For our second day in Taichung, we went on tour. Just like the trip the year before, I had to contact a Taichung driver to tour us around. Since the trip was last minute, a lot of the drivers were already unavailable. However, I found Mr. Wèi Xiǎn Mín (魏顯民) +886 921 908 629. He confirmed our tour reservation and for the itinerary we were proposing, I was quoted NT5000 for 2 persons for the whole day.
Mr. Wei is very friendly and accommodating. Since I can only understand some Mandarin, he used a translating app if I couldn’t understand. He is very patient and accompanied us wherever we went. He also volunteered to take our pictures, a plus!
Day 2: December 28, 2018
Rainbow Village >>> Dakeng Lovers Bridge >>> Carton King >>> Xinshe Castle >>> Flora Expo >>> Gaomei Wetlands >> Yi Zhong Night Market
Mr. Wei picked us up at our hotel at 8:00am. He was surprised that I could speak Mandarin and asked if my husband also can! LOL
Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村)
Address: Lane 56, Chun’an Rd., Nantun District, Taichung City, Taiwan, 408
Entrance Fee: Free
There’s so much to see! The paintings were very colourful mostly depicting love, humour, animals and childishness. You can’t help but smile and appreciate the work that was put into it.
Our driver/tour guide/photographer translates the words that were written on the walls and encouraged us to take pictures!
We bought some souvenirs and met Rainbow Grandpa, Huang Yong Fu (黃永阜).
He’s still very active and friendly, speaking and laughing with visitors.
Dakeng Lovers Bridge (大坑情人桥)
Address: Section 1, Xiangshun East Rd., Beitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan, 406
The bridge is painted pink and had glass floors. Our driver said that the bridge looks prettier at night when the lights are on. The bridge’s reflection on the glass creates a romantic scene for couples!
“Dakeng Lovers Bridge is gorgeous in its own way no matter in daylight or starry nights. It feels like the strong arms of our lovers up-close and resembles the curved eyebrows of our lovers when they smile. At night, the reflection of the bridge itself in the glass surface forms an enormous heart shape with the bridge structure, secretly conveying love messages for the ones in love.” – Taichung Travel Net
Carton King (紙箱王創意園區)
Address: No. 2, Lane 2, Section 2, Dongshan Rd., Beitun District, Taichung City, Taiwan, 406
Contact Number: 04-22398868 #26
Business Hours: 9:30am – 7:30pm all year round
Online Store: http://www.pcstore.com.tw/cartonking/
Entrance Fee: NT200, with NT100 consumable for food or souvenirs
I think I mostly took pictures while going around every corner there is. The structures were built intricately, but needs a bit of maintenance and cleaning. As I’ve written on my journal, I was a bit disappointed with how the place was in real life because a lot of the “artwork pieces” outside were made of metal! I know that the carton material would not withstand different weather conditions, but based on the name, “Carton King”, you should be able to see items built in carton!
The carton stuff were mostly inside: tables, chairs and other fixtures in the cafe and souvenirs for sale.
We still enjoyed our time there ogling at amazing creations. I bought a pencil holder shaped like different dog breeds for NT120, while Don bought a constructible elephant for NT399 (which is still unbuilt by the way, just stored in our living room!).
I wanted to buy this, but I thought it was expensive for what it is. 😬 I jus took a photo instead! Hahaha
Lastly, we also had some fun with the pinwheels before leaving! These pinwheel wall is located right when you’re entering the parking lot. Can’t miss it!
Xinshe Castle (新社莊園古堡)
Address: No.65, Xiezhong St., Xinshe District, Taichung City, Taiwan, 426
Contact Number: 04-25825628
Business Hours: 9:00am – 6:00pm daily; 8:00am – 6:00pm on holidays
Entrance Fee: NT250, with NT100 consumable for food or souvenirs
Also known as the Summit Resort, Xinshe Castle is comparable to a European castle. The structures are made of red bricks.
The majestic waterfall is the best backdrop for photos. It’s such a romantic place to do a pre-nuptial photoshoot here.
I also loved the different trees and flowers. I’ve seen flowers I never knew existed! It’s like living in my own fairytale! All that was missing was a labyrinth. Hahaha
2018 Taichung World Flora Exposition (2018臺中世界花卉博覽會)
Address: No. 99, Sec. 3, Taiwan Boulevard, Xitun District, Taichung City 40701, Taiwan
Entrance Fee: NT350
We were originally going to Xinshe Sea of Flowers, but there were no flowers! Nada. So our driver sent us to the Flora Expo.
First of all, the ticket was expensive!!! And we were only staying here for 2 hours because we’re catching the sunset for our next destination.
According to the tickets and website, the expo is from November 13, 2018 upto April 24, 2019 only.
Anyway, we went to the Floral Exhibition Hall. The pavilion smelled really nice and each section had a different theme and level of sweet fragrance!
Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地)
Address: Meidi Street, Qingshui District, Taichung City, Taiwan 436
Entrance Fee: Free
This was probably what I was most looking forward to on this tour. Gaomei Wetlands spans over a thousand hectare large and is characterized by a row of wind turbines and sedge grass.
Unfortunately, at the time we visited, the boardwalk was closed. So we stayed at the sidelines to watch the sun set.
It was cloudy (and oh soooo extremely cold!) when we arrived, but the sun came out before it finally set. We got good pictures so we’re satisfied!
The drive back took hours, but Mr. Wei was really nice. We went home tired, but really really happy. 🙂
Yi Zhong Night Market (一中街)
After resting for a bit at the hotel, we decided to have dinner at Yi Zhong Night Market. We walked so far, my legs were giving up by the time we’re walking home!
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