Welcome to my blog: Taiwan trip 2008

Our first day destination for Taiwan trip, we stayed at ShanXia for 2 nights.

Having our lunch in Tao Yuan International airport.

After the lunch, we went to ShanXia by taking bus from Tao Yuan International airport. The time taken for the journey was quite long that is around 2 hours although the distance is not so far. This mainly because the bus stopped at so many stops to picked up and dropped down passenger.

Bus Stop

Bus ticket

Finally we reached at the hotel at around 5pm and after some rest at the hotel, we just took our dinner in a small restaurant just in front of the hotel.

Hotel room

Our dinner

Second day.... breakfast at the hotel.

We planned to visit ShanXia old town on foot and to have our lunch on the way.

Our lunch...

Doing some shopping and walking along the street to the old town.

Finally we reached at the old town... 山峡老街

Exploring the old town street...

At the end of the old town street...

Dinner...

Starting from the third day in Taiwan, we joined a ground tour which was arranged earlier when we were still in Malaysia, it was a 6 days full board tour. We decided to take up the ground arrangement when we found the transportation in Taichung and Tainan are not so convenient and it might take up a lot of time in traveling from 1 destination to another destination.

Taiwan High Speed Rail (高铁)
The tour is to experience the speed of "Taiwan Bullet Train" from Taoyuan to Taipei.

National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (台湾民主纪念馆)
Arrived at National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall (National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall) by following the direction at Taipei Station. The hall is a famous monument erected in memory of Chiang Kai-shek.

Martyr’s Shrine (忠烈祠)
We had a chance to watch the elaborate ceremony of changing guards hourly. Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the people who sacrificed their lives fighting for the Republic of China (commonly known as Taiwan).

National Palace Museum (故宫博物馆)
One of the world's largest assemblage of priceless Chinese art treasures.

LeoFoo Village Theme Park (六福村主题游乐园)

Having some fun at the theme park for around 3 hours.

Fong JiaNight Market (逢甲夜市)

This is a night market in Taichung, we shopped for some low-price clothing and tried up various local foods.

Chung Tai Buddhist Temple (埔里中台禅寺)

A very pleasant classical Buddhist temple with spacious, peaceful grounds.

Sun Moon Lake (日月潭)
The largest lake in Taiwan. It is called Sun Moon Lake because there is an island (光华岛) in the middle of the lake which its Northern part looks like a sun and southern part looks like a moon.

Peacock Garden (孔雀园)
The garden is located at the Sun Moon Lake, which you can see peacock in the garden or enjoy the lake's scenery in front of the garden.

Wen Wu Temple (文武庙)
The templeto enshrine and worship Confucius, Guan Gong and YueFaye.You can also enjoy the Sun Moon Lake view in front of the temple.

Da Keng Leisure Farm (大坑休闲农场)
You may see the Sunrise, Cloud-sea and have Animal & Plant botany area to visit. You may also enjoy the mountain spring spa, barbecue dinner and some other activities arranged by the leisure farm.

Chihgu salt-mountain (七股鹽山)

We experienced the salt mountain climbing, tasted the salt, salted tau hua and salted ice cream.

Hakka cultural village (客家文化村)

We saw the traditional Hakka handicrafts, such as hand-make umbrella and bamboo handicrafts.

Fo Guang Shan (佛光山)

The center of Buddhism in Tainan

Chih Pen Hot Spring (知本温泉区) Taitung

You can relax your body in the hot spring or you can also enjoy in the hotel room since the water supply is from the hot spring.

Taroko National Park (太鲁阁国家公园)

One of the seven national parks in Taiwan

Amei Aboriginal Cultural Village (阿美族文化村)

We enjoyed the cultaral performance by Amei tribe.

Chiufen (九份老街)

Enjoyed the scenery from Chiu Fen and tried up some famous local dishes.

Yehliu (野柳风景区)

The natural rock formations of Yehliu created by erosion and other natural forces.

101 Shopping Mall (101购物中心)

Taiwan landmark skyscraper located in Taipei.

Shihlin Night Market (士林夜市)

Great place of local food, clothes and souvenirs.

After the 6 days full board ground tour, we still have one and a half day left before our flight. We stayed at the hotel near Ximending. Near by the hotel is the Ximending Pedestrian Area which was the first pedestrian area built in Taipei and is the largest in Taiwan.

On the 9th day at Taiwan, we had paid a visit to Danshuei Old street (淡水老街) and Danshuei Fisherman Wharf(渔人码头). We took the subway from Ximending station to Danshuei Old street and took a bus from the old street to Danshuei Fisherman Wharf.

We did some shopping at the Ximending Pedestrian Area and also at the DanShuei Old Street. They were a great place for shopping, local foods and souvenirs.

Walking distance from hotel to Ximending Pedestrian Area...