KC & the Sunshine Runners: Taiwan Holidays

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Taiwan Holidays

Holidaying in Taiwan from 13-20 March 2015 with my office colleagues and family members.

The most memorable outing has to be the viewing of sunrise at the peak of Alishan Highlands. Taking a train ride – that packed to the brim – at the railway station which was only a stone’s away from the hotel, the team was donning thick clothing combating the cold at 11 degrees Celsius at 5:00 a.m. We were lucky that it was a fine weather for the sunset and sunrise – the view was spectacular.

Visit of night markets is a must when in Taiwan. We visited Raohe Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市, Ximending Night Market 西门町夜市, Leoho Night Market 六合夜市, and Shilin Night Market 士林夜市 (Shilin is the largest night market in Taiwan, and it is about 5 minutes’ drive from our hotel). There is one signature food that is common to all night markets: the stinky tofu 臭豆腐. To me, it really smells like "shit" :-) Wherever there is food, there is this stinky smell.

The 8D7N Taiwan Tour is a specially arranged tour where we liaise with the regular travel agent in Kuala Lumpur, and they have the agents/partners in various destinations.

Do CLICK HERE to view photos courtesy of yours truly (KC Leong).

Damper at 89th floor of Taipei 101 Building ... to produce a counterforce against the energy from earthquake that strike Taiwan often. This mega-tonne object is suspended by high-tension cables and maintains balance with shock-absorbers at the bottom.

At Fisherman's Wharf

We were lucky to have with us a very experienced and responsible tour guide, Mr Ma. He is able to talk the whole day in the bus relating to us the historical events, geographical formation and latest happenings of Taiwan. While we were sitting comfortably, he stood and faced us when talking in a moving and swaying vehicle. Most tour guides would speak for 1-2 hours only.

At Fisherman's Wharf

The followings are interesting comments by Mr Ma:

a. Alishan – most tour groups would rush up the highlands, do a bit of sight-seeing and rush down having lunch elsewhere due to limited choice of restaurants. So staying one night in Alishan would have more time with the jungle trail walk and viewing of sunset and sunrise.

b. Sunmoon Lake – Mr Ma has led tours for 2-3 years but they never stay there overnight. Most tour would flee and not putting up a night there due to high prices of hotels; hence, it was very quiet and devoid of tourists in the evening. Because of the stay, Mr Ma actually took the opportunity to meet his old native friends at Sunmoon Lake.

Queen's Head at Yehliu ... as informed by the tour guide, the neck of this rock formation is eroding by the days. People lining up orderly for photos shoot managed by a guide (not visible in the photo). Otherwise, there would be many rude tourists trying to jump queue :-)

At Taroko National Park

Fo Guan Shan ... the biggest Buddhist monastery in Taiwan

Mr Ma, the tour guide standing at left; as informed, he is not related to Ma Ying-jeou, President of Taiwan; or Ma Yun, Chairman of Alibaba Group in China.

Comfortable stay with new design of the hotel room

Nice ambiance in the bathroom … for the 8D7N stay, all hotels that we stay are of modern designed type; save for one in Alishan Highlands (as it was chosen because of close proximity to railway station and forest trails).

The remains of an age-old huge tree at Alishan Forest Park … as informed by the tour guide, Alishan Highlands was first opened during the Japanese occupation. One of the reasons was to harvest the age-old huge tress and sent back to Japan. For transportation of the logs, hence, they built the railway lines.