<<回台北走走2012>> Hsinchu & Neiwan Old Streets


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August 18th 2012
Published: August 28th 2012
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Saturday, 18th August 2012

This was not a typical Saturday as we headed out of Taipei for our journey to the city of Hsinchu, about 90km southwest from where we were staying. Travelling by the TRA Chu Kang Express took a good 2 hours as the train was making frequent stops along the way. Still, it was a comfortable experience as the train meandered through the Taiwanese countryside, dotted with farms and greenery.

12.49pm. The iconic Hsinchu Train Station greeted us as soon as our train arrived. Built in 1893, two years before Japanese colonisation of Taiwan, the art-deco structure was every photographers' dreams. With about another hour to go before our connecting train to Zhuzhong (Liujia Line) and Neiwan (Neiwan Line), we headed to the Sogo Departmental Store to grab a quick lunch from Yamazaki Bakery.

1.30pm. We went back to the station as usual to board the local train which would eventually bring us to the town of Neiwan. This was before another round of train transfer at Zhuzhong Station. While the entire journey took closed to 4 hours from Taipei, this was worth the efforts given my interests in all things - trains.

The rain that greeted us as we set foot on Neiwan Old Streets was timely to dispel the summer heat away. The town itself was carved out from the train station. Walking from one end to the other took about 30 minutes. As we journeyed across town, we stopped by at one of the local dessert shops and helped ourselves with their yam desserts which came with a generous portion of toppings.

Since the floors were wet from the rain, the lady boss was nice enough to remind every customer to be mindful of the slippery floors. I thought that was really thoughtful of her to do so. For NT50, her yummy desserts were real value for money.

5pm. It was time for us to call it a day as our local train made its way slowly back to Hsinchu city. Hsinchu was not overrun by tourists and there were a couple of local eateries around the main commercial area worth checking out.

We stopped by at one next to Eslite Bookstore and were certainly impressed with their pork noodles in thick soup. Probably, this was the main reason why even locals flocked to the stall.

Personally, we were very happy with our travel encounters today as we completed Neiwan and Hsinchu in one long trip. For sure, part of the fun was the long hours spent on train travel. This was certainly one of the highlights of our trip. For supper, we made a brief stop at busy Ximending before heading back to City Inn for the night.


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