Taiwan Diaries – Kaohsiung and Taipei

I always find travelling soul-tisfying. There’s something youthful with meeting new people, walking on unfamiliar streets, and having the guts to say “Yes! Let’s go!”. Travelling really lightens up the mood and helps me let go of worries. I think it also made me a better person in a way that I get to make wiser decisions, weigh my options better, and choose fights that are worthy of time. Sounds fruitful, right? Let me share to you my recent adventure in Taiwan. I have a few recommendations also that would be noteworthy if you happen to visit Kaohsiung and Taipei.

Taiwan Weather

Our visit to Taiwan was during the early days of March. Upon checking weather reports, the average temperature were around 20 degrees Celsius. Judging from that, it’s already fairly manageable with a light jacket or cardigan and jeans. I’ve also done tons of research so I could plan well of my OOTDs, LOL. Winter in Taiwan ends by February, and spring starts to linger by early March. Hence, it would still be very cold. However, Kaohsiung, being located at the southern part of Taiwan has relatively warmer temperature as to Taipei.

One tip that really helped me choose and plan my clothes well is through checking Instagram stories. You just have to type on the search bar places that you intend to visit, and select Places, which is a search filter alongside Top, People and Tags. From there, you get to see real-time what people are wearing and how the weather is. It was very helpful, and I really recommend doing it. Hence, my family and I brought light long-sleeves and denim jackets for Kaohsiung, yet if you have high tolerance of the cold, then a shirt and a pair of jeans would simply do. Meanwhile, we brought boots and thicker jackets for Taipei.

Where to Stay

It has always been through Airbnb or Booking.com that I scan for places to stay in. I think they’re the easiest and most reliable especially when I consider reviews of previous guests. Luckily, I found the best places to stay in Kaohsiung and in Taipei!

Kaohsiung

Sandy’s place was so clean, spacious and luxurious and we really got the value of our money. Also, it has a wonderful view of Lotus Pond. There was no worry communicating with Sandy because she speaks English well. Most of all, we appreciate how Sandy lightened our baggage – literally. She helped us find a safe place to leave our bags for a few hours so we could enjoy watching Maroon 5’s concert.

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Click here to check Sandy’s place.

Taipei

Paul was kind enough to allow us to leave our bags in his place hours before the agreed check-in time. His place is very clean, and has enough space for the five of us. His place is located a few meters walk from Taipei 101. It’s also a few minutes away from the MRT where the next station is already Taipei 101. What we appreciate the most from Paul was he made sure that we enjoyed our stay. He even went out of his way to address to our other request – that is to find a private car which we can hire for the day. He stayed in touch even after we checked out to make sure that everything was going well with the private car and driver that we hired.

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Click here to check Paul’s place.

Money

Taiwan’s currency is NTD or New Taiwan Dollar. The conversion during our visit was around 1.70 Philippine Peso as to 1 NTD.

Going around

Going around Taiwan is fairly easy. I find that the MRT is the most convenient mode of transportation because the directions in stations are easy to follow. Though I didn’t try Uber, my sister mentioned that it is expensive. There were also times when taxi drivers didn’t use their metro. We experienced a taxi driver mentioning a fixed price, and another using the metro but topping it with another 50 NTD.

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Our Adventure

Kaohsiung

“It was the first time that my mom and I missed a flight.”

Our flight bound to Kaohsiung was scheduled to leave by 4PM of February 28. However, odds were not in our favor during that time because we missed our flight. Yes, it was the first time that my mom and I missed a flight. The airline’s next scheduled flight to Kaohsiung would be after two days, and it’s a no to us. We have to be in Kaohsiung by March 1 because our main agenda, Maroon 5’s Red Pill Blues Tour Concert, was scheduled on that day. Luckily, my sister found another airline whose flight was scheduled to leave by 8PM of the 28^th and she booked it for us. The new flight details include a 10-hour layover in Hong Kong. Whew! Just when I thought we’d have a rest for the night!

Our layover in Hong Kong made us groggy and restless. There were convenient stores on the waiting area, and there were a lot of people sleeping on couches whom were just like us – waiting. It’s nice to know that Hong Kong International Airport has shower rooms. Yet, sad to say, we didn’t have our baggage with us because they’ll be brought directly to Kaohsiung. That 10-hour layover seems to be the longest waiting time of my life because, honestly, I hate layovers. I say, this trip haven’t started yet, and I thought I lost all my energy already.

Finally!

Mom and I arrived at Kaohsiung by 10 in the morning of March 1. Kaohsiung’s Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) was only a few minutes’ walk from the airport. We bought our iPass for 100 NTD, which is non-refundable, and loaded it with another hundred. It took us around 20 minutes to arrive in Zouying District where our Airbnb is located. Also, the station of Zouying is also called the THSR, or Taiwan High Speed Rail. It is the fastest mode of transportation all the way from the south of Taipei, Kaohsiung, to the north, which is Taipei.

We were greeted by my sister, his boyfriend and my boyfriend as we alight the MRT. We were all rushing already as we only have half an hour left at our Airbnb, and mom and I have still need to take a shower. It was another 10-minute walk as we arrived at our place. With no more resting, we checked out of the place after 20 minutes.

Exploring Kaohsiung

Our itinerary in Kaohsiung did not push through. We mainly plan to go to Cijin Island and feast on fresh seafood catch for lunch but we lack time already. We arrived at Sizihwan MRT Station where the ferry going to Cijin Island awaits, but the queue was too long. It no longer seemed feasible for us. Hence, we stopped by at Old God Hot Pot Restaurantfor lunch and chilled at Du Chuan Tou for their famous Shaved Ice Mountain.

Old God Hot Pot Restaurant

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Du Chuan Tou

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Around 4 in the afternoon, with satisfied stomachs and ear-touching smiles, we were already on our way to Kaohsiung World Games Stadium. We picked up our paid ticket at the ticket booth and spent the night drooling at Adam’s falsetto.

If you’re wondering how and where we bought our ticket, it’s through TixCraft which is the authorized ticket seller in Taiwan. We bought tickets beforehand from an unauthorized ticket seller, viagogo.com. It was our mistake to check the reviews before paying. We were afraid that we’d get fake tickets just like from those who purchased from Viagogo in the past. Hence, we repurchased again from TixCraft.

Leaving Kaohsiung: Night Trip

After the concert, we headed back to retrieve our baggage and went straight to Ubus terminal. Ubus has frequent trips going to Taipei. The fare of each person cost 530NTD and the trip duration takes 5 hours. Ubus has very spacious leg room, a comfort room, and comfortable seats perfect for long trips. Each seat is equipped with USB charger, lights, seatbelt and footrest. What I love about the seats is that the sides of the headrest can be adjusted inwards. It acts as a pillow to avoid stiff neck or neck cramps. Off we go to the north – Taipei.

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Recommended One-Day Itinerary in Kaohsiung

• Turn bad luck to good fortune at the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas at Lotus Pond.
• Savor freshly-catched seafood at Cijin Island and bike around to take snapshots of Black Sand Beach, Rainbow Church and Sea Pearl.
• Head back to Taiwan mainland and quench your thirst at Du Chuan Tou’s Shaved Ice Mountain.
• Get lost and learn about humanistic Buddhism at Fo Guang Shan Monastery.
• Satisfy your street food cravings at Liuhe Night Market.

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Taipei

We arrived at Taipei’s Bus Terminal at around 8 in the morning. We left our baggage at the lockers for 3 hours, which is the minimum, for 50NTD and went off to stroll around the place. Our first agenda of the day: breakfast. I think it has always been a “tradition” to try different countries’ McDo. So far, it’s Taiwan’s McDo which is my favorite. Their seasoning of chicken is perfect, and their hash brown is the thickest I’ve tried. After breakfast and a few minutes of walking around, we set to visit Paul’s place and left our baggage. We walked for around 20 minutes from our Airbnb to Taipei 101, and tried to search for Din Tai Fung. Lunch, here we come!

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Light Stroll around Taipei

Chiang Kai Shek was the first place we visited. It is a memorial hall erected in honor and memory of the previous President of China – Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Luckily, we saw beautiful cherry blossoms! We did not expect that cherry blossoms at the memorial hall so it was a win-win visit for us.

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After taking hundreds of photos, we went next to Ximenting/Shi-men Ting for dinner and to stroll again. Ximenting is very lively – with all the street performers, lights, people, and food. Shopping was quite expensive compared to Hong Kong and Bangkok. I was able to try milk tea at Ximenting since it’s one of the must-try in Taiwan. However, I was not that satisfied with what I bought from Banquest. My sister kept on insisting about Tiger milk tea. Well, that would be one reason to go back, LOL!

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Fruits were also overwhelming because of their size and vibrant colors. They are alluring, to be honest. My mom was intrigued about the atis, or sugar apple, because it was almost the same size as our face! We tried it and it was sweet. Definitely give it a try if you happen to see one at Ximenting!

The last stop for our first day in Taipei was at Shilin Night Market to check on street foods and souvenirs. Shilin Market was beyond what I’ve expected. There were a lot of games for all ages! Some of the games were balloon shooting/popping, fish catching for kids, and shrimp catching for adults. I was quite amazed, most specially for the shrimp-catching, because they grill what you caught. There were a lot of kids playing even if it’s past 10 already. Maybe because it was the weekend, or it’s just simply normal for them.

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Private Car Tour (Last Minute Booking)

Our last day in Taipei was short of planning. I was supposed to book a private car through Klook, but it wasn’t available anymore. My sister and I asked help from Paul and he made an appointment for us. It was really pure luck that we were able to book a private car and a driver on the same day as scheduled. We got a special price, which is 6500NTD, for we included airport transfer aside from the tour itself. Hence, we waited for Jordan, our driver, and we’re off by 8:30 in the morning. Jordan drove a Volkswagen van with a maximum seating capacity of 9.

Yangmingshan National Park

Our first trip was a visit to Yangmingshan National Park. It was starting to rain as we ascend the mountain to reach the park, and it started pouring when we arrived. Our first stop was Flower Clock where there were already a few cherry blossoms in bloom. We were too early for the full bloom since spring is just starting. There were also a lot of people at the Flower Clock during our visit.

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After the Flower Clock, we visited Zuzihu, which is a wide plantation of callalily. The place is very fresh, but cold and foggy. However, it was beautiful and peaceful. There were not much people in this place. Mountains surround the area, and a particular mountain has smoke which I mistaken to be a fog. To my surprise, that would be our next stop.

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Xiaoyoukeng was the last place we visited in Yangmingshan National Park. It is a mountainous area that appears to be alive because of it continuous exhale-like sound. It is a geological landscape due to a post-volcanic activity. The place intensely smells of sulphur because of the fumaroles due to volcanism. Along the pathway, there are boiling puddles which are extremely hot. I think this is the most interesting place I’ve ever been. It made me feel the closest to the Earth, and it put me at my most vulnerable state.

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Yehliu

Our next stop was to grab lunch at Yehliu before we visit the Yehliu Geopark. There were a lot of fresh seafood at Yehliu because it’s situated near the sea. Restaurants have aquariums in front with live fish, snails, clams, crustaceans, eels. We stopped at The North Sea Fishing Port for lunch and it was a wonderful meal we had even though it was raining outside. Taiwan flavors are really on a different level. Food was expensive, yet I think we got the value of our money. Thumbs up!

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Yehliu Geopark is a unique geographic wonder. It’s an eroded landscape by the sea which has honeycomb and mushroom-like stone formations. It’s the closest you can get to Mars because of how unrealistic the landscape seems. Yehliu Geopark is divided into three areas. The first one is where the “Cute Princess” is situated alongside candle-shaped and ice cream rocks. The second area is where the famous “Queen’s Head” can be found. We weren’t able to visit the third area but it’s where the main ecology reserve of Yehliu Geopark is located. The entrance fee to the geopark is 80NTD for adults and 40NTD for students and children.

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Shifen

Our next stop was Shifen Old Street, where we wrote our wishes on lanterns and set to the sky. Lanterns are sold depending on the colors of the lanterns chosen. There are different meanings per each color. We got the four-colored lantern which cost 200NTD. We got red for luck, orange for success, blue for safety and green for health. According to Jordan, it was a culture before that baby boys were more favored. Hence, pregnant moms made lanterns, where their wish to have a baby boy is written, and set it to the sky for the Gods to read. It’s similar to our activity because, instead of writing baby boys, we wrote all our wishes and desires to the gods and hope that they happen. They let us write our names as well below our wishes so the gods would know who asked for such.

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Our last stop for our tour was Shifen Waterfall. The waterfall was beautiful and very picturesque. However, remnants of set lanterns were scattered near the waterfall and the river. There were even lantern residues on fire above the trees. The lantern’s skeleton is made of circular wooden stick with metals meeting at the center where the papers, to be set on fire, are located. Hence it’s not totally environmentally-friendly. I saw an old woman carrying a bag of lantern residues on her back and she came from the direction of the river, beyond the waterfall.

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Recommended One-Day Itinerary in Taipei

• Start the day basking with the beauty of nature at Yangmingsan National Park. Visit the Flower Clock, Zuzihu, and Xiaoyoukeng.
• Grab fresh seafood for lunch at Wanli, Yehliu before setting foot at Mars on Earth – Yehliu Geopark.
• Visit Shifen Old Street and admire the beauty of the once-busy coal mining area. Time really seemed to stand still at this place!
• Stroll around Jiufen and fill your stomach with mouth-watering street foods.

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Our Taipei tour was lucky according to Jordan. There weren’t much people during our visit so we really enjoyed the places. Even though it was raining and foggy, the beauty of Taiwan persisted. Our trip may be stressful, but that made the trip unforgettable. I’ll definitely visit again to indulge on Taiwanese food, because I promise you, you can never have enough of it. Hopefully, I’ll get to explore Kaohsiung and give the place justice too. All the people we met were kind and eager to help us. To sum up our experiences in Taiwan, Taiwan is majestic and very homey. Take advantage of visa-free entry for Philippine passport holders until July 31, 2019!