We traveled to Taichung, Hualien, and Taipei over a period of 10 days.
We flew SQ there - why not EVA Air, you may ask?
Actually we weren't even supposed to be going to Taiwan; our Seoul trip had to be re-routed due to MERS-CoV.
Me and Bimb work in hospitals ma; there was a internal
Damn SQ refused to give us a full refund, and we still had to top up $150 to change destination zzz.
Better than having to lose $400 in admin fee per person, and still have to rebook tickets, we thought..
Until bloody hell the situation in Korea resolved faster than expected wtf. -.-
ANYWAY this whole trip also filled with lots of epic shits so I guess that's life playing us for lemons.
With our gigantic luggage! I actually have a smaller one hidden inside LOLOL.
Mine was heaviest on Day One - 14 kg? I hit 25 kg on return flight.
Levon's had the honor of being the heaviest when we came back: from 11 kg to 31 kg HAHA.
I thought Bimb had a matchy dark pink luggage band.. until she revealed that it was raffia WTF
My travel buddies!
Together we're known as Movie People. HAHAH.
It's damn awesome when your bf gets along with your bffs. :D
Thanks ahpok, for sending us off though you have a paper later! V touched ;)
And for this, he kena niam by Bimb to no end HAHAH
Redheads ftw!
Side fringe unite too!
HAHAHA eh now then I observe the similarities.
SQ in-flight meal!
Chicken was slightly tough but they serve awesome mashed potatoes.
I miss Thai Airways' bread :x
As slaves to technology, one of our first tasks was to get the unlimited data SIM card.
The prepaid card counters are all located together - Turn left after exiting the arrival gate, and another left turn.
All three telcoms offer the same price for a 10 days' use:
10 days unlimited data, + NT100 airtime balance for NT500, or SGD$21
Chung Hwa Telcom is supposedly fastest, and recommended, followed by Far East One and Taiwan Mobile.
No WiFi device because it was not worth it, but we improvised!
Brought along my old phone, popped in the SIM card and switched on WiFi hotspot.
Brilliant right? :B
The most popular way of getting to Taoyuan HSR Station from Taoyuan Airport is by shuttle bus.
Bus ticket counters and waiting areas are to the right of the arrival gates,
so you'd be running from one side to another after buying SIM cards. :x
Ubus 705 統聯客運 is the direct bus to Taoyuan HSR Station.
Each ticket is NT30, which is cheaper than the other buses, and supposedly faster too.
Bus interval is approximately 5 - 10 mins.
Walking area was not v spacious but beds were comfortable.
I mean, just look at Levon. :D
Headed out to the largest of all night markets - Fengjia Night Market!
Fengjia NM is one of the biggest in Taiwan, and according to our hotel's friendly driver,
We took a bus towards Fengjia University - the namesake of the night market.
There are a few buses going there, which depends on where you're at.
An easy way is to use Google maps to look for the bus information, which is quite reliable.
To play safe, I also double checked against the route info found on the official Taichung City Buses website
Ours was Renyou 仁友客運 - Bus 45, which took around 30 - 45 min to reach.
Btw this is how the smaller bus stops look like.
There's usually a bus lane for most roads, and a stop area.
You'll have to keep a lookout for your bus and flag it down - they don't stop at every small bus stop.
Fengjia Night Market is said to extend along Wenhua Road 文華路Fengjia Road 逢甲路 and Fuxing road 福星路
At the bus stop (Fengchia U. - Fengjia Road for us), turn left and walk straight towards the lights :B
The journey takes 25 mins, but as mentioned in my previous post,
I highly recommend around 2.5 hrs buffer time because of the crazy queue.
The queue is long not just because of the amount of people, it is also due to the layout of the bus.
They only allow a limited number of people to board; unlike HK, luggage storage area is small and isn't multi-tiered.
They also left some slots for passengers waiting to board at Terminal 1 too.
Day 1 selfie on the bus!
After a very ganjiong 25 mins - wah damn scared we'll be late - we finally reached the station!
Quickly went to the platforms after checking our tickets against the board.
To read it, simply check your train no. and arrival time. We're on Platform 1!
Don't be intimidated by the destination and other info.
If you have reserved seats, refer to your ticket for the car no. and seat no.
Wait and queue at the appropriate area to board.
There's also a board telling you which train has arrived, and if there is any delay.
Check that before boarding to avoid getting on the wrong train!
Here comes the bullet train!
Had to push our huge ass luggage in front of us. Too heavy to lift. :x
It's a 40 min journey from Taoyuan HSR station to Taichung HSR Station.
We made arrangements with our hotel to pick us up from there, and at least 3 days' advance notice is needed.
Our driver was really friendly, giving us a short introduction on the places to visit in Taichung,
what to eat (and not to eat!) at the night markets, and even travel information which he thought we should know.
He is the one who advised us to get the Easycard from convenience stores first,
as that would allow us to travel the first 8 - 10 km free on buses - basically everywhere is free. LOL.
Kiwi Express Hotel - Zhongzheng Branch
奇異果快捷旅店 - 中正店
No.441, Taiwan Blvd.Section 1, Central District, Taichung City
台中市 中區 台灣大道 一段 441號
I mean, just look at Levon. :D
Headed out to the largest of all night markets - Fengjia Night Market!
Fengjia NM is one of the biggest in Taiwan, and according to our hotel's friendly driver,
"whatever can survive in Fengjia has no problem surviving in the other night markets!"Seems like it is super competitive business here. :x
We took a bus towards Fengjia University - the namesake of the night market.
There are a few buses going there, which depends on where you're at.
An easy way is to use Google maps to look for the bus information, which is quite reliable.
To play safe, I also double checked against the route info found on the official Taichung City Buses website
Ours was Renyou 仁友客運 - Bus 45, which took around 30 - 45 min to reach.
Btw this is how the smaller bus stops look like.
There's usually a bus lane for most roads, and a stop area.
You'll have to keep a lookout for your bus and flag it down - they don't stop at every small bus stop.
At the bus stop (Fengchia U. - Fengjia Road for us), turn left and walk straight towards the lights :B
Fengjia Night Market (also known as Fengchia/Wenhua NM)
逢甲夜市
No. 69, Wenhua Road, Xi'tun District, Taichung City
台中市 西屯區 文華路69號
With our grumbly tummies, our first aim was to find awesome street food that the night markets are known for!
When you cross the intersection above, you should see a grubby old map of the night market.
Cross over to the mac's side, continue walking straight up and on the left you should see the entrance of the food street!
Heaven looks like this to us gluttons.
First stall you see right near the entrance!
There are actually 2 stalls selling 大腸包小腸 and they're opposite each other.
Pick the one on the left, recommended the hotel's driver earlier.
Ta-daa! 大腸包小腸 , or Taiwan sausages wrapped in glutinuous rice.
I love the toasted crispy layer outside the glutinous rice, which wasn't too soft and mealy.
This stall also added onion relish, chopped preserved vege.
It was awesome.
Photo (and hand) credits to Bimb
Just a bit down the road, we spotted this as well!
金牌巨無霸香酥臭豆腐 - Smelly Tofu with a very long name LOL.
This was highly recommended by a few bloggers.
About to get my first taste of smelly tofu! :D
The smell wasn't as bad as I imagined it would be.. then I smelt the ones from other stores.
Omg. like rubbish dump.
Photo credit to Bimb.
Walao when copying link, I realised this woman tagged me on my pimple. tmd!
Super crispy on the outside tender on the inside tofu - which didn't taste smelly.
Request for chili at the side also turned out to be smart, because it was reallyyy spicy!
While waiting for the smelly tofu - yup, they fry it fresh on the spot - we also got tempted by fried mushrooms!
NT50 for a not very small cup. Around more than 10 pc !
Photo credit to Bimb
Look out for this stall on the right!
爆獎雞腿卷 - Roasted Chicken Thigh Roll
The 爆獎 actually means exploding juice - and true to their name, it was super juicy when you bite into it.
Bimb loved it so much - its in her top 10 Taiwan food list.
I was looking out for this stall, selling 黃金右腿 - golden chicken thigh.
Bimb loves the 紅茶 Red Tea from the neighbouring stall as well.
Aye we keep doing such thing sia - see what try what.
Night market 就是這樣走的
I expected crispy fried chicken thigh, but actually it was more like a lasagne kinda thing.
There was a layer of cheese, well marinated chicken thigh, tomato sauce and cheese, then cabbage at the bottom.
Looks like nothing much but it's quite yummy! Just make sure to finish it while still hot.
Photo credit to Levon
Directly opposite is another stall I was looking for - 超級超好喝木瓜牛奶 Papaya Milk!
Ya I know its too late for it to have any effect, but I just like the taste of papaya milk okay :x
I dont know what sorcery they use, but Taiwan's fruit juices are really sweet and full of flavour.
The sweetness doesn't come from syrup, and there's no surplus of ice too.
And it's all damn cheap!
One cup is NT50 and its the same size as Koi's Large.
Other than the papaya milk, watermelon and mango are nice too!
We also chanced upon this random games stall - and Bimb was like eh the giraffe damn cute!
Out of complete spontaneity we decided to try our luck
NT20 for 10 darts, we just had to hit 4 in a row on our board.
Photo credits to Levon
No surprise la we didn't get the giraffe - thank goodness also, how to fit in luggage I wonder :B
And as advised by our driver, we avoided this stall!
He says the chicken cutlet is fried, then bbq-ed, and its damn hard to chew on.
As I'm v nice I'll pass the warning along. hahaha.
Photo credits to Levon
Photo credits to Levon
We headed back not long after, because some of the shops were closed/closing, and it started to drizzle.
Took a cab back to our hotel because there were no more buses, but eh the fare was quite cheap!
NT200 for a 20 min journey?
Actually, I expected Fengjia to be open till 1 am, but it was only 11 plus and most sections were closed alr.
Our second visit also proved to be the same.. maybe due to the rain and that it was on weekdays?
Nevertheless, Fengjia Night Market is definitely worth the visit - food is awesome,
and there are a few stores worth shopping at, like PSGB for affordable clothes, next to the 黃金右腿 stall,
and nearer to the main road, PG Mall for good quality yet affordable bags - Most of them under $20!
Next post: Lavender Cottage, Mushroom Garden!
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