How I Planned My Trip to Taiwan

Let's travel to Taiwan!

The day we arrived late at night at Taipei Tao Yuan International Airport and headed straight to Bouti City Capsule Inn to sleep.

We were supposed to first take a trip to Jiufen and head down to Shifen before we visit Ximending at night. Seeing the sky clear and fearing that it might rain the next day and ruin my plan to visit Yehliu Geopark, we made the RIGHT decision (because it really was raining on Day 2, how lucky) to instead travel to the geopark.

After getting our bearings right from the hotel receptionist, we walked our way to the main bus station (which happens to be located just a stone-throw away from the inn). The bus ticket costed TWD90 per person but if you're using the EasyCard, which I highly recommend you obtain one if you're staying in Taiwan for more than a week and are travelling extensively by public transport. Why? To get the card, you will need pay a non-refundable NTD100 deposit. This deposit can be compensated (and give you extra savings!) if you travel extensively by public transport for some time in Taiwan because they give you a benefit of a 20% discount (Taipei only) compared to others who pay cash or buy tickets at the counter.

You might ask, what if I travel to other places of Taiwan?

Will my card go to waste? Fret not, in other districts for example, Tainan, you get even better deal because for every first 10km you get to travel for free, ONLY if you have EasyCard. However, EasyCard isn't very popular in Kaohsiung, where the MRT does not accept EasyCard. MRT tickets in Kaohsiung can only be purchased at the station if you're visiting for a very short period (which defies the purpose of you getting their MRT card). I will have more detailed explanation on each of the places I mentioned above in posts that are to come. Stay tuned for them!

I've gone off on a tangent here, so, where was I? Ah, Yehliu Geopark. 

It was a little confusing when we first arrived but luckily we came with preparations (thanks to Google maps). It appeared that the bus only stopped at the junction to the geopark and visitors would need to walk 600 metres in to arrive at the park. Along our way in, we stopped a few times to take photos at the dock, since the geopark is situated right next to the sea, making the 600-metre walk a long but exciting one. 

After finally arriving at the tourist attraction, we couldn't see any actual entrance to the park except a tourist information centre and a ticket counter (TWD 80 per person). We had to walk around for two or three minutes (and taking pictures near the counter because it has a large Yehliu Geopark sign next to it) to eventually discover the entrance which was literally ON TOP OF the ticket counter where you have to climb a flight of stairs to reach it. 

Yehliu Geopark was as crowded as I expected it to be but my family and I still managed to capture many beautiful family photos with almost no 'background decorations' (you get what I mean) *proud*. Many thanks to our tripod stand, which started its outdoor job for the first day and my family who carried it around throughout the trip. Without it my family and I would never manage to take any complete family photos. *cheers* Here's a picture from the day. 

We didn't go through the whole park because we had limited time but I highly recommend you to explore the park slowly if you have the luxury of time because it is such a beauty! Endless sea surrounding the sandy park with various rocks formed throughout the year due to weathering, a bridge made of rock and sand stretching from the land coming to a stop at a green hill. It simply couldn't get any prettier. The breathtaking view was indeed a feast to our eyes. We snapped a lot of pictures that I can't wait to share with you! So, if you want to see those pictures, click on the photography tab and it will lead you directly to the pictures I have taken in Yehliu Geopark!

My family and I spent our whole morning in the geopark taking pictures, wandering around and looking for places that we can squeeze in for more shots with minimum number of humans in the background. It was a wonderful morning (perfect weather, not many people) which came to an end when we left Yehliu Geopark at around 12pm as we wanted to check out Wufenpu, a place my mum and I loved! 

Thank you for reading, see you in the next post!