Transportation system in Taiwan

Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) is one of the several things that impressed me greatly. It has stops in all major cities in Taiwan. This service lets you visit places around Taiwan super-conveniently. Fast and safe! Plus, there are plenty vast network buses with comfortable air-conditioned to get you from train station to your destination.

To buy a ticket, you can go to the counter or use the ticket vending machines. Note: if u use this kind of ticket, don’t forget to keep your ticket til you pass the exit gate at the next station, or you’ll have to pay a fine. But, If you’re going to spend any length of time here, it’s much better to get yourself an Easy Card* the best part of using this as a student is, you can get a discount on railway n bus fares.

*Easycard is a ‘touch-and-go’ card for payment, to pay bus and other public transport services. And u can also use it to buy things in convenience stores (7-11, family mart, etc) or supermarkets. You can get this card at the Taipei main station counter.

Before you go, you can check the updated timetable and fare information at this website. They also provide online booking service. Any buses or train will always be on time upon the schedules (well it is delayed sometimes, but in my experience I never wait for more than 10 mins, unless something wrong happen), so u dont have to worry of wasting your time waiting for them.

• Taipei MRT

The Taipei MRT really makes your life easier. Taipei is the capital of Taiwan which means there are many places to visit here (Taipei 101 city icon, attraction places, shopping mall, etc...) and Taipei MRT is the best way to fulfill your travel desire. You can get maps and booklet for information about places-to-go (which is in English) at Taipei main station. It will guide you where to stop and go. The fares are based on the distance you take. You can check the fare and amount of money you have left every time you beep your card to a reader device.

Taipei MRT map

• TR pass (Taiwan Rail pass)

This is another cool package. With this ticket, you will have unlimited access to TRA services (local and express train). TR pass let you travel around Taiwan for several days, depends on your ticket type. When you have this, you only need to show the ticket to the staff when you go-in and –out the station. I think this is really convenient for foreigners, who don’t own private car, to visit several places at once.

Ticket type/price

5-days pass / NT$ 599

7-days pass / NT$ 799

10-days pass / NT$ 1098

This program is actually to encourage youth citizens and foreigner students to travel around by train.  More information available here 

My TR pass, when i went to Hualien for Tzu-chi camp

• THSR (Taiwan High Speed Rail)

And..this is another awesome thing in Taiwan. They always have answer for every complaint. When you need to get to the other side of Taiwan in a hurry, THSR is the answer (台灣高鐵; táiwān gāotiě; www.thsrc.com.tw/en/). It is operated from capital Taipei to the southern city of Kaoshiung. A bit expensive, but I think it’s worth it. You can cut your travel time by two third. Let say, Taoyuan-Kaoshiung with TRA à 5 hours long. Taoyuan-Kaoshiung with THSR à 1.30 hours long.

I definitely would love to have something like this in my country, or at least in Jakarta first. In 2004, the former governor came up with the idea of bus rapid transit (BRT) system in Jakarta. Unfortunately is not really solving the traffic jam in Jakarta. Now, the new governor forced to start the MRT project in October 2013. It is estimated to finish in 2017 for several routes.  I really hope this would work. Let’s hope for the better future. My sweet hometown. 

100 years before the birth of Doraemon Exhibition in Taipei

Doraemon!! Who doesn't love this Japanese cartoon character, I guess he is every child's best friend. FYI he's having his birthday this year, 100 years early. In order to celebrate it, there's traveling exhibition around the countries, and it drops by in Taipei starting on Dec 29,2012. So I went there on Dec 31, right before the New Year's Eve. It wasn't a good idea actually, so crowded at that time =.= yet we still enjoy taking pictures like a child :P

For those who want to visit, here is the information...
It will open from Dec 29,2012 to April 7,2014
Venue: Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, Taipei
Visiting hours: 9am - 6pm
Fee entrance: NT$ 220, student NT$ 200
How to get there by MRT:
Take the MRT blue line to Taipei City Hall Station, exit 1 or 2 and walk for about 400m or to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, exit 5 and walk for about 500m. 

three child-wannabe

Check out the map below for clear direction:

View Larger Map

Taipei 101 & NYE

Taipei 101, it is known as a skyscraper building in Taiwan which comprises 101 floors and has served as an icon of modern Taiwan. Since I am now in Taiwan, I went to Taipei 101 many times.. without reaching the top floor of the building until one day my brother came and forced me to go up with him.

The fee entrance: NT$ 400. A little bit expensive, but my brother paid for me, so it's ok:D

anyway, the elevator speed is so fast, we can reach the top only in seconds! cool! and there is  a big damper steel ball in the top-central of the building. This steel ball keeps Taipei 101 safe from the earthquake and typhoon. yeah, Taipei's earthquake and typhoon are pretty shocking me, it happens a lot and quite strong.. but the amazing fact is they prepared for that!

Take a look at this Damper Baby comics!

  

 

 Damper babies~

 The view from the top

Brother & sister in action

How to get there - From Taipei Main Station (TMS):

By MRT: take blue line to Taipei City Hall station, exit 1 or 2 and take 15 mins walk.

Fee entrance to 101 floor: NT$ 400

New year's eve, every year fireworks launched from Taipei 101. I watched the fireworks twice there, in 2012 and 2013. I was quite impressed how these people manage a bunch of visitors who came to see the fireworks in Taipei 101, safe and secure. If I were in my country, I will just give up and prefer to stay at home, watching movies or do something else.

 New year's eve 2012

 New year's eve 2013

stay exist in a crowded night xD

Beauty in Hualien and Nantou

Taiwan map

It's been a year since i posted my last blog. so now, i will just review some visited places in Taiwan in my last one year. well, i dont have much information of how to get there, bcos i went there on a school trip. but u can definitely browse for it tho, and i give links to each place with better information^^

1. Hualien county

Hualien has the largest area in Taiwan and is located in coast-east of Taiwan. Hualien borders with the ocean. so try to stay awake along the way there, or else you might missed the beautiful seaside views. For those who love nature, I think Hualien is a good choice as travel destination!

• Pine garden. Hualien County's Pine Garden was built in 1943, it used to be the military base for the Japanese Navy during World War II. Now it became a recreational resort. Anyway, seems that i didn't take much pictures back then, so i suggest u to check out the links for more information :D

Pine Garden entrance

• Meqmegi (Mukumugi) Recreation Area. Meqmegi was the name of the first Taroko tribal family who settled in this area long long time ago. look at its natural beauty..... breathtaking isn't it?

• Taroko National Park, the famous one in Hualien. The parks are placed to protect the natural scenery and wildlife. It's all about nature! 

Taroko National Park

  

• Rafting at Siouguluan River. It's the largest river in eastern Taiwan with about 90 kilometers long. but the river is not heavily flows, so it was quite exhausted to go through that river. One thing, don't forget to have sunblock with you, if u don't want to become unfinished-dark-skinned like the man behind me LOL:P

2. Xitou - Nantou county

Nantou is the heartland of Taiwan, as you can see o the map the area is in the central. 

• Monster village. It's a Japanese style village built in 2011 based on the ancient story. you will find comical-monster statues are all over this village. Interesting place! I think all the monsters there are cute:D 

Watch out for elf!

A torii ‘a traditional Japanese shrine gate’ at the entrance of the village

                    

• Xitou nature education area. The place is near monster village and is part of the experimental forest belonging to the National Taiwan University (NTU). 

On the way to University pond and skywalk

 University pond

skywalk

• Sky-ladder bridge. It is said that one of the well-known places visited by tourists. We shud went up to the hill by car/van/any vehicles. So we start from up to downhill. yeah, don't try to start the other way round, from down to uphill, it will be really really exhausting. From up hill we still need to walk about 1400 meters long way to reach the bridge. We were given the bamboo stick for each person, yes it's useful to help us walk in a very challenging road, up-and-down hills with many many stepladder. That is why it is called sky ladder. The scenery is awesome, but the weather is cold and foggy at that time, so we can’t enjoy the view very much.

Look at the stepladder. This is so called sky-ladder bridge.

 Cold and foggy in winter

Posing with bamboo stick like a fighter:P