HOLIDAY IN TAIWAN

Holiday in Taiwan from 27th July -2nd August 2014

Day 1 Kuala Lumpur to Taipei
My daughter suddenly had to clear some of her leave and she decided to take the leave to coincide with the school holidays so that I could go somewhere with her. We decided to go to Taiwan with Leisure Vacation KL. It was a round island tour. We booked the tour through Golden Dragon Ipoh. All the preparations were done by the company from the booking of the bus to/fro KLIA to the air tickets. We met the tour guide Albert for the first time at the airport. There were 27 of us in the group including him.We flew by China Airline at 2.40pm  and arrived at Taoyuan airport, Taipei at 7.20 pm. The flight was smooth except for the usual turbulence. Our Taiwanese tour guide Steven was already waiting for us at  with his company bus. We had to wait for a while for some of our group members to buy phone cards.

At KLIA before the flight

In the aircraft

MOB.Edible.

The first place we visited was Shilin night market. At the basement were stalls selling food. We bought a sausage coated with rice.......ok only. We also tried  'or chien' but found it not to our taste.  We didn't try the famous fried chicken.

One of the many food stalls in Shilin

Me and the sausage

Or chien Taiwanese style

After Shilin we checked into Holiday Inn Hotel for a good night rest after such a long day.

 Day 2 Taipei to Hualian
We had buffet breakfast at the hotel and then it was off to CKS memorial. We were supposed to go to see the changing of the guards at the Marty's Shrine but missed it as some of us were late in getting back at the designated place.

CKS Memorial

Next, we visited Chuifen which is located up in the hills of Northeast Taiwan. The road to get there was narrow and winding, like going up Genting Highlands. It was crowded with tourists.The must try dessert, taro potato balls was quite nice. We also had popiah wrapped ice-cream. Yummy.

Shops lining both sides of the narrow streets

Ice-cream popiah

The famous taro potato dessert

We then took a slow train to Hualien. The bus was waiting for us at the station to ferry us to our next destination, The Seven Star Beach. It was burning hot. Nothing spectacular about the place.

It was really hot in summer in Taiwan

Behind me is the coast

We went to Hualian town and had Eunuch Chicken for dinner. Of course it was not only chicken. We also had fish, fried prawns, seaweed, soup and vegetables. After dinner we checked into Hualian Lakeshore Hotel which was rated 5 star.

DAY 3 Hualian to Taitung
After breakfast at the hotel, we left Hualian for Taitung. On the way, we toured Taroko Gorge, a spectacular gorge carved out by rushing river water through marble and granite. The road along the way was narrow and winding and it demanded a lot of skills from the bus driver to maneuver the vehicle safely through the narrow sharp bends of the road. We stopped at one of the scenic spot and had a cup of coffee and chung (dumpling which comes free with the cup of coffee). We checked into Hotel Royal Chichfen. At 8pm we were entertained with aboriginal dances and songs by the local aboriginal group at the open air stage. After that, we indulged ourselves in the natural hot spring water.

Scene along the way from Hualian to Taitung

The road from Hualian to Taitung

Pic taken at the Taroko Centre

The sharp bend and narrow road at Taroko Gorge

Taroko Gorge

The spacious hotel room

View from the balcony

DAY 4 Taitung to Kaohsiung
 After breakfast we travelled from Taitung to Kaoshsiung. Our first destination in Kaohsiung was Eda outlet, the latest shopping mall in the city. Next to the mall was Eda theme park but our tour itinerary did not include that. We were given only 2 hours at the mall to eat and shop before we were rushed off to our next destination, the Lotus Lake and the Spring and Autumn Pavilions. It was named Lotus Lake because originally there were plenty of lotuses in this lake. We had to enter the pagoda via the dragon's mouth and exit through the tiger's. The last destination for the day was the famous Leo Ho night market. We had our dinner there (on our own) before calling it a day.

The Lotus Lake

We went in through the dragon's mouth and out through the tiger's

Touch the animal for good luck

Our room for the night

Day 5 Kaoshiung to Taichung
This morning, after breakfast we took the bus to the railway station to experience a bullet train ride. It is like taking  the ETS train back home. We then took a train ride to Jiji station and had an authentic railway lunch. The lunch box which the food came in was taken home as souvenir. Then we took a bus ride to Sun Moon Lake. Beside the Sun Moon Lake was the peacock farm. There was a stall outside selling roasted yam and potato .......very yummy. We had buffet dinner at Buffet Le Soleol. We enjoyed the food there very much as there were plenty of choices from seafood to dessert. It was a very satisfying dinner. That night we went to another night market, the Fengjia Night Market.

Waiting for our lunch box

Our lunch came in a wooden container

Chicken, fishball, and vege with rice

One of the peacocks at the peacock farm

The Wen Wu temple at Sun Moon Lake

A view of Sun Moon Lake

At the entrance of Buffet Le Soleol

A wonderful selection of food

Day 6 Taichung to Taipei
Our first destination after breakfast was to the Martyr's Shrine to witness the changing of the guard. Pity the 2 guards who have to stand motionless despite the heat. Then we went to Wu Fen Pu clothes wholesale market for shopping. In the afternoon we had lunch at FiveCents Drift Wood Restaurant  Very arty type of place which will draw those with inclination towards art.
After lunch, we went to Taipei 10l. The queue to the lift to go up to the top was long. However it was worth the wait because without going up, it was like not going to Taiwan at all. Next on the list was Xi Men Ding, another night market. We put the night up in a motel. In Taiwan a motel is in the category of a 5 star hotel. Very satisfied with the accommodation. 

The guard at the entrance of the Marty's Shrine

Entrance of FiveCent Drift Wood Restaurant

The interior of the restaurant

Some of the dishes served at the restaurant

At the top of 101

View from the top

Our room in the motel

Day 7 Taipei to Kuala Lumpur
The morning call was at 5 am......we had to get to the airport to catch our flight back to Malaysia. The flight was scheduled to take off at 8.50am and land in KL at 1.30 pm. However, there was a slight delay in taking off. The flight was a bit rough. The food served on board was better this time round.  By the time we claimed our luggage it was almost 2.30pm. We had to rush to catch our bus back to Ipoh. We reached Ipoh at about 6pm.