City Hall or市政府)
•Taipei 101
Eslite Bookstore
•Hankyu Department Store
•Mitsukoshi


•ATT Fun




Taipei- City of China Fashion! Part 1

Dinner, 五分埔,饒河街觀光夜市
Dinner @ Ximending
WuFenPu 五分埔 (MRT Stop Houshanpi Station or 後山埤站)
- After the crossing outside the station's exit 1, turn right until you come
across shops selling clothes
Sun Closes at 9pm




RaoHe Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市
•When you get to the end of Wu Fen Pu, a 15-minute walk will bring you past Songshan station
on the railway line, and to Raohe Night Market.
•Walk into the station where there'll be signs

pointing you towards the market.





More of Taichung- this part of Taiwan is least promoted, then leave for Taiwan

Fengjia Night market, also called Fengjia Shopping Town is located in the Xitun district in Taichung, next to Feng Chia University. It was claimed to be the largest night market in Taiwan.

Get there by taxi NT$250 from City Inn hotel, Tai Chung.
THEN SHOP!!!







1) Travel to Taipei
Check out of City Inn Taichung @ 10-11am
Take cab to TaiChung HSR
At TaoYuan HSR Station, buy ticket
Journey is about 1 Hr. NT$700
Reach Taipei by 3pm
Option 1 : Take Cab to City Inn
Option 2: By Taipei MRT (台北捷運):
Taipei Main Station:
Take Taipei MRT-Bannan Line (捷運板南線) to exit no. 6 of MRT Ximen Station (捷運西門站).
Reach
Check-In


Rest





Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Journey into Taiwan: Tai Chung-Cing Jing-Sun Moon Lake

Reach Taipei TaoYuan Airport by 1.45pm
Out of gate by 2.15pm latest

1) Travel from Airport to TaiChung
Locate UBus no. 705 Stand. UBus Ticketing counter is there.
Shuttle bus to THSR Taoyuan Station

THSR Taoyuan Station - Taoyuan Airport
- Shuttle information
Ticket price: full fare NT$30, half fare NT$15.

Tickets must be purchased ahead of time for each journey.
Tickets are sold at the following locations:
(1)
Taoyuan Airport: UBUS service counters at Arrivals Lobby of Terminals 1 and 2.
(2) THSR
Taoyuan Station: platform 1 at bus depot.
Intervals: 5 - 10 minutes intervals during peak times.

‧Service number and business hours
Toll-free hotline: 0800-241560 (Business hours: 24HR)
Terminal 1 counter: +886-3-3834779 (Business hours: 06:00 - 24:00)
Terminal 2 counter: +886-3-3833552 (Business hours: 06:00 - 24:00)
THSR
Taoyuan Station: 0913085530. (Business hours: 07:00 - 23:45)




2) Arrive at TaoYuan HSR
At TaoYuan HSR Station, buy ticket (from machine or from counter is up to you).
Journey is about 40mins. NT$540
Call 王先生(0927815299)
once HSR railway tickets are bought and inform him of time of arrival.
Enter gate with ticket and follow sign-age to South Platform (not North Platform). Go down this escalator.
There are 12 cars per train. If your seat happen to be at Car 2,
Go to Car 2 area and wait for train.

Journey takes about 40 mins.

3) Arrive at TaiChung HSR Staion around 3.30 to 4pm
Meet王先生at 2樓麥當勞
Travel to Cing Jing via pre booked cab

Est arrival at Vienna Pleasance Cottage  around 5-6pm.




Day 1: Arrive at Cing Jing Part 1
4) Explore around hotel area for 1st day.
Ask about recommended evening walks.
Where to eat?
Lushan Hotspring Bus
6pm depart & 9pm back





迎曦兩人房
For 2 nights:  2/4 & 3/4

5) Explore CingJing


Day 2: Cing Jing Part 2
6) He Huan Shan 合歡山
王先生 pick us up at 8.30am

Hehuanshan (Chinese: 合歡山; pinyin: Héhuān Shān; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Ha̍p-hoan-soaⁿ; also called Joy Mountain) is a 3,416 metres (11,207 ft) high mountain in Central Taiwan. The peak lies on the boundaries of Nantou and Hualien counties and is within the Taroko Gorge National Park. Hehuanshan is a popular destination for the local people of central Taiwan. The 3,421-metre East Peak and 3,422-metre North Peak of Hehuanshan are actually both higher than the main peak.




7) Green Green Grassland  (check with owner of minsu)
This wide grassy plain is the most popular site of the Qingjing Veterans Farm; the herds of sheep grazing on the land, the azure skies above, and the verdant mountains in the horizon have a distinct European air. The sheep here are very friendly; visitors usually have their pictures taken with them. Then there is the sheep shearing show, with sheep shearers all the way from New Zeland hairdressing these furry farm animals for the audience’s enjoyment.
Buy your tickets to Green Green Grassland from the owner of Vienna Pleasance Cottage.
On weekday, the owner will drive you up the Grassland and you can walked back yourself. On weekends, you have to catch the local bus from the Cingjing Tourist Recreation Centre at NT15.



Day 3: Arrive at Sun Moon Lake
 Check in to
Sun Moon Lake Guesthouse.
Shuishehai Resort Hotel
日月潭水社海渡假民宿
Resort is very near to the sun moon lake pier,
less than 1 min walk away and the tourist information centre
is also less than 5 mins away.




8) Explore Sun Moon Lake
§Explore surrounding area within Minsu
§Take Boat Ride (approx NT$300)
Boats launch from four points: Shuishe Village, Ita Thao Village, Xuanguang Temple, and Chaowu (the last for group excursions). Ticket booths are right at the piers.

Shuishe Pier / Meihe Garden 水社村碼頭/梅荷園 – The pier and adjacent boardwalk are a popular night-time attraction, enhanced with pretty lighting and featuring regular dancing-fountain shows with music. Boardwalk shops offer alfresco seating. Above one end of the pier is Meihe Garden, a calm European-style landscaped oasis with dark-wood latticework and low stone walls. It too is lit up at night, adding to the waterfront’s air of romance. Located at the foot of long-off-limits Hanbi Peninsula, this was once site of a military-police outpost protecting Chiang Kai-shek’s villa.


Ita Thao Village 伊達紹村/碼頭 – This is the main Thao-tribe settlement. Today it is bursting with tourist-oriented gift outlets, eateries, and places to stay. Regular Thao-theme entertainment is offered into the evening at the attractive pier area, with its sparkling yacht-shaped visitor center.


Xuanguang Temple 玄光寺 – This small temple enshrines a statue of Master Xuanzang. Almost as famous as the temple is the rustic “Grandma’s Tea Eggs” stand just off the pier, in place over 50 years, grandma still working. I, a stifled tea-egg aficionado with high cholesterol counts, cheat with a vengeance here each visit. The line-ups don’t lie.

Cable-Car Soaring (NT$300)
The immensely popular Sun Moon Lake Ropeway (www.ropeway.com.tw), a short boardwalk stroll from Ita Thao Village (the surround-lake bus also stops nearby), provides a picturesque aerial ride between Sun Moon Lake and Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village, going over two mountain passes. A combined cable-car and cultural-village ticket brings a significant discount.

Formosan Aboriginal Culture Village九族文化村  (www.nine.com.tw) – This large theme park is spread over a gently sloping mountain valley. The informative Aboriginal Villages section celebrates Taiwan’s indigenous peoples with scores of architectural replicas, song-and-dance shows, and demos of traditional cooking methods, weaving, pestle music, and more. There’s also a games/rides area and landscaped European Garden area.


Nantou bus that goes around the piers (NT$80)
Get on a bus at the center, get off at any stop,
stay however long you like, and hop on the next
arriving bus.
Service is 9 to 6;
a one-day unlimited ticket is just NT$80;
bicycles are allowed on board

Day 4: Leave for Taichung
Check out from日月潭水社海渡假民宿 around 12pm (depends on point 2)
à Lunch
2) Continue with exploring Sun Moon Lake if unable to complete itinerary from yesterday
3) Travel to Taichung
Reach
By 2-3pm (or later)
Check in
Explore area/rest