TRAVEL TO TAIWAN 9 DAYS, TAIPEI, TAICHUNG, SUN MOON LAKE DAY 1

One of my hobbies is travelling, I've been travel overseas this pass years before covid-19 affect our life. I can't wait to fly again this month when I finally will fly again to Turkey by Singapore airlines. But I will tell the story in another time, for now, I want to share my journey to Taiwan. I also will try several question that frequently asked by people who want to travel to Taiwan for the first time.

Is Taiwan save?

A: Short answer, it is. Although crime is always exist everywhere you go, but I can easily say that Taiwan is the top 5 most safe country that I've ever visited in my entire life. You can compare the safety level to a popular safe destination like Japan, Singapore or Swiss. Although it might not be as safe as Japan, but I have seen people leave their baggage not attended in a train or public station for taking a toilet. Still, I've heard that it depends on the location, or the city. It's more safe in rural area like Taichung, but Taipei has a bit more crime due to more condensed population and much more foreigner.

Is people in Taiwan friendly?

A: Better than Hongkong, or mainland China. People will rush you when you try to take order in a restaurant or a stall, but they won't scold you or yell loud to you. As far as my experience visiting the country, almost all of them are friendly. When you get lost in Taiwan, you can ask any stranger and they will try to help you even with a broken English. If they don't help you, it's because they can't understand English at all or is busy. We rarely see people scream or yell in the neighborhood.

Can people in Taiwan speaks English?

A: No. I've asked several random people or stall and store keeper there with English, most of them can't speak English. Yet, we still can order any kind of food with ease because how friendly they're to tourist. As long as we understand each other, even with body language or gesture, it will be fine.

Is Taiwan expensive?

A: The most expensive things in Taiwan is the hotel or where you stay, especially in metropolitan area like Taipei. In average a decent hotel will cost you about $40-50 a day. For meals, it depends on the type of restaurant. If you're on tight budget, you can find a meal that will cost you only $5 per meal. Yet, if you try to eat in a luxury restaurant or fresh seafood, it will cost you greatly, eg I've eaten a meal that cost me $100+ per person.

MY TRIP TO TAIWAN DAY 1

I arrived at Taiwan pretty late at night, around 7 pm and I decide to directly go to Taichung from Taoyuan International airport, because I don't like to change hotel a lot when travelling. There is a direct bus from the airport to Taichung and it will take you about 3 hours (depends on the traffic). It takes me 1 hour to pass the immigration and take my baggage. The most convenient way to get to Taichung from Taoyuan Airport is taking Kuokuang Bus #1860 ,Ubus #1623 or Free Go Bus #5503. You don't need to book it online or reserved it before, you can just go to the locket station and buy your ticket right away there, most of the time you will get it. Since I arrived at night, there is no line and by chance the bus will take off soon (in under 5 minutes).

I arrived in Taichung almost midnight, to be exact around 11.30 pm. There were many shops that had closed and the streets were dark. In Taichung for some reason many shops close after 6pm. There are only certain areas where shops or restaurants are open at night, usually near the night market. Despite that, most will be closed after 10.30pm. There was one night where I had a hard time finding a restaurant that was open for me to have dinner because almost all the restaurants around the hotel had closed. And this surprised me because it was still not too late, it was only 7 o'clock.

Don't know why but the bus that I ride from Taoyuan airport to Taichung doesn't stop at the usual place. It stops farther than my hotel about 500m so I need to walk a bit more. There is no taxi on the street in sight, and I've heard that it will take some times to get a taxi in Taichung at midnight. Don't worry though, it's pretty safe to walk at midnight in Taichung with your baggage. I feel safe even there is not many people around and the road is a bit dark. I stayed at Twinstar hotel. The hotel have reasonable price, a great location since it is closed to public transport and Taichung Station, the room is big, the staff is friendly and the breakfast is decent. (I like the soya milk and the porridge, but don't expect different type of meal each day) One downside is the bed is not as comfortable as I expected it to be. It's a bit hard for my preference, but it's big. After checking in, I feel a bit hungry due to walking. All the restaurant is already closed so I buy a frozen meal in seven eleven, a 24 hours mini market. It cost me less than $4 per person.