Taipei - Xincheng (2h 1m)
ETD: 10.26am (GMT + 8)
ETA: 12.27pm (GMT + 8)
Having heard of the unparalleled beauty of Taroko Gorge, my BFF and I made it a point to see it with our own eyes despite the rainy season in June. Our journey began from Taipei Main Station by making use of the Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) system on Tze-Chiang Limited Express (Puyuma), the newest, fastest and more spacious train type introduced in 2013.
After leaving some of our belongings at Hotel Relax II for us to collect a few days later, we walked to Taipei Main Station under the drizzle.
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| The 2017 Summer Universiade took place in Taipei from 19 to 30 August 2017. |
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| Somehow my mind thought of A Clockwork Orange when taking this particular photo. Haha... :P |
After collecting our reserved tickets that cost
NT$403.00 (~S$18.10) each, we spent some time walking around the huge station.
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| Clean air guaranteed! |
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| We bought our lunch from TRA No. 1 Boxed Lunch Store. |
We proceeded to the platform 15 minutes before the estimated time of departure.
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| There were lots of commuters that morning. |
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| I literally did an eeny, meeny, miny, moe as I couldn't decide on a drink. |
We plonked ourselves down on our respective seats, which I found to be pretty comfortable.
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| Ahh, I actually miss riding on a shinkansen (Japanese bullet train)~ |
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| The magazine kept me occupied throughout the ride. |
Enjoy the following pictures of scenery arranged in chronological order.
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| The drizzle had stopped a moment before I took this photo. |
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| That's an uninhabited island in the distance, I suppose? |
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| Lovely, isn't it? <3 |
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| I miss playing the Harvest Moon series. xP |
The entrance of the lady selling food and drinks into our compartment gave us a signal that it was time for lunch.
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| Read here to find out what we had bought earlier. |
I decided to check out the lavatory approximately 10 minutes before our arrival at Xincheng Station.
Xincheng Station is the second last stop before Hualien Station.
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| That's one very tall fume tower. |
We prayed hard for good weather for the next two days. Were we lucky enough? Stay tuned!
Hi Cliff, is the seats more spacious than Tze chiang limited express Taroko? Also, is there space allocated for luggage at the front of back of the cabin? thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi there, I've actually only tried the older limited express and limited express (Puyuma) before, but not limited express (Taroko).
DeleteFrom what I understand, as the newest type of train, Puyuma is slightly more spacious with bigger tray table and foot rest.
You can put your luggage at the overhead compartment, above your seat. Alternatively, I recall seeing a storage area near one of the toilets.
Hope this helps! :)
Hi Cliff. I am trying to book this journey but I can't find the ticket here http://railway.hinet.net/Foreign/US/etno1.html
ReplyDeleteI want to book the 10.21 Puyuma 218 train to Xincheng on 02/04/2018. How did you do it? Thank You!
Hi there! You may want to book your ticket directly from the official website, which should be quite user friendly: https://www.railway.gov.tw/en/timetable.aspx
DeleteKey in from Taipei-Taipei to Hualien-Xincheng for the desired date of travel, and you'll be able to see all the trains operating the route for the day. Have fun! :)
Hi Cliff. Thank you for sharing your this. Very clear and informative. How long did you spend walking from Liwu to the train station? Is the road friendly? I'll be going to Hualien next week and will be staying at Liwu too.
ReplyDeleteOh, never mind. I just read about it (45 minutes) in your other post.
DeleteHi there! Thanks for dropping by. Have a good trip! :)
DeleteHi Cliff.. Thank you for sharing your trips. By any chance, do you know what time does usually the train (puyuma/taroko) is not too occupied? Because I want to get travel from the Taipei Main Station to Hualien on 28/29th December (it is on Monday/Tuesday) and bring big luggage with me. I'm afraid that if the train is too occupied then I would not being able to find space for my luggage.
ReplyDeleteHi there! Unfortunately, I'm not too sure about that since I've only been to Taroko once. Since there are a few trains running daily, probably it's not going to be that bad even in December. Also, given that there are dedicated spaces inside the train to put your luggage, it shouldn't be too much of a problem.
DeleteThank you very much Cliff for the reply..
DeleteYou're welcome! Mind me asking, are you from Indo? If so, salam kenal! Anyway, take care and stay safe! :)
DeleteYes, you're right. I'm from Jakarta, Indonesia. Salam kenal, Cliff! Stay safe too and take care..
DeleteSure Cliff, just added your instagram account!
Delete