My last day in Taiwan! I did something that I had never really done before on vacation. I was still a little upset that I missed the sunset at Kaomei the night before, so I purposely set my alarm for 4:30am so I could attempt to see the sunrise. I think the last time I willingly woke up that early on vacation was so I could make it to the Tsukiji Fish Market to see the morning auctions. It was super early. (@_@)

So I got up, walked over to the convenience store nearby to grab something to eat for later, then flagged a taxi off the main street. I had to ask the driver in advance how much he was going to charge me to drive to Kaomei and back, so we agreed on NT$1,800 for the entire trip. The price was pretty decent considering the drive one way would take almost 45 minutes. Once again I had a super nice driver. He asked if I knew which viewpoint I wanted to go to to see the sunrise, but when I said I had no idea, he immediately called a friend to help him check.

The sky was starting to lighten by the time we arrived at Kaomei. The place where I got dropped off had a really long boardwalk. There were a couple of photographers already there and a handful of joggers and cyclists out for their morning workout. It was very tranquil and peaceful along the boardwalk. There were birds off in the distance and little crabs and shellfish crawling in the mud.

The sun finally came out around 6:20am. While it didn’t look quite like an egg yolk coming out of the sky, it was certainly very pretty. My driver and I stayed on the boardwalk for more than an hour. He was taking just as many photos as I was! I guess it must have been the first time he was asked to drive to Kaomei that early in the day. =)

After taking a few more shots in the area we slowly made our way back to the taxi and he dropped me off at my hotel. By then it was nearing 9am, so it was perfect timing for me to grab breakfast at the cafe downstairs. I really loved staying at Forro Cafe. I’m so glad I decided to find a Taiwanese minsu for one night of my trip. 

For anyone who might consider staying there, there are four rooms upstairs that you can book in advance. I did all the correspondence in Chinese and paid via PayPal, so everything was already taken care of when I got there. The one person room I stayed at was called Lounge. The room was very cozy with a futon instead of a bed. The craziest part was the glass wall and door for my bathroom. When I got to the second floor for the first time, I realized that everyone staying upstairs could see straight into my bathroom! Obviously there are curtains that wrapped around the entire bathroom, but it was honestly the craziest thing ever. Security was pretty good since all the guests had electronic keys to enter the second floor, and it was pretty safe in the neighbourhood even at night. I would totally recommend this place.

Back to breakfast. I was the only one eating breakfast at that hour. Because I paid for my room in advance, I was given this ‘EasyEats’ coupon for free breakfast, which included toast and a hot beverage. The food wasn’t fancy, but the presentation was. I also enjoyed all the decorations inside the cafe. It would definitely be a place I’d frequent if I lived close by. Plus they have live houses throughout the year, so it’s another reason to go. =)

Afterwards I grabbed all my stuff and checked out, then took the BRT down one stop towards the National Museum. The BRT is a new addition to Taichung and it’s free to ride for a year as long as you have some sort of transit pass to tap on and off. It was super hot that morning and I was sort of regretting not going to the station first to drop my bags off in a locker, but I still had an enjoyable time strolling down Calligraphy Greenway. 

Finally I made my way to the station to drop off my bags, then it was off on foot to find some lunch. I didn’t get a chance to go to Chunshuitang on my first day in Taichung, so that was naturally my first choice. There was a bit of a lunchtime crowd when I got there, so I wasn’t seated on the ground level but rather the basement. Their ordering system is a little tricky. First you have to grab a sheet from your table to order, then you have to bring it back to the cashier upstairs to pay, and then they finally bring the food to your table. 

Since it was my last meal in Taiwan, I decided to splurge and ended up ordering more food than I could finish. My bowl of beef noodles was the yummiest out of all the things I ordered. Of course, their bubble tea is also legendary and it was probably the best bubble tea I’ve had in Taiwan. The vegetarian mushroom soup used medicinal herbs so it was very flavourful, as were the veggies and tofu. Overall I was very satisfied with everything I ordered. 

After lunch I made my way back towards Miyahara to grab a few souvenirs, then it was time for me to head back to the station. There’s a few ways to get to the HSR station. I ended up taking the local line, which was the cheapest option. By the time I got to the station I had just enough time to walk over (the Railway and the HSR stations are separated by a 5 minute walk) and then it was straight to Taoyuan. Once I got to Taoyuan I had to switch to a bus, which would then drop me off at the airport.

Arriving at the airport terminal, I quickly got my boarding pass, then it was through security and customs. There were a lot of tourists in line at customs and it was insane seeing the amount of tour groups leaving Taipei. I had already exchanged my bills back to HKD, so I spent the last of my change grabbing dessert at one of the restaurants. I was completely exhausted by that point, seeing as I had been up since 4:30am. All I wanted to do was board for my flight so I could take a nap. Even the excitement of taking the Hello Kitty flight could not keep me awake. Lol. 

Once I finally got on after a 20 minute delay, I was sound asleep even before takeoff. Naturally I woke when they were serving dinner, so it worked out well. Hehe. I also made the effort to go to the washroom (I usually avoid washrooms for short flights) but I went so I could grab some Hello Kitty toilet paper. =P

All in all, my trip to Taiwan this time was very enjoyable. Three days is hardly enough to see it all, but I hope I can continue making these visits in the future and picking out new spots to see. Until next time Taiwan!