Posts RSS
Took red-eye Scoot flight TZ 202 scheduled to depart at 0055 hours. As this was a budget airline, no meal was served on flight. However to me, it was the best time to catch a nap during the flight journey. The Scoot flight reached Taoyuan Airport at about 5.30 am.
Light snack at airport
After custom clearance, we then proceeded to the basement level of the airport terminal level. Happened to walk past a convenience store 'Hi-Life' (left photo below), thus decided to have some snacks for early breakfast. Bought a bottle of milk tea at TWD 28 and a cheese hotdog at TWD 25 (right photo below).
| 🛫 Travel Trivia |
|---|
| There are four major convenience store chains in Taiwan and based on their number of stores, they are namely 7-Eleven (七十一), Family Mart (全家), OK-Mart (富群/來來) and Hi-Life (萊爾富). |
Local Breakfast
After checked-in to CityInn Hotel Plus Taichung Station Branch, we then walked towards Taichung train station. On our way, we saw a traditional breakfast store located besides the hotel (left photo below). Bought a 'you char kway' and soybean milk for less than TWD 50 (right photo below). Taste was simple but this local breakfast definitely satisfied my hunger.
Taiwan Balloons Museum (台灣氣球博物館)Took train from Taichung station (臺中車站) to Fengyuan station (豐原車站) and the journey took about 21-minutes. Instead of taking a local bus, we opted for a cab to the museum. Negotiated with the driver at the Fengyuan station for TWD 200 per trip without meter. The ride took about 10-mins to reach. The museum is located at No. 505 Dafeng Road of Shengang District in Taichung City.
The Taiwan Balloons Museum is a museum that exhibits balloon production process, balloon making activities and other balloon-related games (left photo below). Sadly, the factory tour only conducts in the afternoon and requires advance reservation from their official site. Thus, we could only explore their store and outdoor area. The store was filled with colorful balloons that can be blown into interesting shapes (right photo below). Out of curiosity, I bought three packs of balloons back to try.
Opening hours from 0900 till 1700 hours (Tue to Sun), with break from 1200 till 1300 hours. Do note that the museum is closed on Monday.We then took a cab back to Fengyuan station and followed the same route to Taichung station.
Carton King Creativity Park (紙箱王創意園區)
Once out from the Taichung train station, we walked for about 5-minutes towards bus stop「綠川東站」站 which is located besides a river. Boarded Taiching Bus No. 15 at 1210 hours. The ride cost TWD 24 per trip. We then alighted at bus stop「逢甲橋站」站 after about 50-minutes ride. Huge signage could be seen for easy direction (left photo below) and the path leading to the creative park was decorated with many colorful windmills. It is located at No.2, Lane 2, Section 2, Tungshan Road of Beitun district in Taichung City.
Admission ticket can be bought from a small counter at its entrance (right photo below).
Priced at TWD 200 per adult, included in this ticket was a TWD 100 worth of voucher that can be used within the park for any purchases (photo below). The ticket also allows visitor to collect six stamps around the park and exchange for a free gift upon completion. I guess we were too lazy to do that.
Theme Restaurant (紙箱王餐廳)
- This is a theme restaurant where almost everything was made out of cardboard, from tables and chairs to shelving and lightings etc. (left photo below). Rather hesitated to sit on the chairs made of corrugated cardboards, but I was surprised that they were very sturdy and can hold a lot weight (right photo below).
Ordered a beef stew set for myself at TWD 330 (left photo below) and the set came with a drink in a cardboard box (right photo below). The beef stew tasted good despite being sold in a theme restaurant. Do note that there was a 10% service charge to the total bill and we used the vouchers we had to offset part of it.
Honey Museum (蜜蜂故事館)
- Located above the restaurant, this Honey Museum (left photo below) was where live bees could be seen (right photo below). Besides the bees, there is a large area dedicated to the honey products that are produced locally.
Carton King Zoo (紙箱王動物園)
- Often this is the first attraction once entered into the park. The animals displayed there were all made up of corrugated cardboards (photos below).
To make the animals looked lively, sometimes colors were added to the cardboards together with the sounds of some animals (photo below).
- The shop sells all kinds of gifts made out of paper or cardboard (left photo below). There is even a section dedicated to paper lanterns where some of them are in the shape of famous landmarks (right photo below).
- Paper replicas of iconic monuments around the world can be found at its outdoor park (photos below). At adult height, they do make good photographic spots.
Opening hours from 0900 to 1900 hours daily but extended till 2100 hours on public holidays.
We left the park at about 3 pm and took Bus No.15 at bus stop「大坑圓環站」站 back to Taichung station.
Rental car collection
Once reached Taichung station, we then proceeded to collect our rental car from one of Easyrent branches. After some careful and detail checks, we then drove the car and parked at the hotel carpark.
Banana New Paradise (香蕉新樂園)
Took a cab from our hotel to this theme restaurant which cost about TWD 200. We reached this restaurant at about 6.30 pm after about 12-minutes ride. It is located at No. 111, section 2, Shuangshi road, North District in Taichung City.
The restaurant can be identified from its blue train cabin outside its entrance. Opened in 2001, Banana New Paradise is a comprehensive theme restaurant with recreation of a Taiwan street between 1920 and 1940 (photos below). This enabled visitors to delve into early memories of living in Taiwan.
Ordered a 'duck with garlic sprouts' (蒜苗拌鴨賞) at TWD 180 (left photo below), 'pork with garlic' (蒜泥白切肉) at TWD 230, 'five-flavors small octopus' (五味小章魚) at TWD 180 (bottom left photo) and 'fried rice with XO sauce' (XO醬臘味炒飯) at TWD 188 (bottom right photo). Total cost for this dinner was TWD 856 inclusive of 10% service charge. Taste was average but the cost was rather pricey probably due to its ambience.
Interestingly its menu was written in an elementary school book (left photo below). Stationaries from the past era were also on display at its exhibition area (right photo below).
The street includes many quirks such as a 50-year-old taxi, a camera store, a dentist office, a barber shop, a grocery store (left photo below) and a movie theatre (right photo below).
Opening hours from 1100 to 2230 hours daily.Yizhong Street (一中商圈)
Decided to walk to Yizhong street after our dinner. Saw a Bubble Tea outlet 'Tea Time' along the way (left photo below) and therefore each of us selected our own beverage as we didn't order any drinks during dinner. Bought a Pearl Milk Tea of middle size at TWD 35 (right photo below) for myself. Taste was simple but quenching.
Yizhong street is a shopping street and night market located in North District in Taichung City (photos below). Many cultural and educational institutions are located near to this street; thus it is a popular place for locals, especially students, to eat and shop. It is within walking distance of about 20 to 30 minutes from Taichung train station.
Saw this stinky tofu stall '金牌巨無霸香酥臭豆腐' that was covered by two local media (left photo below). From the recognitions, its stinky tofu seemed to be good. We then bought a box at TWD 50 to try (right photo below). The crispy tofu was flavorful and its special savory sauce was the one that enhanced the taste.
We then walked back to the hotel to have an early rest.Day Two
After breakfast at the hotel, we then walked towards the hotel car park located less than 100-meters from the hotel for our rented car. The itineraries in this day two trip are all located in the Nantou County.
Taiwan Mochi Museum (台灣麻糬主題館)
This was our first factory visit. The Taiwan Mochi Museum is museum about mochi, or rice cake, established in 2011 (left photo below). It is located at No. 3, Ziqiang 3rd road at Nantou City of Nantou County.
Mochi is made by beating sticky rice repeatedly to form a dough. The sticky and chewy sensation of mochi made it a very popular snack in Asia. This museum houses a factory that produce mochi, and its educational exhibitions and factory tours are located at the upper floor of the museum (right photo below).
There is a large souvenir store that sells all their products (left photo below). We spent almost 15 minutes in this store deciding what to buy. Following was my purchase (right photo below).
Admission is free but additional charge is required for any DIY lessons. Opening hours from 0900 to 1700 hours (Mon to Fri) or 0900 to 1800 hours (weekends and public holidays).Xitou Monster Village (溪頭妖怪村)
Xitou Monster Village is located at the entrance of Xitou Nature Education Area (溪頭自然教育園區) (left photo below). For specific GPS coordinates, the easiest reference is to use Xitou Monster Village Theme Hotel (right photo below). The hotel was built besides the Monster Village and it is located at No. 2 to 3, Xingchan road, Lugu Township in Nantou County.
Xitou Monster Village is a Japanese-inspired monster village among the forests of Nantou. The village is now one of the most popular attractions in Nantou and has drawn more than 200,000 visitors a month since it was rebuilt into a monster-based cultural theme in 2011.At the entrance of the village stands a big red 'torii' which is a traditional Japanese gate (left photo below). After passing through the torii, adorable Japanese monster statues and cute creatures, as well as red lanterns hung on the building eaves, can be seen all over the village (right photo below).
The main activity in the Monster Village is probably to eat. There are many restaurants and food stalls specializing in Japanese and Taiwanese food (photos below).
Following were the food we shared for lunch in this village (photos below). Taste was average and total cost was about TWD 450.
The famous Japanese Tengu (天狗), or heavenly dog, can also be found in the village. The Tengu is a folk deity in the Shinto religion and is portrayed in many ways, often as bird, but usually anthropomorphized as angry looking dude with a red face and an unnaturally long nose which represents the beak (left photo below). Tengu charms can also be purchased from a vending machine (right photo below).
There is a Monster Post that literally sells everything from souvenirs to food (left photo below). My friend and I bought these three different 'monster biscuits' from this shop due to its interesting label and attractive packaging (right photo below).
The Monster Village is rather small so recommended time to spend there is about an hour. Admission to Monster Village is free and opening hours from 1000 to 2000 hours daily.Sceneries along Freeway No. 6
We then drove along National Freeway No. 6 (國道6號) to our next destination. The freeway is also known as Central East-West Freeway between Wufeng, Taichung and Puli and Nantou. Continuous range of mountains could be seen along this freeway (photos below).
Puli Paper (造紙龍手創館)Originally a paper mill which was used for printing. After applied as a Tourist Factory project in 2006, the museum was officially opened in Dec 2007. This Puli Paper museum allows visitors to acquire the knowledge of making paper from scratch, but also experience fresh and interesting three-dimensional paper rolls (left photo below). The museum is located at No. 118-2, Longsheng road, Puli Town in Nantou County.
Admission was TWD 50 per adult (right photo below).
The guided tour is part of the admission and it is conducted whenever there are visitors. Our tour guide diligently explained the manufacturing of corrugated paper (left photo below) and the different ways of making paper rolls (right photo below).
What caught my attention was the creativity of paper roll art that were exhibited (photos below). Really impressed by the displayed paper rolls that I even bought some mini-DIY paper roll packs back to try.
Opening hours from 0900 to 1700 (Thu to Tue) but closed on every Wednesday and Eve of Chinese New Year. Do note its last admission is 1630 hours.Feeling 18 Degree Chocolate Factory (18度C 巧克力工房)
Feeling 18 Degree Chocolate Factory was initially started as an online venture in 2006 by a chocolate master. He believed that chocolates are at its best condition when stored at 18 Degrees Celsius, thus the name of the factory. It is located No. 20, Ci'en street, Puli Township in Nantou County.
Although a small shop, it is often teeming with tourists (left photo below). The sales counter offers a wide selection of delicious chocolates to choose from (right photo below). It even claimed to be one of the must-visit spots in Nantou. Out of curiosity we bought a small box of chocolates to try when we were back to hotel.
The shop is open daily from 1000 to 2200 hours.Paper Dome New Homeland Scenic Park (紙教堂新故鄉見學園區)
The Paper Dome New Homeland Scenic Park is located southeast of the Taomi Eco-Village with an area measuring up to 3.5-hectares. It is located at No. 52-12, Taomi Lane, Puli Township in Nantou County.
The Paper Dome is a temporary church building constructed using paper tubes as structural elements. It was first built in 1995 to serve as temporary church for Takatori Catholic Church after the 'Kobe earthquake' in Japan. When the church planned to build a permanent building, the structure was then donated to Taomi Village in Puli Township which had suffered the '921 earthquake' in 1999. The deconstructed structure was shipped, reconstructed and completed in 2008.
Admission at TWD 100 can be bought at the counter at its entrance (left photo below). Included in this ticket was a TWD 80 worth of voucher that can be used for any purchases within the park (right photo below).
The church is 5-meters tall and erected by 58 essentially hollow paper tubes. Each tube has a diameter of 33-cm with a thickness of about 1.5-cm and was coated in a water-resistant coating (photos below). Each tube weighs about 60-kg and able to support up to 1500-kg of weight.
Besides buildings, the park is also full of ecological features with plants grown throughout the site to attract butterflies and its ecological ponds contain rich aquatic plants. This park is poetically beautiful that even newly-weds came to take their wedding shots (left photo below). For us, we just relax in one of the restaurants to have our afternoon break. Got ourselves either tea or coffee each and shared a slice of lemon cheese cake (right photo below). Total cost for this break was TWD 350.
Opening hours from 0930 to 1700 hours daily, with extension till 1900 hours during public and school holidays.
We then drove back to Taichung at about 5.30 pm.
Dinner
Parked our car at the hotel parking lot and then walked towards New Age Shopping Centre (新时代购物中心) for dinner. After going through several restaurants in the mall, we decided to have our meal inside the food court located at its basement. Saw a stall selling Hakata Ramen (left photo below), thus ordered a ramen at TWD 120 (right photo below). Taste was good except its Taiwanese bamboo shoots had a strong taste that I'm still not used to it.
After dinner we then headed back to the hotel for an early rest.