Travel Log - Taiwan Day 1

Day 1: Taoyuan Intl Airport -> Kao Hsiung via HSR

My first set of Travel Posts - Hello Taiwan! I had wanted to do this for an extremely long time (years in fact) but thanks to procrastination it never got much of a headway, haha. Now that I have some time on my hands, let’s get started! J

Had a fabulous flight with scoot. The pilot's skills were awesome. 

We took an early morning Scoot flight out from Singapore @ 05:55 and reached Taoyuan Intl. Airport around 10:30. Despite it being autumn, the weather this November was hovering between 26-29 degrees so it was actually pretty warm the entire trip (not exactly something that most Singaporeans would enjoy, LOL). The process from immigration to baggage-claim was generally quick and it wasn’t much of a hassle.

As our first stop in Taiwan was Kaohsiung, we took the HSR from Taoyuan to Zuoying (southbound, the last stop on the HSR line). From the airport, there is a shuttle bus service (NT 30/adult) which takes you directly to the HSR station. Just grab your bus tickets and wait at the designated spot for Bus 705.

I didn’t notice the duration of the bus ride but I think it took less than 30 minutes to get to the station from the airport. Upon arrival,  all we needed to do at the station was to register our passports/identity with the ticket office, tell them the exact dates that we were going to travel on the HSR (we had pre-purchased the 3-days flexible HSR pass) and book our train timing for the day.

Quick note: the HSR flexible passes could be purchased from most travel agencies in Singapore (read more about it here).

The general rule of thumb is if you have enough people for a cab (4-6 adults), you might want to consider booking a driver to take you from place to place instead of taking the HSR as it is definitely more value for money in that way (& you can actually plan an itinerary around the drive route = visiting more places). Since we had planned to go straight to Kaohsiung from Taoyuan, the HSR was definitely a quicker option.

MUST TRY: Train Bentos!!!

The bento was extremely filling as there was both rice and beehoon!

Like Japan, their trains are extremely punctual so do plan to get on the platform early, and wait at the respective car no. that you’re supposed to be at. The HSR passes requires a manual validation from the station staff (as they have to open the gate to let you pass) so that would take some time. For us, we gave ourselves too little lead time and we had to rush (on top of that, I read the seat no. as the car no. and led my family to the wrong cabin. *facepalm moment*, but thankfully the cabins are all linked internally so you can enter any cabin and still get to your designated seat)

The journey between Taoyuan to Zuoying took approx. 1 hr. 45 min.

I had been very excited prior to the trip, because despite this being my 3^rd time travelling to Taiwan, it was my first time travelling far south to Kaohsiung – the City of Ports and Temples (traveling with parents & a 2.5-year-old meant everything had to be easily accessible, since we hadn’t booked a driver for our time in Kaohsiung, we couldn’t visit the temple as it was slightly out of the way T^T).

We arrived at Zuoying HSR station at around 14:45 - the perfect time to check into our hotel for the night (Just Sleep Kaohsiung Station)!

Just Sleep Kaohsiung Station

Rooms were very comfortable & modern; p.s. I love their bottled water (its flat, not round xD) 

Just Sleep is a 4-star hotel chain under FIH Regent Group and has 7 branches across Taiwan (namely in Taipei, Yilan, Hualien & Kaohsiung). My sister recommended this chain as she had previously stayed at Just Sleep Ximending and had a great experience with them. The branch we picked (there’s two in Kaohsiung) is located between Kaohsiung Station & Formosa Boulevard Station – I would recommend alighting at the latter as its route to the hotel is more luggage-friendly. It is about a 3-5 min walk from either station.

It is easy to get to the hotel from the HSR station too – just 5 stops to Kaohsiung Station (6 stops to Formosa Boulevard).

Surroundings of Kaohsiung Station (bus depot right next to the train station)

After a tiring day flying and making our way from Taoyuan to Kaohsiung, my family took a late afternoon break once we checked in. I, on the other hand, had ample rest throughout the rides and I arrived in Kao Hsiung pretty awake. So my elder sister and I decided to check out the CD shop nearby and to recce the area between the two stations.

Side note: Formosa Boulevard’s station is much bigger than Kaohsiung Station as it is a transfer station. On top of that, that is also where Liu He Night Market is!

人山人海 🌳

SO MUCH LOVE for this peanut soup. 💖💖

p.s. too busy enjoying the street food to take pictures. 😅

Next post: Day 2: Kaohsiung via the MRT featuring the Railway Musuem, Zuoying Station Mall, Ciao Tou Sugar Refinery & the Port.