Passing Through Taichung

I love the train systems in Taiwan. The run regularly to every major city and this was just the normal railway. There’s the high speed railway which I haven’t tried out yet. Moving from place to place within one or two hours on the Tze-Chiang, limited express, trains were fine for us. I didn’t even go for the tourist railway pass, which is similar to the JR Railway Pass in Japan. The one in Taiwan seemed affordable, but doesn’t allow you to go on the express trains we were taking. People with the pass were allowed to take the trains the stopped at every stop. While a nice way to see the smaller cities of Taiwan, it wasn’t very time effective.

The trains were nice – comfy, with room to stretch your legs and a little raised foot rest. Airlines should take a look into adding these. If you’re hungry, you’re allowed to bring food on and eat. And if you need to do your thing, there are decent rest rooms (with toilets!) and a sink for every car. Not a bad way to travel. Luckily no one brought stinky tofu on board.

We took the train to Taichung. A nice big city that felt like a Taipei minus half the people and fancy new buildings. I read about this nice little tea house, Wu Wei Cao Tang Tea House 無為草堂, from http://mykafkaesquelife.blogspot.com/ and I have to say, it was worth getting to. It’s situated in this commercial area filled with retail shops and modern restaurants. It was a quiet getaway with a labyrinth of wooden stairs and hallways to the various tea rooms overlooking the Koi pond. We had lunch here and looked into what to do in Tainan. I really wanted to stay and check out the night market here, but we were on a tighter schedule. We only stayed around for five hours and it was back on the train.

Food:

Definitely good. There are some great specialty shops, like pig’s feet with rice. You’ll find shops everywhere for this. Sounds crazy, but give these fatty and gelatinous things a try. I tried them braised and they were great and filled with dietary guilt.

Try the Suncakes 太阳饼 too. They’re light flaky pastries and be sure to have them with tea.

Getting Around:
By cab you’re looking at about $100 – $125NTD per trip from district to district.

Overall Feel:
Felt like a big city I want to come back to. I didn’t spend too much time here so I definitely want to come back. I hear there’s a night life scene I need to see, but it feels more of a eating and shopping town.

Travel Cost(s):
$197NTD by Tze-Chiang train from Hsinchu to Taichung (limited express)
$20NTD locker