Traversing the North-South Axis of Taiwan on High-speed Rail

On 22^nd April 2013, we touched down at the Taoyuan International Airport at around 9 p.m. After getting immigration and custom clearances, it was already past 10 p.m. It was the right decision for us to put up at the Novotel Taipei Taoyuan International Airport for the first night as getting to Taipei city would take us until midnight. Furthermore, the hotel provides free shuttle bus to and fro.

On the next day, we took the free shuttle bus again to Taoyuan high-speed rail station as we our plan was to go to Kaohsiung first before heading back to Taipei again.

Every ticket counter is equipped with a display panel to show the information upon your enquiry. The attendant was also able to suggest to us the best train schedule, as every train has different intermediate stops.

Once we had got our ticket purchased, we went down to the underground platform to wait for our train. The ticket from Taoyuan to Zuoying was NT$1,330. For senior citizen, it is half price when you show your passport.

The seats are quite spacious with the arrangement of three by two and an aisle that can even accommodate oversize luggage.

When the train got to the outskirt, it was all green that we saw. I think we saw paddy fields about ninety percent of the time on the train.

I was quite surprised to see graveyards scattering around the paddy fields. My elder sister told me that she saw the same thing in Vietnam. I guess this is a common thing too in China.

The whole journey from north to south of Taiwan was just slightly over one and a half hour on the high-speed rail. A normal train would be about eight hours as according to my mom's experience about twenty years ago.

The station to reach Kaohsiung is at Zuoying. It is a newly-built station and therefore the connection to road transport is quite seamless, unlike the one at Taipei Station.

If you need a kiss before your ride, you can proceed to the fourth floor of Zuoying Station.

Warung Nasi Kuning

Warung Nasi Kuning is a small restaurant serving authentic Indonesian cuisine in the Giant shopping mall along Jalan Stutong. It has been around for a while and was highly recommended by one of my colleagues. I didn't get a chance to try it out until about two months ago.

The meal I ordered during my first visit was non other than the chef speciality, the Nasi Ayam Penyet (RM8.50). The chicken was crispy on the outside and juicy and tender on the inside. The chilly paste was on the spicy side but very flavourful. This is simply one of the best ayam penyet that you can find in town.

During my second visit, I tried the Nasi Ayam Kremes (RM8.00). It came with more side dishes, i.e., stir-fried kidney beans, shredded omelette and deep-fried mashed potatoe. The fried chicken was garnished with deep-fried minced meat (my guess, it could be coconut). The fried chicken was marinated to taste like the ayam penyet and all the side dishes were very good.

My last visit was just about two weeks ago and I wanted to have something not deep fried, so I had the Nasi Rendang Sapi (RM7.50). The beef rendang was very nice, with very strong flavour of coconut milk. The standard side dishes were the same as those in the Nasi Ayam Kremes.

If you are looking for some good Indonesian cuisine, this place is highly recommended!