i know those shops around shilin night market close late....they only opening at 2pm. the first night i went there was after midnite, still quite happening...

This post has been edited by aiyume: Oct 19 2011, 10:31 AM

depends on where u planning to go.

Accomodation:
if u staying at budget/backpackers hostel, 1 night cost about RM60-80 depending on which location. staying alone will be more expensive, maybe around RM100/night. if you dun mind sharing with other backpackers then can get cheaper around RM50/night.

Eat:
eating in taiwan is almost the same as KL standard. street food cost around RM5-8 per item. restaurant maybe around RM10?

Travel:
transportation in taipei is very convenient. if you are going around Taipei city only i think NTD200 Easycard is more than enough. can top up at any convenient shops or MRT stations.

if you are not heavy shopper most likely you can go below RM1000 for 5 days for everything excluding flight of coz.

i din take taxi when i was there. i heard some of them overcharge tourist. most of the travelling done via buses and MRT. if you can't read mandarin then buses abit hard, but MRT has english signboards, and it's very convenient to go around taipei.

This post has been edited by aiyume: Oct 26 2011, 11:43 PM

2 years dy sure inflated loh....

totally agreed with the ocien. we din like the sweet sauce they put on also.

lol how much is the movie there? i saw those movies selling in Eslite and other CD shops, english movies all in mandarin

bus operation hours: 05:30-00:30
last MTR from Taipei Main Station: 00:20

if you reaching airport at 10.45pm, by the time you get out should be around 11-11.15pm. bus from airport to taipei takes about an hour. if the place you are staying needs to take MTR, you might miss the last train from Taipei Main Station. or check out the bus route if they are passing nearby the hotel, then you can just ask the bus driver to drop you off nearby then you walk.

walau....about RM100 per person XD and we complain our cinema is expensive

not sure about prepaid card but you might wanna consider getting the digital tour buddy (free phone rental by Taiwan tourism). it comes with a phone and 3G sim card with NTD100 free credit. more info : http://youthtravel.tw/

you can take the Taiwan Rail from Taipei Main Station to RuiFang and take bus to JiuFen. Train to RuiFang takes about 40 minutes, and bus to JiuFen takes about 20minutes.

haha i din go to taichung, but i think if you are not on tight budget should take the bullet train, much faster.

mostly will be closed. but i heard jiufen during CNY super pack and happening...

can't you just inform the hotel that you are arriving late so that somebody will be there? then you dun need to move here and there loh. moving hotels actually waste your travel time.

can get the maps from airport.

i think u should stay at least 2D1N at alishan coz the journey there is very long and might be tiring.

i din go to SML but IMHO it's just a lake. unless u planning to rent bicycle to go around.

there is a mini bus from YMS main station that goes 1 round YMS. every time u hop on hop off you can use the easycard to pay like our touch and go. every time charge NTD15. there's also unlimited hop on hop off which cost you NTD60. if you planning to visit more than 4 places then it's worth to get the unlimited ticket. can get from the YMS main station.

according to the station staff, normally ppl will stop at 二子坪， 小油坑， 冷水坑. some of the stops are entrance to hiking trails. if you can read chinese just follow the signboards.

should be able to get there and the price are not much different compared to KL price. might be even cheaper than getting from those Universal Travellers etc here.

just get at least a jacket to tahan until you get to buy loh...

still hot ar? i tot now should be cooler dy

Train from Taipei Main Station to RuiFang Station cost about NTD49~79, train ride takes about 30-50 minutes depends on which type of train you are taking. Bus ride from Ruifang to JiuFen/JinGuaShi takes about 15-20minutes. both train and bus can use Easycard.

taking train should be more time efficient because if you take bus you might get caught in traffic jam.

To me the night markets generally are the same. because of tourist most of the night markets actually sell the same type of food, maybe just the matter of if it is more popular or nicer or not.

IMHO skylantern is a rip off. they charging NTD100-200 depending on how many colors you choose. write on it, burn it, fly it. that's all. Although i enjoyed watching other ppl kena rip off than actually doing it myself.

by the way, if you are interested of getting a tour guide to bring you around JinGuaShi/JiuFen, you can try Mr. Lim http://jinguas.pixnet.net/blog he stays in JinGuaShi so he's very familiar with the area. Save alot of time coz buses around JinGuaShi/JiuFen not very frequent.

it's possible to cover JiuFen/JinGuaShi/Gold Ecological Park/Keelung Night Market in a day but might be rush if you want to cover ShiFen.

there's shifen waterfall, coal museum, coal mine related stuffs....

i spent a day going thru pingxi train line. day pass unlimited ride on the pingxi train cost NTD52. u can hop on and off on any train stations along the pingxi line. there are old streets and souvenir shops around the stations. also have hiking trails to waterfalls or up the mountain. shifen waterfall is the more famous one loh. google abit about pingxi before you decide what you expect to see


the tour guide is a day tour thingy. if you have 4 or less ppl then can go in 1 car. i think if you don't mind also can combine with other ppl together if the timing is right. check out his blog for more information loh.

maybe the thermometer placed at different location XD

i think coz they take the average temperature of the area taking in wind effect, rain, etc. your thermometer only calculating that area surrounding you. and my guess on the difference between hkg and twn is the luas permukaan in average? lol.

night markets close later maybe around 11 or past midnight for weekends. shopping malls i'm not too sure though.

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Added on November 17, 2011, 11:11 amjust like i felt weird having sunset at 5pm in taiwan. like not enough day time my mom lagi funny...she woke up at 5am seeing the sky all bright she tot we overslept

This post has been edited by aiyume: Nov 17 2011, 11:11 AM