As smoochielicious as it gets

Fascinating Taiwan - Day 5 [Taoyuan HSR - Zuoying HSR]

Day 5 is the day! 

While the others packed their luggages ready to leave Taiwan, colleague and me are all excited to explore the other side of Taiwan!

We are leaving to 高雄, Kaohshiung!

Took hotel taxi to Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station. And it costed us NTD600. T_T 

 #1 Not a familiar sight in our country…

 #2 Squeaky clean station

Bought our tickets and wandered around the station while waiting for our train.

 #3 Free Internet! 

Do you think the laptops can survive if it is placed in one of our public transport station here in Malaysia? 

 #4 Are you on the right track?

You all gotta love Taiwan’s public transport. They have proper signage everywhere. Even if the MRT has a lot of exits, you can still trust their signage. You don’t have to worry about travelling on your own in Taiwan. And their public transport are so much on time than ours. 

 #5 Choo-choo! Train is here!

While waiting for the train, there’s this mother-son came and approached us. Must be our backpacks. Asked where we are from and where we are going. And she kept praising Malaysians are friendly. Thanks, Auntie. At least it makes me feel proud at that moment. She kept remind us to wear our jackets/sweaters to avoid the cold. =)

 #6 Squeaky clean coach!

 #7 Ample space for foot rest! Like!

 #8 Train ticket

Yea, HSR fares doesnt come cheap. But at least, it is time-saving. This trip takes approximately 90 minutes.

There are 3 types of tickets: Reserved Seat, Business Seat and Non-Reserved Seat. We opted for the Non-Reserved Seat as the fare is the cheapest. Non-Reserved Seat means the seats are first come first serve. And if you opted for the Non-Reserved Seat, please remember the last 3 coaches are for the Non-Reserved Seat ticket holders. 

More info at their website: Taiwan High Speed Rail

Please bear in mind that HSR stops in ZuoYing, 左營. However, you can reach Kaoshiung City via MRT from ZuoYing MRT Station to Kaoshiung Main Station.

 #9 My travel companion~

CHEAP or not?? 

And in case you were wondering, food and drinks are sold in the coaches. Pretty train attendant will assist you on that. You can bring outside food on board as well.

Upon reaching Zuoying HSR Station, we were greeted by Shin Kong Mitsukoshi~

 #10 ZuoYing’s branch~

 #11 Zuoying HSR and MRT Station are just side by side… 

Due to last minute changes, we did not book any accommodation for our last 5 days trip. All were pretty much impromptu. So, we decided to try our luck to find minsu/hotel nearby Kaoshiung Main Station.

 #12 Kaoshiung~

The shops around Kaoshiung Main Station are quite old. We really have no idea where to find place to stay as we really hope to get one nearby the station for convenient purpose. As we wander around, we get pretty nervous coz we couldnt find a decent one. Some looked pretty dodgy coz they charged per hours, no offence. After sometimes we get really frustrated due to the hot weather and our heavy luggages. T_T We finally found one old hotel operates by a family (I assumed, coz I saw grandpa&grandma hanging out at the lobby) so we just decided to stay there for a night. The rate were pretty cheap though, in fact it was the cheapest stay throughout our Taiwan trip. It costs us NTD700 a night. I was stunned I actually ask my colleague twice about the rate. No photos of the room and I dont quite remember the hotel name. Yea, I dun quite like it so that’s about it. 

T_T I was a bit dissapointed coz I was expecting to stay in a comfortable minsu. T_T Sigh. No proper planning so I cant complain much. 

All right, more about Kaoshiung in the next post!