Its Spring time in Taiwan, the weather in Taipei was around 13c in early March & in smaller village towns up north the weather was much colder (10c) especially at night. Coming from a tropical country ie Malaysia, our group has to adapt to this weather changes so a thick blanket is needed to keep our body shields from the cold spell while sleeping !
Why Taiwan ? Here are some of our reasons for visiting this island country in East Asia surrounded by East & South China Seas & northwestern Pacific Ocean.
- My last visit to Taiwan (package tour) with my wife was in Nov 2004, 20 years ago !
- My travel buddy, Thompson & his wife's first time visit to Taiwan
- Focusing our visit on the north & west coast of Taiwan (Taipei, Ruifang, Houtong, Shifen, Pingxi, Jiufen, Keelung, Taichung, Chiayi, Tainan & Kaohsiung)
- Travel plan to include the top rated sights of Taiwan ie Yehliu Geopark, Yangmingshan National Park, Sun Moon Lake, Alishan Forest Railway, Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, Jiufen, Shifen, Pingxi & Houtong
- Pick the month of early March to travel due to cool weather & the Sakura season
- Savouring the local Taiwanese food especially the xiaolongbao, white carrot pork rib soup, braised pork rice, meat broth noodle soup, soya drink, carrot cakes, sugarcane smoked chicken, yam bread & pastries, Taro balls red bean dessert, bubble tea black jelly iced dessert etc
For this 20 days free & easy Taiwan trip, there was no "People Mountain People Sea" phenomenon in major tour sites our group visited. Everything seemed to be working well & in order, people are friendly & approachable, pedestrian friendly in zebra crossings, trains were on time, no major communication issue as all our group member could converse in Mandarin reasonably well & as for me in Hokkien dialect as well. There were no major traffic jam in highways & unusually long queue in ticketing counters & entrance sites, public transport is equally efficient, use of EasyCard (smart card) to pay for nation-wide public transport rides especially metro, trains & buses ! What a stress free Taiwan visit for us ! Using public transport ie train, Metro, bus & at times Uber cab, we were able to show up in all the touristy places & return. By the time we completed our Taiwan visit, it is heartening to note that our group was able to fulfil our dreams of seeing the top notch tourist attractions in Taiwan as planned. Simply said, if our group desires to visit a mountain scenic area, we "got mountain" to view eg Yangmingshan, Alishan & Fo Guang Shan, as for scenic lake & waterfront area, we "got water or deep blue sea" eg Sun Moon Lake, Yehliu Fishing Port & Tamsui, not to forget the Dome of Light in Formosa Boulevard Station, Kaohsiung & the tall Taipei 101, both "got light & height" to boast about ! As soon as our group landed in Taipei, we "got xiaolongbao", steaming hot to eat as a snack or simple lunch so happy eating & happy sightseeing, KM ! What else, KM ? What about "Got Old Streets", "Got Morning Markets", "Got Night Markets", "Got Sky Lanterns". "Got Old Chinese Temples" & last but not the least, "Got Cats" to play friend !
In summary, my 20 days Sakura season visit in Taiwan, a small island country "Got Mountain Got Water" once upon a time called Formosa was a fruitful one, there was no "People Mountain People Sea" in major tourist sites I visited so sleep well & enjoy your stay in Taiwan ! Here goes my story of this beautiful Formosa island called Taiwan "Got Mountain & Got Water", a great country for a short holiday especially for oldies !
Got Mountain
- Yangmingshan National Park, New Taipei City
- Yehliu Geopark, Wanli, New Taipei City
- Qingjing Farm, Nantou County
- Alishan National Scenic Area, Chiayi County
- Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum & Monastery, Kaohsiung
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| Alishan National Scenic Area |
- Golden Anchor Walkway of Tamsui River, New Taipei City
- Thermal Valley, Beitou, Taipei
- Shifen Waterfalls, New Taipei City
- Yehliu Fishing Port
- Sun Moon Lake, Nantou County
- Anping Canal Park, Tainan
- Anping Recreational Wharf, Tainan
- Taijiang National Park, Tainan
- Maritime Plaza, Keelung City
- Love River Water Park, Kaohsiung
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| Yehliu Fishing Port |
Got Height
- 101 Taipei, Taipei City
Got Light
- Dome of Light, Formosa Boulevard Station, Kaohsiung
Got Cats
- Houtong Cat Village, New Taipei City
- Pingxi, New Taipei City
- Shifen, New Taipei City
Got Old Streets
- Bopiliao Historical Street, Taipei City
- Tamsui Old Street, New Taipei City
- Ruifang Old Street, New Taipei City
- Shifen Old Street, New Taipei City
- Pingxi Old Street, New Taipei City
- Jiufen Old Street, New Taipei City
- Jiguang Street, Taichung
- Fengqihu Old Street, Chiayi County
- Anping Old Street, Tainan
- Shennong Street, Tainan
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| Shifen Old Street |
- Ximending Night Market, Taipei
- Shilin Night Market, Taipei
- Miaokuo Night Market, Keelung
- Flowers Garden Night Market, Tainan
- Liuhe Tourist Night Market, Kaohsiung
- Shuanglian Market, Taipei City
- Ren'ai Market, Keelung City
- Taichung Second Market, Taichung City
- Shuixian Gong Market, Tainan City
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| Taichung Second Market, Taichung City |
- Bagan Longshan Temple, Taipei City
- Confucius Temple, Taipei City
- Chenghuang Temple, Keelung
- Bao'an temple, Yehliu
- War of God Temple, Tainan
- Tiantan (Tiangong) Temple, Tainan
- Tianhou (Mazu) Temple, Anping, Tainan
- Goddess of Mercy (Kuan Yin) Temple, Tainan
- Zheng Cheng Gong Ancestral temple, Tainan
- Confucius Temple, Tainan
- Sanfeng Temple, Kaohsiung
- Feng Yi Jade Emperor (Tiangong) Temple, Kaohsiung
- Donglong Temple, Kaohsiung
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| War of God temple, Tainan |
- Ximending Night Market, Taipei
- Kunming Street, Taipei
- Downtown Chiayi
Travel Itinerary: Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) > Taoyuan (Taiwan) > Taipei > Ruifang > Keelung > Taipei > Taichung > Chiayi > Tainan > Kaohsiung > Kuala Lumpur
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| Kuala Lumpur > Taoyuan (Taiwan) approx 3,246km |
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| Taoyuan > Taipei > Ruifang > Cheelung > Taipei > Taichung > Chiayi > Tainan > Kaohsiung (approx 500km) |
Total expenses (20 days): Rm3,973 (US$836) per pax
- Airfare (KL > Taoyuan Rm, Kaohsiung > KL): Rm470 + Rm580 = Rm1,050 inclusive of a 25kg luggage fee
- Hotel (19 nights): Rm1,445 (twin sharing)
- Sim Card: Rm52
- Travel Insurance: Rm112
- Food & groceries: NT$4,225 (Rm634)
- EasyCard (Train, Metro & Bus): NT$2,500 (Rm375)
- Alishan Forest Railway: NT$768 (Rm115)
- Uber: NT$544 (Rm82)
- Boat: NT$200 (Rm30)
- Entrance fee: NT$220 (Rm33)
- Sundries: NT$300 (Rm45)
Currency exchange: US$1 = Rm4.75, NT (New Taiwan Dollar)$10 = Rm1.50, Rm10 = NT$6.67
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| Ximending, Taipei City |
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| Yangmingshan National Park New Taipei City |
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| Yehliu Fishing Port, Wanli District Taiwan |
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| Houtong Cat Village, New Taipei City |
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| Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum Dashu, Kaohsiung |
1) Taipei (5 nights)
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| Ximending Night Market Hanzhong Street, Taipei City |
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| Ximen Red House, Chengdu Road Taipei City |
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| Nishi Honganji Bell Tower Zhonghua Road, Taipei City |
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| Liberty Square, Zhongshan South Road Taipei City |
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| National Theater, Zhongshan South Road Taipei City |
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| National Concert Hall Zhongshan South Road, Taipei City |
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| Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall Zhongzhen District, Taipei City |
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| Changing of Honor Guards Chiang Kai Sek Memorial Hall Zhongzhen District, Taipei City |
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| Huashan 1914 Creative Park Bade Road, Taipei City |
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| Taipei 101, City Hall Road Taipei City |
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| Taipei World Trade Center Xinyi Road, Taipei City |
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| National Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall Ren'ai Road, Taipei City |
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| Bagan Longshan Temple Guangzhou Street, Taipei City |
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| Bopiliao Historic Street Kanding Road, Taipei City |
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| Taipei Main Station Beiping West Road, Taipei City |
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| Tamsui, Zhongzheng Road Tamsui, New Taipei City |
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| Shilin Night Market, Jihe Road Taipei City |
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| Yangmingshan National Park New Taipei City |
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| Beitou Hot Spring Museum Zhongshan Road, Beitou, Taipei City |
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| National Taiwan Museum Xiangyang Road, Taipei City |
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| 228 Peace Memorial Park Ketagatan Boulevard, Taipei City |
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| Presidential Office Building, Taipei Chongqing South Road, Taipei City |
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| Taipei Confucius Temple Dalong Street, Taipei City |
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| National Revolutionary Martyrs Shrine Belan Road, Taipei City |
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| Thermal Valley, Beitou Taipei City |
2) Ruifang (2 nights)
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| Ruifang Train Station Mingdeng Road, New Taipei City |
3) Houtong
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| Houtong Cat Village Ruifang District, New Taipei City |
4) Shifen
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| Shifen Waterfall, Pingxi District New Taipei City |
5) Pingxi
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| Pingxi Sky Lanterns Pingxi District, New Taipei City |
6) Jiufen
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| Jiufen Old Street, Ruifang District New Taipei City |
7) Keelung (2 nights)
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| Maritime Plaza, Keelung |
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| Yehliu Fishing Port Wanli District, Keelung |
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| Bao'an Temple, Wanli District, Keelung |
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| Yehliu Geopark, Wanli District Keelung |
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| Grand Buddha, Zhongshan Park Keelung |
8) Tai Chung (3 nights)
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| Taichung Train Station |
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| Taichung Old Station (1917) Taiwan Boulevard, Central District Taichung |
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| Jiguang Shopping Street Central District, Taichung |
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| Taroko Mall, Fuxing Road Taichung |
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| Taichung Park, Shuangshi Road North District, Taichung |
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| Taichung Mayoral Residence Shuangshi Road, North District Taichung |
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| Taichung Heritage Park, Fuxing Road South District, Taichung |
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| Taichung 2nd Market, Sanmin Road Central District, Taichung |
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| Painted Animated Lane, Linsen Road West District, Taichung |
9) Nantou County
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| Puli, Nantou County |
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| Sun Moon Lake, Yuchi, Nantou County |
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| Qingjing Farm, Nantou County |
10) Chiayi (2 nights)
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| Alishan Forest Railway Train, Chiayi |
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| Alishan National Scenic Area Chiayi County |
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| Fengqihu Station, Zhuqi Township Chiayi County |
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| Fengqihu Old Street, Chiayi County |
11) Tainan (3 nights)
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| Chihkan Tower, Minzu Road West Central District, Tainan |
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| God of War Temple, Yongfu Road Central West Central District, Tainan |
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| National Museum of Taiwan Literature Tang Dezhang Boulevard West Central District, Tainan |
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| Flower Garden Tourist Night Market Hai'an Road, North District, Taichung |
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| Anping Canal Park, Anping District Tainan |
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| Former Tait & Co Merchant House Gubao Street, Anping District, Tainan |
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| Old Julius Mannich Merchant House Anbei Road, Anping District, Tainan |
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| Anping Old Fort, Guosheng Road Anping District, Tainan |
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| Tiantan Tiankong Temple Zhongyi Road, West Central District, Tainan |
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| Tainan Confucius Temple Nanmen Road West Central District, Tainan |
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| Tainan Art Museum, Zhongyi Road West Central District, Tainan |
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| Navy Destroyer Museum, Anping District Tainan |
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| Zheng Cheng Gong Ancestor Temple Tainan City |
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| Shennong Street, Tainan City |
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| Tainan Park, Gongyuan South Road North District, Tainan City |
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| Snail Alley, Yongfu Rd West Central District, Tainan City |
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| Taijiang National Park HQ Sicao Boulevard Annan District, Tainan |
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| Taijiang National Park Boat Ride, Tainan |
12) Kaohsiung (2 nights)
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| Central Park, Qianjin District Kaohsiung City |
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| Sanfeng Temple, Hebei 2nd Road Kaohsiung City |
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| Liouhe Tourist Night Market Liuhe 2nd Road, Xinxing District Kaohsiung City |
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| Love Logo, Love River Water Park Kaohsiung City |
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| Dome of Light Formosa Boulevard Station Kaohsiung City |
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| Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum Tongling Road, Dashu District Kaohsiung City |
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| Fo Guang Shan Monastery Dashu District, Kaohsiung |
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| Dream Mall, Zhonghua 5th Road Cianjhen, Kaohsiung City |