Taiwan Trip 2015 (台灣30天環島記) - 30 days Backpacking around Taiwan
From the 11th of January to the 9th of February I packed my bags, left the comfort of my own home and headed to Taiwan for a 30 day back trip around the whole island. I travelled for 30 days because that's the maximum amount of time I could get with my visa. So why Taiwan? Well there are 3 main reasons (would elaborate more on the points in a separate post):
- I would like to experience mild winter.
- My last trip 3 years ago was really really rushed as I spent most of my time there attending a conference.
- Malaysia and Taiwan being ex-colonial states have a lot in similarities and I was really interested to learn more on how and why Taiwan is at this level as of today.
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| Places I covered throughout the 30 days |
The plan was quite straight forward: I begin my trip in Taipei, and then move towards the east coast starting with Yilan, go down south to Kenting and head back up the west coast to Tainan, Chiayi, Taichung before returning to Taipei again. There were a few changes here and there during the trip whenever I feel i wanted to have a change of plans or my planning went wrong but I managed to settle it nevertheless. It's really good training for my critical training and adapting skills haha. Prior to coming here I had bought a Lonely Planet guide to read about Taiwan in general and most of my planning was based on the book. Although it was a really expensive purchase and it had its flaws, I believe it did helped me to give a better idea on what and where to visit. Throughout my trip I've tried Couchsurfing, but mostly staying at backpacker's hostel. I did also try Airbnb and getting a really cheap hotel room for some locations but the experience at the hostels was still the best for a lone traveller. And lastly, I also grabbed a Sony RX100 Mark 3 to take all my photos because I figured bringing a 1kg DSLR is going to break my back sometime throughout the trip and having a pocketable and high quality camera is definitely much more convenient.
All in all I spent less than RM5500 inclusive of air tickets which cost RM825 by Malaysia Airlines. Before I left to Taiwan I changed RM4020 worth of TWD which sadly came to about NTD36,000. Then I withdrew another NTD5000 during my final few days so I could splurge on some nice food as well as buying souvenirs back home. There was hardly any spending for shopping materialistic stuff and I only took the taxi twice. Despite being that prudent I actually spend quite a lot on food everyday (well for backpackers standards mind you), although there were skipped meals here and there when the timing wasn't right or when my Taiwanese friends generously offered to pay for me haha. I guess that pretty sums up my trip.
Google maps location history
My travel itinerary:
Day 8: Taitung 台東 (Lu Ye 鹿野, Sanxiantai [Terrace of the three Immortals] 三仙台, Dulan @ Night)
Day 9: Kaohsiung 高雄 (Formosa MRT 美麗島站, TK Hostel, Dragon & Tiger Pagodas 龍虎塔, Lotus Pond, Huada Milk Tea 樺達奶茶
Day 9: Kaohsiung 高雄 (Formosa MRT 美麗島站, TK Hostel, Dragon & Tiger Pagodas 龍虎塔, Lotus Pond, Huada Milk Tea 樺達奶茶
Day 11:
Day 12:
Day 12:
Day 12 & 13: Pingtung 屏東 (Overnight stay at National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium 國立海洋生物博物館 2天1夜夜宿!)
Day 13: Kaohsiung 高雄 (Kaohsiung Chicken Backpacker 高雄小雞客棧， Lao Si Sichuan Styled Steamboat 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙, Aouzihdi Forest Park 凹子底森林公園)
Day 13: Kaohsiung 高雄 (Kaohsiung Chicken Backpacker 高雄小雞客棧， Lao Si Sichuan Styled Steamboat 老四川巴蜀麻辣燙, Aouzihdi Forest Park 凹子底森林公園)
Day 17:
Day 17 & 18: Chiayi 嘉義 (An Lan Jie Hostel 安蘭居国际青年馆, Chiayi Prison 嘉義監獄, Hinoki Village 檜意森活村, Liu Li Zhang Turkey Rice 劉里長火雞肉飯, Chiayi Municipal Museum 嘉義市立博物館, Smart Fish 林聰明沙鍋魚頭, Song of the Forest 森林之歌, Lantan Reservoir 蘭潭水庫)
Day 17 & 18: Chiayi 嘉義 (An Lan Jie Hostel 安蘭居国际青年馆, Chiayi Prison 嘉義監獄, Hinoki Village 檜意森活村, Liu Li Zhang Turkey Rice 劉里長火雞肉飯, Chiayi Municipal Museum 嘉義市立博物館, Smart Fish 林聰明沙鍋魚頭, Song of the Forest 森林之歌, Lantan Reservoir 蘭潭水庫)
Day 19 & 20:
Day 21: Taichung 台中 (Tian Wei Breakfast 天味早餐咖啡道, Fengjia Night Market 逢甲夜市 + Very delicous Strawberries from Miaoli 苗栗的草莓超好吃), Changhua 彰化 ( Lugang 鹿港）
Day 28:
Comments
And to answer your questions,yes there are intercity bus services.