We’re finally back in Taiwan again for this year’s family trip, together with my Mum and Sis. My son DL and daughter CL have been looking forward to this trip ever since we broke the good news to them. They had enjoyed our trip in 2013 and hoped to re-visit Taiwan again.
Here’s our family’s DIY itinerary. Incidentally, as we tried to mould the itinerary to shape according to the children’s liking, it became an educational trip of sorts on flora and fauna.
Day 1:
Boarded an outbound flight from Singapore in the wee hours of the morning and reached Taoyuan International Airport in early morning.
Dahu Strawberry Town
Our driver picked us up from the Airport and we went straight to Dahu Strawberry Town after breakfast. With this, we saved the time required to drop our luggage at our accommodation before going out to explore. Dahu (大湖) is a rural township in the south of Miaoli (苗栗) County. Blessed with lots of sunshine and rich fertile soil, Dahu is Taiwan’s major producer of strawberries. We went strawberry-picking and visited Dahu Strawberry Farms and Wineland Resort.
Miaoli Mingde Lavender Cottage
Thereafter, we visited Miaoli Mingde Lavender Cottage. One of 3 branches, Miaoli Lavender Cottage is where lavenders and salvia are grown in little gardens. A purple floral ‘wonderland’ of sorts with a restaurant and cafe to dine in or chill out.
Flying Cow Ranch
After spending some time at Miaoli Mingde Lavender Cottage, we made our way to Flying Cow Ranch in mid-afternoon. Passed by this lovely ‘sea’ of blooming sunflowers along the way in Miaoli before reaching the ranch:
Located in Tongxiao Township of Miaoli County, Flying Cow Ranch (飞牛牧场) is a popular leisure ranch (休闲农场) among Taiwanese and overseas tourists. The features of the ranch included on-site accommodation, food and beverage services, interaction with ranch animals and DIY activities. Thereafter, it’s free-and-easy time on the Ranch.
Overnight at Flying Cow Ranch
Day 2:
Most of our day was spent at Flying Cow Ranch before heading to Still True Minsu in mid-afternoon in a cab arranged by the Ranch.
A Night in a Minsu
Minsu are residences or properties of the locals who rent out a room or more to travellers who want to experience living like the locals. Our first-ever Minsu stay in Taiwan turned out to be one of the best decisions made for the trip. Being inexperienced in staying in this category of accommodation made us wondered how we would take to living in another family’s residence together with them. But we ended up being glad we tried.
Overnight at Still True Xinshe Minsu
Day 3:
Picked up at Still True Minsu by our driver in mid morning. The day’s program is a mixture of educational, fun and touristy stuff. The places visited in chronological order are A-Liang Mushroom Farm, Summit Resort, Li Yuan Leisure Farm (Mandarin Orange Fruit-Picking) and Carton King Dakeng Main Branch. The route was planned with the intention to minimise traveling time between sights along our route to Taichung City.
Taichung Mushroom Farms
Taichung Xinshe (台中新社) is famous for producing mushrooms. In fact, much of Taiwan’s mushrooms are produced here in the many farms around this area. We visited A-Liang Mushroom Farm chosen by our driver, one of the few farms open to public. You can go mushroom picking too, which we did.
Summit Resort
Summit Resort (新社古堡庄园) is a popular attraction among the locals with its medieval-themed European style buildings. Walking through the resort with its garden, waterfall and castle, one can easily imagine being somewhere in Europe.
Li Yuan Leisure Farm (Mandarin Orange Fruit-Picking)
Ponkan mandarin (椪柑) is the 9th most planted fruit in Taichung district. We were just in time for ponkan-picking as the harvest is from November to December. Li Yuan Leisure Farm (茘园休闲农场) is open to visitors for fruit picking throughout the year with different fruits planted in their vast compound.
Carton King Dakeng Main Branch
Carton King Creativity Park (纸箱王创意主题园区) is where carton board and boxes comes to life with art creations. Started in 2007, Carton King now has 4 Creativity Park branches. The one we visited in Taichung’s Dakeng is the main branch.
Yizhong Night Market
Upon reaching Taichung City, the ladies also visited Yizhong night market. Yizhong night market is the second busiest night market in Taichung and within its CBD area. It is also closer to Taichung Train Station and Inhouse Taichung.
Overnight at Inhouse Taichung
Day 4:
Hired another driver for a one-way trip to Taipei. The roads in Taichung were very congested on Christmas Day and it almost took us an hour to get onto the expressway. Total journey is almost 3 hours. If we had lesser luggage with us, the bullet train ride of 50 mins would have been a better option.
Spent the rest of the day at Ximending and Taipei Train Station Underground Mall shopping for toys! The dazzling variety made DL and CL very excited.
Overnight at Inhouse Boutique Ximending
Day 5:
Taipei Zoo
Our only full day in Taipei and we spent it at Taipei Zoo, which is the largest in Asia. Interestingly, it ranked 7th on TripAdvisor’s list of things to do in Taipei (as at Dec 2016), with many positive reviews, ahead of the more famous Taipei 101 Observatory and Shilin Night Market. The zoo has a combined area of 165 hectares. Of the 90 hectares that are open to public, there are 8 outdoor display areas and 6 indoor areas.
Maokong Gondola
Afterwards, we took the kids on a ride on the gondola to Maokong. Maokong is a popular place among locals and tourists for tea culture and viewing the night scenery of Taipei City. This quaint village in Wenshan District of Taipei used to be the biggest tea growing area of Taipei. Today it still produces some tea, most notably tieguanyin.
Overnight at Inhouse Boutique Ximending
Day 6:
Exhibition at Taipei Expo Park
A short visit to Taipei Expo Park for the on-going Despicable Me – The Evil Studio exhibition, before making our way back to the hotel and then the airport for our mid-afternoon flight home.
Home Sweet Home
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Here’s a quick recap of our itinerary for our 6D5N trip to Taiwan:
Day 1: Dahu Strawberry Farm and Wineland Resort, Miaoli Mingde Lavender Resort, Flying Cow Ranch
Day 2: Flying Cow Ranch, Still True Minsu
Day 3: A-Liang Mushroom Farm, Summit Resort, Li-Yuan Leisure Farm, Carton King Dakeng Main Branch
Day 4: Ximending, Taipei Main Train Station
Day 5: Taipei Zoo, Maokong Gondola
Day 6: Despicable Me – the Evil Studio at Taipei Expo Park
Check out our guide on Getting Around Taipei and Taichung for more information on transport within these 2 cities.