Visiting Taiwan: Taichung and Shinshe

Taiwan is a popular destination for many Malaysians and Singaporeans due to the beautiful scenery, the delicious food and the welcoming Taiwanese. Five years after my first trip to Taiwan, I finally had the opportunity to revisit once again. During my first trip, I explored Taipei and northern Taiwan, including Jiufen, Keelung and Jinguashi. This time, I had the opportunity to head south instead to Taichung, Sun Moon Lake and Kaohsiung.

After landing at Taoyuan International Airport, we immediately headed to the bus terminal within the airport to purchase bus tickets from Ubus to Taichung (central Taiwan). We boarded the bus quickly and in less than two hours, we arrived at our first destination.

As we were famished after a long flight and bus ride, we headed straight to Feng Jia Night Market. Be warned though that the crowds can be overwhelming at certain parts of the night market. There are lots to eat and drink here such as red tea soya drink, papaya milk, fried oyster mushrooms, black pepper biscuit (hu jiao bing), boneless chicken feet jelly, and various noodles such as dan zai mian.

The next day, we headed to Shinshe which is about an hour's drive from Taichung. If you get car-sick easily, do take some pills as the roads can be winding, just like the roads up to Cameron Highlands. At Shinshe, our first stop was at Summit Resort (entrance fee is TWD 250 as of November 2012). The resort gives off a European atmosphere with its castle-like buildings and tall trees. At the entrance, there is also a large pond where many fish vie for your attention whenever you throw food to them.

Deeper within the resort, there is also an area which reminds me of the scenery at South Korea's Nami Island too. Walk through the waterfalls and you will also see a souvenir shop and a restaurant where you can redeem your discount voucher (TWD 100 per entrance) for food and drinks.

After lunch at Summit Resort, we drove a short distance to the Sea of Flowers. We were lucky as the Sea of Flowers is open to public only for about four weeks, somewhere between November and December. Do check before you head to the area.

As the area is huge, we took about two to three hours to walk around at a leisurely pace. The place is divided into several sections featuring various flowers such as sunflowers, lavender, and themed pavilions including one showcasing bamboo products. Do note that there is no entrance fee for this festival but be prepared to pay for parking, especially if you would like to park nearby for convenience's sake. If you are hungry, there are food stalls in the area too.

As the sun was setting, we headed back to Taichung city for another round of dinner at Fengjia and called it a night.