August 21, 2020
The Madarin Training Centre semester is over. There is a world-wide pandemic but there is almost no signs of it in Taiwan. I put off doing a day trip to Keelung – I’m going to Alishan!
Alishan is in the center of Taiwan. The trip to Alihan takes four days / three nights. My itinerary is:
- TRA Train from Taipei to Chiayi
- Spend a night in Chiayi
- Early morning train to Alishan township on the Forest Railway
- Two nights in Alishan township (very expensive)
- Take the train (very short time) to see the sunrise over Alishan mountain
- Bus from Alishan back to Chiayi
- TRA train Chiayi- Taipei
This is just a quick trip – no time for Alishan Forest Railway Museum or looking around Chiayi.
I researched taking the Taiwan High Speed Rail (HSR) to Chiayi. It’s around 250km by train, about the same as from Sydney to Taree. The TRA trains take 2½ to 3½ hours, while the THSR trains take 1½ to 1¾ hours. However, the station the THSR trains stop at is far from Chiayi, and a bus takes half an hour to connect, plus waiting for the bus to arrive. I think it’s simpler to take the TRA train.
This trip goes on the border between a subtropical and tropical climate. The Tropic of Cancer runs through Chaiyi.
I’ve found that, when booking online, you don’t have to pay for tickets online; just arrange to have the ticket left at convenience stores, and pay when you collect.
There is a YouTube video that follows roughly this itinerary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nletBeZTWZc .
Wandering Richard 