Fuji Harbor Tourism Fish Market 富基漁港觀光魚市, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Fuji Harbor is famous for the tourist fish market where tourists could purchase fresh, live seafood and have it brought to a restaurant for cooking.

The fish market.

Yeliu 野柳, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

We have heard and seen so much about Yeliu Geological Park that it feels like a holiday would not be complete without at least a visit to this place.

The heavens decided to smile upon us, with sunny weather today.
(What we didn't anticipate was busloads upon busloads of tourists. It was pretty scary. )

There's an entrance fee of NT $80.

石門洞 Shimendong, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

On the way from Yangmingshan to Yeliu, we passed by the scenic Northern Coast. There is a small attraction called Shimendong 石門洞 located there.

There was a large crowd today probably due to Qing Ming holidays, so we didn't feel the urge to linger.

AgilePoint: Suspect Infinite Loop in process

In AgilePoint we had a couple of processes that need to repeatedly check a certain condition and only continue once true.

Once our workflow was running in production environment, I noticed this error came about quite frequently.

Suspect infinite loop in process xxxx: 

Dear AgilePoint System Administrator, Process instance 'xxxxxx' has been suspended because maximum session was exceeded on Activity 'Wait for 1 hours'. Process Template = 'yyyyyyyy', Version = '1.31' You may check if it is infinite loop.

Xiaoyoukeng 小油坑, Yangmingshan National Park, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Xiaoyoukeng is a famous attraction in Yangmingshan - it's a post-volcanic geological landscape area.

Meaning you get to see sulphorous gas and steam coming out from vents on the ground as well as the unique landscape.

Yangmingshan National Park 陽明山國家公園, Bamboo Lake (Zhu-zi Hu 竹子湖), Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

March - April is the season of the calla lilies. This seems to be a big deal in Taiwan.
Although we did not manage to view sakura flowers in full bloom (as the cold weather forced spring flowers to bloom early this year), we were lucky to arrive in time to view calla lilies.

We started the 2nd day of our guided tour with a visit to Yangmingshan. Since there are no more sakura flowers to view, we headed straight for Zhuzi Lake, where all the lilies are!

Releasing Sky Lanterns at 十分 Shifen, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

For our last stop of the day, we hopped over to Shifen Old Street to release sky lanterns.
As it was getting dark, we didn't manage to visit the famous Shifen waterfalls.

Shifen is about 30 minutes way from Jiufen by car. You could also get there by hopping on the Pingxi train line (get down at Shifen station)

It's a small town spanning across a railway track,  with shophouses on both sides of the track. One could walk along the track. Yes, there are real trains every hour!

Jiufen 九份, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Jiufen is a cluster of houses and shops perched on tn the hillsides of Jinguashi. It is well known for the maze of shophouses along flights of steps that lead from the top of the hill to the bottom. You could buy souvenirs here, taste the famous Taro balls, have Chinese tea in one of the teahouses, and take in the beautiful scenery while doing it all.

黃金博物館 Gold Ecological Museum, Jinguashi, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

ANY trip to Jinguashi would not be complete without paying a visit to the Gold Ecological Museum.
Since it is located very closely to Jiufen, we made a quick detour.

The Gold Ecological Museum is divided into several sections. There's the Crown Prince Chalet (Tai Zi Bin Guan), gallery area, the gold museum itself, and the mining tunnel, just to mention a few.

We were greeted by Japanese-style architecture as soon as we passed the entrance. Those are actually the 4 joined Japanese residences. The furniture and utensils were preserved and restored for visitors to view.

Keelung Miao Kou 基隆廟口, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

There is a well known street in Keelung that has lots of hawker food. Some might know it better as the Keelung Night Market, but in fact, the place is open all day.

After a morning well spent exploring scenic views of the northeast coast, we stopped at Keelung Miao Kou for lunch.

It's very popular among tourists and locals alight because of the variety of delicious food available. The place itself isn't big; it's a short street in front of the Mei Ji temple.

Wang You Gu 望幽谷 and Golden Waterfalls 黃金瀑布, Jinguashi, Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Wang You Gu 望幽谷 is a little known spot popular among hikers and bird watchers in Taiwan. It's located near to Keelung.

It's a beautiful and isolated place with a panoramic view of the Northern coast. There are no hints of civilization, apart from the occasional hiker. To get there, you need to drive.

Walk down a short flight of stairs and you will be rewarded with breathtaking scenery.

南雅奇岩 Nanya Rock Formations and 陰陽海 Yin Yang Sea, Jinguashi Taiwan

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

For Days 6 and 7 of our Taiwan trip, we would be engaging a driver to bring us around as the places we wished to visit had quite a distance in between.

Our friendly tour guide/driver Andy was a knowledgeable and chatty guy! We really enjoyed our experience with him showing us around.

Our first stop was at Nanya. It's a quick stop along the scenic northeast coastal road. There are several unique rock formations there, the most famous one being the ice cream cone shaped rock.

Under the bright sun, it is supposed to show off brilliant colors.

Shihlin Night Market, Taipei

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

After spending the afternoon at Taipei 101, it's time for dinner again.

Shihlin Night Market, being very near to Taipei 101, naturally became our preferred destination! It's super convenient to go there, just take the red line from Taipei 101 MRT to Jiantan station.

Note: Alighting at Shihlin Station would bring you to the other end, so I recommend getting outat Jiantan instead. Just follow the crowd after exiting the MRT!

Taipei 101

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

From Dazzling Cafe - Pink, we resumed our leisurely exploration of the Zhongxiao area.

We made a brief stop at Wei Feng to buy some dried meat. After that we headed to Ice Monster for some shaved mango ice.

At Ice Monster, there was a minimum consumption fee for dine-in, so we opted for takeaway.
At TWD 250, the serving was huge! We didn't quite manage to finish it between the 2 of us.

Dazzling Cafe - Pink, Zhongxiao Taipei

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Dazzling Cafe is an ultra popular hangout spot known for it's long queues and honey toast.

Thanks to my aunt who helped to make a reservation 2 weeks in advance (YES 2 weeks) we secured a spot in the Pink cafe in Zhongxiao district!

It is really the perfect spot for having afternoon tea.

Shopping at ZhongXiao Fuxing 忠孝復興站

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

After enjoying a wholesome breakfast, it's time to do some shopping!

We opted to go to the trendy Zhongxiao district. Besides 2 SOGO stores on opposing sides of the street, there are plenty of boutiques to explore.

Oops.. just a couple of photos here. I was too busy shopping. Excuse meeeeeeee.

Fu Hang Soya Milk 阜杭豆漿, Taipei

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Our first morning in Taipei,  we had planned to have breakfast at the famous Fu Hang Dou Jiang.

Staying above Taipei Bus Station is really convenient, we just had to take the lift down, go down the connecting escalators to the MRT station, and head for the Blue Line to Shandao Temple station.
 It cost TWD 20 each.

The soya bean store is located inside Huashan market. We took Exit 5 route and found the market on the right as soon as we came out from the exit.

A queue has already formed and spilled over to the market entrance. 阜杭豆漿 is actually located on the upper floor of the Huashan market. No choice but to queue since we came all the way here already.

Dinner at Yong Kang Street, Taipei

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Yong Kang Street is a well-known place in Taipei with many established dining outlets.
There is a mix of traditional Taiwanese food, trendy cafes, popular dessert stores and boutiques.

Some of the more well known stores are Ding Tai Fung, Du Xiao Yue and Yong Kang Beef Noodles.

After we arrived at Taipei, we proceeded to check into our minsu where we would be staying for 6 nights.

Yong Kang Street is very easy to reach. You could take the MRT to Dongmen station and it's a short walk away. Here's a great article describing some of the famous eateries.

We made a beeline for Yong Kang Beef Noodles 永康牛肉麵. It's a very famous place for beef noodles listed on almost all Taiwan guides. We were lucky not to get caught up in a long queue as it was a weekday.

Puli Brewery 埔里酒廠, Nantou

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

From CingJing, we opted to pre-book the E-go bus to Taipei.

For this trip we did not choose to go to Hualien after taking the travel time into consideration. (Hualien is actually worth a day in itself to visit, as it is home to the famous and gorgeous Taroko Gorge.)

For TWD 780, a comfortable bus ride is provided from Cingjing to Taipei. The journey takes approximately 5 hours and stops at Puli Brewery.

Taiwan produces beer and wine. Puli is famed for beer and rice wine production due to the great quality of spring water and crops.

Green Green Grasslands 青青草原, Cingjing 清境農場

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

On the day we planned to visit Green Green Grasslands, we woke up to the bright morning sun. Thank God for clear weather!!!

Side note: I cannot stress enough the importance of checking the weather on your travel plans. It is pointless, really pointless to plan for all those wonderful places to visit (ESPECIALLY outdoor) if it's raining, or worse, typhoon season. So, do your research!

Since there's a free shuttle service from Misty Villa to Green Green Grasslands, we went down to the reception and informed the owner about our plans.

We settled down to a wholesome Taiwanese-style breakfast, a la buffet. By the way. the white cabbage in Cingjing is to die for. I have never tasted such sweetness and crunchiness before. I just love Taiwanese vegetables and fruits!

Our shuttle arrived punctually at 9:30. After a short drive uphill, we reached our destination.

Small Swiss Garden 小瑞士花園, Cingjing 清境

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Having reached Cingjing early, after refreshing ourselves, we set out to explore the surrounding areas near our minsu.

We started off by having a light lunch at MOS Burger, Starbucks Plaza. It was drizzling slightly and so we headed indoors to somewhere warm first.

Lip smacking burgers. Definitely going to miss them!

Misty Villa 雲濛仙境民宿, Cingjing 清境

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

After checking out from our hotel in Sun Moon Lake, we hopped on E-go bus which would take us to Cingjing. We would be spending the night there in Misty Villa  for another relaxing experience.

Misty Villa is another minsu we found using TripAdvisor. It's a great place to stay in Cingjing due to the convenient location and all inclusive packages available.

Sun Moon Lake 日月潭 Boat Ride

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

There are several ways to explore Sun Moon Lake.
You could hop on the official tourism bus which circles the island, or rent a bicycle to explore the scenic surroundings. Or you could opt for boat rides.

If you're pressed for time, the boat ride is a good idea. Boats will reach the different piers in intervals of 20-30 minutes. I can't think of a suitable comparison, it's similar to island hopping. In this case, lake hopping.

Laurel Villa 桂月村民宿, Sun Moon Lake 日月潭

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Laurel Villa 桂月村民宿 is a minsu that came highly recommended by TripAdvisor users. Without hesitation, we knew that this would be the best choice. And we were right!

Firstly, it's located in an extremely convenient spot. It's just right opposite the Shueishe Pier. Imagine staying so close at a fraction of the price. Of course, we did not have lake views but who needs it when you can walk right across the street to see it?

There are also scores of shops and restaurants along the same stretch.

A leisurely stroll at Shueishe Pier 水社碼頭, Sun Moon Lake 日月潭

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

After checking out from our hotel at Taichung, we proceeded to Gancheng bus station, where we purchased bus tickets to our next destination - Sun Moon Lake 日月潭

Tip: One of the easiest ways to reach Sun Moon Lake would be to take a bus. It is cost efficient, convenient and punctual. You can refer to this link for the schedules: http://www.ntbus.com.tw/032.htm 

E-go bus is also available. The journey will take around 70 minutes. You can either go to Gan Cheng bus station, or the HSR station to get a bus.

After we checked into our minsu, we set out for a stroll along the surrounding paths. Our minsu is very, very conveniently located on the streets near Shueishe pier itself.

The air was fresh and crisp after an afternoon shower - ideal for a walk or bicycle ride.

Yong He Dou Jiang 永和豆浆 , Taichung

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Yong He Dou Jiang 永和豆浆 appears to be a very common breakfast chain across Taiwan, there are outlets in every major city.

There is one outlet located just across the road from Miyahara, Taichung.

Miyahara 宮原眼科, Taichung 臺中

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

On our second day, we had some spare time in Taichung before heading to Sun Moon Lake.

So we hailed a cab towards the middle of Taichung - to make a quick visit to Miyahara 宮原眼科.

Yong He Dou Jiang 永和豆浆It's a multi storey building that sells Taiwanese delicacies like pastries, sun biscuits and cookies.

Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市, Taichung 臺中

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Fengjia Night Market is reported to be the biggest night market in Taiwan. Well I'm not sure whether this is bigger, or Shihlin, but it IS huge.

Located in close proximity to Fengjia University, the night market springs to life after 5pm. And on weekends, it closes at 2AM 2. Freaking. A.M. Now if  only we had that kind of night market back home...

Now without further ado allow me to show some of the delicacies on offer!

Fried onion rings.

Dinner at Lao Dong Beef Noodle 老董牛肉麵

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

After checking into our minsu, being typical Malaysians, we rushed out to experience the wonderful Fengjia Night Market as soon as possible!

The close proximity to Fengjia University could be one of the reasons this night market is so popular. Apart from hordes of tourists, the young and hip could be seen everywhere.

As we strolled slowly down Xi An Street, a shop caught our eyes - what is it?

Hmm.. it's Lao Dong Beef Noodle shop. Looks like a good place to have dinner so in we went.

Fengjia Music House 逢甲音樂屋 @ Taichung 臺中

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Fengjia Music House 逢甲音樂屋

We got to know of this minsu after traversing forums and the Internet. It is a small minsu located off one of the alleys near Lie Mei Street (烈美街).
The place was not easy to find, so make sure you go prepared with the address!

Although the place was very small, the convenience and close proximity to the night market more than made up for it. We would be staying for one night before moving on to our next destination.

Arriving at Taoyuan Airport

This is part of the fun Taiwan travel series. View the full itinerary here.

Due to the poor weather conditions at Hong Kong International Airport, flights were slightly delayed.  To cut a long story short, we finally arrived at Taoyuan International Airport 2 hours later than expected.

Suggestion:
If time is absolutely of importance to you,  pick a route that won't stop at HKIA. I would definitely do that next time.

Taiwan 10D9N Trip Summary 2014

This is going to be a lengthy blog on my recent fun travel to Taiwan. I will try to split the post into several smaller ones.

We managed to book flight tickets to Taiwan at a fairly reasonable price from Cathay Pacific airlines a few months ago - so off we go!

Here's a quick summary of the places I managed to visit.