about HSR

hi! we%26#39;re going back to taipei nxt yr april and we%26#39;re planning on going to kaohsiung too

we%26#39;ll be taking a one way trip to kaohsiung then HSR to taipei then spend some days in taipei before going home

just wanna ask about the HSR, do we need to book online or can we buy the tickets at the station the day we%26#39;ll be leaving kaohsiung? is it possible that tickets might run out on the day that we plan to leave kaohsiung?

we plan to stay at either King%26#39;s Town hotel or Howard plaza hotel in Kaohsiung? which is better?

that%26#39;s it! thanks so much!

about HSR

Hi Philippines!

There%26#39;s normally lots of space on Taiwan%26#39;s High Speed Rail trains.

A typical train has about 12 cars. Four of them are unreserved seating. You buy your ticket from a machine in the station. Machines are completely bilingual in Chinese and English. Seats are occupied on a first-come basis.

About seven cars have Reserved seating. You can book now, or wait until you get to the station. You can book now and get a confirmation number, then pick up your ticket from the machine in the station. Seats are the same quality as in Unreserved, but the ticket holder is allocated a specific seat.

One car is Business Class. It costs more and the seats are more plush. There is a stewardess to fetch things for you and also to see that the riff raff from Unreserved don%26#39;t sneak into the Business Class car.

We took three rides on the High Speed Rail between Taipei and Taoyuan. All three times, these were lots of empty seats. I don%26#39;t know if the train ever gets full, nor whether HSR can add extra cars or run extra trains at peak times.

High Speed Rail trains are fast, unbelievably smooth (especially to us westerners used to jarring rides on our decaying North American rail system) and sparkling clean. It takes exactly two hours between suburban Kaohsiung and Taipei station.

Happy travels, and let me know if I can help further!

David

capetien10@gmail.com

about HSR

I stayed at King%26#39;s Town Hotel before. Room and toilet are spacious, provided everything you need. It also comes with buffet breakfast that has good selections. Location is strategic, behind Kaohsiung Train Main Station but if you want to visit Liuhe market etc on the other side of the station, you need to buy platform ticket but don%26#39;t worry, there%26#39;s always people rushing to catch train around the few platforms.

thanks Capetien and momow! =)

i guess we%26#39;ll just buy the tickets at the station then

the reviews about King%26#39;s Town were good so we decided to book a room already (^_^)

btw, we%26#39;ll be staying in kaohsiung for 3 days and 2 nights

we plan to go to dream mall, sinkujiang shopping, love river, cheng ching lake, Dragon %26amp; Tiger Pagodas, Spring %26amp; Autumn Pavilions, Confucius Temple, urban spotlight, liuho night market

we%26#39;ll be arriving kaohsiung saturday at around 7 in the evening so i guess that would be 2 days and 2 nights actually

is it doable in 3 days and 2 nights? any suggestions on what our itinerary should be? (o_O) thanks!

Urban Spotlight and Shinkuchan, at KRT Central Park (R9) Station, can be done together, since Urban Spotlight doesn%26#39;t require much time.

If you have a few hours to spare before your train departs, you can drop by Hanshin Arena Mall (R14) on your way to the HSR Station (R16).

http://www.hanshinarena.com.tw/

http://60.249.158.194/service/service-1.aspx

Thanks for the replies! I tried making an itinerary for our trip to Taiwan. I manage to make one for kaohsiung (^O^) Pls. advise, thanks!

Kaohsiung

1st day Saturday

- 6:40pm arrive in Kaohsiung (is the airport connected to the MRT?)

- MRT R11 check in King%26#39;s Town Hotel

- eat dinner near hotel (any suggestions where?)

- MRT R10 exit 1 Lioho Night Market

2nd day Sunday

- breakfast at hotel

- MRT R16 Lotus Lake, Confucius Temple, Dragon and Tiger Pagodas (is it open early in the morning?)

- Cheng Ching Lake (how do we go from Lotus Lake to here? taxi? how much would it cost?)

- New Jyuejiang (do we also ride a taxi to go here?)

- Yujhu Commercial Zone

basically, we%26#39;re gonna roam around this area, any suggestions on where we should eat lunch?

- Urban Spotlight

- Love River

- i guess, Lioho Night Market again

can we do all this in a day? I want to visit the places that%26#39;s worth visiting and popular in Kaohsiung so feel free to tell me if the places i chose are worth visiting or not (^_^)

3rd day Monday

- breakfast at hotel

- Sizih (need suggestions on what to do here? and is it worth going?)

- Dream Mall

- MRT R11 roam area around hotel

Are these near the hotel?

Dalian Shoe Street

Jianguo Computer Street (btw, my sister is planning on buying a laptop, any idea where%26#39;s cheaper, kaohsiung or in taipei?)

- Check- out Hotel

- MRT R14 Hanshin

- MRT R16 HSR to Taipei

don%26#39;t have any itineraries yet for taipei..hehe

anyways, hope to receive any comments and suggestions

thanks! (^_^)