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[argonfly707]

Hello guys,

Next weekend I am going to venture out of my little town and hit the big city of Taichung. I am going to go by train so I will arrive at the train station. As I understand close to the Taichung train station is a movie theatre so I might catch a movie. My question is what is there to do in Taichung close to the train station. As I would like to walk wherever I go as I am not comfortable with taking the bus yet. I don't mind walking a far distance to where I am going. I would like to check out museums and other sort of culturally significant places. I also would like to know how to get to sun moon lake from Taichung and if there are any day or overnight trips that are prepared for you.

Thanks in adavance,
Argon

[DirtGuy]

Have been to Taichung several times. Pretty flat and easy to walk around if that is your thing. It is easy to walk for miles if you want to and not get too lost. The streets are laid out fairly well and, if you have a good sense of direction, you can find your way back to the train station fairly easily. I found it to be another big city with lots of shops to check out but I did not find much to do. Someone else may have had a different experience.

I would love to hear of some things to do in town for the next time I go there:-)

One thing you can do if you want to get out into the country is take a bus to Puli and then a local bus to a nearby national park. Exit the train station and go right about 2 blocks. There will be small busses lined up on the opposite side of the street that say Puli. It doesn't take long to get to Puli.

Take a local bus out of Puli (same station) through the town of Chongyuen (phonetic) toward the national park at the top of the valley. Take the bus as far as possible and then walk or hitchhike to the park. It's only about a mile. I forget the name of the park but it's the only one around. The trails are well-groomed and the hiking is good. Really pretty out there. You'ld probably have to stay in Puli for the night after you go hiking. There is a bustling night market on Fridays but not too much else to do in town.

I rode a scooter from Puli to Sun Moon Lake and it less than an hour. Traffic is crazy so be careful. There are some large motorcycle shops near the bus station in Puli and they may rent scooters. Actually, you may be able to take a bus from either Puli or Taichung to SML. If you ride a scooter, you will go by numerous U-pick stawberry farms. If you like fruit coated with ungodly amounts of pesticides, this is for you:-)

If you go to SML, be sure to see the nearby Taiwanse Cultural Center. Great way to learn about native culture. Whole villages have been set up. Really well done and informative. Skip the native dancing show. It's a Disneyland version of what native culture was like before the mainland Chinese showed up. I was able to stomach 5 minutes before I left.

Hope this helps.

DirtGuy

[sbettinson]

I live in Taichung but am back in the UK for a break and heading back at the end of January.

There is lots to see and do in Taichung but due to lack of a decent public transport system like the MRT and a decent bus route things are restrictive if you don't have a scooter. That said, if you are only there a couple of days or so then going by foot shouldn't cause you too many problems.

Behind the train station is Fuxing Road and there is a large mall called Taichung Central. On the 6th floor (I think) there is a Warner Village Cinema. There are plenty of stores in there and a half decent food court in the basement. There are loads of places to grab food and do some shopping in the area around the train station. The red light district is down there too so be careful if you are out really late at night. The area around the station is a bit rundown and crappy as it is the older part of town.

My reccomendation is to get the Compass magazine for Taichung. You can get this in the bars and restaurants that carry it. The area where most expats live and hang out for beers and western style places is a place called "Little Europe" which is up Taichunggang Road. Just get into a taxi and tell the driver to take you to SOGO. Everyone knows where that is. Around this area and north up TaichungGang Road towards where the World Gym is located is quite nice.

When you get out at SOGO you can cross over towards the Splendor Hotel and walk past where the entrance is to the hotel. Keep going and you will find the Science museum and Botanical Gardens. I would recommend the Gardens as they are a nice respite from the chaos of the streets outside. You have to check out the prehistoric looking fish that are swimming about in the tank downstairs. They are huge and freaky looking.

Behind SOGO is a great little place called Su Bau cafe that serves Italian and Chinese food. The pasta is great and pizzas are better. There is a good mix of Taiwanese people and foreigners, the food is cheap and th music is usually pretty cool too.

If you take a walk down HuaMei 12th Street you will find plenty of bars. Again, check the Compass magazine for listings and maybe just ask a few people where is good to go. It all depends on what kind of night you are looking for. I prefer to frequent Taiwanese places more than the foreign ones but it depends what mood I am in at the time.

Taichung has plenty going on and most of the info you can get from the likes of Compass Magazine, The Voice and other local expat publications.

To get to Sun Moon Lake you should go out of the train station and walk to the right. The road goes around a corner and there are metal railings in the center section of the road. Keep going around there and you will find a long section of bus companies. There are a couple that go to Puli and there was one on the first corner that I used. I can't remember the name though. They provided regular buses to Puli and from there you transfer to another bus. The bus is with another company in Puli but you just walk directly across the street and they have a small bus which runs up there every 30 minutes or so.

Once you are at Sun Moon Lake you would be advised to hire a scooter to drive around as local transport is pretty much limited to a taxi. We took a boat tour across the lake and while it was about 300NT each or so I would highly recommend it. Different companies offer different routes and tours so just check them all out. It's a great way to get on the lake and get some good photographs.

If you need somewhere to stay in Taichung that is cheap, cheerful, clean and well run then go to the Fuh Chun Hotel. As soon as you walk out of the train station you will see it on the corner of the road opposite the train station. It's about 700NT and I stayed there for a week when I first arrived in Taichung. The women who run it are really friendly and nice. I got fresh fruit and chips everyday I stayed there.

Well, I won't rant on too much. Enjoy your stay.

Shaun