I’m back from my most normalised travel since covid where it was a 100% Free & Easy (slightly budget) trip that is not a solo trip.
As my previous Taiwan itinerary posts were pretty popular, I thought that I should repeat the style and hopefully people would find the content useful and I can finally be called a travel blogger again =p
I’ll start off with the most important content – how much I spent!
Exchange rate used: 1 SGD = 22 NTD (not a good rate but it was what I changed for at the money changer).
On a side note, if you are from a country that has YouTrip, you can consider using the card (in most places excluding street food vendor) and the exchange rate would tend to be better than the rates you got from the money changer. My highest exchange rate clocked during the trip using YouTrip was 1 SGD = 22.68 NTD.
| Details | Price (NTD) | Price (SGD) |
| Airfare (Scoot)Singapore to Taipei (Fly @ 01:00) | Taipei to Singapore (Arrive @ 05:45) Includes 25kg (shared) check-in baggage + 20kg check-in baggage each for the return flight |
$431.66 | |
| Travel Insurance(NTUC Income, 45% OFF Promotion) Note: Most insurance that covers covid tends to be slightly higher because there’s a greater risk of claims vs lesser people travelling. |
$30.80 | |
| Accommodation (Twin Beds) Average Price per pax per night: $49.401 Night Kaohsiung – Hotel La Inn (7 mins walk from Formosa Boulevard station) – $154.99/night / 2 (Premium for Saturday night) 3 Nights Taipei – Hotel Attic (5 mins from Xi Men Ding station) – $80.08/night x 3/2 |
$197.63 | |
TransportationHigh Speed Rail – Bought from Klook (Save up to 30%)
[Klook] To get $5 off your first booking, click here and signup with referral code A2IPJ [KKDAY] To get $3.50 off your first booking, click here and signup. Both Klook & KKday prices are pretty similar and I’ll usually us the one that I can find the most discounts from (i.e. credit cards etc.) |
$86.45 | |
| Transportation
Easy Card (5 Days Transport) 1 Taxi Ride @ KH as the bus wait was too long Uber rides (Shifen to Jiufen, Jiufen to Keelung Night Market) |
700 65 (div by 2) 602 (div by 2) |
$62.14 |
| Travel e-Sim
Bought a 5-day e-Sim (1GB/day, unlimited data) from Trip.com To be honest, the price was so cheap and dubious but I took a gamble and the eSim worked well throughout my trip. One thing to note is that you would have to scan the QR code when you have access to the internet. I did mine at home in Singapore. |
$3.80 | |
| Food / Drinks / Snacks
Fun Fact: Most expensive ‘meal’ I paid this trip was at a teahouse in Jiufen where I paid 720NT |
3,732 | $169.63 |
| Attractions / Entertainment
Massage (KH) – 650NT |
950 | $43.18 |
| Shopping
Sunny Cake (Tai Yang Bing) x 2 boxes – 640NT |
4,653 | $211.49 |
| Total | $1,236.78 |
Post-covid Taiwan Travels
Taiwan finally decided to open quarantine-free travel from 13 October 2022. This means that visitors no longer have to do any PCR / ART tests, isolate/quarantine upon arrival nor show their vaccination certificate before being allowed to enter Taiwan. In fact, this seems to be the most ‘relaxed’ post covid entry rules that I’ve faced since I started travelling in Dec’21. Prior to this, most countries would still require you to show a vaccine certificate to enter.
The decision to embark on this trip was really last minute as I had the feels to go for one more trip before the year ends plus I thought that it would be nice for me to visit the country before the tourists start flocking in. Luckily for me, I managed to find a friend who was game enough for such last-minute travel too. Technically I could have gone on a solo trip as well but it might take a little while longer for me to be that spontaneous so I’m glad to be able to find a travel buddy.
The only “covid related” thing you had to do upon arriving in Taiwan is that you have to do a self-initiated ART testing for the first 7 days of your travel. Before you leave the airport, they will issue a box of 4 ART kits (It was panbio brand for mine) where you should do a self-test for the first 2 days, and then on day 4 and day 6. You can refer to this FAQ link for more info and I believe it should house the latest update. In addition, we were not required to maintain the one-room-per-person rule and throughout our 2 hotel check-ins, we were not asked to produce any documents at all. I guess it was pretty much the norm for everyone there, apart from the mandatory mask-wearing rule (still valid as of 5th Nov 2022, where I pen this entry).
Are there any tourists?
Similar to all my post-covid travels, there were not many tourists spotted during my time there. On the days that there was no rain, the local crowd was still prominent enough to keep the businesses busy. In fact, many store owners we spoke to were not even aware that tourists are allowed to enter the country despite it being 2 weeks after opening. I guess the influx of tourists was still nonexistent. When visiting tourist spots such as Pingxi Old Street (to put the sky lanterns) and in Jiufen, it was rather empty (but to be fair, it was raining heavily when we visited). Tourist-dominated spots still remain largely empty and many shops don’t even bother to open too (in my opinion). Similarly at the airport (when we were departing), the transit area was rather sad and tragic looking. Most airport lounges were closed (I was in the older Terminal 1) and there was only one food store open. I guess the Taiwanese have yet to resume their travel and the tourists are still in the midst of making their plans to Taiwan. While it was heartbreaking to see the slow progress (of just two weeks), I’m pretty confident that things will get back on tracks and it was just a matter of time!
Travel Planning
If you’re a seasoned traveller to Taiwan, you might be surprised at my choice of itinerary as to why I rushed to go down to Kaohsiung, even if it was just for one night, despite staying only for 4 nights. Well, in normal circumstances, most people don’t travel down south if their trip is so short but as I mentioned earlier, it wasn’t a solo trip which means compromises had to be made. Looking back, it turned out to be a good decision as it had been raining all week up north and our time in Kaohsiung was in fact our only sunny day! The friend I was travelling with wanted to visit Cijin Island and my favourite fried chicken place was only available in Kaohsiung. They used to have a branch in Taipei but it has unfortunately shut down in recent years, probably due to covid (yea, I blame covid for everything). Our day in Kaohsiung was the only day we managed to tick off all the checklists that we had for both the attractions and food we wanted to eat. Due to the heavy rain in Taipei, many of the food places we wanted to try did not open for business. Looking back, I’m glad I did not late my rationality (of knowing that a two-way trip down and up to Kaohsiung was a waste of time and money) oppose my friend’s keenness to visit Cijin Island, without which, the trip would definitely be less memorable (as we would be trapped in the rain for all days).
Detailed Trip Itinerary
Day One
[01:20] Flight departed from Singapore after a short delay. Took TR898 which was a flight to Narita (with a stopover Taipei). The plane that night was A320neo, which wasn’t a preferred plane of choice as it was of the 3-3 configuration, a much smaller plane compared to the Dreamliner. The legroom was smaller and it turned out to be a rather full flight or perhaps at least 95% full. I couldn’t really fall asleep on the plane and my watch clocked that I only had 50 mins of ‘sleep’.
[05:45] Plane landed. I cleared customs by 6:16 am and by 6:26 am, I collected my luggage.
Took the airport train to Taoyuan HSR station and queued up at the counter to collect our HSR tickets (reservations was made earlier for a 9:20 am train). The staff told us that reserved tickets for the earlier timings were all sold out and we could only try our luck for the non-reserved seating area for the 7:43 am train.
[07:43] We were really lucky and managed to get a seat on the train at the non-reserved seating!
[09:20] Arrived at Zuoying HSR station, Kaohsiung. Took train to Formosa Boulevard station
[10:00] Reached accommodation in Kaohsiung – Hotel La Inn which was about 7 mins from the station. They did not let us check-in early so we just dropped our luggage and set-off.
Managed to find an exit that had an escalator to facilitate convenience for the dragging of luggage.
[10:38] Had Egg pancake (35NT) at a shop 1 min walk away from our accommodation. 楊記古早味蛋餅.
Took the train to Sizihwan Station and then took the ferry to Cijin Island from Gushan Ferry Pier.
[11:20] Arrived at Cijin Island. Most people rent an electronic 4-wheel cycle to commute around the island but for some unknown and regrettable reason, we chose to walk (and ended up clocking almost 30,000 steps that day).
There was a lot of street food lining up the streets and we just bought items (quail egg, drinks etc.) randomly while walking towards the furthest destination – the rainbow ‘chapel’ and the shell structure.
[13:00] Decided to take a break at this beach club which faces the sea. It was nice to take a break in the shelter as the noon sun can be quite annoying
There’s a really delicious Sweet Potato balls with filling – 椪嫂蕃薯椪 – which was recommended by someone online. Please note that it only opens after 1:30pm.
After that, we walked to the Cijin Tunnel, walked up to the Lighthouse before taking the ferry back to the mainland.
[16:30] Went back to the hotel to check-in and took a quick shower (since I haven’t bathed/changed since the previous night)
[18:00] Went to Ruifeng Night Market. Ate my favourite Angel Fried Chicken (Price is now 85NT, was 70NT 5 years ago), Fried Calamari and random stuff that I can’t seem to remember.
[20:00] Took a bus to ‘Love River’
[20:30] Boarded the ‘Love River’ cruise to see the seasonal animal floats on display
[21:00] Walked around the area by the river (massive flea market with live music, performances since it was the weekend)
[21:30] Took a cab to a massage place
[22:00] Had a one hour massage for 650NT, which is pretty affordable compared to Singapore. The session ended with a guilingao black jelly!
Day Two
[10:00] We woke up really late as we wanted to compensate for the lack of sleep the previous day. Furthermore, it was the morning after the Crowd Crush at Itaewon and I woke up to shock and horror, reading about the situation 🙁 We spent a lot of time talking about this incident during trip. It was really an unfortunate event and I guess life is short so just live it to the fullest.
[11:50] Took the 11:50 am train from Zuoying HSR station to Taipei
[14:00] Checked-in to our Hotel at Xi Min Ding – Hotel Attic which was a 5 mins walk.
The thing about hotels in Taiwan is that most small accommodation providers do not actually own the whole building. Their ‘hotel’ is part of a bigger building and often, they just occupy one or a few floors. This means that you have to share the lift with other occupants of the building, which could be other residents or businesses which could include F&B or tuition agencies. It can be really random. That being said, I did not feel unsafe throughout my stay. Taiwan is generally a rather ‘safe’ country and there was never once I felt threatened in any way or another but then again, I don’t usually stay out late as well.
[14:45] We ate at this really old school and tight-seating store at 天天利美食坊 (Tian Tian Li). We had Oyster omelette 75NT (it was super starchy compared to the eggy version in Singapore), Lu Rou Fan (Pork Braised Rice) 35NT.
After lunch, we headed to Dan Shui, the extreme north of Taipei that is accessible by the Metro. We took the new LRT line which could bring us to the Fisherman Wharf area.
[16:45] It was raining quite heavily when we reached and there was almost no one else in sight. Braving the rain, we walked the entire area and across the ‘Lovers Bridge’ before taking the bus back to the Danshui Old Street (where there’s supposed to be more bustling energy and crowd).
[17:46] By the time we arrived, it was dark (cause the sun sets really early in Winter) and to my dismay, more than half of the shops were not opened probably due to the rain and covid. We didn’t have many choices for food. Visited a place which was supposed Jay Chou’s favourite Wonton mee shop but I ended up eating their Sesame Paste Rice balls which was decent but less favourable compared to my favourite shop in Hong Kong.
Left the place and took the train to Jian Tan MTR.
[20:00] Arrived at the famous Shilin Night Market which was expectedly empty, as a result of the rain. To be honest, we thought that it should be slightly more crowded as it was a Sunday night but I guess the rain discouraged many shop owners from opening and deterred a lot of people from heading out. Since we couldn’t get much food here, we decided to head to another Night Market.
[21:38] Arrived at a more localized Liao Ning Night Market. The shop that my friend wanted to eat at wasn’t opened and she tried another random shop for a similar food (Peanut Mochi on Ice) and it was delicious as well! As it was rainy, I drank my second bowl of soup that night – Pork Liver soup and thankfully bought the second last bowl available for sale.
[23:00] Retired for the night. zzz.
Day Three
[10:30] Set off to visit Shifen and Jiufen, despite the pouring rain.
[12:45] Reached Shifen Old Street (the place where people put up sky lanterns), after 2 bus transfers. Seems like going to this place is as long as travelling to Kaohsiung. Despite the rain, the shop owner assured us that the sky lanterns (with handwritten wishes) could still fly up. We caved in and spent 200NT on that lantern. In all honesty, the lack of crowd was really devastating to the store owners. there were only about 5 stores opened and furthermore, the train schedule was canceled because there was a mudslide as a result of the heavy rainfall. The streets were supposed to be bustling with atmosphere (for being a filming location of a popular Taiwan movie, Our Times) but all we saw were all but a contrast :/
[14:00] As the train was canceled, we ended up calling for an uber which reduced our travel duration from Shifen to Jiufen from 1.5 hours to 20mins. It cost us 678NT.
[14:25] Jiufen, a place famous for being an inspiration to spirited away, was slightly more crowded than Shifen but the rain was as annoying as ever. About 50% of the shops were not opened (it was a Monday) and the streets looked gloomy because of the rain. We ended up having the famous peanut ice cream and had afternoon tea at the famous ‘Amei Tea House’ which was.. really pricey. It would have been lovely to stayed on till late as the red lights would have been turned on but it really wasn’t enjoyable walking in the rain with the strong winds threatening to destroy your umbrella.
[16:35] Decided to escape Jiufen via an Uber and headed down to Keelung Night Market.
[17:00] Keelung night market was.. 50% in operation too. There were a few shops in our list which we couldn’t try as they were not opened. Ended up eating some snacks and then took the bus and headed back to Taipei.
[20:30] We went back to our accommodation really early as the rain and strong winds pretty much drained our energy
Day Four
[09:45] I headed out to Zhongxiao Fuxing area to meet a local friend for breakfast.
[12:30] Went back to Ximending to have lunch with my travel mate. There were many good food in Ximending and we had Shanghai Soup Dumplings at 梁山泊小籠湯包, Pork chop noodles at 金園排骨萬年店. Both places were really delicious which was why I bothered to share their location tag.
[15:30] Headed to the Taipei 101 area where we did quite a bit of window shopping at the shopping malls around the area.
[18:00] Went to the last night market of the trip – Raohe night market – which was.. the emptiest night market of the trip. It was yet another rainy Tuesday night. I think I’ve found my favourite sesame rice ball shop in Taipei here at 御品元冰火湯圓-台北饒河店 Ended the night by visiting a game shop and spent 200NT and exchanging my tickets for 2 pencils and a small packet of wet tissue.
[21:00] Headed back to Ximending, wanting to eat a famous beef noodles near our hotel but to our dismay, the old lady was washing her store up for the night as she has sold out everything. We walked around the area which was as empty as it would have been for a rainy Tuesday night before heading back to our hotel for the final packing.
Day Five
[09:30] Met another local friend for breakfast and coffee around Ximending area.
[12:15] Check out of the hotel and took the train + airport express train to the airport
[13:35] Arrived at airport station and guess what, the scoot check-in counter was right at the exit of the airport station. There was no queue to check-in and within 30 mins, we were already in the transit area. As mentioned earlier, there was only one dining place. There were about 40% of the shops opened but I had nothing to buy.
[16:45] The plane was a 787 (yay for more leg room) and it was probably less than 50% occupied. It was a flight that flew in from Narita as well. The departure was about 45 mins later than scheduled but it was acceptable given that we were taking budget airlines.
***
Sorry for not having pictures for this post as I’m having some issues with the image uploading. Hopefully I’ll be disciplined enough to upload them at a later date.
Feel free to let me know in the comments below if you have any questions about Taiwan. If you’re still unsure about making a trip there, take this as a sign to book your tickets and help salvage the tourism in Taiwan!