#12daysintaiwan - Taichung (Day 4 - 6)
For you to know: Taichung's the third city of Taiwan, right after Taipei and Kaohsiung.We got our HSR tickets at about NT800 each (it was a weekday & shorter distance, so tickets were cheaper than when we went Kaohsiung from Taipei ) to head to Taichung, which was a 45-min journey. So since it was our first time to Taichung, or rather it was my first time there, we only stayed in Taichung city for that 2 nights and didn't manage to have the time to explore the suburbans. Fish chose the hotel which was about 10-15minute drive away from the famous Taichung night market - Fengjia/ Fengchia (逢甲夜市). The hotel was definitely up to our expectations plus it was at a calm/ peaceful part of Taichung city. (At least it didn't felt like there was danger there at night lol)
- City Resort Taichung : NT3776/ SGD80 per night!
- The rate was really reasonable considering the hotel was up to expectations with comfy beds, and nice bathroom!
fish being accommodating as I wanted to try out the functions of my new Lumix!
After settling down, we set off for the night market for shopping and late dinner. Taiwan trip totally screwed up our body clock - reaching a destination late > late dinner > stay out late till 12 midnight > sleep at 2-3am > wake up at 9-10am.
Fengjia night market's the biggest NM in Taiwan. I was glad we reached Taichung on a monday because on weekends (and according to my parents who were there a day earlier than us), the crowd's crazy! At least on that Monday, we could shop freely and the NM's pretty big that we went there again next day!
Rice in the squid topped with salsa sauce!
Beer machiato!
Her cheesy potato!
And the Sully which I couldn't resist the temptation of getting him!
We started the next morning late with sending our dirty (and wet) laundry to the dry-cleaner's which was just across the road (we then realised there was another just beside the hotel). What I love about Taiwan is that they have these services just nearby hotels and it's so convenient (and so much cheaper than what hotels charge you!) It was probably about NT250/ SGD10 for both of our clothes which I estimate would be considered a medium load on my 10kg-load washing machine at home. Plus, they send to our hotel lobby!
Many of the meals we had in Taiwan were brunches, so it helped us save some money! (Mainly due to us always waking up late and leaving the hotel late). Brunch was settled at Yizhong District (一中街商圈) which was a place for young crowd to hang out. Food at that area were also pretty much like fast food kind of stuff but I could definitely imagine myself as a Taiwanese student, hanging out at that area after school with nice things to shop. It was kind of like a Bugis Street.
Chicken Spaghetti
Beef baked rice
And I had my experience of being an ADM-er (art design media person) that afternoon when we headed to the Taiwan Art Museum. We totally killed ourselves with boredom by signing up for a free guided tour because the guide (albeit knowledgeable and nice) was boring! I liked the exhibition of Robert Capa's photographs (a war photographer) because he could catch the good timing of whatever happened at that moment.
Anyway, one of my to-buy things was a Adidas running shoe. Taiwan has (slightly) cheaper sports shoes so I wanted to make sure I buy that before returning back to Singapore. Plus, whatever I buy overseas always seem more worth it than buying in Singapore (with SGD lol).
As fish was not feeling comfortable, we went separate ways after the museum. While she went back to the hotel room to rest, I went for shoe-sourcing, look out for tickets to get to our destination (Cingjing) the next day as well as to the building famous for ice-cream (this was recommended to us by 2 people whilst in Kenting)
As fish was not feeling comfortable, we went separate ways after the museum. While she went back to the hotel room to rest, I went for shoe-sourcing, look out for tickets to get to our destination (Cingjing) the next day as well as to the building famous for ice-cream (this was recommended to us by 2 people whilst in Kenting)
Oh before I forget, our main mode of transport in Taichung was by cab because even being the 3rd biggest/ busiest city in Taiwan, they do not have train infrastructures yet. And cab wasn't really considered cheap there! The starting price was about NT75/ SGD3.20 (that's the same as in Singapore!) and each jump in price (I cannot remember for how much each km) was NT5/ SGD0.2.
- Buying of shoes : failed! Couldn't find the one I want
- Buying of coach tickets to Cingjing: failed! Couldn't understand the route
- Visiting the famous building: succeeded!
The building was called Gong yuan yan ke (宮原眼科) ; which was apparently, an old building that used to be a (optometry?) clinic/ specialist. They sold souvenirs (food) and I got a box of cheesecake because it was really nice! And I definitely wouldn't miss out on the highly raved ice-cream! Apparently I think what's so catchy is that they have different levels of bitterness for the chocolate ice-cream! I chose a 66% dark chocolate and Sri Lanka Tea (yes I'm daring to try new stuff), and both were good! While I see couples and friends sharing 2 scoops of ice-cream, me, myself and I gladly emptied both scoops of ice-cream! Yums! *no regrets!*
Fish felt bad after resting and decided to join me at Fengjia night market again for that night!
Fish felt bad after resting and decided to join me at Fengjia night market again for that night!
Love the interior design! The design of glass panels on the ceiling add a pinch of elegance, amongst the antique atmosphere.
The list of flavours!
The different percentage of chocolate ice cream! Perfect for chocolate ice-cream lovers.
The cute cream Dachshund I saw at the pet store! Really adorable!
The next morning, as usual, we got up late to check out at the very last minute. Decided to go back to 宮原眼科 for some shopping of souvenirs and I just had to go back to this established/ reputed shop for a local specialty/ souvenirs - which they're famous for their Taiyang Bing and Lemon biscuits (太陽餅，檸檬餅). 一福堂 (Yi Fu Tang) is the place but the funny thing is, they're actually 2 families running the business with same/similar name. Yunli was the one who recommended this place but when I googled on the map, I brought myself to the 一福堂老店 near the Taichung Train Station (台中火車站). When I saw the exterior, I thought it looked different from what Yunli showed me on the brochure she's gotten back (the one she went had quite a number of branches). But I thought it might be the same one, just that it was probably the very first store, I stepped in. I asked the lady who served me if this was the same Yi Fu Tang as the one with lots of branches, and she told me that it's different. So I probed further and she told me the other one's run by the relative of the boss.
- 一福堂: 台中市中區中山路67號 / No. 67號, Zhōngshān Rd, Zhong District, Taichung City, Taiwan 400
- *note: it probably doesn't matter which ever family's you go to! I believe both are nice!
- I totally regretted not getting more! Every one in the office loved the lemon biscuits! Too bad I was only half way through the trip and didn't want the hassle to bring it up to Cingjing and Taipei..especially when I had Sully in my arms!
For you to know: Cingjing's a farm up in the mountains of about 1100m above sea level. It's considered part of Nantou County (南投縣).
The initial plan was to take a coach which probably would take 2 hours. But thanks to my dad who went up to Cingjing a day before, he had a contact which he passed to me to enquire about car pooling. And thank god for that, we managed to enjoy a 45min ride up to Cingjing in a 9-seater place, at a reasonable/ comparable price, which sent us right to our hotel's doorstep!
- Cost: I really can't recall the price but it's definitely affordable and reasonable!
- Tel: 0921340000 (XiaoHei)
Will share on Cingjing in the next post!
Bye Taichung!
Sometimes I wonder, isn't it lovely to just have a simple life where the blue sky with fluffy clouds and a paddy field greet you every morning?
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