Taiwan High Speed Rail & Tai Chung City

Hello Everyone,
in our blog entry today, we will be covering the Taiwan High Speed Rail and also a little bit about Tai Chung City.

So, we were on the last day of our trip in the central region of Taiwan and we were leaving for the Taiwan High Speed Rail to board the High Speed Train from Tai Chung City to Taipei City.

As promised, here are pictures of the sumptuous breakfast that we had at Skylight B&B. There are two types of breakfast choices that you can choose from, either the Oriental or the Western. Being typical Singaporeans, we chose the Western.

A photo of the two different breakfast types that are available at Skylight B&B.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

The Western breakfast type comes with a main dish consisting of hashbrown, mushrooms, bacon, sausage, and scrambled eggs.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

There’s also 2 pieces of toast bread, a glass of orange juice, and a cup of tea!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Oh, I almost miss out this one. There is also a fruit platter that consist of passionfruit, watermelon, grapes, pear, mango, and guava!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

So, as you can see from the pictures above, the breakfast was a rather filling and appetising affair. Anyways, the breakfast was situated on the 8th level of the property and there is both an indoor and an outdoor dining area; both of which offers you stunning views of Sun Moon Lake.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Here are some photographs that we took whilst having breakfast.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

After our breakfast, we hurried back to our room, packed up everything, and boarded our vehicle to Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station.

A snapshot of Tai Chung City from our vehicle.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

As we had quite a fair bit of time, we told our driver to bring us to the place that sells the best Tai Yang Bing in Tai Chung City because my mum wanted some Tai Yang Bing. And so, our driver brought us to Yi Fu Tang.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

There are quite a lot of goodies and snacks for us to choose from and we were so spoilt for choices. However, besides the usual Tai Yang Bing, one other thing you must buy at Yi Fu Tang is their Lemon Cake! It’s really delicious and honestly, I regretted not buying a few more boxes to bring home.

Knowing that I was a car enthusiast and since we had some more time, our driver brought us to one of Tai Chung’s largest car mart [similar to our local Autobacs]. There, I went crazy because I bought so much car accessories to zhng my Picanto. Seriously, the car accessories are freaking cheap! There, I bought a new JVC head unit, a car freshener, car mats, a car decal, and an aluminium alloy car pedal kit which in total cost about $4000 TWD [approx. $170 SGD]. If only I could lug back car rims and tyres, I would have done so!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

After the mini shopping spree, we left for Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station and bade farewell to our driver. Honestly, it was quite an emotional moment because after having spent 3 days in the central region of Taiwan, we really do miss the fresh mountain air, the cute little sheeps, and the beautiful scenery. We will definitely be back if we have the time!

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

So while we were at Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station, we took the liberty to take photographs after photographs.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

I know in Singapore, we so often see vending machines selling can drinks, but how often do you see vending machines selling cosmetic products and souvenirs?

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Anyways, for those of you whom are planning a free and easy trip to Taiwan, there are a few types of transportation that you can utilise to get to different regions of Taiwan. The Taiwan High Speed Rail is one such transportation but it only runs along the western coast of Taiwan; hence, for journeys to the eastern cost of Taiwan, you can consider taking the Taiwan Railway which is slower than the High Speed Rail.

You can purchase the High Speed Train tickets on the actual day of departure using these automated machines but we will highly recommend that you book them in advance on Taiwan High Speed Rail’s Website as you get to enjoy early bird discounts if you book your High Speed Train tickets early.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

Prior to boarding the High Speed Train, Baby and I bought a Pork Ribs Cutlet Bento Set from the Railway Souvenir Shop for $80 TWD [$3.40 SGD] and it was damn good! The portion size of the Pork Ribs Cutlet Bento Set was just right for 2 persons.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

For both Baby and I, we chose the Business Class Seats because we had lots of heavy baggage.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

The Business Class Seats were extremely spacious and comfortable.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Business Class Guests are entitled to a set of complimentary snack and drink.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

And Business Class Guests are also entitled to a copy of the local newspaper.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

The journey from Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station to Taipei High Speed Rail Station took less than an hour and it was extremely fast! The train was travelling at a top speed of 300 KM/Hour! Here are some photos of Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station and the scenery taken from the High Speed Train.

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Jacqueline’s Perspective]

Parting Shot at Tai Chung High Speed Rail Station

From Day 3 Taiwan Holiday 2012 [Melvin’s Perspective]

In our next upcoming blog entries, we will be blogging about Leofoo Village, Beitou Hot Spring, Mulan Motel, and a few other interesting sights in Taipei.

Stay tuned to more updates from us.

God bless!