Stay: La Vida Hotel at FengChia
Alright, this itinerary post is not very detailed (because my memory is terrible) and it definitely good for travelers who like to go slow like us.
Day 1
La Vida > Second Market > Miyahara > Wuqi Fishing Harbour > Gaomei Wetlands > FengChia Night Market
From FengChia, it was an approximate NT$200 taxi ride to Second Market. Second Market is a market (obviously) with wet section and of course, food. We arrived at 10+am and most of the shops were closed. But we managed to try these:
The wanton soup (which was amazing) was located outside of the market, facing the street. The lu rou fan (which was also awesome) was located somewhere inside the market. They were sold like economic rice in Singapore so we just point what we wanted. The yongtaufoo lookalike soup and some pan-fried carrot cake, glutinous rice and egg were disappointing though. I really wanted to try it after seeing all the people waiting around but..... the soup was rather bland, and we didn't really like the sweet sauce. It was located at one of the entrance/exit if you would still like to try.
Then, we walked over to Miyahara with the help of Googlemaps, around 10 minutes walk. There wasn't much of a queue even though people online did mention 40 minutes wait or so.
The flavors were in Chinese with funky names. So I ended up just choosing a safe (i.e. a name I understood) tea flavor - earl gray and asked the lady to recommend a chocolate flavor.
Picture below were just the chocolate flavors. There were 2 whole lots of fruits and tea flavors. All the tea flavors we tried were really great.
Forgot how much it cost for 2 scoops of ice-cream, probably less than NT$200 and we got to choose 3 toppings. Recommendations were pineapple tart and cheesecake.
Then you could go over to the shop to buy some expensive chocolates, teas, pineapple tarts etc. There is a cafe/restaurant at the second floor with a minimum spending of NT$300 or NT$400 per pax. Of course, we didn't want to spend so much there so we took a cab to Wuqi Fishing Harbour.
The journey to Wuqi Fishing Harbour was around an hour and NT$800. Along the way, the taxi uncle tried to convince us to book him for the rest of the day for NT$2,600. We knew it ain't convenient to travel from Wuqi to Gaomei but it was too expensive! I will save the travelling part for later.
There were stalls after stalls selling all kinds of seafood. We just went to random stalls and bought some seafood. For every dish, you have to pay double. Once for the seafood and another for the cooking.
Once we stepped into the restaurants territory, IT WAS WAR ZONE! All the aunties hound around the first person who stepped in or the one carrying the seafood (don't know which since the friend carrying seafood was the first to step in). One auntie grabbed my friend's arm while the others shouted at her. We just ignored them and continued walking to the shop right at the end of the stretch that didn't have an auntie trying to drag us to their shop.
We said we were recommended by an auntie selling fish (and stated her stall number) and she gave us NT$50 off every dish. According to the menu, cooking was NT$200 each.
Missing from photo was grilled prawns and stir-fried vegetables. The meal cost less than NT$1,800 for 4 people.
Saving you all from the details and background story, look for the 5 digit numbers that start with 7 on all the taxis (sorry I don't remember the numbers lol) and call that number. The taxi ride to Gaomei Wetlands cost about NT$300. The taxi uncle gave us his number and said he will pick us up once we were done, charging us NT$800. Turned out it was unnecessary because there were lots of taxis waiting to send people out, all at the same price.
This place was very windy. Fucking windy. Well, of course. Not windy put what windmills, right. Very scenic place, great for photos but not for portraits because nobody looks good with their hair and clothes flying everywhere.
There was a cafe along the stretch with a yacht perched on top of it. A covered place was totally welcomed after more than an hour of strong wind. This cafe sold some homey hot coffee and souvenirs.
It was another hour back to FengChia Night Market and just eat your hearts out but beware of the cars and motorbikes while you eat and shop!
Day 2
La Vida > Rainbow Village > Lavender Cottage > Mushroom farm > Carton King > Ruyi Sunny Cake > FengChia Night Market
We engaged a one day driver for Shinshe day trip, Facebook search James Yeh but his friend picked us up instead. And of course, I don't remember his name or contact number.
He brought us to Rainbow Village which was a place that was hand painted by an old uncle who still resides there. My friends and I found that place too creepy because of all the red paints and faces painted.
So this rainbow suited guy with a mask was like a living mascot of the place to bring up the atmosphere. It was said that he was an introvert and could only express himself behind the mask. And yes, I snapped a photo of the students doing photoshoot there.
This is the Rainbow uncle. He would sign on the postcards sold there.
Next up, Lavender Cottage! The place I was looking forward to most. The lavenders had not bloom even though it was the season. The cottage was real chilling and charming but sadly, we didn't spend enough time there because we thought we had to rush.
And on top of the mountain, there was a wishing tree! Oh, good to mention, the place were full of slopes. Steep slopes.
There were some restaurants and a shop that sold lots of postcards. You can write postcards and mail out from there for free! There were a variety of mailboxes where you could select the specific months you want them to help you mail out and some other kinds which I couldn't remember.
And do enjoy a cup of lavender tea or ice-cream while you are there!
Entrance fee was NT$200 per pax with NT$200 coupons for any kind of purchases!
Next up, lunch at 菇菇熊. On you way up to Lavender Farm, you would already pass by the mushroom farms and restaurants. I find the food mediocre so nothing much to say about it.
Next next up, Carton King. If you have other places in mind to go, please go ahead and give this place up. There was an area with worldwide famous attractions and "zoo", all made from cardboard. You could finish seeing everything by standing at the entrance. Everybody had to order something from the restaurant.
Quite boring place and this was the reason why I felt so regretful for cutting the Lavender Cottage trip short. We were supposed to go Moncoeur but we decided to give it up because we couldn't handle too much disappointment in a day. We got the driver to send us to a place famous for Sunny Cakes or better known as 太阳饼.
He brought us to Ruyi Sunny Cake. We got a shock here and swore off pastries for a while. They started you off with some tea and one sunny cake, EACH. Then after, the auntie will keep cutting all kinds of pastries for you to try. When you spent more than NT$3,000, they offer free delivery even to Taipei!
And back to Fengchia Night Market because there were just so many things to eat!
Enjoy Taichung!
Contributed by: Cel. :)
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