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Top 10 things to do on the Taipei-Kaohsiung route |
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Zalina Mohd Som
ZALINA MOHD SOM lists
the 10 top things to do along the Taipei-Kaohsiung route.
Portuguese
sailors called it Ilha Formosa or Beautiful Island when they first saw Taiwan back in the 16th
Century, while modern-day Taiwan makes itself
reputable as a Mountainous Island.
Two
hundred sixty of its mountains are over 3,000 metres high, one of which is Jade
Mountain, the highest peak in the Northeast Asia
region.
Taiwan tourism authority adds the word "fun"
in capital letters to its name as the island is
branded as a destination that offers fun and exciting activities and
attractions contributed by its modern cities and unspoilt nature.
Taiwan may be nine times smaller than
Malaysia but the sweet potato shaped island is not short of things to do and
places to visit.
While
it is possible to "finish" the whole island in
one go, it is best to at least cover the island´s west coast by going down
south from capital Taipei to Kaohsiung.
Complete
the Taipei-Kaohsiung-Taipei round with a ride on the Taiwan
High Speed Train that takes only 90 minutes travelling times compared to four
hours by road.
Here
are 10 top things to do along the Taipei-Kaohsiung route.
1. Conquer the Taipei
101
If
Kuala Lumpur is proud of its tallest towers, the Petronas Twin Towers, Taipei
is of its tallest building, Taipei 101.
It
takes only 37 seconds to reach the observatory deck on the 89th floor. The
508-metre building is an architecture of a fusion of East Asian and Taiwanese.
A
Taipei city tour should also include a visit to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
which was constructed in memory of the former
president, Chiang Kai-Shek; and to the National Palace Museum, renowned as one
of the greatest museums in the world.
2. Shop at the night
market or shopping streets
Night
market or shopping street is a big component of shopping in
Taiwan.
If
every city has one, what´s more in big cities like
Taipei and Kaohsiung. Taipei itself has more than three shopping streets that
operate every night. More than often, Ximending, Shihlin and Tihua are top
choices for visitors to taste Taiwanese night life.
Ximending
is well-known for its wholesale garments while Shihlin is where youngsters go
for trendy fashion and al-fresco dining. Tihua is a cultural centre for the
Hakka community.
3. Try the young pinang
(betel nut)
Betel
nut may not be your thing but still, you should try dropping by at the island´s
many road-side kiosks selling this exotic "stimulant". Trust me!
Like
the Malays and Indians back home, Taiwanese like to chew betel leaf-wrapped
pinang. Most of them are lorry drivers who take on the highways to ferry goods.
To
attract these men to stop at their kiosks, the operators engage sexy, skimpily
dressed girls to sit in their glass-wall kiosks.
Sales
are so good that betel nut becomes the island´s second largest crop. But, don´t
try snapping a picture or two of these sexy girls for they might ask hefty fees
for the poses!
4. Visit the old street
of Jioufen
Those
who don´t like the over-crowded, commercialised shopping streets, the old
street of Jioufen is the right place.
Though
still crowded and noisy, the narrow pedestrian mall charms any jaded visitor
with its charming shops and stalls selling traditional Taiwanese cakes and
snacks, and beautiful craft.
Walk
till the end of the street and the sight of hillside tea houses fronting
pebbled lane will take you to a different world. Jioufen, that pebbled lane
particularly, is said to be the preferred location for Taiwanese movie or drama
series.
5. Soak in the sulphur-rich hot springs
There
are visitors who go there just to soak in its many
natural hot springs.
Its
volcanic past has left Taiwan with abundant
reserves of geothermal energy that makes it one of the densest and most varied
concentration of hot springs in the world.
There
are more than 100 locations that have this hot bubbling mineral water. Some of
them serve as centres for large numbers of hot-spring hotels like Beitou.
The
Taipei district is known for its sulphur hot springs and thanks to the Japanese
colonisation (1895-1945), these hot springs still exude a faint Japanese
atmosphere both in architecture and culture.
6. Take on a sombre mood
at the Wufong Earthquake Museum
The
museum is built on the ground of Kong-Fu Elementary School in Wufong in Taichung
district.
The
school´s sports ground was located right on the Chelongpu fault that forced the
ground up to about two metres.
The
damaged school and the raised ground are preserved to be the most important
part of the museum.
It
leads visitors through the damaged buildings before the tour ends at an
exhibition hall and an earthquake simulator, which is as close as one can get
to experience the real 7.6-Richter Wufong earthquake.
7. Climb up the
beautiful layered steps to British Consulate Building in
Takao, Kaohsiung
The
colonial building is a former British consulate built in
1865, making it the first western-style building built in
Taiwan.
Sitting
atop a hill, the building commands open views of Kaohsiung Harbour and the city
skyline. There´s a restaurant said to serve the best English tea and scone.
The
city tour of Kaohsiung should also include a trip to Splendor Kaohsiung. The
tallest building in the southern Taiwan houses a five-star hotel The Splendor Kaohsiung,
office buildings and a shopping mall. There´s a viewing deck for visitors to
have an aerial view of the harbour city.
8. Take the Kaohsiung
MRT and get down at the Formosa Boulevard Station
Whether during the day or night, getting down
at the station proves worth it. It is where you can see the world´s largest art
glass.
Spanning
30 metres in diameter, the ceiling decks bright
colourful art which makes it hard for you to look away. One will either lie
down on the floor (to best view it) or leave the station with a stiff neck!
9. Be a kid again at any
of its theme parks
We
are not talking about those usual brands of theme parks. All theme parks in Taiwan are local brands.
They
don´t need cartoon characters from Disney nor those super heroes from Universal
Studio.
Nonetheless,
the parks have their own themes and attractions. Windows on China is home to
130 large, exquisitely-detailed miniatures of world´s famous landmarks.
Best
of all, the park also houses the world´s first Doraemon park. Its neighbour
Leofoo Village Theme Park is Taiwan´s first park
that combines wildlife zoo and amusement park. The 100-hectare park also houses
four themed villages - Africa Safari, Wild West, South Pacific and Arabian
Kingdom.
10. Be a tourist and
ogle at Wulai´s beautiful nature
Wulai
is a tourist town located in the southern Taipei
County. The hilltop town offers cool high-altitude temperature, beautiful
unspoilt nature and unique aboriginal culture of the Atayal tribe.
But
the things that one shouldn´t miss is the feet-stomping Atayal cultural show
and a leisurely walk at the old street of Wulai.
Complete
the round at Wulai with a ride on Wulai Scenic Train, a converted mine train
built during the Japanese and a gondola ride to the top of Wulai Falls.
For
details, Visit Taiwan Visitors Association website.
Source : New Straits Times – 18 March 2010
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