Taiwan 2016

So when friends and family members talk about Taiwan, most of the things I've heard about what amazes them was the beauty in their mountainous and nature scenery accompanied by their vivacious night markets. 

I've personally been to Taiwan during my poly school trip, and managed to seize another opportunity to fly back with my family this time round. So here we go, traveling down from Kaoshiung to Taipei together with a local driver who drove us around places throughout the whole trip. 

After the first day in Kaoshiung, we travelled down to Chia Yi where the famous turkey rice is known to be. 

The rice portions were small, and it was easy to eat without feeling too full. The meat was tender and flavorful. We also ordered a plate of blanched veggies, seaweed soup and braised meat rice. 

Verdict: 4/5 

Next, we drove up to Alishan. 

Because there were many steep turns and u turns, the whole journey up to Alishan was painful... most of us ended up with motion sickness and have to gather around mom to get motion sickness pills. 

But to be honest, I wouldn't think Alishan would worth the 2.5 hour journey up. However, if you're the kind that loves trekking with the cold breeze, then you're up for it. 

After Alishan, we headed to the Sun Moon Lake where we settled there for a night. 

Morning view from our Hotel balcony. 

Queued up for the legendary Ah ma herbal eggs. I remember eating like 5 of them when I came here for my school trip. LOL. But well, the taste is still as good :') 

We made our way down to Taichung after spending the whole morning at the Sun Moon Lake. 

Settling down at Taichung for 2 nights, our driver took us to some of the attractions around Chang Hua. 

Taichung Gaomei Wetlands: 

The most gorgeous view of the sunset. We literally ran from our car just to catch a glimpse of this beautiful sunset. It was so amazing, although it was really crowded. 

Yep, and mom wanted to experience the bullet train in Taiwan, hence we bought tickets to Miaoli, where our driver picked us up again there. 

Our next destination, Jiufen. 

View from our Jiufen's accommodation: Orange Pig Inn. 

It was a really great place to stay, where we get to experience the night view and the morning view of this mountainous scenery. The place was clean, bed is soft and we got the whole inn to ourselves as we were the only guests that night. 

Raohe Night Market 

I really love Taiwan for their gorgeous nature and scenery, accompanied by their night market and street foods. 

To be able to travel around Taiwan, you have to either choose the route from the city side, vs the route from the mountainous area. Both routes brings you to different attractions. 

Take for example:

For this trip, we took the route from Kaoshiung -> Tainan -> Chiayu -> Changhua -> Taichung -> Taipei. 

While others might choose to go from Kaoshiung -> Taitung -> Hualien -> Yi Lan -> Taipei. 

Of course you can choose to mix and match your itinerary to cover all areas, but that would take more driving time, hence a couple more days to cover. 

All in all, Taiwan is a great place to go if you haven't. :)