Sunday, March 15, 2026

Day Eight of the 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip 2025


Detailed Postings for the Day
Rise and shine with a jog along Tainan canal in Taiwan's oldest city! As the city is also known to be the hottest amongst cities in Taiwan, we were well-attired and the temperature was more the earlier cooler morning in Singapore.

Even the canoe enthusiasts were up to practice!
One thing I noted in Taiwan; people don't really wake up early.

Caught sight of spectacular blooms from the above tree.

After breakfast at 阿鳳浮水虱目魚羹, where milkfish balls were confirmed delicacies, we proceeded to a branch of the Bank of Taiwan for foreign exchange activity! Something we really took for granted in Southeast Asian countries given the prevalence of money exchangers all over the place.

Exchange rate back in January 2025.
Singapore dollar was selling for S$1 for NT$23.60.

Walking past the Bao An temple; I actually wanted to check it out but we didn't really have much time on day eight since we would be visiting a friend, checking out a haunted house, and leaving Tainan for Taichung! 


Driving out of Tainan City; honestly, one night was sorely insufficient as I didn't really explore much of the city, and there was a ton of saved locations on Google Maps that I didn't clear... :(

Taking the highway to Chiayi!  
 
High tide and thank god we were near XinYing Service Area (新營服務區). Now, unlike rest stations along the North South Highway in Malaysia, the ones in Taiwan were more modern and better in terms of amenities provided.

Surprisingly, I didn't eat as much Taiwanese sausages as I did for this trip. So, when my eyes fell on the menu that had like seven different types of Taiwanese sausages; I knew I had to give it a try!

Still, i went for the traditional one that cost NT$45. Taste wise, like the ones from pasar malams in Singapore, and pretty dry! It would have been a better experience if the sausage was toasted a bit more on the hot grill.

Met up with a Taiwanese friend at Ping Huang Coffee (品皇咖啡觀光工廠)! It's like those wholesale factory opened to visitors and there were more than just coffee! Of course, I enjoyed all the available sampling of instant coffee! It's a pity that there were as many sampling for the snacks. 

Supposed to have turkey rice (a Chiayi specialty) at 王厝火雞肉飯 but it was closed for the day! Thankfully, our friend, who is from Chiayi, has a backup recommendation! 

佳佳火雞肉飯 - our first turkey rice even though we were also in Chiayi on our first and second days of the 11-day trip. Verdict - not bad but Singapore's chicken rice was preferred; we are biased for sure. 

Aside from Ping Huang Coffee (品皇咖啡觀光工廠), there were other tourism factories in the area and for the upcoming one, we actually needed to drive back to Tainan, albeit just about five kilometers away from 佳佳火雞肉飯.

The Arwin Therapy Garden (雅聞湖濱療癒森林)! Main draw was its humongous rose garden and for shopping wise, you get a pretty wide variety of beauty products, including facial masks! 

Since we drove, we took the opportunity to explore the rural surroundings of our friend's humble abode, and a small plot of agricultural land under his family. A luxury most Singaporeans can't afford given how limited our lands are. 

After bidding farewell to our friend, we drove northwards to our next destination. That big banyan tree, with its crown covering the width of the road, was said to be a landmark of the area. 

I haven't explored haunted houses for a long time but couldn't resist not checking this Minxiong Haunted House (民雄鬼屋) after watching a horror film based on it, and realized the house was still standing! There's something that happened when we were there; click the link to find out more! 

For those who drive, do park your car at the "next-door" Minxiong Haunted House Coffee Cafe (民雄鬼屋咖啡). You have to of course buy something to use their parking space, and we requested to do so after checking out the haunted house instead. Just in case they assume we would just drive off without any purchase.

Banking on the popularity of the haunted house, said to be ranked among the third three of Taiwan's most haunted houses, the cafe did help to dispel some of the rumours and stories. You can scan the QR code to find out more. p.s. website is in Chinese.

It's already 5.00pm and we were still on the highway!
Would we be able to reach Taichung City before sunset?!

Woah, that's a gigantic laughing buddha! Said to be part of the Hushanyan Temple 斗六湖山巖湖山寺, the statue was apparently closed for anyone to visit. Just checked Google Maps and it did seem abandoned. Strange indeed. 

On my first trip to Taiwan in 2014, I often wondered why the the roads were built so high up across riverbeds when there was hardly any water. Turned out they need to factor for periods of excessive rainfalls brought in during the annual typhoon season! 

Eh, is it normal to have a slanting power grid tower? 

Alex was hungry; so let's stop by the Lamungan Rest Station at Nantou county! Caught the sunset, and also the beautiful plum blossoms right outside.

Desserts that didn't satisfy. 
I wasn't expecting strawberry jam! 

As expected, it was already dark when we arrived at Taichung City! Alex hates driving at night and while I am happy take over the wheel; he has absolutely minimal confidence with my driving skill. Why?! 

Checked in to our last hotel for the trip.

Well, check in was easy; problem was the parking for our rental car. The in-house carpark was full and we were asked to drive to a shared carpark a few hundred meters away, and it was full! The wait for an available lot was more than 30 minutes and I am so no known for my patience. 

It was already eight plus when we finally got a lot, went back to the hotel to throw more of our stuff before we hit the street again! I prefer to waste my precious time OUTSIDE the hotel.

Cutting across Taichung Park 臺中公園; said to be a century-old park, the illumination was low except for the two bridges connected to the island surrounded by a much way, way smaller Sun Moon Lake.

Above reminded me of the vermilion bridge at Ngoc Son Temple! 

Alex goofing around the horse stone statue.
Even sharing a light kiss with another one! Pervert! 

The Taichung Grace Church (台中思恩堂中區會堂) on the border of Taichung Park. Completed in 1952, the church was founded just a few years earlier in 1949.

Kind of looks like a face! 
Or maybe a Pokemon character.

Pricing of Sukiya in Taiwan; albeit during promotional period.
I love Sukiya (in Singapore), especially their low-carb gyudon! 

Gorgeous looking cat with yellow eyes in a shop! I wanted to keep a cat as a pet too but not in my house! Anyone can persuade my parents to let me keep a cat in their house instead? 

How can motorcycle helmets be so cute.....?

Focus, focus, focus!
No time to check out all the shops! 

The famous Yizhong Street Night Market (一中街夜市); More photographs can be found here! As usual, it's food, food and more food for us, especially when we visited the same street three days in a roll! What we had? 


Way back to the hotel with a full tummy. Since we have a rental car, we did notice the placement of neon lights stretched out like a fan, jutting out from buildings, and I just realized they were markers of shops offering betel nuts for sale! 

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Vomited by Cavin Teo at 8:53 PM
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