Our Taiwan Island Excusion ~ Part 1

We were determined to see Taiwan's beautiful coastlines and grand, towering mountains so we left Taipei City and toured its outskirts ~ Kaohsiung, Kenting, Taitung and Hualien!  

We wanted to get the most of our limited time in Taiwan so we simplified our lives and booked an arranged 5 days Taiwan Island via Edison Tours 

Arrangement was done primarily via email.  Booking was fast and convenient; And our tour was hassle free, from beginning to end.  We enjoyed Taiwan without worrying of getting lost and wasting our precious time. It was overall relaxing ~ the way all vacations should be.

With less than 20 people (consisting of an American family, an Australian and Malaysian couples and a local Taiwanese family) in our group, our guide did quite well managing his guests.    

Our guide would explain everything twice, once in English and once in Chinese.  The downside was, I would fall asleep as he mumbles stuff in Chinese until he start talking in English again.

Our tour is inclusive of: 

• Taipei hotel pick-up and drop-off via an airconditioned bus with Wifi access; 
• A local guide;
• Supply of bottled mineral water to keep us hydrated.
• Entrance to all the attractions we have visited;
• 5 stars hotel accommodation (which includes buffet breakfast)
  

Our Taiwan Island Excursion Itinerary (with select photos from the hundreds we've taken): 

Day 01 Monday:
Taipei－Sun Moon Lake
Taipei－Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area－Round Lake Tour by bus (Ita Thao Village－Ci'en Pagoda－Xuanzhuang Temple－Wenwu Temple)

Hotel: Fleur De Chine, Sun Moon Lake – Mountain View 

 The Sun, Moon Lake from the Wenwu Temple

Our hotel in Sun, Moon Lake ~ Fleur de Cine!

Wonderful, true 5 stars accommodation.

I enjoyed the in room hot spring.  It was a perfect way to relax ones tired muscles after a day of non-stop walking.

The view of the Sun, Moon Lake was splendid!

This view just outside our balcony :P

Day 02 Tuesday:
Sun Moon Lake－Fo Guang Shan－Kaohsiung 
Sun Moon Lake－Xiangshan Visitor Center－Fo Guang Shan－Love River－Liuhe Tourist Night Market

Hotel: Grand Hi-Lai Hotel, Kaohsiung 

Sun, Moon Lake up close through the Xiangshan Visitor Center.

One of our Taiwan Island Tour highlights ~ the Fo Guang Shan Temple.  This is said to be the center of Buddhism in Taiwan.  It is a huge complex with endless stairs :P   

Finally in Kaohsiung City ~

The Lotus Pond is an artificial lake surrounded by pagodas and temples... 

Our favorite is the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas.  Locals enter the Tigers mouth and exit through the Dragons mouth for prosperity and good fortune!

My husband got immediately lucky. 

He spotted a fruit stand selling Taiwan mangoes!

Before heading to our hotel in Kaohsiung ~

We found ourselves at the Liuhe Night Market to try local favorite snacks!    

Our hotel in Kaohsiung is located at the city center ~ the Grand Hi Lai Hotel. It is a huge hotel connected to a shopping mall. It is very accessible if you are planning a city tour in Kaohsiung.  

The view from our room ~  The Kaohsiung Port.  It is largest and busiest port in Taiwan.

I love Grand Hi Lai as well, however, we were a bit dismayed by the amateurish and sloppy handling of breakfast turnover the following morning.  It was a riot! 

There was no attendant and guests were told to look for their own seats. 

It really felt like I was in a school cafeteria, even the food was mediocre.  So the Grand Hi Lai ~ wasn't really as grand as first thought!

Day 03 Wednesday:
Kaohsiung－Kenting National Park－Taitung (Chihpen Hot Spring Bath) Head for Kenting－Maobitou－Chuanfan Rock－Eluanbi Park (Light House)－Longpan Park－Taitung
Hotel: Hotel Royal Chihpen, Taitung 

Our eyes were at spoiled with Kenting-Taiwan's beautiful coastline in this leg of our tour!

At the Maobitou Park ~ Maobitou defines the sea border of Taiwan Straight and Bashi Channel.

Near Maobitou is the Eluanbi Park Lighhouse ~ the southern most point of Taiwan!

At the Hotel Royal Chihpen, Taitung we were treated to an aboriginal show ~ to cap our day!

 

Follow Part II of our Taiwan Island Excursion by clicking the link >>> Taiwan Island Excursion Part 2


EDISON TRAVEL SERVICES CO., LTD
Email: edison@ms6.hinet.net
Check also their website for inquiries: www.edison.com

Taiwan Day 2 - Jiufen and Pinxi Tour

Our Day 2 is one of Taiwan's most popular day tours ~  Jiufen and Pinxi

Jiufen and Pinxi are relatively near Taipei.  Jiufen the nearer of the two is only about 40 minutes by private car.  A DIY is a viable option, but we want a worry free tour and so we opted to simply book a tour via My Taiwan Tours. Click on this link to their website ~ MY TAIWAN TOUR.

Our Jiufen and Pinxi Tour is an eight (8) hours day tour which includes: hotel pick up and drop off (via a 9 seater sedan), a local guide  and a sky lantern crash course :P

Our ride for today

Arrangement via My Taiwan Tour was fast and easy.  They contacted me 2-3 days before our schedule, which assured me everything will go as planned.  

Lucy our guide was at our hotel doorsteps early to pick us up.  She is energetic and bubbly. Her enthusiasm is contagious, enough to make us feel excited of our day's itinerary. It was clear that she loves Taiwan and she is proud to show-off its beauty!

Jinguashi

Our first stop ~ Jinguashi is a  mining village, which was famous for its vast gold mine exploited during the Japanese colonization of Taiwan.

Here is a view of an abandoned mining refinery called Thirteen Ruins

The Golden Waterfalls and Yin-Yang Sea

Next stop is the decommissioned mining  town of Jiufen.  It is now alleys and alleys of tea house and stores selling local  snacks and souvenirs. 

We tried their Peanut Ice Cream Roll and Taro Balls 

From Jiufen we travelled to SHIFEN, PINXI ~ 

the  Lantern Capital of Taiwan.  

Our HANDMADE Sky Lantern  with our Family Wishes:

GOOD HEALTH and LONGLIFE, HAPPINESS and PROSPERITY, PEACE ON EARTH, LOTS OF LOVE (and my youngest son's personal wish "MORE FOOD" ~ I think there is no need to explain)!

The highlight of our day ~ seeing our sky lantern FLY!

Taiwan Day 1 ~ Aboard a Maokong Gondola Crystal Cabin, Shopping at Guanghua Digital Mall and Watching Chinese Opera at the Taipeieye

We arrived at the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport via Eva Air at about 630am. Prior to our flight, I have pre-arranged for local WiFi and Sim cards for my family, and private car transfers via Klook.  

If you are new to Klook, click on this link to join and get instant discount >>> KLOOK. 

After clearing immigration (which was a breeze), we picked up our checked-in luggage and bought NTD at one of the many forex counters inside the airport.  Our driver was already waiting for us at the Arrival Gate.  He was nice to have assisted us pick up our reserved WiFi and Sim cards.  

(We were rushing we forgot to buy Easycard, no worries through as we were able to get them easily at Family Mart right next to our Taipei Hotel.  Get an Easycard, if you plan to use the public transport it is convenient). 

My cutee Little Twin Star Easycard 

We were told to wait at the Airport Gate as our driver picked up the car (which to my surprise was a Volkswagen T6, an upgrade from a 4-seater Toyota Camry I originally reserved).  An upgrade was such a nice way to start our Taiwan adventure.  

Just 30 minutes in this country and I am loving it already!

We were already at Ximending in 45 minutes ~ entering City Plus Hotel doors (our accommodation for our Day 1, 2 and 7 in Taipei).

We checked-in our bags and headed to the first item in our itinerary ~


MAOKONG GONDOLA

From Ximen we took the blue line (Bannan line) then transferred to the brown line (Wenhu line) at Zhongxiao Fuxing Station. We alighted at the Taipei Zoo Station and walked a bit to reach the Maokong Gondola Station.

At the Maokong Gondola Station ~ waiting for our cable car :P

The Maokong Gondola is a scenic cable car system operating between Taipei Zoo and Maokong. It is about 4 kilometers long and a one-way trip is about 20-30 minutes.  It has a wonderful view of Tapei at an elevation of about 299.3m.

I guess we were lucky as there were very few visitors that day (considering we came on a Saturday).  Our queue for the Crystal Cabin was under 10 minutes.  We paid for the Maokong Gondola tickets via Easycard (we just tapped our cards at the turnstile entrance - easy).

Our ride a Cable Car with Glass floors (also known as Eye of Maokong Gondola) 

A tour in the Taipei Zoo is a practical side trip for tourist considering its nearness to Maokong, but we skipped the zoo as my boys weren't much into animals.  

We only spent about an hour and half at Maokong, there is not much to do there except to check the view and have tea.  The restaurants open late as well, so we were not able to get a decent meal (we were initially planning to have lunch with a view at the Longmen Restaurant).  

We munched on Taiwan local snacks 

~ Taiwan sausage, oyster omelet and stinky tofu :P

From Maokong, we took a cab to our next stop ~
 

HUASHAN 1914

Huashan 1914 is a cultural-creative park and events venue showcasing up and coming artists.  The place gives a cool and young vibe ~ creative juices is overflowing at Huashan 1914. 

If you would like to see quirky, fresh and innovative products this is the place to go.  There were plenty of restaurants here too, but we weren't hungry yet, so we postponed super lunch for our next stop. 

Our next stop is just 500m away (about 5-6 minutes walk)


GUANHUA DIGITAL MALL

My boys are tech-savy, so when they learned Taiwan has a Digital Mall (with 6 floors of digital everything), we had to include it in our itinerary (it was after all very near Huashan Park).

Guanhua Digital Mall ground floor has all the latest gadgets to die for. If you are, however interested in peripherals check out the top floors for cool deals. Battery banks, headphones were cheaper by few hundred here (compared to Manila prices).

Guanhua has a food court at the ground floor with pretty good options. I had here one of the best Beef Noodles I have tasted in Taiwan.

My NTD 160 Beef Noodles pared with Mango Milkshake ~ delicious!

 
We were watching a Chinese Opera-Acrobatic Show at the Taipeieye.  Box office opens at 6pm and pre-show activities at 7pm. As it was still early, we still have time to go back and freshen up at our hotel.

From Guanhua, following Waze we walked toward the Zhongxiao Xinsheng Station and took the MRT Bannan line (Blue line), then alighted at the Ximen Station (which was right next to our Taipei Hotel).

TAIPEIEYE

If you are interested in Traditional Chinese Performing Arts head to Taipeieye. They run different shows and during our visit they performed The Monkey Business in Sea Palace and Bouncing Drums and Bouncing Dragons.
The show was really entertaining and engaging (sit upfront to see what I mean).

Don't miss the pre-show activities.

TIPS: 

• Come early to get good seats.  They only have free seating.  
• Check out their pre-show activities, which were delightful.
• The show ends at 9pm, but don't worry the staff will help you get home safe.  There is a queue at the lobby for those who need help getting back to their hotels.
• For tickets visit Taipeieye's website directly>>> Taipeieye OR get it from Klook.

This ends our Day 1 in Taiwan.  Tomorrow is a busy day as we tour Jiufen and Pinxi.  

Check our full Taiwan Itinerary and Tips for Taiwan First Timers >>> Taiwan ~ More Than Just a Vibrant City

Taiwan ~ More than just a Vibrant City

My husband has been suggesting a family vacation in Taiwan like for years now ~ but I just shrugged the suggestion as I don't see anything special nor exciting about it.  Well, his persistence paid off ~  we were visiting one of the regular travel fairs in SMX, when I spotted good Taiwan airfare promo via Eva Air.  

He was all smiles as I paid for the airfare. 

I was like, 8 days and 7 nights in Taiwan ~ what is there to do?
So I started my planning and research early to work on filling in our 8 days schedule. 

I was actually surprised, that while doing my planning 8 days seemed too short to really see and enjoy what Taiwan has to offer.  It may be a small country (imagine just 6 hours via  car from the top most to the bottom most part of Taiwan), but is gifted with so many beautiful places.  

So sorry to say there are no museums, Taipei 101 nor Chiang Kai-shek memorial in our Taiwan blog post.  For our Taiwan trip, we were definitely leaving Taipei City and touring its outskirts ~ Kaohsiung, Kenting, Taitung and Hualien!  We were determined to see Taiwan's beautiful coastlines and grand, towering mountains.  

Our 8 days in Taiwan allowed us 2 days in Taipei City and  5 days for a Taiwan Island Tour

Below is our itinerary (please click  below links to the separate blog post per day for more tips):

Day 1 (Arrival / Taipei City)
Maokong Gondola 
Huashan 1914 
Guanhua Digital
Taipeieye
We stayed at the Cityinn Plus Hotel in Ximen (very close to the Ximending Walking Street, so we were out and about "also reads as shopping and eating"  until the wee hours) while in Taipei City


Day 2 - Jiufen and Pinxi Tour
Yin Yang Sea
Golden Waterfalls
Jiufen Old Street
Pinxi (with Sky Lantern Making Activity)


 

Day 3 - Sun Moon Lake + Natural Spring
Sun Moon Lake bus tour
Ita Thao Village
Xuan Zang
Wenwu Temple 
Ci En Pagoda
Relaxing Spa Retreat at the Fleur De Chien Hotel


Day 4 - Sun Moon Lake / Foguangshan Monastery / Kaohsiung
Sun Moon Lake via the Xiangshan Visitors Center
Jiji Temple
Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Monastery
Love River
Liuhe Night Market
Rest at the Grand Hi-Lai Hotel

Day 5 - Kaohsiung / Kenting / Taitung (Zhiben Hot Spring)

Maobitu
Eluanbi Light House
Kenting Scenic Coastal Area
Longpan Park
Overnight at the Hotel Royal Chihpen


Day 6 - Taitung / East Coast National Scenic Area / Hualien
East Coast National Scenic Area
Xiaoyeliou
Sansientai
Stone Steps
Caves of the Eight Immortals
Marble factory
Taroko Gorge
Stay at Silk Place Taroko


Day 7 - Hualien / Taroko Gorge

Ci Mu Bridge
Qingshui Cliff

Changchun Temple

Buluowan Recreational Area
Swallow Grotto

Eternal Spring Shrine

Shakadang Trail
Last day shopping at Ximending

Day 8 - Departure

I originally planned 2/28 Peace Park and National Taiwan Museum for our last day. But we must have walked more than 70 kilometers in the duration of our Taiwan stay, we were too exhausted by Day 8. We just stayed in the hotel and slept! 

Take-aways:

1. Taiwan's weather is unpredictable and gets quite HUMID (in bold, don't tell me I didn't warn you). 
• Bring automatic sturdy umbrella (that easily opens and closes) ~ cheap umbrellas will not withstand the strong winds in the coastal areas. 
• Bring light jacket and a cap. 
• My son brought with him a handheld USB fan (it was such a blessing).
2. Wear loose/comfortable clothes. Wear your best walking shoes. 
3. Must bring sunscreen and insect repellants (they have humongous mosquitoes, and I am NOT kidding)
4. If you are touring via bus, you would want to sit in front and on the right side (facing front) for the best view. 
5. Bring water and hydrate.   
6. Don't miss the night markets. Try tiger prawn, oyster omelette, Taiwan sausage, chicken steak, cheesy potato, pork bun... And don't forget the bubble teas and in season fruits!  Oh, just try everything!
7. Shopping tips:
• Pastries seemed cheaper in the outskirts
• Bargaining is okay when shopping in the night markets (even in Ximending, example they would sell shirts at NTD200 - I bought 4 for only NTD600).  Remember to ask nicely though (always smile).
• Nice buys are sweets (pineapple tarts and nougats), thin pork crisp and jerkies, shoes (I got nice handmade sandals in Kaohsiung for NTD250) , computer and mobile phone peripherals (so cheap at the Guanghua Digital Mall - if you are buying electronics go here, imagine 6 floors of electronic equipment), cute t-shirts (buy the good quality ones), beaded bracelets (the cheapest we saw were at Ita Thao Village and Xuanzang Temple in Nantou).
• We got real nice leather key chains and wallets at Jiufen (they were personalized too) make wonderful souvenirs. 
• If you are running short of time - you may pre-order your "pasalubong" via Klook and pick-up your order at the airport before check-in.  Price difference in marginal and you get your items nicely packed (in boxes) for easier transport. If you are new to Klook, clink this link for extra discounts >>> KLOOK .
• I found electronics (PS4, mobile phones) a lot cheaper (for instance a Samsung A9 costs 28,000 pesos in TPE vs 35,000 pesos Samsung Store Manila price) at TPE. However, they only have Taiwan warranty (No international warranty).   

I never thought that 8 days in Taiwan will be too short. 

We missed a lot ~ we weren't able to try the Knife Massage, tour the North Coast of Taiwan and do farm tours/stay. I think another 3-4 days would have covered that.  

I must admit, my husband was right including Taiwan in our bucket list.  I guess a "We shall be back Taiwan" is in order!

Special Notes:

• For our Day 2 - Jiufen / Pinxi was made through MyTaiwanTour
• For our Day 3-7 - Taiwan Island Tour was made through Edison Tours

Both tours were worry free and allowed us to see and experience the most of Taiwan in under 8 days. 

Day 1 (Arrival / Taipei City)
Day 2 - Jiufen and Pinxi Tour
Day 4, 5 and 6 - Taiwan Island Excursion (Part 1)

Day 6 and 7 - Taiwan Island Excursion (Part 2)