| D Shirk |
Friday, 29 April 2005 |
Stayed at Grand Formosa Taroko - Hualien, Taiwan.
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The Baiyang Waterfall trail is beautiful and easy (strollers can even make the journey) with wide trails and beautiful overlooks. The restaurant beside the post office is good for a quick meal and more predictable and fresh than some of the other restaurants. There is an ATM in the post office.
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| A Mackenzie |
Wednesday, 16 March 2005 |
Stayed at City Hotel Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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I had one day. I visited the National Museum on a friend's recommendation. It was very interesting and a worthwhile place to see. I also stopped by the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. Climbing up the stairs to get to the top was reminiscent of a certain scene from Howl's Moving Castle. I don't want to give any spoilers here, so if you've seen the movie you'll know! The food from the market areas was cheap. I didn't find it to be all that delicious though.
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| P Young and pauline young |
Tuesday, 25 January 2005 |
Stayed at Santos Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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As non-escorted tourists to Taiwan we were something of a rarity. We did tours to the Wulai Aboriginal Village (half-day) and the Taroko Marble Gorge (full-day). Both were good and the scenery in the Taroko Gorge is beautiful. We booked both of these directly with Edison Travel Service via the internet which worked out much cheaper than booking through a travel agent at home. Taipei has one of only three alpine railways in the world and with my husband being a train enthusiast, this was a "must do" for us. Despite much searching on the internet we couldn't find a tour that suited so we decided to do it on our own. The train goes from Chiayi to Alishan which is a small mountain village absolutely full of tourists at the weekends. The best hotel (a bit pricey but by far the best in the town) is Alishan House, we had a scenery suite which was decorated Japanese style, very upmarket. Everybody gets up at an unbelievably early hour to take yet another train up the mountain to watch the sunrise. It was freezing cold and not worth the effort for the sunrise we saw. Maybe some days if there is some cloud around it is prettier.
Anyway, despite the disappointment of the sunrise the trip to Alishan was well worthwhile. It is a pretty place. I booked the accommodation by phone a couple of months in advance and then had the problem of booking train tickets from Taipei to Chiayi and Chiayi to Alishan. Most travel agents I contacted couldn't help but Zion Travel Service in Taipei were most helpful. Our bookings were made by Lilia and she was fantastic. Spoke perfect English and gave us wonderful service. Our tickets were waiting for us at our hotel in Taipei, complete with a diagram showing us where to go at Chiayi railway station and an English interpretation of our tickets for the Taipei to Chiayi trip. On our last full day in Taipei we ventured up to Jouifen which is a small village north of Taipei and worth the trip. Lots and lots of shops selling souvenirs, food, etc. Very crowded but good. We took the train from Taipei to Ruifang, then a bus to Jouifen. On the return trip we took the bus all the way. We were very lucky at Taipei railway station to come across 2 local couples who had lived in the USA for 10 years and thus had perfect English. They also were on their way to Jouifen so we travelled along with them and their children. Like all Taiwanese, we found them very friendly and helpful.
In conclusion, we really enjoyed our time in Taiwan and would recommend it. Taxis in Taipei are plentiful and cheap. The reception staff at the Santos Hotel were extremely helpful in advising us how to travel around and on a couple of occasions we got them to write things in Chinese for us to show bus drivers, taxi drivers etc. As it turned out we didn't need this most of the time - we could mostly find someone who spoke English. If you are considering a trip to Taiwan you may find as we did that the internet is the best place to get info. I am happy to answer questions that other travellers might have.
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| W Poh |
Monday, 17 January 2005 |
Stayed at City Hotel Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Staying in Taipei can be an interesting affair, you are often amazed by the many kinds of street food in those night markets! Don't worry if there's nothing to munch even at wee hours especially during the weekends! Nothing to do after midnight?? Check out the 24hr karaoke everyday! Every night! The most preferred karaoke hang out outlet is HOLIDAY KTV, cheapest price in town and buffet snacks 24hrs! What else can beat that??!?!!! Shopping I've yet to comment on dude...it's a paradise man. So girls.. wear your most comfortable shoes... because you've tons of shops to visit and guys prepare yourself to carry those bags!! Getting around by taxi is easy...taxis everywhere!! Who cares about taking train?? Buses?? Save it!! Don't worry it's not expensive, it's affordable. Range between 100-200TWD.
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| Y Chen |
Tuesday, 3 August 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Hi-lai, Kaohsiung - Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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I saw a lot of Kaohsiung (and its nearby cities) that I was not able to do so previously. I went to Dong Gong (East Harbor) for seafood, swam in Xie Tze Wan, and visited Chee Jing. Overall, I had a great time.
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| Y Okamoto |
Saturday, 22 March 2003 |
Stayed at Howard Plaza Hotel Kaohsiung - Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
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I visited many Japanese DepartmentsDMy recomendation is Hanshin DepartmentD
Sightseeing site is scattered so I think visiting many sites by oneself in a short time is difficult.
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| L Lau |
Thursday, 2 January 2003 |
Stayed at Fortuna Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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I have been in Taiwan many times. The recent stay was due to the flight stopover from Auckland. You can easily get around Taipei by subway. Taxi is also not expensive.
In Taipei, you must visit their night market. The most famous one is Shilin night market (can be reached by subway). Another is the hot spring. You can go to Peitou very easily by subway and there are many spa and hot springs resort. The one we tried called Spring Resort - very nice. A bit expensive but worth trying.
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| N Swamy |
Monday, 9 December 2002 |
Stayed at K Hotel Taipei 3 - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Hotel staff is very helpful in arranging local tours. English in not generally spoken and poses a problem. North shore area and the National Park are worth visiting. I recommend the hot springs bath. Very enjoyable.
The distance between the airport and downtown Taipei is quite long and the taxis cost nearly fifty dollars. The best alternative is to take the AirBus from the airport to the train station in downtown and take a taxi from there to hotel. This works very economical - less than ten dollars.
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| O Hatsugai |
Monday, 9 December 2002 |
Stayed at Fortuna Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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My best experience was a relaxing time at a water-side cafe in Tamsui. If you walk from Tamsui station, go along the water-side path passing by busy shopping streets, and at the very end of the path there are 3 cozy cafes. You can feel the breeze from brackish water under the shade in a tranquil and peaceful air.
40 min. from the city center to Tamsui by MRT.
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| J Duffy |
Tuesday, 15 October 2002 |
Stayed at Cosmos Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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We spent a total of 11 days in Taiwan and will definitely be returning. Taking the train to most destinations we found everyone very helpful. Finding English speaking staff was sometimes difficult but on the whole we were able to communicate in some way.
Visited most of the popular tourist destinations and did one tour to Toroko Gauge which was excellent. All hotels were booked online and were of a very high standard.
Would certainly recommend Taiwan as a destination.
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Traveller's Tales: Things to do in Taiwan
