Travel (Air):
Min and I set off for my grad trip to Macau, Hongkong and Taiwan on 20/05/2013! We had earlier managed to snap up a really good deal for the air tickets! We took Tiger Airways from Singapore to Macau, then Hongkong Airline from Hongkong to Taiwan and lastly, Jetstar from Taiwan to Singapore. The 3 airtickets cost us about $420 each, with baggage included! For HK airline, there was a free 15 or 20kg baggage each while for the other 2 airlines, we purchased a 15 kg baggage to be shared teehee so saving us a little bit of money. We were both on budget as we had previously bought the airtickets on impulse (it was too cheap to resist really!) and thus did not have sufficient time to save up! We had to fly 2 weeks after I ended my finals:/
Travel (Trains)
The most confusing part when planning the itinerary was to differentiate between the 3 different types of 'trains' in Taiwan. Of course, now we are super familiar and in case we forget about this in the future, I shall write it down in detail here. Basically, there are 3 different types of 'trains' in Taiwan.
1. Taiwan High Speed Rail:
Akin to a bullet train, it travels non stop from one county to the next. There are a total of 8 stations in operation now. There is an early bird promotion of 30% off ticket prices when you purchase 8-28 days earlier. However, there is a quota for the number of tickets that can be bought and if you miss the quota, you will be offered 20% and 10% thereafter. However, from our experience, it is advisable NOT to purchase the tickets in advance unless you are extremely sure you would not miss the train. We missed our train from Taoyuan to Taichung cause we underestimated the time needed to get from Taoyuan Airport to Taoyuan Station. However, very very fortunately, the train master allowed us to get another ticket just by topping up the extras (so no discount) and we were so relieved to not have to repurchase the ticket. Train tickets are not very cheap in Taiwan! For high speed rail, it is around $25 SGP depending on the locations. Like for example, from what I know, from Taipei to Taoyuan is about $8 but from Taoyuan to Taichung is about $27. See the difference! During the trip we took HSR from Taoyuan-->Taichung; And from Taichung--> Zuoying (GaoShiung). Taking the HSR is inevitable if you intend to travel around Taiwan because it's faster than the normal train! The frequency of the HSR trains is also quite high (approx 15-30mins for every train) so you dont have to worry if you miss the train you intend to catch. The train officers at the counters can speak English so if your Mandarin is very poor, no worries as well. They will even advise you on the various routes you can take to a particular county in Taiwan!:) Oh! and I forgot to mention, you can also apply for the Youth Card at the HSR station in Gaoshiung (I dont know why but we were told that we couldnt apply for it at Taoyuan station). For more info;
http://www.thsrc.com.tw/en/
http://www.youthtravel.tw/main.php
2. Taiwan Railways (TRA) (I call it the Choochoo Train-CCT because they look like it!)
The CCT goes to many more places as compared to the HSR as they cover different districts of a particular county! So for example, if you are in Taipei and you want to visit Jiufen and Shifen, you should take the CCT (or alternatively you can cab but it would be pricier or take a bus but it can get very confusing so just take the trains). As mentioned, Min and I took the CCT from Taipei to Jiufen and Shifen (Ruifang station) and from Gaoshiung to Hualien (freaking 6 hours train ride) and then from Hualien to Taipei. The prices, once again, vary and it was about $6 to Ruifang from Taipei and then $25 from Gaoshiung to Hualien. The regret of the trip was that we stopped over at Gaoshiung from Cingjing. It was advised from the Taiwan locals that we should have headed straight up to Hualien from Taichung (Cingjing) instead of going to Gaoshiung, which would then be travelling in reverse. What we SHOULD have done was to travel from Taoyuan --> Gaoshiung --> Taichung--> Hualien. Le sigh, now we know! Would definitely skip Gaoshiung the next time round. Anyway, for more info on TRA;
http://www.railway.gov.tw/en/
3. Taiwan MRT
Prior to the trip, Min told me to go get the free Train Cards from the Taiwan Tourism Bureau and I did! The good thing about the train cards is that you dont have to purchase the card (I dont know how much it is to purchase it though) and you also get to ask all the questions you want regarding Taiwan! In addition, I also took many pamphlets for reference hehehe. From what I understand, the bureau also gives out vouchers and freebies from time to time, on a first come first serve basis. You will need to bring along confirmation documents of airtickets and at least one accommodation in order to get the freebies. After collecting the freebies, you can change your currency at the Arcade, which is located right beside Chevron House. The Arcade has many currency changers and the rates are considered to be one of the best in Sgp. Most of the CC are located on the second and third level and you can slowly compare the rates before changing them at the most competitive vendor (usually the one with the longest queue).
Ok back to the train card; The thing about the train card is that it can only be used in Taipei -___-. We didn't know until we wanted to top up the card for usage at Gaoshiung. The train master told us that the card could only be used in Taipei booo. The prices of the tickets bought during the trip were around $1.20 to $1.30 each. I think there is this concession pass you can get but am not very sure of the prices and terms and conditions. The most confusing train station we had encountered has got to be Taipei Main station. The signs were all over the place and they were seriously useless. Just ask the train master (but they can be really hard to find) or ask any of the locals. They are definitely friendlier than the Hongkongers.
30 Raffles Place #10-01
Chevron House
Office Hour: 0900-1700 (Mon-Fri)
Tel: 6223-6546
That's about it for the different 'trains' in Taiwan. Min and I did not take any buses during our trip (except in Hongkong when we took a bus from Madame Tussauds Museum and another to Ocean Park). Oh! We also took a bus from Chiate Bakery in Taipei and we got lost cause we slept past the bus stop we were supposed to alight at hahaha! To take a bus in Taiwan is very confusing because 1. All directions were in chinese 2. Bus stops were difficult to locate (imagine those bus stops along Little India/ Mohammad Sultan road) 3. Inconvenient. We did not take buses around in Hongkong because the train stations over there were AWESOME. They lead to everywhere we wanted to go, albeit we had to walk very far, but it was sheltered all the way so yay! There were, however, many flights of stairs we had to climb, so it might not be that yay if you travel with your parents or disabled person. Lifts were difficult to find as they were always situated at obscure areas. zzz. Oh yes, before I forget, you MUST remember to stand on your right side when you are in Hongkong and Taiwan. In Hongkong, people will just push you aside and TSK loudly at you. In Taiwan, the locals dont do that but we have to be automatic abit la, if not it would be awkward to stand in the way of others.
I wanted to write about the accommodation but realised this post has been a bit too long. Till the next!^^
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