Travel: Taiwan - Taipei

[sundaymorning]

mckenzy:

Just back from December trip:


http://blk30taiwan.wordpress.com

Most of what is mentioned about Taiwan in this thread is pretty accurate and very good advice. Haiz, the rain...

Thank you for the itienerary , its very informative. I went Taiwan a few years back . Now thinking of going with my family !

[mckenzy]

sundaymorning, you are welcome… Taiwan is refreshing and close enough to home…

[ter_wen]

Busymom:

ter_wen:

accidents happen not just because of road conditions, the taiwanese drivers here are also very 'hiong'.


we are actually more scared of the way the local people drive than the road /weather conditions lei.

Are you back? How was the trip and driving on your own?

hi busymom.
sorry for the late reply.
caught up with kids stuff, cleaning n packing. kids now in separate sessions. -_-\"

it was a bit bittersweet driving experience.
we enjoyed the flexibility, but the daylight is so short and wet road due to rain.
we *almost* went all the way up to hehuanshan but have to stop at wuling cos we did not get snow chains and ice were forming on the roads.
my hb was able to handle the windy roads but my kids got nauseous at some point initially. haiya, he corners v fast la. told him to slow down and it was a bit better for the kids in the later drives.

the roads to hehuanshan are not narrow, but winding.
in our opinion, the road physical condition also not too bad.
it's the weather that's affecting visibility/grip and the other (local) drivers that we perceived more as danger sometimes.
expressways also have v clear road signs. we relied on GPS.
many credits to my hb who is very good with directions and reading maps.

but we are glad we decided to drive outside taipei.
taipei we took mainly taxi and mrt.

[ter_wen]

i would love to go back to the same places, and see them in a different season.

[ter_wen]

also many thanks to the advice and comments that i got from this thread.

[sailorman]

Back from a 2 weeks round island self-drive trip (CNY period)…

Taiwan exceeded my expectations.
The following lessons learned and observations: (hardly found in singapore these days)

1. Taiwanese families/generations are well bonded. Reunions every day when peeking thru homes. People from public/service/sales line very helpful beyond their call of duties. Also very well-mannered, felllow travellers whisper during walks and scenic places, not like the rowdy bunches from land across taiwan. (these really spoil the transquility and our moods)

2. They are adventurous. 3Gen outdoor campings for days with many cars, SUVs, MPvs, bringing many stoves, kettles, burner, gas cylinders, tables/chairs, beddings…literally bringing their own kitchen and bedrooms outdoor. Amazingly, we tot campers will sleep/wake up early. Contrary, they chitchat/fireworks till midnight, 1 am., next day 8am, many tents still unmoved and snoring away.

3. Youngsters are enthusiastically working the streets: foodstalls, hawkering. Creating new foods, styles, representation and packaging…but typically Japanese-skewed. However, little exploration on the creative side. Still environment looks more encouraging to entrepreneurship than here.

4. MRTs and buses arriving every 15-30 seconds, any day any time. Patient, courteous drivers. Despite quite full capacity on cars, nobody dares sit on elderly seats. Respect!

5. Traditional tourist attractions are totally cmi, (more like for folks). eg.
Alisan: pay $30 for 3pax+car, just to see hotels and train station. Better off walking the teahills@lowerhills, HW21 alongside after alisan is beautiful, seldom travelled.
SunMoonLake: no marine sports. Only boating
Kenting: another sleezy phuket, langkawi

Hehuang-san & Taroko better: But the most exciting part (Double-falls and Caves of Water Shower Curtain-can walk thru to get wet), was not indicated with brown scenic sign.(highly rcmded). The remote beaches along east coast are impressives. (try the broken section of hw26 int the south, buggy rides by the sand dunes and beach)

Best to explore the less-talked about for raw nature and beauty and pleasnat surprises. Those TW travellshows a little over-hyped…

6. To my surprise, Kaoshiung/Taichung looks more happening than Taipei. (guess more industrial, than financial). Hualien in the remote east more bustling than Tainan.
Taiwanese sausages are nice (taste more like lap-chong). Also despite their weeklong CNY holiday, they close stalls on CNYeve from 5-8pm. and re-open at 8pm to buzz till weehours (fengjia)…Most shops remain open throughout CNY.

7. Despite their dramas in parliament, the people are not so politically charged. I feel a greater balance spread of wealth amongst their people. No more family of 6 on a scooter (decade ago), max I saw was 4 pax (once only)

8. Road signs, bus/train notice/public toilet vacancy e-board/traffic-pedestrian crossings signals makes more sense than singapore’s.

9. The 3G services (using second largest telco, DGD), already quite impressive, considering connectivity with its vastness, at the most ulu mountain at nearly 3,000m

10. Of the 2K km traveled, from cities to mountainous areas, I din encounter any road constructions or digging. Yet the conditions of the roads are pretty good.
I like Taiwan.

[ammonite]

Is end of November a good time to go to Taiwan?


I am thinking of fitting in a farmstay, trip to juifen and yeliu for a 6 day trip. When should i start looking into booking accomodations? Any advice is appreciated!

Edit to add: It is a three generation group. Is touching or cinjing farm more suitable? Toucheng’s activities look interesting but the photos of the common areas do not look nice. Afraid the grandparents won’t like the bareness.

[crabcrabby]

ammonite:

Is end of November a good time to go to Taiwan?


I am thinking of fitting in a farmstay, trip to juifen and yeliu for a 6 day trip. When should i start looking into booking accomodations? Any advice is appreciated!

Edit to add: It is a three generation group. Is touching or cinjing farm more suitable? Toucheng's activities look interesting but the photos of the common areas do not look nice. Afraid the grandparents won't like the bareness.

If you have kids in school, then you probably have no choice but to travel in jun or late nov-dec. i prefer the latter cos' the weather is cool but not too cold. i did 2trips in 3years, both from late nov-early dec, nice weather BUT it can be very rainy which makes visiting outdoor attractions a little inconvenient, although not totally impossible.

toucheng is in yilan while cingjing is in nantou. so it would depends on where you want to go in the first place. are you travelling south at all? if not, then toucheng is probably nearer to taipei. i've not been to toucheng, so i cant comment but cingjing is a beautiful place. the roads up the mountains are not really winding so it should be ok for kids and elderly. but it's cold, so make sure you bring warmer clothings for the 1-2nights stay. i booked my nov accomodation in aug. hope this helps!

[ammonite]

Crabcrabby, this is a great help! I don’t know anything about Taiwan’s geography, just have a rough idea of what is possible and what will please everyone. Did u stay overnight at cingjing? If so, do u mind sharing where? Tks!

[crabcrabby]

ammonite:

Crabcrabby, this is a great help! I don't know anything about Taiwan's geography, just have a rough idea of what is possible and what will please everyone. Did u stay overnight at cingjing? If so, do u mind sharing where? Tks!

hi, i stayed overnight at misty villa. nice place, superb dinner by the host, but it rained the next morning and i missed the sunrise.