Bantog Backpackers: Taichung

Showing posts with label Taichung. Show all posts

Monday, June 1, 2020

Houli Farm is one of the highlights of our Taiwan tour. We booked our tour via facebook's page Mga Pasyalan sa Taiwan together with other Taichung locations and tourist spots Rainbow Village, Green Fantasy Forest, Miyahara Ice Cream. We pre-arranged our Taichung tour at NT$8,400 for the eight of us, NT$1200 each (my baby is free). We were even picked-up at our rented house in Tucheng District. Pick-up locations are usually near Taipei Main Station or at Ximen Station.

It was really a hassle-free tour though Taichung is two hours drive away from Taipei. Coming from Manila a day after Taichung tour, we were still sleepy and tired because we arrived so late in the evening. Thankful about the tour, we can sleep and rest while we haven't arrived to our destinations yet. The driver is also very fun to be with, he is very knowledgable about places and he speaks English as well.

How to get to Houli Farm from Taipei?

The fastest way to get to Houli Flower Farm is though Taiwan High Speed Rail (take TRA train if you are not in a hurry, it will cut your fare in half) from Taipei going to Fengyuan Station then transfer to a shuttle bus going to the city center then grab a taxi to take you to Houli Flower Farm.

If in a group of 6 or 8 or more, better get a tour, it will save you more on money and time.

Sharing our photos at Houli Flower Farm...

Entrance Fee to the farm is NT$120 each.

Monday, May 18, 2020

Green Fantasy Forest is exactly located at Miaoli 36843, No. 7 Wowo Village, Gaohu Village, Xihu Township, Miaoli Country, Taiwan. It can be reached by riding a public train vehicle from Zouying HSR Station to Miaoli HSR Station then transfer to Fengfu station to Tonglou station. From here, ride a taxi and tell the driver to drop you off at Green Fantasy Forest.

Tourists with very tight itinerary won't be able to make it at Green Fantasy Forest and other areas located at Taichung. Taichung is an industrial city located in central Taiwan. It is two (2) hours drive or train away from Taipei. Good thing that I did a lot of research before going to Taiwan. For a hassle-free tour going to touristic places in Taiwan, check out facebook page Mga Pasyalan sa Taiwan. Members of this group are mostly Pinoys who shared tips and photos of their trips around Taiwan. The admin, Sir Joven Morcillas Embate, organizes group tours for others to join in. And from my own experience, it is really hassle-free, we were even picked-up at our rented house at Tucheng District though pick-up places are usually in Ximen or Taipei Main Station.

The tour costs NT$1200 each, it already includes a visit to Houli Farm, Miyahara Ice Cream, Rainbow Village and Green Fantasy Forest.

Entrance fee costs NT$300 each. I paid half for my 2 year-old baby NT$150.

Our pictures inside Green Fantasy Forest....

Julia and grandma

mama Ebeng and her first grandson

I planned for this trip for almost 5 months. I prepared our itinerary for our 6 days stay and I must say, a planned and organized itinerary can be enjoyable and fulfilling. I booked our sim cards with wifi and some tours with Klook and with Mga Pasyalan sa Taiwan admin, booked our hotel at Airbnb, our airfare was bought 5 months ahead of time with Airasia, it was Php6k roundtrip, a bit costly because it is Christmas season when we got here. Super sulit coz we were able to use our thick jackets. Masaya mamasyal pag malamig. I am with my 5 kids, hubby and mom-in-law. Everything was well budgeted and though we did not explore much of the country, we were fortunate enough to experience Taiwan.

Thursday, January 2, 2020

It is not that easy to get to Rainbow Village in Taichung. Most tourists with very tight itinerary won't be able to make it in Taichung since it is two hours drive away from Taipei and not even located near the city of Taichung. I've seen itineraries from travel agencies going to Taiwan and more often visiting Taichung is not part of the tour. Good thing before we got here, I've done a lot of research about Taiwan, where to go, how much would each itinerary costs my family. Check out Mga Pasyalan sa Taiwan on facebook. The admin of the page have daily private tours to Taichung that includes visit to Houli Farm, Miyahara Ice Cream, Rainbow Village and Green Fantasy Forest. The tour costs only 1200 NT each and it was so worth it. We were picked up right in front of our rented unit in Tucheng District. Pick up station for private tours are in Ximen and Taipei Main Station. You can also reach this village through public transportation, through taxis and buses.

Rainbow Village is located in No.56, Chun’an Road, Nantun District, Taichung 408, Taiwan, a bit far from the city center. Admission is FREE. You can get there by taking a bus ride from Taichung Main Station, take bus number 27 to Ling Tung University, then walk for about 10 minutes. You can also ride bus number 56 and 89 from Taichung Main Railway Station. By taxi from Taichung THSR, it will costs you around 200 NT. It is also known as Caihongjuan Village.

The colorful village is open from 9am to 6pm.

my 5 kids

Julia having fun =)

Inside the Rainbow Village are colorful houses painted by Rainbow Grandpa Huang Yung-Fu (彩虹爷爷). He is more than 90 years old. He actually still lives in here. He began painting the walls with murals in order to save the village from demolition. He began painting a bird in his home and from there his paintings grew. Students from Ling Tung university students campaigned to save the village. Authorities have eventually agreed not to destruct the village and preserved it to become a designated cultural area.

We saw some students cleaning the whole village. I guess they are volunteers or maybe it is a school activity to help in cleaning the village. They were fond of my daughter so they allowed us to take pictures with them.