Ten Trivia For Sharing

I would like to thank all who have contributed information on this forum which enabled me to have an enjoyable and wonderful holiday two weeks back with my wife and three children. We took things leisurely so I鈥檓 not going to share my schedule and trip details. Instead, I would like to contribute 10 trivia points which others may take into consideration when doing their own planning.

Ten Trivia For Sharing

Point 1: Stay around Taipei Main Station(TMS).

Many would prefer to stay at Ximendeng because it is a hive of activity especially at night and the hotels are relatively less expensive. For me with 3 children in tow, staying around TMS gives easier access to the MRT, railway and HSR as well as buses to many attractions. Less grouses about walking and inconveniences. There is also a tourist information centre at TMC if I need any travel information. Taxis is less suitable for me as they can generally take only up to 4 people.

Ten Trivia For Sharing

Point 2: Hualien鈥檚 Looi Lai Fu vs Chen Guang Fa

The competition between Looi Lai Fu and Chen Guang Fa and also their tie-up with Roseland and Stone Minsus is quite well known in Taipei, Taichung and SML. The more prudent ones will avoid taking sides and even ask you if you have preference for cab driver or minsu before they help to make arrangements for you.

Point 3: Paying for driver accommodation

I took a cab from Hualien to SML with an overnite stopover at Ching Jing. I was told that I have to pay for the accommodation for the driver since this involves crossing from one county to another. My cab was arranged by Mr Looi who drove my family around in Hualien and Tarako Gorge with his usual high standard of fun and service quality as mentioned by many forumers

Point 4: Plan the weekends well

Weekend is also the time when the local people take short breaks and also unwind. I went to Alishan and it was very crowded. I had difficulty getting accommodation at Alishan as I did not book earlier. Fengchihu was also full of people on my way down from Alishan to Chiayi.

Similarly, I went to Jiufen and Keelung Miaokou Night Market on the following Sat and the two places were extremely, extremely crowded.

For those who do not like crowds, plan your schedule away from all the popular spots. Also mingling with the crowds will definitely eat into your sightseeing, shopping and travelling time.

Point 5: Highway 21

As Alishan railway was not operational, I took a cab from SML to Alishan travelling via Highway 21. The scenery was great with good clear views of Yushan . During my journey, the mist came in early about 2.00 pm.

Just to point out that parts of the journey and tourists sights will overlap if one takes the package to watch sunrise over Yushan at Tatajia instead of the Zhushan sunrise.

Point 6 : Alishan cab driver

My cab driver, a Ms Shi ( HP : 0919-860951) who drives a Volkswagen 9-seater, is an Alishan tour guide and stays in Alishan. She is friendly and helpful; she made some stops for us to buy the local produce and take photos. She is also a shrewd businesswoman who was subtly trying to encourageus to take up her Alishan sunrise tour package and the transport from Alishan to Chiayi the following day.

I took up her cab from Alishan to Chiayi because it was a weekend and I did not have enough time and knowledge on how best to use the public transportation to get to Chiayi train station especially on a very crowded weekend. It is not cheap at NT3500 in my opinion and one probably can share a 9-seater at NT300 - 400 per person. Having a vehicle to oneself allows the flexibility on the duration of stops during the journey and also unscheduled stops. In addition , my family had accumulated a fair bit of shopping through our journey from Hualien to Alishan besides our luggage and would be awkward if we shared transport.

Although we were running late, Ms Shi made an unscheduled roadside stop for us to take photos of some lovely blooming flowers and even helped my kids to take photos. At our last scheduled at a reservoir after that. we were late and it was quite dark at about 1730 hrs; she still stopped to let us take a breather and some photos. I thought she could have just pointed out the reservoir to us and kept driving or even skip the stop but she did not and I was pleasantly surprised that she stuck to her side of the bargain and of her excellent attitude.

Hiring your own cab is not cheap as one can share private vans or take the public transport but I also reckon that you can have better negotiation power if it is a weekday and get lower rates.

Point 7 : Taichung bits and bytes

I saw some recent postings about Zaw Jung Hotel in Taichung. I stayed there and my view is that the scent of cigarette smoke was there in the corridors but the 6-person room that I stayed in was okay and did not have any smell. It is a convenient location for me as the bus-stop to Lukang (or Lugang) is located diagonally opposite the hotel about 200m away. Also, I stored all the luggage at the Taichung railway left luggage centre (@ 17 NT per piece) before doing a day out at Lukang. The left luggage centre operates up to 8.00 pm. Alternately, you can also use the coin-operated storage lockers located next to it.

Point 8: The sun sets early in winter.

The sun sets before 5.00 pm in Dec and so if you want to watch sunset at Danshui, Alishan, Yangmingshan or even Ching Jing, make sure you cater and plan your program properly otherwise you will miss the beauty of the sunset.

Point 9: Museums are typically closed on Mon.

If you want to visit museums in Taipei and Taichung, they are closed on Mon except the CKS Musuem, Sun Yat Sen Museum and the National Palace Museum from my information search.

Point 10: Student passes/Youth Travel Card

If you are 15 to 3o years old, apply for a Youth Travel Card upon arrival. There are discounts to many of the commonly visited places. The discount could even be better than the student discount. If the kids are less than 15 years old, bring their student passes along. It does not matter if it is not a Taiwanese student pass, the service staff just want some evidence that the kids are students. I have not been rejected for showing Singapore student passes for the places that I have visited (e.g Miramar Ferris wheel, Taipei 101, Yehliu Geopark. Taipei Miniatures Museum)

Hopefully the information I have shared can help others to plan their trips to Taiwan. Cheers.

Good 10 trivia!

It%26#39;s been some time since we get a good ';review'; here from a forumer returning from his/her trip.

Refreshing. Fun. Thks for sharing, BrandyOx.

TA :-)

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