To Taichung
High Speed Railway
After our stay in Taipei, we went to Taichung with the Highspeed train. Getting on the highspeed train is very easy. We bought the tickets online and chose a seat. The train looks a lot like the bullet train in Japan. We noticed there were some days that the website warned us about crowded days like Chinese New Year. Everybody wants to go to Taipei or back home around these days. The trains and accommodations around this time where fully booked. It is also possible to take the normal train if you have the time, but it takes a lot longer to get on you destination.
Website Taiwan High Speed Railway: 台灣高鐵Taiwan High Speed Rail (thsrc.com.tw)
Website Taiwan Railway: Taiwan Railway
Botanical Garden
Taichung has some nice places to visit and to walk through. There are parks and temples, but we wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens. Normally the Botanical Gardens are rather big places. Taichung’s Botanical Garden is rather small compare to the rest we had seen. There were some nice plants and a waterfall in the middle. It was nice to walk in for an hour. The park it is in is rather small also, but the pond is filled with life. Next to the Botanical Garden is a Museum with a park. Perhaps that is also a good place for a visit.
Address: Botanical Garden of National Museum of Nature Science – Google Maps
Admission: 40 NT$ per adult
Website: National Museum of Natural Science (nmns.edu.tw)
Admission: 100 NT$ per adult
To Sun Moon lake
One of the things to visit when we were in Taichung is the Sun Moon lake. It was a two-hour drive with the bus, but it was worth it. We took the metro to the HSR bus station at seven in the morning and from there we took the bus 6670 to Sun Moon lake. The line we had to stand in, was very long and we were afraid not to get on this bus. Luckily, some other passengers were standing in line for another bus to another city. A man that was managing the traffic helped us to get into the right bus. We could choose to pay the driver with cash, but we had charged Easy Cards that we used. We found there was also a way you can buy some kind of package at the bus stop. There was an information desk about Sun Moon lake at the bus station.
Sun Moon Lake’s fun
There are different ways to get around Sun Moon lake. We rented a bike and biked for an hour or two. The weather was very nice and the view was amazing. There are some parts that we could not go with the bike, so we went back the same road we came from. When we got back, we wanted to go to the ropeway and enjoy the place from above. We took the bus 6671 to the ropeway and it was very nice. When we went past the Wenwu Temple we would like to get off, but we were not sure if we made it back in time for our trip back home. It looked like a nice temple and different from the ones we already had seen.
Address: Sun Moon Lake – Google Maps
Website: Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Sun Moon Lake Route & Checheng Route Chill! The fun of cruising around. (sunmoonlaketrip.net)
Website: Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area
Admission: Depents on what you are going to do
We had a very good time here and we Taiwan is a very nice place. If you want to read more about our experience in Taiwan, go to Taiwan Travel Destination » Tim and Ellen’s Blog (timellen.net).
