10 best places to visit for budget travelling in Taiwan
- X-Press Journalist
- Mar 2, 2019
- 7 min read
Updated: Mar 5, 2019
By Chen Ven Yee, Lee HeeYeon
It is almost at the end of the semester, but you are still in the middle of finishing your assignment. The lights in your room would only be switch off at past midnight and you have been getting sleep for less than five hours every day.
You struggle with drowsiness every day to focus in class and staying up all night to finish up your assignments suffocate you. If you are feeling this, travelling and taking a break is definitely what you need now.
When asked, Rosie Chen, a university student said, “It’s been a long time since my last vacation. I really need a short getaway from all the stress. But, where can I go when travelling to anywhere is so expensive!”
How can you travel when you are a student with limited budget? Don’t worry, travelling has many different options. For you, budget travelling is definitely the one that best fits you. The best place for university students to realize budget travel is none other than TAIWAN!
Where can we travel cheaply but can still make unforgettable memories in Taiwan? Here, we are going to show you the best 10 places that you can make sweet memories with friendly budget.
Yehliu is a tourist city famous for its beaches, hot springs, and unusual rocks, located on the northern coast of Taipei. In particular, Yehliu Geotechnical Park, where rare rocks are gathered along the coast, is considered a must-see attraction. The rocks are considered important marine ecological resources in the world's geology community, while the blue sea and the eroded coral sculptures combined to create a picturesque landscape created by nature. The entrance fee for an adult is RM 10 and operation hour of the park is from 8a.m. to 5p.m.
Shifen is a rural station located in Pingxi District in Shinbay.This is just a rural village, but the railway has a unique terrain that runs through the center of the town, with buildings hanging from both sides centering on the railway. This railway has become a tourist hot spot since there are no trains except for ping xi xian lines that stop by every hour per day. Also, it is the place where Ching-teng and Chia-Yi flew the sky lantern in the movie ‘You Are the Apple of My Eye’. The price for four colors lantern is RM 26 and eight colors lantern is RM 39.
Jinguashi is an old town in Shibei. Gold mining was active during the first half of the 20th century in this mine, but it gradually shrank and closed in the late 20th century when gold began to run out of atrophy. After that the museum was built to preserve the history. The gold museum has 99 percent purity and 220 kilograms of gold. This is seen near the exit of the Golden Museum, which is the highlight of the museum and a popular photo-snapping location. Visitors can feel the gold by reaching through the holes on the left and right sides of the picture. Also, in Jinguashi, you can try the lunch boxes of gold miners as tourist attraction. If you pay a certain fee, you can take a miner's lunch box as a souvenir. The entrance fee for the museum is RM 10 for an adult and operation hour is from 9.30a.m. to 4.30p.m. during the weekday and from 9.30a.m. to 5.30p.m. during the weekend. The price for miner’s lunch box is RM 180.
In Jiufen, the place brings to an old atmosphere of Taiwan. It was a city of prosperity from the 1920s to the 1930s due to gold mining ,but it was abandoned. Now, this place can be called a representative tourist spot because it attracts people with many eye-catching souvenirs and mouth-watering food. The place is magnificent and spectacular during the day, but the reason why people go to see the view at night is because the red lanterns will be lit, painting the building structures with captivating red light. The red lanterns will usualy light up at 5.30 p.m. These red lanterns has become the inspiration of the Japanese animation <Spirited Away>.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a popular place in Taipei and tourists should visit here to understand the history and public sentiment of Taiwan. It is a memorial hall dedicated to Chang Kai-shek, the first president of Taiwan and one of the most important figures in Taiwan's history. Since the president’s death in 1975, the establishment of a memorial hall has promoted as a national project and officially opened on April 5, 1980. To enter the Memorial Hall, you must climb a total of 89 stairs, which means the age of Chiang Kai-shek’s death. A huge statue of Chiang Kai-shek stands on the stairs. Changing guard ceremony take places every hour on time.
Next, what is the place that makes you squeal in excitement and brings you back to your childhood time? It’s the everyone’s memory, known as the zoo! Taipei Zoo is a place that you must visit because there are lots of animals that we are not able to see in Malaysia, such as the fluffy panda and the quirky penguin. The zoo is divided into 8 outdoor display areas and 6 indoor display areas so you will definitely need a map with you or else you might get lost in this huge zoo. There are so many things that are worth to see and experience there. Thinking that the ticket must be expensive? No, it’s not. The entrance fee for an adult is RM 8 (based on current currency) which is extremely worth the price as you can experience various activities there. The operation hour of the zoo is from 9a.m to 5p.m. Make sure to plan your time wisely so you will not miss out anything.
If you are a cat-lover, Houtong cat village is definitely a place you should not miss. This place is a home for literally hundreds of cats. Houtong cat village was originally a small coal mining town built during the Japanese era and produces the highest amount of coal in Taiwan. In the wake of the ending of the coal industry activities and the decline of the town’s population, the mountain is now a town with museums and shops where you can buy lots of adorable souvenirs. The town is revived to a tourist attraction in 2008, when a local cat lover began to care for the abandoned cats by finding and organising volunteers to post photos of the cat online. This place is located near to Jiufen and Jinguashi so you can check out this place as a part of your schedule when you’re visiting these two places.
Speaking of travelling in Taiwan, Taipei 101 will definitely have a place in the list. Taipei 101 is definitely your place of choice if you wish to see the beautiful Taipei city in one picture. Taipei 101 was the tallest building in the world from the year of 2004 to 2010. The building has a total of 101 floors above ground and 5 basement levels occupied with shopping centers, banks, restaurants, indoor and outdoor viewing area where both observation decks offer a 360-degree view of Taipei. At the indoor observation deck, they provide recorded voice tours in eight languages, informative displays about the power and its history, so you will have no problem on understanding and getting know about the tower. The ticket price for an adult to the observatory is RM 80 which is considered expensive for a budget trip. However, if you buy your ticket online through Klook, you can get a 15% off and skip the queue at the ticket counter. Doing some research before travelling will always help you to discover unexpected promotions.
Since you are already in Taipei 101, don’t miss the chance of trying the authentic and Michelin starred restaurant, Din Tai Fung. We have this restaurant in our country too, so why we should be wasting our time going to a same restaurant that we have in Malaysia? This is because nothing will taste better than the origin place. Din Tai Fung is a restaurant originating in Taiwan so it is a must go place when you visit Taiwan. This place is famous for their Xiao Long Bao, dumpling with meat fillings and hot soup. A friendly reminder, remember to blow the dumpling first before eating or else the boiling soup might burst out and burn your tongue. Not only Xiao Long Bao, their other menus are also worth giving a try such as pickled cucumbers that are crispy, juicy and refreshing, noodles with minced pork that are savouring and sticky rice wrap with pork which has wonderful texture.
Lastly, to wrap your trip without regrets, you should visit Ximending which is located in west Taipei. It is a famous attraction for both local and international tourists especially young people as this place is a famous gathering spot and is known as the most fashionable and popular shopping area. Ximending is full of shops, movie theatres, and karaokes. You can literally spend the whole day there because they have almost everything there. Not only for shopping, Ximending is famous for the foods too. You can get to taste the local delights in a reasonable price. You should absolutely try Huo Guo as known as hot pot, where food is cooked in simmering pot of soup stock at the dining table and is suitable on a cold day. When you put the hot food into your mouth, your body becomes warmer just like when you are wrapped in a fluffy and warm blanket. You can find many Huo Guo shops in Ximending and all of them have their own speciality.
Says who, that an enjoyable vacation must be luxurious and expensive? With a minimal budget, we can actually experience more things and make more unforgettable memories. It’s just about where you travel to and how you travel. Remember, whenever you feel tired in your life, try to go on a short escape to help clear your mind and bring positive impact to your work.
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