Taiwan Island Tour: Taipei, Chiayi, Alishan, Kaohsiung, Kenting, Hualien

I traveled to Taiwan twice. The first time was five days and I only went to Taipei. The second time was 15 days and I basically traveled around the island, including Taipei, Chiayi Alishan, Kaohsiung, Kenting, Hualien, and Taipei. Both times I traveled alone!

Taipei:

1. National Palace Museum in Taipei: It is open on Mondays, so remember to go early. There are many exhibits and there are audio guides. Last time I slept until noon and went after lunch, but I didn’t feel I had enough fun.

2. Huashan Cultural and Creative Park: There are many activities, especially on weekends. I encountered the Ghibli exhibition in Taipei for the first time, the Vogue Conte Nast exhibition, and Team Lab last time.

3. Raohe Street Night Market: Need I say more about the night market? (You don’t need to go to Ningxia Night Market, it’s too short)

4. Mengjiao Longshan Temple: It’s just because I got the best lottery.

5. Songshan Cultural and Creative Park: It’s also a place for various activities and exhibitions. I saw Kumamon and the German Red Dot Award last time.

6. Beitou Hot Springs: You can get there by subway. I stayed in Beitou for a day and stayed at Kagaya (the most expensive hotel I’ve stayed in so far, for one person). You can take a hot spring bath in the hotel room, just after getting off the subway station. Opposite is the Hot Spring Museum and Beitou Library. The breakfast and lunch in the hotel are super delicious. You can also not stay in the hotel and just go to the hot springs. There are also hot spring and afternoon tea packages. After the bath, I went to see the Geothermal Valley and Shaoshuai Zen Garden. There is also a museum above. I had lunch in the Japanese garden in the museum.

7. Dingwang Spicy Hot Pot: No. 251, Section 1, Daan Road, Daan District. The best spicy hot pot I’ve ever had! Especially the chicken feet before the meal! ! ! It’s amazing! There are many fashionable restaurants, fashionable furniture stores, and fashionable furniture stores + restaurants in the small streets and alleys in the back east district.


Dingwang Spicy Hot Pot

8. Ximending: Azong noodles, duck meat noodles. At Exit 3 of Ximending MRT Station, at the corner of two streets, opposite a department store, there is Sandai Red Soup Braised Pork Rice. Because I live nearby, I especially like to eat there. If you live far away, there is no need to make a special trip.
  

That braised pork rice!
  
Chiayi-Alishan:

No need to buy tickets in advance, just go to the train station to buy them. Regardless of whether it is a high-speed rail station or a Taiwan Railway station, Alishan on the Taiwan Travel Line is right out of the station.

I live halfway up the mountain. After getting off the bus, I called the people at the B&B to pick me up and take me to Fenqi Lake. They and my luggage went back first.
  
Have clear soup hot pot at the B&B in the evening, and the next day they asked me to watch the Alishan sunrise.
  
Be sure to check the train timetable when going to Alishan, otherwise it will be difficult to wait. Be sure to flag down a bus when you see it, otherwise it will pass the bus stop.
  
There is a place to store luggage at the entrance of Alishan, where you can enlarge your suitcases.
  


Kaohsiung:

I regret not staying in Kaohsiung for a few more days. Kaohsiung is actually not that big, with only two subway lines.

I live on Yuzhu 1st Street opposite Central Park, in the city center. There are many shops opened by young people on that street, so you can go shopping.
  


Yuzhu 1st Street

Must visit in Kaohsiung: Cijin and Pier 2 (best to go on weekends)

Cijin is an island with a lot of food, you need to take a boat to get there . In fact, the island is very big. You can get off the boat and rent a bicycle or electric car. But as a rare sportsman who can't ride a bicycle, I just ate, drank, walked to the beach and walked around before going back.
  
Pier 2 is an art special zone, very large, larger than Songshan and Huashan in Taipei. Some exhibitions may be closed during the week, so the atmosphere is best on weekends.
  
The guy at the youth hostel sent me a long list of delicious food in Kaohsiung! This is just one of the screenshots, there are six in total.
  
I only went to the Ruifeng Night Market in Kaohsiung, which is super big and has many more types of food and entertainment than in Taipei.

Kenting:

I went with a one-day tour group and visited all the scenic spots.
  
I spent the whole day at Nanwan Beach, renting a parasol and lying down in the sun.
  
There are many buses here, one will arrive in a few minutes.
  
The night market is a very long street, but when traveling to Kenting, no matter how delicious the night market is, you can’t eat there every day.
  


Hualien:

I signed up for a one-day tour from Kenting to Hualien, and walked and played all the way to Hualien.
  
There are mountain lines and sea lines for you to choose from. I chose the mountain line. Just search Baidu for specific attractions.
  
The owner of the B&B in Hualien also gave me a map, which circled various delicious and fun places.
  
Bomb scallion pancake is a must-eat! I hated the smell of scallion oil in the noodle bowl, so I didn’t eat it. Later, the driver of the Taroko one-day tour group called the boss and asked him to leave 8 portions for us. It was really delicious! ! Turns out that was the last 8 portions of the day. I have to leave the next day and don’t have time to eat.
  
People who are used to seeing the mountains and rivers in China may think that Taroko is nothing. Maybe it’s because the travel companions and the driver in the group got along very well and were very happy all day long.
  

Finally took the train back to Taipei!
  
The advantage of traveling alone is that there will always be many strangers chatting with you: maybe you just walk into a restaurant for dinner, and the Teppanyaki owner thinks you are a customer who visited when you were a child and came back to see you when you grew up; maybe he is afraid When you get lost, the dog-walking mother and her son take you to your destination (the son is a very tall and handsome man); it may be the tour guide who sees you alone and asks you to follow their group. Even if the contact time is very short, even if these people will never meet again in the future, it will definitely be an experience that you will never have with friends and family.