Ali Shan and Chiayi county - 27 & 28 Jun 2009

My family was in Taipei to visit! Lots of funny moments since this was the first time my parents are in Taiwan and first time since a loooong time ago since my mom traveled overseas...

They touched down on the 23rd and stayed at the TS Hotel in Xi Men Ding (really reasonable rates for a decent and comfortable 3-persons room)... most of the next few days saw them going around in Taipei and occasionally I met up with them for some eating and traveling after work...

in any case, the highlight of their trip was probably our visit to Ali Shan and Jia Yi county over the weekend... This was a tour package I signed up for via one of the local tour agencies and for a one-time fee, covered the following:

• Overnight coach ride from Taipei to Chiayi
• Trip up to Ali Shan to watch the sun rise and see the forest park
• 1 night stay at a 5 Star hotel (耐斯王子 Nice Prince Hotel in Chiayi)
• complimentary dinner and breakfast at the hotel (international buffet style for both meals)
• All other meals, as well as transport costs e.g. train ride on Ali Shan) were also catered for
  
• Tour in Chiayi city which includes Chiayii city park, Chiayi Insect Museum and a visit to 布袋漁港 (Bu Dai Port) including a boat trip to sea
• Return coach ride back to Taipei

We didn't get to visit the port unfortunately as the waves were too rough due to a nearby typhoon that week so they brought us to a farm resort... unfortunately it was themed around Bali and Thailand so we didn't find that very authentic or attractive haha...
(If you're interested in this package, check http://tour.colatour.com.tw/b03ticket/show_ticket.asp?seq=402&type=3 for more info... the tour is organized by the hotel and promoted by tour agencies)

Anyway, it was really fun, enjoyable and totally worth the money (which wasn't really that expensive considering what the trip included)... I didn't get a lot of group shots on my camera but here are some from the trip:

Us on the train to the peak of Ali Shan.. This was about 4 plus in the morning... and yes it was cold, probably 15 deg C or less.. hence my mom's attire...

The sun rise on Ali Shan, at about 5.15am

Cool sign we saw on Ali Shan

Night view of Chiayi city from our hotel room on the 14th floor

Now I can proudly say that I have conquered Ali Shan as well as the Sun Moon Lake! Key icons of Taiwan!!

More photos at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=275510&id=576355703&l=b2e5de7d99

明池山莊 - 30 & 31 May 2009

2 weeks after my visit to mid-Taiwan, I was heading back to 宜蘭 (I-lan county) again, this time to spend the weekend at 明池山莊, Mingchih Forest Recreation Area with 3 of my colleagues...

There's a dedicated shuttle bus service (not free though) that leaves Taipei City for the recreation area and the journey takes about 2 plus hours I think... The recreation area is actually within a "basin" created by surrounding mountains so it's some distance above sea level and the journey there involves some mountain roads, which meant lots of winding left and right on the bus... for those of you who get motion sickness easily, better bring your motion sickness meds and avoid too heavy a meal before the journey!

Despite that, I think being in the area itself makes up for the winding journey up.. and I'm sure most people will feel better already the moment they reach the area... we were greeted by very fresh air, lots of greenery everywhere and the sounds of nature (birds, water, wind blowing through trees)... Once there, we went on a guided tour through the area near our resort and the guide introduced us to the history of the area as well as to the different types of trees growing there...

the next day, we went on another guided tour, this time higher up in the mountain (another winding bus journey up) where we saw the famous 神木 (literally translated to God Tree) forest... these 神木 are trees that HUGE and extremely old (1500 years is considered quite young here)...

For nature lovers who want a definite break from city life, this place is extremely recommended! Do note that since it's in the mountains, the temperature can get low so bring your coats... Also, it's a pity that the tour guides only speak Chinese but in any case, you can move around on your own as well if you don't want to join the guided tour... It's probably advisable to go there with a group of friends and perhaps book a chalet room for 1 night and share the cost... otherwise, if you drive or intend to stay over in I-lan, the recreation area is good for a 1-day trip as well... oh and 1 last thing, those who are staying over, bring your own snacks!! There is only 1 restaurant in that area and no convenience stores at all... :)

Here are some photos of the area

You can view the rest of my photos at http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=7049291&l=d7bea1209f&id=576355703

Day in Changhua County - 18 May 2009

This post is way overdue.. but to do justice to the trip, I still have to update it here :)

as mentioned in the previous post, I traveled with Prior and Eva to the middle of Taiwan... Saturday (17th May) was spent in Nan Tou county where I finally saw the Sun Moon Lake... Sunday (18th May) was spent in Changhua itself experiencing lots of wonderful food... :)

Here's a map just to show you very quickly where Changhua is within the whole Taiwan Island... It's quite a quiet place where you can see immediately that the pace of life is quite different from that of Taipei. There aren't as many tall buildings either so it's refreshing to be able to see so much sky...

We started by picking up Sandy (who was in the area having attended a wedding the day before) and headed to our first stop, the temple street at Lugang...
You can probably tell from the roof that this temple is really old.. old enough that its construction did not involve using any nails at all; everything is pieced together using wood...

As a matter of fact, walking around in this part of Lugang gives an overall "old" kind of feel...
The houses here really date back tens, even hundreds of years for some... so it was definitely a cool experience walking around in these narrow alleys and occassionaly peeping into people's homes...

We also paid a visit to 八卦山 where there is a sitting Buddha statue that overlooks the entire Changhua city... I thought it was really great that they made the area around the statue so family-friendly since it brings people together and makes things more lively...

That aside, the rest of my Changhua trip was mainly full of food.. here's a montage of all the food I ate and had taken a photo of (yes I missed out some)

1. Yam Pork Bun
2. BBQ Squid
3. 麵茶, a kind of paste in peanut-ish sauce
4. 地瓜球 (Tapioca balls)
5. 狀元糕 (literally means Scholar Cake), tastes a bit like Kueh Tu-Tu in Singapore
6. 五味庚, a dish that had cuttlefish, prawn dumplings, pork dumplings, mushrooms and vegetables (hence the 五 or five in the name)
7. Shaved ice dessert
8. Pork Bun
9. Fried chicken wing
10. 肉圓, pork dumpling (ate this on Monday morning in the office)

I actually ate more cos we had breakfast and dinner at Prior...

All in all, extremely fulfilling weekend trip to mid-Taiwan which I highly recommend to anyone looking for a cultural, scenic and gastronimical experience!

For more photos, visit http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=258209&id=576355703&l=d79096179e