If you missed out any of the previous posts, here are the links:
Day 1 Part 1 (Singapore Changi Airport - Taoyuan International Airport)
Day 1 Part 2: (Yongkang Street 永康街 - Taipei 101 台北101 - Shihlin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 2 Part 1: (Four Seas Soy Bean King 四海豆漿大王 - Goose Meat Shop 鴨肉扁 - Ximending 西門町)
Day 2 Part 2: (Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 3: (Taipei Breeze Centre 微風廣場 - Guang Hua Digital Plaza 光華商場 - Ximending 西门町)
Day 4: (Jiufen 九份 - Shifen 十份 - Jingtong Mining Town 菁桐老街 - Raohe Night Market 饒河觀光夜市)
Day 5: (Bafang Yunji 八方雲集 - Uncle Tetsu's Cheesecake 現做起司蛋糕 - Snake Alley 華西街夜市 - Shilin Night Market 士林夜市)
Day 6: (Banqiao 板橋 - Ximending 西門町)
Day 7: (Taipei 台北 - Taichung 台中 - Cityinn Hotel Plus Taichung Station Branch 新驛旅店台中車站店 - Yizhong Street 一中街)
Day 8 Part 1: (Carton King 紙箱王 - Moncoeur 心之防庭)
Day 8 Part 2: (Lavender Cottage 薰衣草森林 - Zhong She Flower Market 中社花市)
My family spent the last 3 days of our trip in Taichung - which is picturesque and just brings you so close to nature as compared to the city life in Taipei.
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| Buffet breakfast at our hotel CityInn Hotel Plus Taichung - I must say I didn't expect much, but the food was actually pretty good! |
Our driver once again picked us up bright and early and took us on a travel journey which I had arranged with him beforehand, to explore certain Taichung landmarks before we left Taiwan for good, so it was a pretty hectic last few days we had sightseeing in Taichung.
Our first stop was to take photos outside the Old English Manor 老英格蘭 (because I'm a cheapo like that). I read up from various travellers that dining or staying in the Old English Manor is really expensive, so I requested with our driver if we could take some photos outside because the photos I saw online were just *gasp*. True enough, I was not disappointed upon arrival, and my whole family was in awe of the amazing view!
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| The manor looks absolutely grand and gives off a posh aristocratic vibe. |
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| As you can see, high jumps are not my forte as compared to my tall lanky brother. |
My verdict? A costly tourist attraction if you enter, and much more if you stay (about $600/night) but no harm stopping along the way to grab a couple cool photos as you stand high up in the mountains and look DOWN at clouds. Truly breathtaking.
老英格蘭 The Old English Manor
No. 20-3, Shouting Lane, Ren'ai Township, Nantou County | 南投縣仁愛鄉大同村壽亭巷20-3號
Telephone: +886-49-2802166
Our next stop was the flowery Small Swiss Garden (which is next to a 2nd branch of Carton King - so some of you may want to pack these two locations together instead).
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| Fields of green and purple =) As you can see its also getting really foggy! |
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| Lavender Milk Tea at maximum foggy levels! |
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| Looks like a scene from a horror movie with such intense fog |
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| Really happy to have been driven around by 小胖哥 because he is so friendly and awesome and he has such a comfy Volkswagen 8 seater! |
My verdict? A delightful place to be, especially if you enjoy pretty flowers and nature, as well as feeding geese and ducks. We really enjoyed ourselves - once again a highly recommended place for the older folk (because they generally like to see flowers).
Small Swiss Garden 清境小瑞士花園
No. 28, Dingyuan Village, Ren'ai Township, Nantou County | 南投縣546仁愛鄉定遠新村28號
Opening Hours: 9am-9pm
Admission Fees: NTD120 (Adults), NTD80 (Valid student card)
We then went over to another beautiful grassy place with very fluffy inhabitants. Any guesses where this place is?
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| Yes it is no other than the green grassy fields of Cingjing Farm/Evergreen Grasslands. Don't worry the smells aren't that bad in winter - in fact it is a really enjoyable experience - no flies, less smell, beautiful views, everyone wins! |
My goal was to come here and take as many sheep selfies as possible - CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!
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| "Please do not ride on or chase sheep." - teehee it would be funny to imagine someone actually tried - hence the need for the sign! |
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| Kitties on the prowl near some of the food stalls hoping for some scraps from your table. |
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| Yet another horror movie setting. |
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| You can pay extra for horse/pony rides but they looked so sad and it wasn't that cheap either. |
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| This dog was barking and barking loudly at everyone but the minute I went near him, he became a total sweetheart and started licking my hand and enjoying the scratches I gave him. AWWWW.. |
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| Unglam sheep |
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| CHALLENGE COMPLETED!! |
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| A little suicidal? |
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| You can get these food pellets from vending machines around the entire farmland. They are pretty cheap, and its the only way to get sheep to flock to you. |
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| This gorgeous husky was getting so much love and attention from everyone at the food stalls around the exit of the Cingjing Farm. |
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| Our very awesome driver bought us Taiwan Sausages the minute that he saw us exit the farm! SO SWEET! |
My verdict? Cingjing Farm is definitely one of the MUST VISIT locations in Taichung especially if you want an experience of getting close to nature, and going near sheep. You might want to take up the sheep selfie challenge or get your urbanised kids to enjoy the company of farm animals, an experience they would never get in the city. Those who have the Taiwan Youth Travel card can also get discounted entry here (see Day 1 of my travel journey for more details).
No. 170, Renhe Road, Datong Village, Ren'ai Township | 南投縣仁愛鄉大同村仁和路170號
Telephone:
+886 49 2802748 | Opening Hours: 8am-4pm
Admission Fee – Adults: NTD160
– Youth Travel Card: NTD80 (normal), NTD160 (Equestrian Show)
- Free-grazing sheep; Sheep food at NTD20 per packet
Admission Fee – Adults: NTD160
– Youth Travel Card: NTD80 (normal), NTD160 (Equestrian Show)
- Free-grazing sheep; Sheep food at NTD20 per packet
That's all for now. Tune in for the next and final post of the Taiwan 2014 journey.
Till then,
Fly Safe and Eat Happy,
V
