if you're less than 30 yr old, u can choose to get free sim card from their youth group...but u need to return back to them la... got TW$100 free credit

http://tour.youthtravel.tw/travel2009/1210...7ba5645b8a84d98

anyway, my flight ticket cos me RM886 return for 2 pax, all including baggage etc will be around RM1.1k for 2 pax

will spend 4 nights at fun taipei backpackers at taipei city, 1 night at starry in cingjing, and one nite at taichung

will go next month on 20th

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Feb 13 2011, 02:31 AM

hostelworld.com for fun taipei backpackers...

Hi, so I'm going to Taiwan next sunday. Flight AA total cost RM1084/2pax booked last september.

will stay 4 nights at taipei at Fun Taipei Backpackers near Jiantan MRT (Shilin Night Market) rate TWD4640/4nights/2pax

then will travel south to Cingjing and stay one nite there at starry house. TWD1980 including breakfast & steamboat dinner for 2person.

next day will go sun moon lake and back to taichung staying at J&I costing TWD1300 w/o breakfast.

Then next day only leave for airport.

7days/6nights. Just wanna let u guys know only... it's free n easy and i have done quite a lot of research. but can't really finish the whole taiwan.

probably will just change all MYR to TWD here instead of switching to USD. Will activate ATM card so that I can use in Taiwan ti withdraw cash if need more $$.

i apply digital tour buddy from taiwan youth. if you below 30 yrs old, u can get free sim with TWD100 preloaded. but must return back before you leave.

if you have any questions, can ask me...i do not come here regularly, u can instead email to me at joonliang9@yahoo.com if you have any questions urgent.

k,thx,bye!

CIMB is Rm10/transaction
MBB is Rm12/transaction
PBB can't use oversea

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Added on March 15, 2011, 12:37 ameven it's accessible via MRT, you'll still need to walk around to your desired place to be. Get comfortable shoes

Shilin night market is just beside Jiantan MRT station

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Added on March 15, 2011, 12:40 amusually i think most hotels/hostels have universal adapter. I had to request though from Fun Taipei Backpackers but I'm not sure the rest

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Added on March 15, 2011, 12:44 amI haven't go yet.. but from what I booked, Fun Taipei Backpackers have attached bathroom. Located just beside Shilin Night Market

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 15 2011, 12:44 AM

I was talking about using ATM card... not Debit card

Btw, the Easylink card application can be found in Tourist Info Centre at the airport?

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 15 2011, 08:42 PM

3rd party...

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Added on March 16, 2011, 8:29 pmYes. Check with your respective banks to find out if their atm card can be used or not. I've only asked CIMB, MBB and PBB. PBB can't use ATM card to withdraw money oversea.

Well, i have actually 8 brand new easylink card... so i need to combine into 2 only If I can do it at airport is better la..

Thank you. will monitor the weather forecast daily now. Hope the radiation level in Taiwan is within permissible limit.

I have the scale...


This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 16 2011, 08:30 PM

there are a lot of motels in Taichung... if you don't mind the price.. but it looks good

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Added on March 17, 2011, 1:09 amoh..one question... what time is the last bus from Puli to Cingjing?

I searched for info and got 4.35pm as the last one. Is there any later than that?

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 17 2011, 01:09 AM

yes... that's right

hi..i jz come back from taiwan yesterday... fun yes...and cold... average temperature 13-14 degree whole day...

can ask me if u have anything to ask. i stayed 4 nights at taipei, 1 night at cingjing and 1 nite at Taichung near Fengjia Night Market.

my whole experience there plus the things that i bought/pay will be written in my blog...but not now la..see when i free. i'll put it here once i have updated

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Added on March 28, 2011, 1:17 ami don't think you can get that cheap. i was talking with one of them while i was in taiwan few days ago, standard one day tour in taipei may cost u NT3500 to NT4000 depending on your itenery. if u found someone not good, they might charge u extra for the toll/entrance fees and additional time that is way over the agreed time and price.

if u want, i can recommend one driver, nice guy but not sure he's booked when u're there...

and btw, 3 days in taiwan only?

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Added on March 28, 2011, 1:33 amDay 1

No way that can happen unless u have booked a super fast driver and also spend maybe 30mins on each location...

i took bus to yehliu, after that bus to keelung to transfer to jiufen. after that take bus to ruifang train station and take train to songshan station. raohe night market and wufenpu fashion area is just walking distance from the station. and that's one day for me...

day 2, i'd suggest that u stay at taipei instead of travelling to taroko and come back

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Added on March 28, 2011, 1:35 ammy own opinion, jz skip that. u can see a lot of flowers in other places..no need to pay the entrance fee jz to see flowers. there are loads of flowers to see in yangminshan, and also shilin official residence which is jz walking distance from shilin mrt station

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Added on March 28, 2011, 1:40 ammy AA flight ticket is Rm174 one way per person, booked last september for flight in march

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Added on March 28, 2011, 2:09 amDay 1.
I think you do not have time to visit taichung after u checked in. There's no MRT. taking public bus could be time consuming. The Night market is quite near to J&I.
Day 2.
Never been there b4, no comment.
Day 3.
I jz came back from there, the fog is very thick to see anything. Just a lake, nothing much to see IMHO. I think no need to spend 1 whole day there.
Day 4.
From SM lake to Hualien, is not convenient at all. u'll waste one whole day travelling which is no no. and there's no HSR from hualien to taipei. i heard wulai got nothing to see also. waterfall? u need to pay to go in and it's dirty. cable car?i heard the gondola made from modyfied old bus.
I think u better catch the early morning bus to cingjing farm and spend the night there. it's more worth it.

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Added on March 28, 2011, 2:11 amif u see shop after the security check, can buy from there. i saw someone bring own drinks/mineral water while i was in the place...

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Added on March 28, 2011, 2:16 amit's only a few ringgit difference. if u stay/work near bukit bintang, then ok la... what if u stay at shah alam/puchong etc... i think ur petrol/toll already cover that.

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 28 2011, 02:16 AM

7days 6 nights in taipei only? you don't need to hire transport for the whole 7days there la.. only do so for the places far away that's not accessible thru MRT such as Jiufen/yehliu/yangmingshan and north side.
9ppl in a van will be quite crowded if u include luggages as well cos i don't think they have vehicle that can fit in all. the next best thing is 19seater bus which is way too big for u guys..
some transport dont work at night after ur late nite partying..even if they do, the might charge u extra

i think there's not much to see in SML, and i went thru 九族文化村 in less than 2 hours. Unless u plan to play at the theme park which i see no point since we have theme park here in genting. if u are into cultural, u may spend more time in the village.

i think ure gonna spend half a day travelling from chiayi to SML, so u only can spend another 1/2 day at 九族文化村 and SML. go straight to 九族文化村, pay the entrance fee of NT550/person, walk up and look see the village, then take the gondola to SML. then work your way through it. If u coming from SML to 九族文化村, i think u need to pay NT300 2 way jz for the gondola ride and still not including the entrance ticket to 九族文化村.(someone correct me if i'm wrong here)

and after that, i think u need to hire car to go across the mountains to get to taroko, which will take u more than 1/2 day to reach taroko and i'm not sure u have time to visit taroko and get back to taipei in time or not.

i'd suggest give up taroko or alishan. choose either one

yes there is... u can see long queue there. but there's no show or what to let u see how chocolate is made... u just go there and buy chocolate. i see no point going there also. u can get cheaper and nice choc at duty free shop.

yes, there might be long queue there and you may think it's nice, that why the long queue, but in reality, that's not it. they only allow one person/small group to go in at a time... if the ppl take 20 mins to pick n choose choc, ppl queuing outside will need to wait 20 mins... and so on.. bad lucj if u're at the back of the line. wasting time only

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Added on March 29, 2011, 3:27 pmif u leave taichung early enough(if u stayed there 1 nite), u can get to puli within 1 hour..switch bus to cingjing which take maybe 1 - 1.5 hrs depending on where u stop. i think u can leave ur luggage at your minsu first and check in later.

if u coming from taipei, there are 2 options.
1. take 7am(7.30am latest) HSR to taichung. there's a 8.40am bus to cingjing at taichung HSR station. if u miss that, u need to wait till 12.40pm for the next one. if u really missed the first bus and can't wait for the next one, u need to transfer to taichung train station(maybe 40mins by bus, 20mins by taxi) where the bus station is just opposite the station. take the bus to puli(around 1 hr), then switch bus to cingjing(1-1.5hrs).
2. take express bus direct to cingjing from taipei main terminal. but the bus leaves at 6.40am. yes, it's damn early. the journey takes 4.5 hrs, maybe there are a few stops in between. expected to reach cingjing about 11.30am. price? i think about NT750-NT1200.

i personally didnt go to puli wine factory but i don't think i'll enjoy there. sounds boring to me..hehe

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Added on March 29, 2011, 3:35 pmi think it's quite safe in taipei for a female to travel alone. not sure at other places.

you can try to speak english. no harm. if u're less than 30 yrs old, u can apply for a volunteer to bring you around for tour. they are uni students and will speak to u in english. it's their way to learn their culture and also to brush up their english skills

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 29 2011, 03:35 PM

I think u can cover almost all of taipei city and northern area for 7days trip

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Added on March 30, 2011, 9:42 amI would think going to yangmingshan first would be better. as danshui and beitou have mrt so they can stay on late and travel back to taipei easier via mrt at night

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Added on March 30, 2011, 9:50 ami haven't try any hotel with hotspring, but i think the one in beitou should be ok, if u're ok with the sulphur smell .

on the minsu, it depends on certain minsu whether to charge u first or not. my stay at taichung and cingjing fortunately can pay when i reached there. but in taipei need to pay some deposit in advance and pay balance when i reached there. just tell them u're from malaysia and can u pay when u reached there. but u must confirm u will go there and stay la.

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Added on March 30, 2011, 10:06 ami'm not an early bird person... so i take HSR to taichung, transfer to taichung train station as the bus station is just opposite the train station.(i went there because i want to leave my big luggage at the baggage counter in taichung train station and just take my smaller one to cingjing.) then take bus to Puli. switch bus there to cingjing... take note that the last bus to cingjing is 4.35pm from puli.

u need to take a 6.40am bus from taipei to cingjing if i'm not mistaken. i suggest that u go to taipei main station a day earlier to enquire about the journey so that u don't have to rush in the morning and know what to do.

when i was in cingjing, i think it's the last days of cold season, so there're fog all over the place. visibility is still ok if u take near pictures. if u're going in 2 weeks time, i think the weather is much ok..cold but not that cold. the next morning i was there, the temperature is about 4-8 degree. i think it's going to be 13-16 degree in 2 weeks time.

ok, the view is magnificent. u'll love the view, the sheeps and the little swiss garden. stop at mt hehuan awhile to see the view from mountain. it feels like u're in heaven. maybe u can see sea of clouds.

summary is, if u're not an early person, take train to taichung. although it may take time switching transport, but if u catch the bus/train on time, i think u'll reach cingjing faster than direct bus from taipei. as i said earlier, there should be a direct bus from taichung HSR station to cingjing but at 8.40am. so u need to reach taichung earlier. journey from taipei will take approx 50mins cost NT700/person one way.

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 30 2011, 10:06 AM

if u know someone in taiwan is better la. locals (taiwanese) can get cheaper rate than published. better ask them to book for u

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Added on March 31, 2011, 11:36 amThis is my day 1 adventure in detail

Luna Noctiluca

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 31 2011, 11:36 AM

yes. there are public bus from Taichung HSR station to Taichung Train station. The bus will stop at quite a lot of area as shown in the route info but not to worry, they only stop if got ppl wanna get down or wanna board. They have announcement on each stop so that u know when to stop. I think is about NT28/way if i'm not mistaken. might take you 25-45mins depending on the bus load.

else, at the bus stop there, lots of taxi driver will lurk around and offer you ride, if u wanna fast journey (about 15-20mins) then negotiate with them. nego until u can find a price that u think u want to pay. their starting offer will be NT250 to NT300

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Added on March 31, 2011, 11:21 pmyou can try. but i think taxi driver/tour van driver can help u get better rate and recommend a good one since they know many places

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Mar 31 2011, 11:21 PM

[quote=wyen,Apr 1 2011, 10:57 PM]

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Added on March 28, 2011, 2:16 am

it's only a few ringgit difference. if u stay/work near bukit bintang,[ then ok la... what if u stay at shah alam/puchong etc... i think ur petrol/toll already cover that.

[/quote]
wt do u mean by that? i work near bt bintang and u mean the money changer there has better rate?

[/quote]

sorry..it's at mid valley...

http://www.wawasanmoneychanger.com.my/exchangeRates.asp

Hi, I suggest visiting the Taiwan Information Centre located at level 25 wisma goldhill at Jalan Raja Chulan (few blocks away from istana hotel). You can take free brochure there and I remember that they have a brochure about Muslim travel. Maybe there're list of places you can go for visiting and get halal food. (just FYI, their McD have pork burger too.)

Most signboards have english words also, so i think it's ok. But taiwanese's english is not that good, you're lucky to find someone that can speak good english. maybe you can look for the volunteer for tours from Taiwan Youth. They will speak english with you.

My day 2 in Taiwan

Taiwan Day 2

look at previous post at the blog la...

oh btw, if u wanna check out the update, please follow the blog closely as i'm actually not allowed to post my link here

This post has been edited by jlgoh9: Apr 6 2011, 11:23 PM