Celine Chiam
Here’s a round up of the main highlights of my 7-day trip and a rough 7D6N Taipei Travel Itinerary for you!
Also read: 21 Days Around Taiwan With Just SGD1000
A very lengthy post ahead so be warned!
First up before we start on the itinerary, I would like to remind that we had a minibus bringing us around for the whole trip. This post is to mainly tell you the amazing highlights where I enjoyed spending my time here! Likewise, a brief walkthrough of my 7D6N Taiwan Itinerary to give you a glimpse of what to do in a few cities in Taiwan!
To summarise the Taiwan 7D6N Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Taiwan Airport > Drive to Taichung
Day 2: Taichung to Tainan
Day 3: Tainan
Day 4: Tainan to Ken Ding
Day 5: Ken Ding to Chang Hua (Lu Kang)
Day 6: Chang Hua to Taipei
Day 7: Taipei
We flew with Scoot Airline this time around since they usually have very attractive promotional sales. Remember their Morning Glory Tuesdays? I subscribed to them even before I go on this trip, and no I’m not sponsored to say this!
It was my first time trying Scoot’s in-flight meal and it was surprisingly good. Even the British guy (his name is James!) in our travel group claims that the food was unexpectedly good, since we all never expect in-flight meals to be this tasty. Pictured above is the Soya Sauce Chicken Rice, with Toblerone and green tea! They serve really good supper before we finally entered our dream lands (at 2am) lol.
Do you know Scoot actually allows passengers to customise their preferred seat types? Seats range from standard economy, super seats, stretch, Scoot Biz and even Scoot-in-Silence. For passengers who can’t stand the cries of children, opt for Scoot-in-Silence seats which are located in the quiet zone just behind the ScootBiz cabin. For both my flights, I had the stretch seat (seats are yellow instead of blue) so I enjoyed extra leg room throughout the flight. It kind of make me realise how worthy it is to just pay a little more for that leg room just to get a better sleep on the plane. I also found the service from the cabin crew pretty good as they were all polite and efficient. They cleared our food trash just a few moments after we finish out meals, so that we can have a good rest. At the end of the day, I have to say Scoot does provide better experience among all other Low Cost Carriers, and I’m saying this from my personal experience, having flown on most of them.
Day 1 – To DongShi, Taichung
Let’s start off with the tip of the day!
To enjoy unlimited mobile data in Taiwan, Taiwan prepaid cards are pretty affordable. Apparently my tour guide told me that the prepaid cards sold at the airport will be the most valuable. But do note that the shops are only opened from 8am. I got my Taiwan prepaid card that comes with 8 days of unlimited mobile data and 5 mins of free call – pretty good deal!
Our first stop was an organic vegetable farm (Ladybug Organic farm, 小瓢虫有机农场) and I had my virgin experience pulling out a carrot from the soil! It was an interesting experience considering I’ve never liked carrots at all. We had our many first-tries like biting off a raw green pepper that is the size of my palm and trying out the juicy organic tangerine from Taiwan. The trip definitely started off well
小瓢虫有机农场
Address: 台中縣東勢鎮茂興里東蘭路198號
Ladybug Organic farm is one of the pioneer organic farms (1.5 hectares) that harvest lots of organic fruits, thanks to the wide spectrum of temperature here in this hilly area. Don’t belittle this small farm as it can grow up to 600kg of fruits annually. The history of this organic farm originates from a touching story: in the past, there was excessive farming which brought demise to the ecosystem with the use of fertilizers. So farmers later on decided to bring in organic farming since 1993 in order to reduce the damage farming cause to the natural ecosystem.
Just a stone’s throw away is Sweet Charm Farm Winery (石围墙酒庄), where we gathered around for some plum wine tasting. The ladyboss was really nice to let us try almost all flavours that they have, which having me ended up getting two fruit vinegars and one plum wine! They were not only yummy and appetising, but really affordable too.
The wine and vinegar that we tried
The winery also provided lunch, especially their Hakka food. Hakka food seems to be very different from normal zhi char in Singapore especially in the aspect of preserved vegetables. Unique dishes also include Pork intestines stirred fried with sliced ginger. Pig intestines stirred fried with preserved vegetables and cold cut chicken and mixed mushroom soup with wolfberry. We do have a common consensus though – the Hakka food can get quite salty and sour due to the preserved vegetables.
Moving on from our heavy and satisfying lunch, we headed for Monster Loquat Farm (怪兽枇杷), the only farm in Taichung that grows Loquat larger than their usual sizes. Farmer Zhan, who shared the same surname as me, taught us many tips to pick and handle the fragile yet juicy loquats right after harvesting them. What a great experience snipping them off the plants too! 🙂
東勢心禾園農場 Monster Loquat Farm (怪兽枇杷)
Address: 台中市東勢區慶福里東關路105-2號
To take a short break from all the food, we visited the Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村) where we met the coolest mascot ever – the rainbow man who wears an ironman mask. He was very nice to take photos with us using my OWN camera!
Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村)
Address: 台中市南屯區春安路56巷
Isn’t he super sweet to withstand the extreme heat in this photo moment, just to squat down on the ground and take such a lovely shot for us? If you’re anywhere around this area, please visit him at the Rainbow Village!
Also read: 8 Picture-Perfect Locations to Visit in Taiwan
Day 2 – TaiNan
On the second day, we had our lunch at this traditional Salt House which offers Tainan local dishes, especially milk fish. It was quite different from the first meal because there’s not much of preserved vegetables or marinated meat. One dish that I highly recommend was the oyster mee sua! Make sure you enjoy the tastiness of it while it’s still hot before it turns all gluey!
Oh and finally a group photo at An Ping Tree House with the people I travelled with! From left: Chester, Eugene, Alene, Jacqueline & James. They were a bunch of fun people to hang out with and this trip was definitely more enjoyable with them around.
Here’s Jacqueline showing us her pole dancing skills *thumbs up*
We boarded the last boat for the Si Cao Tunnel Cruise (四草綠色隧道) and were really glad to have made it for the ride. It was nothing much at the beginning until we finally reached a tunnel canopy made of the tree leaves and branches. Along the way we spotted some unique bird and little crabs as well. While many fascinated guests were trigger happy with their cameras, I took the opportunity to sit back and enjoy the tranquil environment during that short 10-15 minute boat ride.
The next destination was Sio Salt House (夕游出张所), with the most unique aspect of it being the 365 days of colours sands displayed at the lobby to indicate your birthday colour.
And finally having fried food delights to fill our hungry stomachs before we hit the night markets again. When in Tainan, do make a trip to try out the popular 周氏蝦捲 (Prawn Roll). If you’re not a fan of prawns or fried food, they have small little eateries around the vicinity as well.
For more shots of the night market, stay tuned for another post on it!
Day 3 – PinTung to National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium 屏東海生館
We woke up early in the morning to visit ShenNong Street (海安-神农街区、水仙宫市场外围) for a small little walking tour. It’s a pity that the shops were all closed in the morning when we visited. Apparently, the streets become more lively at night. Well I did manage to grab a slice of bubble tea cake from a café, and it seems to be really famous having appeared on Taiwan TV shows multiple times! It tastes really unique since we can hardly find such a cool rendition of swiss roll with real bubble pearls in it.
For lunch, we popped by Du Xiao Yue (度小月) to have Tainan’s famous noodles 担仔面.
Address: 台南中正路101號
The serving of each bowl of 担仔面 isn’t very big so you get to enjoy other local dishes like Fried Oysters and Stir fried Eels.
Here’s a bunch of satisfied diners.
Moving on, we were honoured to meet the owner of one of the largest wax apple farms in Taiwan.
I must say I wasn’t a big fan of wax apples when I first tried it in other countries, but I immediately change my mind when I tried the monster wax apples here. Farmer Wang had a session with us and taught us many things about wax apples: during the non-harvest season, the farmers will cover the wax apple trees with a black cloth. Very interestingly, this is to give the trees a misconception that they’re about to die, so that when the cloth cover is removed, the tree will be more ‘desperate’ to grow and take in more nutrients. If this is too much information, you just have to know that the wax apples here are much larger and juicier than anywhere else!
Wax Apple farm: 東蓮霧雄ㄟ黑金剛農場
Address: 屏東縣里港鄉茄苳路18-16號
National Museum of Marine and Aquarium 屏東海生館
Address: 屏東縣恆春鎮大光里砂尾路20-1號
I guess the National Aquarium was the ultimate highlight. Before calling it a day, we had a mini tour with an English-speaking tour guide (so you don’t have to worry if you don’t understand mandarin) as he brought us around the aquarium, explaining to us all the wonders here.
Our accommodation that night was also at the Aquarium Museum, where we got to spend the night with the marine creatures. It was quite amazing to wake up to so many marine creatures swimming above your head in the morning.***
Day 4 – Tainan to Kenting
Next morning, we headed outdoors to experience the sea breeze before finally leaving the National Aquarium. There were many funny things that happened in this short period of outdoor experience like someone losing her slippers in the pool of mud and many of us almost falling to the ground when the wind was terribly strong. How I wish we had such clear blue oceans in Singapore!
For lunch, we dropped by 阿利海產餐廳, with Man Bo Yu and fresh sashimi as the highlights of our meal. Address: 屏東縣恆春鎮大光里砂尾路20-1號
Just an hour ride away, we stopped at Kenting Street to hopefully find more street food. Sadly we were there again when most food stalls were not opened, so I made do with what was there and found myself a stall selling different flavoured squids. Being a spice lover myself, I made sure I didn’t miss out on their famous thai spiced squid and it was delectable! Freshly retrieved from hot boiling oil and dressed in thai spice powder, no wonder it’s so famous along Kenting Street.
That night, I have to say it was a luxurious stay at the Cafe Villa – A villa all to myself along with a sumptuous spread of dinner. The dinner had a few uncommon dishes like the villas’ rendition of lobster bisque brewed with several other Chinese spices, chocolate and coffee ribs and a platter of fresh bites put together using Taiwan local seafood.
And also shrimps white chocolate. Seriously!?
Day 5 – Ken Ding to Chang Hua (Lu Kang)
台南仙湖休閒農場 Fruit and Vegetable Farm
Address: 台南縣東山鄉南勢里賀老寮一鄰6-2號
We had a tour kindly hosted by Ah Bin from the Sen Wu Farm 台南仙湖休闲农场. Along the way, we got the chance to pluck fresh berries and vegetables right from the plantation – it was so organic! I even get to pluck my first asparagus and we were all so excited having spotted them from afar. I guess such unique experiences really make us appreciate and understand farmers and their hard work even more.
Picking up fresh berries and munching them on the spot.
We had lunch using the ingredients harvested from the Sen Wu Farm 台南仙湖休闲农场. It was not at all disappointing especially when all vegetables were so fresh and organic. Even the tea was made from the mulberries planted in the farm. The farm also sells food snacks like dried longans, and prides itself to be the remaining ones who still uses the traditional method of drying longans.
We called it a day at one of our favourite stays in Taiwan – Child Story MinSu @ Lu Kang (童年往事民宿).
And this is MY ROOM! All to myself! This is the speciality of the minsu where all rooms are furnished with different childhood themes.
Day 6 – Chang Hua to Taipei
We continued our food journey as we took off from the Min Su and ended up in a morning market near Lugang Mazu Temple. One of the local specialities was Seasoned Floor Tea (面茶), and we were really lucky to get the chance to brew it ourselves. Here’s a shot with the kind boss from Dong Hua Seasoned Flour Tea (Mush) who allowed us to do it!
As you can tell, the Seasoned Floor Tea resembles those sesame pastes from Singapore. It’s a little gluey and thick, but one good trick is to add in coffee or fresh milk to dissolve it a little.
If you happen to be here in Lugang ChangHua, make sure you try their famous Yam balls and meat balls.
Me with my favourite marinated chicken feet.
Another famous local delights here you must not miss is the A-Zen Steamed Bun (阿振肉包).
And we settled our lunch at Yong Xiang Snacks 永香民俗小吃(鹿港龍山寺旁).
After which, we took a long bus ride back to Taipei, and since it was our last few nights here, we rushed to the night markets without thinking twice!
With the good companions at the night market, special thanks to SJ and I-lien (in the middle row) for bringing us around the night market!
Day 7 – Taipei
The last day was all about food since we decided to take it easy on the last day. For lunch, we dined at 青田七六 (Japanese Restaurant) but there wasn’t nothing much to rave about, except for the fact the house was preserved from the Japanese Occupation.
For dinner, we dined at 陶板屋南京店 that serves 7-courses meals. We were so full and stuffed with so much food good! So cheers everybody!
Also read: Uncovering Hidden Taiwanese Cuisine That You Could Have Missed at Jiu Fen 九份老街
You won’t believe it but we went to Shi Lin Night Market immediately after dinner to get our night market fix.
Finally satisfied my cravings for smelly tofu
Finally it’s time to bid goodbye to Taiwan and the amazing food here…. but not so soon! Chester and I love Taiwanese food so much so that we had to visit Xi Men Ding street for the very last time to get our last indulgence of Taiwanese street food. We got Ah Zong Mee Sua 阿宗面线, Prata packed with pork floss and of course bubble tea for lunch. We didn’t manage to shop since it was early noon, but we sure were satisfied with our last lunch in Taiwan!
Having our meals and extra spacious leg room on Scoot airline ^.^
This time round, we had creamy pasta and it was served hot, unlike some other airline food that I once had. Get to enjoy several other food selections at very affordable prices, if not, order online to enjoy greater deals!
On a side note, do remember to stay tuned for my Aussie Travelogue in June alright 😉
And that’s it, our 7 days trip had come to an end! *cries*
It was an amazing trip with the funniest group of friends, and it wouldn’t have been so enjoyable and entertaining without them. Of course, this trip wouldn’t have happened too without the kind efforts from Scoot Airlines and Taiwan Tourism Bureau Singapore for organizing everything. Thank you so much!
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Also read: 10 Things About Taiwan You Never Knew
Contributed by Celine Chiam.
