#39 | Taiwan Travel Guide | Taichung Taxi Tour

"Taichung is an industrial city on the western coast of central Taiwan, distinguished by relatively dry, sunny weather." Err not really Wikipedia, considering how it rained so heavily for the 4 days we were there. But was well, we still had a swell time!

Welcome back! I'm going to move slightly up north from my previous post on Kaohsiung to Taichung. I would be combining both my June'16 and Dec'16 experiences in this post, as somehow I went Taiwan twice last year. On both trips, we did not explore much of Taichung as we would have liked, we stayed there to explore more of the NanTou, ChiaYi and Puli attractions. 

 A C C O M O D A T I O N S 

A I R B N B  -  J U N E

Taichung left me with so much amusing memories - from Day 1 of lugging our ridiculously heavy luggage in the rain for almost 1km, getting drenched despite having an umbrella and only to find our Airbnb lift to be so secluded that we had so many doubts about the safety of our apartment. The airbnb itself was AMAZING, not the outlook of the building or the lift experiences. Zack's apartment was so well renovated it can be easily be mistaken for a condominium showroom. 

The whole place had a mix of modern industrial theme going on. From the choice of furniture to the spectacular view we get every break of dawn at 4am - the luggage lugging session in the rain was so worth it. I mean... the picture below don't do justice, but still imagine to waking up a sunrise with a full view of this with mountains in the background!

And then after checking in, this girl (me) got so excited about her amazing Airbnb find, that she wore her Airbnb slippers out.. only to realise it after leaving the building - it was a hilarious moment shared. So we had to take the creepy lift back up to the 11th floor to change out my shoes. The lift was so old and cranky and it gave off the vibes that it might just be dysfunctional any moment - but luckily we were just overthinking. The apartment was in a good location, but we just didn't get the chance to explore much since we booked a taxi tour for 2 days and pretty much spent a day settling into the apartment and the last day packing up to leave for Taipei. 

If you are in need of an AIRBNB code, here's up to $50 off your next trip for your first booking!

K I W I   E X P R E S S   H O T E L  -  D E C

As for my trip in December, we decided to stay in a hotel - Kiwi Express Hotel opposite Taichung Station Branch 1. It was a okay stay for the price we paid. It was really conveniently located down the street from Taichung Main Station! So if you are looking for convenience if you're travelling to other parts Taiwan via the HSR, this hotel is be ideal. 

Haha I think I'm blabbering too much now.. So here you go! My travel guide to Taichung/Nantou:

 (A) S I G H T S E E I N G  I N  T A I C H U N G 

 1. P A R K  L A N E  B Y  C M P 

Address: No.68, Gongyi Rd., West Dist., Taichung City 403, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Opening Hours: Mon to Fri 11am - 10pm; Weekends 10.30am to 10pm

Time to Spend There: 1 to 2 hours
Free entry

I went via taking a public bus from my hotel and upon arrival, I was not really excited about exploring the place. I might have dropped off at the wrong part of the "Park lane by CMP". But there was nothing much to see there. I tried to ask the local the "Art statues and artsy fartsy stores", most of them barely understood what I was talking about. But this area that I went, which is considered to be part of the area, had a lot of unique cafes that looked like a good place to chill and meet up with friends. Would not really recommend unless you are at your wits ends of places to visit.

If you do happen to understand the area that I am talking about or have visited there, do leave me a comment below or a message at the side to share with me your experience! Might just give it another chance the next round I visit TaiChung. ;)


For the rest of the trip, I relied heavily on my Taxi Tour that I have booked prior to the trip. Scroll down to see my process of booking and the contacts of the 2 drivers I have engaged!

 T A X I  T O U R 

We hired a taxi tour for the rest of the recommended sightseeing locations, if you would like to book your own taxi tour, I can recommend to you:

1. Mr Xu -  +886 926967914

2. Mr Yang - +886 931988125

Both are equally good in terms of driving skills and the services that they provided - such as helping us to buy tickets (at discounted prices!), recommending places to go after the taxi tour, educating us on the history of the various areas etc. They are both very friendly and considerate, lending us their umbrellas and helping us converse with the locals as well!

The process of booking a tour is relatively simple if you can converse well in Mandarin! 

1. Contact the driver on WhatsApp - introduce yourself and purpose for texting them
2. Ask their availability for the dates you would be visiting TaiChung region - if they are available, proceed to the next step! If not, you might to have to contact someone else yourself, or they will refer you to their friends under the same company that are available.
3. Let them know the places of attractions that you want to visit - they will map out the route and advise you on any additional places you can visit nearby or tell you which one are too out of the way to go to. They will come up with the schedule for you and quote you a price per day per taxi (max 6 pax) The price is usually non-negotiable as they belong to the same company, and it is fixed by their management.
4. Inform them where you would be staying / where to pick you up - send them your address in TaiChung and confirm the pick up timing
5. Actual trip - Confirm the pick up timing and address about 2 days before to remind them (just in case!) They would only accept payment in cash, usually on the last day of the tour! Additionally, at the end of each day, you can ask them to drop you off at night markets, so that you can shop to your hearts content!

If you still have any questions regarding the booking of the taxi tour, feel free to drop me a message on the side or comment on this post! The places that we visited during the taxi tour were:

 2. R A I N B O W  V I L L A G E 

Address: No.56, Chun'an Road, Nantun District, Taichung, Taiwan
Opening Hours: 8am - 6pm

Time to Spend There: 30 mins to 1 hour
Free entry

Apart from its interesting outlook, the village have an interesting story to tell. This is one of the village that belonged to the KuoMinTang soldiers and their families after the war. Over the years, many of the families have left the area in search of better homes. The government saw it as a sign that the village occupancy is dwindling fast and the land could be put to better use - intending to build commercial buildings or an industrial park. However, one of the last village resident, Mr Huang (now known as Cai-Hong Gong Gong) was determined to stay in the village until this remaining days. He started to hand paint the empty village with vibrant colours - the floors, the walls, the ceiling, the doors - with cute characters and words.

In his attempt to preserve his home ground, it caught the attention of students who were studying in the vicinity. The students took time to understand his cause and helped him to make his village a local attraction. The public and media soon caught wind of it and the government took into account of the public sentiments and halted the demolition. Such a touching story isn't it?

And if you are lucky, you might just find this kind "Mr Iron Man" who busks at the village and will help you to take unique shots at the village! He is here to help Mr Huang manage the crowd and to bring about more laughter and joy. 

 3. X I T O U  M O N S T E R  V I L L A G E 

Address: No. 2-3, Xingchan Rd, Lugu Township Nantou County, 558, Taiwan
Opening Hours: Mon – Fri 10:00AM – 8:00PM; Sat & Sun: 10:00AM – 9:00PM

Time to Spend There: 1 hour - 2 hours
Free entry

This quirky village is a must visit! There are many mischievous decorations there that you have to see it for yourself for a good laugh. This Japanese styled village was built in 2011 to commemorate the friendship of a Japanese and a Taiwanese. The area isn't huge, but there sure is lots to see! Would be a fun place for kids as there are mascots of the monsters walking around and interesting installations.

It is famous for their Kubota bakery that serves fresh bakes between 10.30am to 2.30pm everyday. The place also sell a lot of unique food that you can try! Such as the black wanton mee that had a powdery and chewy texture. But I suspect its one of those "charcoal infused" food -- 2 thumbs up!

 4. S U N  M O O N  L A K E 

Address: No.599, Jhongshan Rd., Yuchi Township, Nantou County 555, Taiwan

Time to Spend There: 4 - 6 hours

There is so much to do at this lake. Surrounding this huge waterbody are mountains, villages, temples and an amusement park:

F O R M O S A N  A B O R I G I N A L  C U L T U R E  V I L L A G E   M U S E U M

Click on the title to check the show and rides timings!

Address: No.45 Jintian Lane, Dalin Village, Yuci Town, Nantou 55544, Taiwan
Opening Hours: 9.30am - 5.30pm
Time to Spend There: 1.5 - 2.5 hours
Admission Fee: $780NT for adults, $680NT for students, $390NT for children or elderly

You can enter the park either through the cable car  from the bottom of the hill (they call it the "rope way") or through the main entrance at the top of the hill. I would recommend that you take the cable car, because you would be greeted with an amazing view of the Sun Moon Lake as you ascend up! It was nice to see the lake from up and above.

At the park, there are exhibits and performances to display the different aboriginal tribes. Before you go, oh.. its just a museum? NOPE!

If you are going to visit Sun Moon Lake on your own, you can opt for a boat tour, lake tour bus, bike rental etc. As I didn't go for any of those modes of transport, you can refer to their official site here for more information. Some of the popular attractions around Sun Moon Lake you can visit would be:

1. Ita Thao Village (Alot of food! - must try the Muah Chee and Rice in Chicken)
2. Shui She Village
3. Grandma's Tea Eggs at XuanGuang Temple/Pier
4. QingLong Mountain Trail
5. WenWu Temple (See picture below)

 5 . G R E E N  G R E E N  G R A S S L A N D 

Address: 546, Taiwan, Nantou County, Ren’ai Township
Opening Hours: 8am - 5pm

Time to Spend There: 1 hour - 2.5 hours
Admission Fee: $120NT for adult on weekdays, $200NT for adult on holidays or weekends. $120NT for students on weekdays, $160NT for students on holidays or weekends

Funny how they have to emphasise how green their grasslands are. Haha this is one of the more popular destination at Cing Jing. On my first trip there in June, it was drizzling and then it started to pour. It made the sheep's wool kind of moist... It was like touching a wet mop. So I ended up taking pictures from afar.

To be honest, the weather did dampen the mood, and with the strong wind and pour, it was hard to enjoy ourselves. The time there was cut short for us. But if you are lucky, and encounter favourable weather conditions, you would be able to catch some sheep sheering action done by "hairdressers" from New Zealand and visit many parts of the farm where you can feed and interact with the sheep. It is definitely a nice place to take photos, with the mountains and furry animals in the backdrop.

But on my second visit in December it was clear skies for all and the view was nothing short of AMAZING! We had a clear view of the mountains afar and could even see the moon faintly in the skies smiling down on us. Haha. If you were to visit the farm, do try their unique sheep milk candies or sheep milk ice cream.

The sheep sheering shows are only available on weekends, public holidays, winter and summer vacations (except Wednesday) at 9.30am and 2.30pm. (Pink part of the map below)

There is also a daily horse show (Green part of the map below) - Equestrian Stunt Show at 10.45am and 3.45pm. Note that the 2 shows are located at different venues, on 2 parts of the mountain. Therefore, plan your time well and make sure that you are at the right venue for the show!

 6. L I T T L E  S W I S S  G A R D E N 

Address: No.170 Renhe Road, Datong Village, Ren_ai Town, Nantou, Taiwan
Opening Hours: 8am - 10pm

Time to Spend There: 1 hour

Admission Fee: $120NT per person

Cing Jing region is heavily influenced by European styled architectures. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think I did hear my driver mentioning how the rich European use to come here to build their vacation houses etc. Although Switzerland is not part of Europe, but I guess it is closely similar to the "Ang Moh" (read: Eurasian/European) lifestyle and culture --- I'm trying to rationalise why there is a Swiss garden out of the blue. Haha

On both occasions, I didn't enter the gardens because the first time it was raining heavily and the second time we were short on time to enter the garden. (So I took pictures with plastic flowers hehe)

From a blog that I read, it seems like the ticket can be used again. So if you are staying nearby in a MinSu, you would be able to visit it again at night to see their night lights.

And if you are wondering if there is anything to do around the area, there is a mini Carton King Shop, some restaurants, and across the street, you have MOS burger, Koi and a mini Lavender Cottage shop. Which I suppose the area is a rest stop as there are many parking lots and also a view deck where you can rest and peek through the commercialised binoculars to search for people on the other mountain? Haha (and Yodel to them if you like)

 7. A L I S H A N  R E C R E A T I O N A L  A R E A 

There are actually many things to see and play at the Ali Shan recreational area! But we didn't have the luxury of time to explore every part of it. On the way to the actual forest we actually passed by a few areas, such as:

   (1) Heaven and Earth Bridge  

Address: Zhushan Township, Nantou County 557, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Opening Hours: 7.30am to 5pm

Time to Spend There: 30 - 45 minutes

Admission Fee: FREE

So the actual name for this bridge would be the 天长地久桥 or also known as the Lover's Bridge (as the Chinese meaning behind that 4 letters of "Tian Chang Di Jiu" also mean "eternal love"). These 2 bridges have been around since 1937. According to my driver, there was some story behind why the bridge was built --- which I cannot remember clearly, but it has to do with 2 lovers, with one of them that is human and the other a deity or fairy (?).

The "Tian Chang" is the higher bridge that would require a bit of a hike up. It is suspended quite high above river, at least 50M (that view honestly made me re-think about my decision to do bungee jumping in the future). Whereas the "Di Jiu" bridge is at ground level that is also above the river and a parking lot, but probably less than 20M high. There is a also a temple and cute little monk statues surrounding the area. It seems like this place functions more as a rest stop for those going to AliShan than an actual attraction -- read: toilet break and convenience store.

   (2) Rising Lake Street 奮起湖老街  

Address: 604, Taiwan, Chiayi County, Zhuqi Township, Zhonghe Village Rise Lake
Opening Hours: 6am to 9pm

Time to Spend There: 30 - 45 minutes

Free Entry

Following the 2 bridges, we were dropped off at this old quiet street (Fen Qi Hu Lao Jie) that is famous for being a locomotive railway museum - housing some of the old school trains that were used in the past to go up AliShan, as well as its Bento meal!

The story behind this once bustling street is that before the 1980s, the locals heavily relied on the train services here to get around AliShan. However during the 1980s, the AliShan highway started operations and the need for taking the railway declined - as it was a slower and more inconvenient choice of transportation. Therefore, this old street is now another one of the "rest stops" for tourists before arriving at AliShan.

There is still a functioning train station, as it acts as the final stop (9th stop) on the mountain if you took the train from the city of JiaYi. However, the train ride that takes about 2.5 hours only leaves once a day on weekdays (leaving Jia Yi at 9am) and twice a day on weekend (9am and 10am) if you are intending to catch it! Prices for a round trip, up and down the mountain, would be 240NT and 120NT for one way -- its more advisable to take a car/taxi.

If you pass by this area, be sure to check out the narrow streets that sells traditional Taiwanese snacks, medications and food. There are also many shops selling handicrafts and souvenirs.  And when I was there, I saw fresh wasabi plants (see the last picture). They were almost everywhere in the old street and they were for sale too!

Apparently there is a bamboo forest near the town, almost resembling the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove in Kyoto. Check it out if you have the time :)

   (3) The Actual Ali Shan Forest Recreational Area 

Address: No.17, shunling village Chiayi County Alishan Township
Opening Hours: 8am - 10pm

Time to Spend There: 1.5 - 2.5 hour

Admission Fee: $300NT per adult, $150NT per student

Our driver dropped us off at the base of the forest and gave us the option to either take the bus up the mountain and hike down or take the train up and hike down. We chose the bus option up - which was $50NT/person, (tickets can be bought at the ticketing counter at the carpark) and train option to get down from the mountain - which was $100NT/person. (Tickets can be bought at where you are taking the train from, last train down would be at 4.30pm)

Our route was to take the bus from the carpark (bottom left of map) to Chao Ping Station (on the right in the white box) and we hiked upwards to the Old Sister pond and then down to the Scared Tree Station to take the forest train back down to the carpark. In between there would be the Tse Yung temple/rest stop that the bus option would also be available to go back down the mountain.

The recreational forest was to promote sustainability in the area as well as to educate people about the rich flora and fauna that ChiaYi have to offer. If you appreciate nature and hiking, then this is the right place for you. There are many contorted trees and weirdly formed trunks that resembles "caves", "bath tubs" etc. The ponds are also very clean and very serene looking. Some with pavilion and pretty flowers decorated around it. If you are lucky, you might be able to spot some animals and unique birds!

 8. F E E L I N G  1 8  D E G R E E S 

Address: No.20, Ci'en Street, Puli Township, Nantou Country 545, Taiwan (R.O.C) 545 南投县铺里镇慈恩街20号
Opening Hours: 10am - 10pm

Time to Spend There: 30 - 45 minutes 

Free entry

If you are a chocoholic, mark this place! 18 degrees started off as an online venture by Master Mao who has a passion for chocolates. The reason for their name is that because he believes that 18 degrees is the optimum temperature to ensure the quality of their chocolates -- which they aim to keep their store around that temperature. Each chocolate are 100% handmade with imported ingredients and contains no artificial flavorings.

If you aren't a big fan of chocolates, does Gelato and Ramen interest you? Besides chocolates, 18 degrees have a wide range of gelato that is rich in flavours. If not, fancy a FREE BOWL OF RAMEN? Yes you saw that right. Free. Don't expect a huge bowl of it, but a sampler bowl as big as your rice bowl. You would get to choose between spicy and shoyu flavour I believe. I'm not a huge fan of ramen, but this one I can eat. It isn't as salty as they one I ate in Japan, and the noodles are very tailored towards the Taiwanese tastebuds - chewy chewy chewy, or "QQ". Which by the way, you can buy the ramen home if you liked it!

Surrounding 18 degrees, you would also be able to find some bakeries and cafes. Notably one that sells cheesecake and another that sells HongKong egglets.

 9. C H U N G  T A I  C H A N  M O N A S T E R Y 

Address: No.2, Zhongtai Rd., Puli Township, Nantou County 545, Taiwan (R.O.C.

Opening Hours: Tues to Sun 8am - 5pm

Time to Spend There: 1 hour

Free entry

Believed to be one of the most influential Monastery in central Taiwan, it was designed by a highly respected architect, C.Y Lee, who was the brilliant mind behind Taipei 101 and Kaohsiung 85 Sky Tower. This is currently the world's second tallest Buddhist architecture and the construction costs around one billion Taiwan dollars.

The compound encompass a museum near the entrance that you can wander around to better understand the religion as well as a huge worship hall that is located on top of the hill. When you enter the hall, you would first be greeted with the Four Heavenly Kings at the four corners followed by the grand Gautama Buddha statue on the second level.

Even if you are not a follower of Buddhism, it would be an eye opener to see this magnificent structure and grounds that makes you feel like you can touch the skies. The garden that is located near the entrance also adds a zen touch to the area, allowing you to leave the place feeling relaxed and free of worries (momentarily!)

 (B) S H O P P I N G  I N  T A I C H U N G 

 1. F E N G  C H I A  N I G H T  M A R K E T 

Address: No. 440, Fuxing Rd,, Xitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407
Opening Hours: 5pm - 12am

Time to Spend There: 2 - 3 hours

This is the biggest and most popular night market in Taiwan. It started from FengJia University and soon expanded when they saw an increase in visitors. Like all other night markets, FengChia have many lanes of street food, with different streets specialising in different kinds of food. Some food that you must eat would be the MingLun Pancake, Tako-yakis on the main street as well as Bei He Papaya Milk. Be sure to come here on an empty stomach!

Don't be deterred by the crowd to explore the market as there are many small lanes that would bring about pleasant surprises around each bend. There is even a small "Japanese street" that sells Japanese snacks and items.

 

 2. Y I  Z H O N G  S T R E E T 

Address: No. 440, Yi Zhong St, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan 407
Opening Hours: 12pm - 10pm

Time to Spend There: 2 -3 hours

This would be the second busiest shopping district in Tai Chung. There are many similar product offering between Yi Zhong and Feng Chia Night Market. However, I would think that this would be the "Bugis Street" of Taichung as they mainly cater more to students where at FengChia, the offering can range from kids stuff to working adults. This market is more popular amongst the youths as there is they keep up with the latest trends.

And without a doubt, you would be able to find many street food here as well as fast food chains. You would also be able to find international brands and cafes around the area. There is also a shopping mall in the middle of the market -- a good place to visit if you want to use the washroom haha.

And this would conclude my Tai Chung/Nan Tou Travel Guide! I hope that you would find this helpful and inspirational. If you happen to have other places to recommend me to go for my next visit, do leave me a comment or email me at singingspikes@gmail.com :)

If you would prefer to travel with me, you can watch my vlogs on YouTube @Singingspikes:

Here is my latest video for my Taichung Trip in June 2016.

Love yourself and others,
Sharleen X