Taiwan: Day 4 (Taichung)

It was the day for us to bid Cingjing goodbye. However, trust me, we will definitely be back again. Of course, to stay in Starry House too.

Xiao Chen drove us down to Taichung as well but before he dropped us at our hotel, he brought us to buy Taiwan’s famous liquor, Kavalan whisky.

When we reached the hotel, we were not able to check-in so, we went to have a meal at a café nearby and to visit Rainbow Village after.

Unfortunately, it was drizzling when we arrived the place and later, it rained heavily which made us went back to the hotel.

We took a short rest before we headed out again to a night market. Initially we wanted to go Fengjia Night Market but Xiao Chen recommended us to another night market which the locals will normally go, Yizhong Night Market.

As we continued walking at the night market, we happened to arrive One Piece Mugiwara Store. It was just opened in Taichung so it was really crowded that night. There was café in this outlet so, we had our supper there before we went back to our hotel to end the day as we would be heading to Taipei the next morning.

Stay tuned for my next post!

Taiwan: Day 3 (Cingjing)

We had a full day in Cingjing.

We woke up reaaaaally early as the van will come to pick us up at 4am to hike up the mountain to enjoy the starry night and also to watch sunrise with beautiful 云海, sea of clouds. It was unexpectedly freezing as the wind was strong. We did wear our own sweaters but they were not thick enough to keep us warm. Fortunately the driver has winter jackets but guess what? I was still freezing.

That’s the winter jacket owned by the driver. It is thick but I was still freezing. After some photo taking, the driver drove us back to Starry House.

Back in Starry House, our host had prepared breakfast for us. The breakfast was really delicious and satisfying. We both love that thick toast and the tea was lovely. Their tea is like teh tarik.

As we woke up too early, we decided to take a short nap. Oh, did I mention that the view from our room was amazing? I am glad we were staying at Starry House. Highly recommended if you want to stay in a guest house in Cingjing.

It was about noon time when we woke up and decided to explore Cingjing our own. Starry House provided free ride around the place. As we remember there are food stalls at Cingjing Farm, we decided to go there to have our lunch. We ordered stir fried wild boar meat and my, it was delicious. We still miss it now.

From Cingjing Farm, we walked until The Old England Manor for afternoon tea. I believe it can easily be the most expensive place to stay in Cingjing. It is famous for its interior design but, in order to explore inside, you have to be their guests. As we had made an arrangement with the host to pick us up from the mansion at a specific time.

Back in the guest house, we unpacked what we bought and the husband was really happy to be able to buy 6 cans of beer and a bottle of whisky. He is planning to drink 1 to 2 cans of beer a night. While I was unpacking, I found something shocking.

I found 3 hot heat packs. My sister in law had given them to me so the husband could use them since he’s feared of cold. I really wanted to give myself a big slap lol I was freezing in the morning and you thought I forgot to bring them along with me? No. Guess where I found them? In my backpack which I carried it with me this morning.

Our dinner? Of course another round of steamboat in Starry House. Since we stayed the second night, the host had given us a different flavour. It was definitely worth to stay two nights in Starry House although this cost the most in this trip.

We were leaving Cingjing to Taichung the next day so, stay tuned!

Taiwan: Day 2 (Cingjing)

We were going up to Cingjing on the second day of our trip. We had signed up a package with Starry A Plus 遊台灣 whereby we would have a driver to drive us up to Cingjing from Taichung, to give us some tour and one night stay at Starry House. Honestly, I highly recommend this package if you are going to Cingjing with just two persons as hiring a private charter will be costly and taking a bus will be too tiring.

That morning, we had our host to drive us to Taoyuan train station. We had bought 2 one-way THSR tickets from Taoyuan to Taichung from Klook which cost us RM122. Yes, it was hassle-free and no complication during the redemption.

The tour guide, Xiao Chen, was already waiting for us at Taichung train station. He had texted me earlier to introduce himself through WeChat even way before we flew to Taiwan. He would be driving us to a few places while on the way to Cingjing.

The first stop was Sun Moon Lake. He brought us to this spot where we can enjoy the view from a distance. There was a café so we had a drink and dessert. Xiao Chen was really nice to give us a treat.

We then took a boat ride to the other side where Xuanguang Temple is before we explored around the place to have our lunch.

Xiao Chen recommended this bun and yes, it was really delicious and filling too.

He then later drove us to another location, Feeling 18 where it sells really good chocolate and will give out free chocolate samples. You can buy gelato next to it. Just across the street, you can get free tea if you bring your own bottle.

Our next destination was Cingjing Farm. This place is great for those who love fresh air and greenery. We are able to see sheep up close and interact with them. By interacting, we are just feeding them. We then went to watch the horse riding show which is originally from Mongolia before Xiao Chen drove us to Starry House. It is a circular theatre with seating for us to enjoy the show. The acrobats were really skillful.

Back in the Starry House, we had a lovely host and a cozy room. My brother stayed in this place during his last visit to Cingjing. Same goes to another friend of mine. And yes, I did not regret choosing this place. It is highly recommended but it is not easy to reach this place using a public transport.

Starry House prepared dinner for their guests too. I think most of the guest houses in Cingjing do that. We had steamboat that night and it’s lovely. Why? Having steamboat in the cold night. Sweet!

As we signed up a separate package mini tour through Xiao Chen, we had to sleep early as needed to wake up reaaaaally early to hike up the mountain higher to watch starry night as well as sunrise.

Stay tuned!

Taiwan: Day 1 (Taoyuan)

Two days after our big day in Sibu, it was the beginning of our trip to Taiwan! I had been wanting to go Taiwan for a really long time so, I was really excited.

We took an evening flight so, by the time we landed Taiwan, it was already close to midnight. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I contacted this Taiwanese to pick us up from the airport and stayed at her place for a night. Apparently, she has two properties – one for her own stay, another for Airbnb. We had been communicating with each other through WeChat.

In the airport, we went to pick up our SIM cards which I had ordered through Klook. It was hassle-free when redeeming our SIM cards and we had no problem in activating our SIM cards as well. It cost us RM138 in total for these 2 10-day SIM cards. I personally think it is worth the spending as the coverage was excellent throughout our trip.

As we would be going to Cingjing the next day, we knocked out straight after shower so, stay tuned for my next post.