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

<<< Day Ten

Detailed Postings for the Day

• Breakfast at Morni莫尼 (Meichun Branch) 
• IPPUDO Ramen @ Xinwuri HSR Station
• Smart Green Energy Waiting Room @ Taoyuan Airport
• Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room @ Taoyuan Airport

Last day in Taiwan and I was gearing for a jog only to hear the pitter-pattering of raindrops at the window. A cold 10 degree-celcius day, that was supposed to feel like 3 degree celcius! Back onto the bed and doom-scroll while waiting for Alex to wake up. 

Time to pack up and check out from Tea Way Hotel. For my review of the hotel that's superbly near Taichung Train Station (even though we didn't take the train throughout the few days at Taichung), click here!  

Another advantage staying near Tea Way Hotel; the sheer amount of Southeast Asian eateries in the area, although I don't understand why you would want to seek out Southeast Asian food when you are not in Southeast Asia. 

With no particular eatery I wanted to to try, a search on Google Maps brought us to Morni莫尼 (Meichun Branch) cafe, supposedly a chain serving typical Taiwanese breakfast fare. 

Breakfast was alright but I am most impressed with the service standard of the young boys who were likely helping out their parents as it was already the school break then given the proximity to lunar new year. 

After returning our rental car at the Ho Ing counter conveniently located within Xinwuri HSR Station, it's time to worry about lunch even though our breakfast was just a mere one hour ago. To be honest, I was so keen to get a bento and then indulge on the train! 

Sadly, I wasn't craving for rice. Instead, the IPPUDO Ramen restaurant at Xinwuri HSR Station caught my eyes, and without much hesitation, I was seated and before long; I was hungrily slurping down strands of ramen! Shiok! 

Still have an hour or so to go and there were plenty of shops within the HSR station where my shopping continues, despite the lack of luggage space! Frankly, you can leave your souvenir shopping (food and non-food) to the very last day as there were so, so much to shop! 

Time to take the high speed railway! We have pre-booked our seats via the official HSR website here so that we would be guaranteed seats. Necessary especially when we have so many pieces of luggage with us.

We had to resort to placing our cabin luggage in front of our seats! p.s. we booked business class tickets; at my age, comfort is much more important than saving money.

Time to speed towards the special municipality of Taoyuan! 

Alex preparing to eat his Sukyia takeaway in the train whereas almost full me would make do with the snacks that were given as part of the business class experience. I just read that the snacks were unlimited! Not that it matters much to me though. 

Weather got progressively better as the high speed train went north, with the clouds slowing clearing up. You may wish to consider buying seats on the right side since you would be granted views of the mountain range in the middle of the island. 

Arrival at the Taoyuan HSR station and I saw there appeared to be a number of malls here, including the Gloria Outlet Mall! Next time, maybe I should stay at Taoyuan for a night or two! 

And instead of taking the train to the airport; maybe a cab ride instead since there were hardly enough space for our luggage! Not to mention that the train operates more like an MRT in Singapore, where passengers flow would be much higher than a high speed train. 

Checking in to Taoyuan International Airport! The queue to check in for Singapore Airlines was super long; thankfully, it cleared pretty fast. All airports should consider going to full force on self check-in and baggage check-in...

Time, to, shop, again! 

Last beverage in Taiwan; and rightfully an authentic Taiwanese bubble milk tea from Chun Shui Tang; the founder of bubble milk tea, which has a branch within the airport.

One commercial outlet I would recommend all outgoing passengers to visit; the Taiwan Museum shop! This might come as a surprise as I have never visited the National Palace Museum at Taipei, although I have been to Taiwan three times! 

There were a ton of beautiful things I wanted to purchase for my home! They were so unique, many of which have a modern twist, like the frog with a coin jutting out of its mouth. Prices were a bit high though.  

Checking out the two themed waiting rooms at the airport; the Smart Green Energy Waiting Room and the Pili Puppet Legend Waiting Room. Changi Airport should consider incorporating this for their check out gates for terminal 5! 

Boarding the plane soon!

Departure timing: 5.35pm.

Boarded the Boeing B787-10 plane and was allocated the bulkhead seat! So much legroom for me, but to be fair, I am short so it might not matter that much for someone who is six feet tall. 

Setting sun! 

Airplane successfully took off at about 5.51pm; slight delay although not a problem for me as my heart would love to remain in Taiwan for as long as I could. This post took almost 18 months, meaning it has also been this long since my visit to Taiwan. Time to plan for another trip!

Our meal in the plane.

No complaint; loving the ice cream. 

First thing to do after clearing immigration at Changi International Airport; free duty alcohol purchases and helping a friend to buy Kavalan Whisky. So expensive; beer for the win. 

=====

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)

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

<<< Day Nine

Detailed Postings for the Day

• Yongquan Park (湧泉公園)
• Morning Market along Xinmin Street
• Mitsui Outlet Park Taichung Port
• Gaomei Turbine Avenue (高美風車大道)
• Boardwalk at Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地)
• Taichung Civic Square (臺中市民廣場)
• Jiguang Stinky Tofu (繼光臭豆腐)

One look at this clogged up road and my curiosity was piqued! Unfortunately, I had to kick start my jog to burn off all the calories gained in the past ten days in Taiwan, before the motivation waned. 

So let's proceed to jog towards the direction of Taichung railway station but instead of going to the right (along Taiwan Connection 1908), we shall conquer a new terrority! The left it shall be. 

Around the Yongquan Park (湧泉公園), which was converted from site that used to house a sugar factory! Don't think it's just a normal park as this park won the "2020 Golden A' Design Award in Urban Planning and Urban Design".

The clogged up road I mentioned earlier? It's actually a Morning Market along Xinmin Street! Since this was just a few days before lunar new year, the whole market was bustling with customers! 

Walking back to the hotel instead as my eyes were blurred from seeing so many items for sale at the morning market! If I live in Taiwan, I would have purchased plenty! 

Driving out towards the eastern end of Taichung City; not sure which road this was but there's a spectacular view right in front of us. I don't know about you but this felt like a Japanese anime scene.

The drive to our destination took us about an hour and that's quite tiring for the driver. Thank god I am just the vehicle commander, and didn't have to concentrate on the road. Poor Alex but don't pity him as I did offer to take over the wheel. 

Structures that I didn't know what they were for. 

Only thing I knew, they were near the port.

Arrival at the Mitsui Outlet Park Taichung Port (with the only seaside ferris wheel in Taiwan), where I thought I would do a bit of shopping and secured some irresistible deals. It didn't happen even though I got one piggy banks! 

On the road again after lunch at Mitsui Outlet Park! 

Next destination was just a 11-minute drive away! 

From the map, it seemed like a straightforward, short road.

Getting up close to the Gaomei Turbine Avenue (高美風車大道); these massive fans were a marvel to behold, and boy were they loud! Click the link for more photographs and a video! 

Feline attendant at the carpark! So cute right?! Anyway, this would be the second time I am visiting the tourist attraction as it was included in the Chan Brothers tour package I signed up for back in 2024.

Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地) - while it was my second visit, this time hit different as I managed to check out the 800-meter long boardwalk, in the strong, freezing wind that could have blown me away if my aim to slim down was a success! 

Glad to get back to our rental car where I could finally hide from the wind! Only regret was that we didn't stay long enough to check out the known to be glorious sunset at Gaomei Wetlands. Oh well, maybe a 3rd visit soon?

What the heck was the above structure?

It looked like a worm with no head and tail.

A bus stop, and there's even a dedicated lane! 

At closer look, the design was actually pretty futuristic. 

Parked at the Park Lane by CMP as it's so hard to find parking at this area! It also didn't help that we don't quite understand public parking in Taiwan, and just wanted to play safe. 

First thing that was in front of us after stepping out of Park Lane by CMP would be a pet adoption and fundraiser booth! As a former pet owner, I bought two packs of dried strawberries to support their noble cause!

Plenty of pet dogs in the area too. 

A bazaar in this park known as the Calligraphy Greenway that connects to the National Museum of Natural Science. Well, I am not keen in the museum and the park just happened to be along the way to the place I am super keen to check out. 

Lane 117, Section 1, Meicun Rd - said to be a quaint little street with creative souvenir shops that I would likely enjoy browsing through. 

Turned out there were more F&B than souvenir shops, with the most popular being christinetart. However, I am more a cake than tart person, and I am mindful that I am no longer young, with a much reduced metabolism.

I was more keen in MINIMAL on a parallel street; why? Well, I prefer ice cream over tarts, and most importantly, it was said to be the only ice cream store awarded a michelin star in the whole world! Pity, we missed the last order. :(

SEiC - a bicycle store with unconventional bikes that had thick wheels, and almost looked like a smaller version of a motorbike! Damn, I should have gone in for a closer look. Can't blame me as I honestly thought it was a motorbike store.

The surprisingly crowded Taichung Civic Square (臺中市民廣場)! Maybe due to the weather, maybe due to the laughter of kids, maybe due to the sights of dogs playing so happily; it was relaxing moment for Alex and I.

Drawn to the FAFNE Bakery! 

Got a sugary donut with bursting custard cream made with Hokkaido milk for just NT$45 (less than S$2.00). Delicious with a ton of cold custard cream! p.s. got this also because Alex loves sugary donuts and we can share the fats! 

Got back to Teaway Hotel and here's a short video showing us taking the slow car elevator to basement one of the hotel, where there were limited carpark lots! 

Sneaked out alone to eat my last serving of stinky tofu in Taiwan for this trip; Jiguang Stinky Tofu (繼光臭豆腐) which was just a short distance (about 300 meters) from Teaway Hotel.

Strolling in the area; I thought I am at Southeast Asia! 

Eventually walked towards the direction of Yizhong Night Market, where I chanced upon a large stationery store, and spent quite a bit of time there; to the extent that Alex had to make his way to meet me after his well-deserved rest (driving was a chore for him). 

A final run for Yizhong Night Market, where we continued to indulge in more food before we retired to our hotel, with a full and satisfied tummy. That's the way to end our last night in Taiwan, where street food is, and always, a must-eat. 

Sadly, I am still suffering from itchy bumps on my legs! 

>>> Last Day

=====

Click HERE for 11 Days, 10 Nights Taiwan Trip: Summarised Itinerary for Chiayi Alishan (嘉义阿里山) - Kaohsiung (高雄) - Tainan (台南) - Taichung (臺中)