In early April 2024, I was shocked by the news that a 7.2 magnitude earthquake left Taiwan with the massive destruction of one of its main highways and a few buildings. It’s just less than a week after my trip to Taiwan. I spent days in Yilan and was just an hour away from Hua-lian.
Suddenly, there is more sadness than joy accumulated over the week. Is the earthquake related to climate change?
Nevertheless, I still have fond memories of this holiday – a magnificent aquarium, a Japanese-style foot bath, an excellent hot spring hotel, an oil body massage and good coffee.
It’s one of the best journeys I have ever had for a long time.
It takes an hour and 10 minutes to fly from Hong Kong to Taipei, while coming back takes around 1.5 hours.
Despite such a short duration, China Airlines still serves a proper meal on the plane – a salad, rice/fried noodles, a pack of tea, cookies, and tea and coffee. I’m amazed by the time management skills of their flight attendants. Entertainment and service standards are not compromised where on-demand movies, programmes and games are still offered.
A monitor is built in at the back of the passenger seats. Alternatively, passengers can simply connect to its Wi-Fi, then its entertainment portal. The Wi-Fi doesn’t support Bluetooth connection though; therefore, the short series was played without sound. I hope the earpieces they distribute support Type C, rather than just a 3-pin airline headphone connector in the future.
I had read a few comments that people drew Taiwan dollars (TWD) from an ATM machine in Taiwan. These thoughts tempted me to try to draw TWD from foreign currency machines in Hong Kong. It’s super convenient, but sadly, the rate is as bad as paying TWD dollars with a credit card – 1HKD = 3.8TWD as compared to 3.93TWD at the Taiwanese bank counter at the airport. Foreign exchange in bigger hotel in Taipei is possible but at a lower rate (1HK=3.7TWD at the hotel I was staying).
Unless you arrive pretty late at the airport in Taiwan, it’s better to exchange currency at the airport. VISA is widely acceptable. The machine even shows you whether you want to settle in TWD or native currency.
Foreign exchange counters open till late at night at Taipei airport.
Check out these shops for better rate.
My destinations were mainly Taoyuan city and Yilan Province. I was told that travelling by public transport may not be an easy option.
I did my research and kept asking the hotel receptionist or the tourist office before making decisions. It proved that travelling by public transport is not impossible for many sightseeing spots. Some sightseeing attractions can be reached in about 20 minutes from the train station.
I took an advantage of a day tour to Taipingshan that showed us the magnificent mountains, the famous trails, and an interesting spot for cooking sweet corn and eggs with hot spring water.
Both kkday and klook offer one or half day tours. Lion Travel (TW) also runs a few local tours. The driver acts as a guide and can speak some English. A few of us switched to a smaller vehicle for the Taipanshan tour. That driver can only speak Mandarin.
The key of joining these tours is the benefit of ease of transport. And I need not to do any planning for the Taipingshan trip.
Overall, I make my Yilan trip spontaneous subject to the weather forecast.
A taxi app is useful. I did not see a lot of Uber taxis. We called for taxis through 55688 app two times. We got confirmation within 1 minute, and the taxis arrived within 10 minutes, even though we’re in the countryside. The charge estimation was quite accurate and cheaper than the estimate the hotel receptionist gave us.
I have to stress that my itinerary is more suitable for people who aim to relax with minimal sightseeing spots. It is not a gourmet trip at all, whereas good food is always appreciated.
Bus VS MRT from airport
Taking a direct bus (no. 706 / 706A) from Taoyuan Airport to Taoyuan city is easy.
Go down one floor from the departure hall with the escalator. The bus terminal is just less than a minute from the convenience store. The waiting lounge is big and comfy, while the airport MRT is a long way to go.
The bus ride is just 30 minutes away, and my hotel is just a few steps away from Taoyuan Garden stop. Taiwan must have treated their drivers well. No buses run during lunchtime on this route.
Bus VS Taxi
Public buses are abundant but can be infrequent, especially if you plan to go to the countryside. I took a bus (no. 206) from the hotel to Taoyuan HSR and then walked to the X-park. It’s about a 40 minutes’ ride. Taking a taxi to get there is around 30 minutes and $360 TWD which is quite affordable if you travel with a big luggage.
Tourist Shuttle
Tourist shuttles are the easiest way to get around the tourist attractions.
I regret paying for a one-day pass, which costs $150 TWD. Being flexible and paying by Easycard is the best choice as the bus timetable is affected by the traffic conditions.
Both 501 and 502 stop at Cihu. You have a few more options for returning to the hotel after strolling around Daxi old street. Therefore, forget about the bus pass. It takes around 35 minutes to return to Taoyuan train station from Daxi old street.
Attractions
X-park
X-park is 10–15 minutes’ walk from the high speed rail station, a fantastic spot to hang around for 2 hours. Located inside a mall, it mimics the wonderful aquarium design in Okinawa. A gigantic tank houses an expansive variety of manta rays, small sharks and tropical fish. It is a serene environment to forget about everything and appreciate the miracle of marine life.
There are designated sections for coral reef, jellyfish, and penguins. Outdoor tanks are set up for fish, but it’s a bit dark for us to see at nighttime.
The souvenir shops stock quality items to bring home. The sea lion show is brief but fun, while the café provides a lovely environment to chill after a walk. The mall has many dining options for lunch or dinner at a reasonable price.
Skip the Gloria outlets unless you really crave shopping. The prices are not that competitive as compared to the outlets in Japan. I highly recommend the X-park if you have a half day to spare.
A happy start to my trip. Hurray!
Xiao Wulai Skywalk
I really wanted to see the Xiao Wulai Skywalk in Wulai, but it was quite a disappointment. The glass bottom is quite small, and the bridge is low from the cliff, so it does not give one a wow moment. Luckily there wasn’t a big crowd.
The surroundings are serene and spiritual where you can explore the trails and sit down in one of the cafés for a drink and snacks.
If you want to take advantage of the public transport, the tourist shuttle to Xiao Wulai Skywalk only runs on the weekends.
Cihu “Benevolence Lake”
Mausoleum of Late President Chiang (his former residence) is in the lake area. Visitors are not able to get in as the residence is guarded. The lake area is big and pleasant, but I found it creepiest to have hundreds of Chiang’s statues in the lake area as his statues from around Taiwan were relocated there.
Local families, visitors and the elderly visit the place at ease. I hope snacks can be purchased near the hillside park by the lake as this place is quite remote.
Daxi Old Street
Food stores are located in the former old street. I strolled around after a full meal, and for many visitors, it is a place for a fulfilling feast.
Spare an hour or two for food tasting, and absorbing the local food culture.
The Daxi Old Street bus stop is closer to the place. Several buses almost stop here. The Daxi bus stop seems to be smaller and is about a 10-minute walk to the famous street.
I was nervous while planning for this leg as half of the visitors travel around Yilan by car. Eventually, I decided to just go with the flow and install the 55688 taxi app, just in case.
My friend and I stayed in Jiaoxi for two nights and Yilan city for two nights. After this trip, we realised that we could just stay in Jiaoxi as the hot spring hotel is amazing – good service, good food and amenities. The train is just a 10-15 minutes’ ride to Yilan City or Luodong, though on average there are only two trains per hour.
Check the train schedule to see if the trains are local, local limited express, or express trains. Train ticket prices vary according to the type of train.
Based on my observation, there are 2 trains passing through Yilan, Jiaoxi and Ludong stations every hour in each direction (towards Taipei / towards Hualian).
Taking an express train from Taipei to Yilan is slightly longer than 1.5 hours, but a local train is slow and takes as long as 2.5 hours. I found it quite a painful experience stopping at all stops from Yilan to Taipei.
Alternatively, opting for Yilan City or Ludong as a base is feasible, especially if you are driving, as many nice B&Bs are located further away from the city centre. The hotels close to the train stations are not that good as compared to Jiaoxi. Ludong is like a transportation hub, but food options close to the train station are minimal. The night market is very close to Yilan train station, and so is the night market in Jiaoxi.
For local tours, the pick-up point is usually in front of Yilan train station. Ludong has better Taiwan shuttle routes and public bus options.
There is a taxi stand in Yilan and Ludong train stations, but not in Jiaoxi. Many taxis park close to the hotel area, which is just a 5-minute walk from the train station.
The cost of a taxi is around 450 TWD from Yilan train station to Zhang Mei Ama’s Farm, and 360 TWD from Yilan train station to Luodong city centre (around 25 minutes). When I placed an order with the app, I got the confirmation within less than a minute, then the taxi arrived within 5 – 8 minutes, depending on whether you’re close to the city centre.
If I travel to Yilan again, I will base in Jiaoxi, as a nice hotel stay and food choices are more important to me. Luodong is the second-best option for me if I can find a nice B&B with a bus stop nearby. Taking a day trip to tourist attractions close to Yilan city centre would be good enough.
Check the bus schedule, or ask the tourist information centre for public transport guidance for better planning.
Attractions
Half of the year are rainy days in Yilan. Luckily, it may not rain all day; therefore I left the plan open except for a mountain day tour.
National Centre for Traditional Arts
Take the Taiwan Shuttle from Ludong to this destination, where you can easily spend half a day shopping, seeing a performance and checking out an exhibition. Have a passport copy (paper or digital) with you for claiming tax for purchases over $2,000 in the area.
Souvenirs to bring home:
- personalised wooden stamps, coasters and crafts
- Silk scarfs
- Sesame snacks
- Wooden products
Take Bus 1794 from Ludong bus terminal and get off at Guangzhou Road. It’s just a 3-minute walk to the farm.
The farm does not look like a farm setting and is quite commercial and crowded even on a weekday, but the place is kept clean.
I was so excited about seeing alpacas, even capybaras and baby kangaroos for the very first time. There were deer, sheep, ponies, and tortoises who were hungry for food, too. Some of the animals were quite aggressive for food that my pants almost left bite marks.
Each admission ticket includes straw for feeding, but we feed them all at the first station. Get extra straw by giving a like to its Facebook/IG page at the third station.
A very happy experience after all.
Taiping Mountain National Forest Recreation Area
The one-day scenic tour included transportation from Yilan train station to the mountain area where we took the yellow bong bong train to a forest destination. We walked up and down and totally immersed ourselves in the forest area. A cute girl and a toddler sat close to us, and they loved the train so much that they couldn’t hide their happiness throughout the 20-minute journey.
The Jianqing Huaigu trail was rated one of the most beautiful trails in the world, but I consider that it’s a serene and historical trail that tells a story of Japanese occupation and forestry.
The last stop was the Jiuzhize hot spring. We were desperate for food after the long walk. This very brief stop gave us enough time to cook sweet corn in scorching hot spring water and enjoy rice dumplings at ease.
The mountain trip was so refreshing with beautiful scenery. Restaurant choices are very few, and it can take a long time for getting a cup of coffee or a piece of toast.
There is still a public bus going to the mountain, but going up from the bus stop to the Bong Bong train station or trails can be a pain, unless you plan to stay overnight at the Mountain Lodge.
Yilan Museum of Art
A 10 minutes’ walk from where we are staying is the museum for art. The museum staff are very passionate about telling me stories of the featured artists – how to see the paintings, the concept of the installation and how the visitors feel about the paintings.
Great work!
Yilan Distillery
I accompanied my friend to visit this distillery as he wanted to buy some local wines home. Wine tasting is keen as the salespersons aim to sell more.
I don’t find it a museum at all as the place is set up for the sake of marketing. I do not see any large machine or any dedicated factory tour. Skip it if you have no interest in alcohol.
There are many museums in Yilan. I started to wonder whether they are truly museum quality or just a gimmick.
Net Fashion
There is a local fast fashion brand in every big city. In Taiwan, we bought a few items home as they are inexpensive and of reasonable quality. It is wise to research online before looking for your favourite items.
The store in Yilan City is close to the night market and big. It is open from 11:30am to 10pm. The store in Taipei station is much smaller. Good to enjoy shopping after dinner.
Taipei city is just huge. I felt lost in this city. Ximending is like Mongkok in Hong Kong to me. The bar area near Red House is cool with packed streets. Rainbow flags are hung all over the place. I smell freedom, I smell openness. Street entertainment is not limited to busking, but can be K-pop, cosplay and fire eating.
I love the fact that Taiwan has more spacious massage parlours and better skilled masseuses. In my opinion, Taiwaneses are hardworking and dedicated to what they are doing, no matter in the shops or restaurants.
Want to travel more?
How about Ureshino and Itoshima in Kyushu, or the South Island in New Zealand?
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