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Hong Kong Adventures 2012 Day 2: At the Lohu Border

Friday, April 13, 2012 Category : , , 0




     Our second day in HK was a little warmer at 17-18C.  Great!  I still had to wear tights since I was wearing a mini skirt which I bought, and used, too in Singapore.  In fact, I use that Annie skirt from Cotton On a lot.  I think it makes my stumpy legs look loads better.

     Anyway, we had to join a half day city tour so we'd get a free tour to Shenzhen, China, in the afternoon.  Our half-day tour was so boring.  We only went to a part of the Avenue of Stars, same place we went to last year, then nothing else.  Except for JC jewelry factory, again.  We didn't mind the shortened trip since we wanted to go Shenzhen earlier than scheduled.

Avenue of Stars



   I believe this is a ferry to Macau. 



    So, we're off to Shenzhen.  Only this time, we were given return-trip tickets.  Yay!

     The train ride to the Lohu border was uneventful, but the train was packed.  I was standing for most of the ride.  Anyway, we had to stop for a while after reaching Lohu and bought some drinks, breads and sandwiches and 2 packs of Yakult.  The HK Yakult is bigger than our Yakult but tastes the same, of course.

     You should know that Lohu is a very busy station as it is the border for HK and Shenzhen, China.  Of course, there are a lot of people rushing and it can be very intimidating.  So, be cautious and try not to slam into someone.



    If there is one advice everyone should follow going to Shenzhen is this:  GO STRAIGHT TO THE CHINA IMMIGRATION AREA AND NEVER TURN BACK ONCE YOU GET TO THIS PART.



     Why?  Well, all people are moving towards the China Immigration right after having their passports stamped by the HK Immigration and if you turn back, the security will chase after you.  You'll be suspected of having illegally entered the Hong Kong part of immigration, that is why.  We saw a lady, in her 20s walking against the flow and she was shouted at, chased and accosted by the security and was brought to a holding area.  Let it be a lesson for all.



     







Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Day 2: Riding the Train to Rueifang and the Bus to Jinguashi

Sunday, May 22, 2011 Category : , 0




   For this day, I planned to go to Shifen, to see the Shifen Waterfalls, which reputedly is Taiwan's little Niagara. Next would be Jinguashi, and last, to Jiufen.  I made all the necessary research on how to reach Shifen via train, the schedules, etc.  However, the night before going to Shifen, I found a blog with a photo of the waterfalls showing the way how to get there: via some sort of stairs at the side of the waterfalls.  Then I got scared.

     I have a quasi-fear of heights.  I don't have a problem going up, but I do have problems going down.  I always imagine myself tripping and falling at the stairs, which happened quite a few times already.  So, I chickened out when I saw that photo of the Shifen waterfalls.  Besides, I've read that I need to walk along the railway tracks to reach Shifen, and I was alone.  I didn't want to wander the railway tracks alone.  Perhaps, next time, when I'm with friends, I'd have the courage to go there.  Really, I was so disappointed in myself for being a sissy.

     Anyway, I got to Jinguashih by taking a regular train to Rueifang.  I bought my ticket at the Taipei Main Station and there was a car and seat number, plus the platform.  I asked the friendly Information staff the way to the platform.  Yipee.  I mean, really, its way better than trying to find the platform on your own.  Although there are screens showing which platform your train would be, it's better to be doubly cautious.

      So, I wandered to the correct train platform and I tried to find where I should board my specified car and seat.  In the end, I made it to the wrong car.  I boarded what I thought was car no. 5, but it was actually car no. 4.  My seatmates helped me find my seat, and an elderly lady led me the way (she was trying to find a vacant seat).  That was so nice of them!  Aww.

     About the train ride.  Since the trains and buses going to Keelung accept Easy Card for fares, those who paid using the Easy Card will have no assigned seats.  They just sit everywhere and when someone comes who has a reserved seat, those who used Easy Card will have to leave, of course, and find a new seat.  It was a Saturday, too, so the train was really, really packed.  A lot of people were standing on the aisles and some were standing at the doors.  It was a good thing that I bought a regular ticket; otherwise, I would have to sit and get up every now and then, as what I've seen some of the passenger do.  Or, I would have to stand up the entirety of the train ride, which lasts for about an hour or so.  Not too good.
  
     Anyway, the ride going to Ruiefang has some nice scenery, too, but it was kinda hard to see it because the train was really packed.  Besides, I was on my toes the whole trip. I didn't want to miss my station.  So, when it was finally time to board down at Ruiefang, I heaved a sigh of relief.  Yay!



     I have researched well enough to know where to board the bus.  Apparently, it's in front of the plaza and the police station.  I saw taxis lined up under the post that lists the fixed fare to Jinguashi, Jiufen, etc.  You have to cross the street to see a small post with bus schedules.  People were lined up there, so I lined up, too.  But I had to be sure so I tapped the man's shoulder in front of me and asked if I was at the correct bus stop going to Jinguashi.  I showed him my small note and pointed to the Chinese-written characters for Jinguashi.  He said yes and I asked him about the fare.  I remember him telling me it's NTD 12, or something.  I tend to forget about how much I paid for my fares, but I think it was really NTD 12.

 The plaza. Cross the road in front and wait at the bus stop.

     I was jittery the whole bus trip.  My savior boarded down some stops thereafter.  But I had another seatmate who told me that Jinguashi was still a lot of stops away.  He was speaking in Chinese, I was speaking in English.  We kinda understood each other.  I only know that Jinguashih Ecological Musuem is the the second-to-the-last bus stop.  Still, I was really, really anxious that I might not notice it.  Alas, my other savior got off some place.  I was so nervous that I didn't get scared of the narrow and hilly road.  Neither did I enjoy the amazing views.

     Then I saw a lot of people getting ready to go down.  By that time, the packed bus with standing room only was half empty.  I asked a nice lady and pointed to my small note, and she told me that I was supposed to get down, too, now.  Yipee!  I was so fixated on not getting lost that I didn't see the huge sign for the Gold Ecological Museum on my right!  But darn it, I was so happy!  Yay, me!

    

How to Check, Reserve, Buy and Cancel Taiwan Train Tickets Online [For non-Chinese]

Category : , , 0

  



      Perhaps you're wondering how I was able to buy tickets online and at the train station.  It was easy, but it took me a lot of research to be able to do it, and a lot of luck, too.  The power of Google translate made it possible for me to buy tickets online, yay!  I'm sharing the knowledge for you all, and I hope this could help you in your Taiwan travel planing.



       Train Travel in Taiwan from Taipei

     As far as I know, Taipei Main Station services the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) trains and the Taiwan High Speed  Railways (THSR) trains.  TRA has express and ordinary trains.  Express trains include Tze-Chiang Limited Express trains, the fastest, and Chu-Kuang Express, the second fastest.  Ordinary trains are the local trains, I think those are the ones that services the smaller branches or towns or something.  Like when I was planning to visit Shifen waterfalls, the only trains servicing Rueifang to Shifen station are the local trains.

     THSR trains are bullet trains.  They're really, really fast and you could travel from Taipei to Kaoshsiung (Zuoying station) in just around an hour and a half to two hours.

     In this guide, I'll be discussing only about TRA ticketing online because there's an English website for buying the THSR train tickets.


     TRA Trains

     There are three steps in order to buy a ticket online.  These are: 1) Checking the schedule; 2) Reserving the ticket; 3) Buying the ticket.
 Checking the Schedule
     TRA trains schedule are quite easy to check, but unlike THSR trains, the fares are not displayed.  You can check the train schedules HERE.
     For example, you want to go from Taipei to Rueifang because you'll be visiting the Jinguashih Gold Ecological Musuem, Jiufen or the Shifen waterfalls in the Pingxi line:
1.  Open the schedule browser HERE.  Choose FROM - Taipei (1st option) and then Taipei (2nd Option) as seen below.  Then choose TO - Taipei (1st option) and then Rueifang (2nd option).  There's a drop down menu and there's a bullet-type menu on the right side.  Choose from the drop down menu because I don't know what the bullet-type menu does, okay?
 

2.     Then, go down the page and select Express, Ordinary or All Types; the date and time of departure.  Just fix the time as is (00:00 to 23:59) so you'll see ALL the scheduled trains for the choosen date, including the earliest and the latest trains.  Choose All Types for the train types so you'd see everything.  See screen cap below:

 3.   When you hit  the QUERY button, you'd get a page like the one below.  You'll be given the train class, train code, origin destination of the train, departure and arrival times and estimated time of travel.  Choose the train you want, write down the train class and train code and don't forget the time, too, of course.  I choose the Tze Chiang Limited 1051 train for 6:30 am departure, and now, we're ready to RESERVE the ticket!


Reserving TRA Tickets Online
     1.     Click the Order Ticket button on the left side of the screen above (green side).  You'll be directed to the Internet Ticketing page HERE (http://railway.hinet.net/).  There'll be a huge ENGLISH button on the lowest left side of the screen and click it.  OR, just click this and you'll be directed HERE automatically.  You'll get this page:
 

2.     Choose "Order Tickets Using Train No." because I find it easier, then click.  You'll see the page below.  Fill in the necessary details, including your passport number, and the train code.  I put in the passport number and the train code, which is 1051.  Just find the station of origin and station of arrival from the drop down menu.  There are a lot!

3.     Click the "Start to Order" button and you'll be directed to the input-the-random-numbers page.  Click "Submit."
4.     You're done reserving our ticket! Yipee!  Remember that we put "1051" as the train code and we got the correct time for the ticket, which is 6:30 am.  Well, just keep in mind that the romanized spellings for the Chinese names of the stations varies, even on the same website.  So, our Ruifang above (#2) became Juifang below.  After reserving the ticket, we can now buy it online!
        Or, buy it directly at the station.  See the "Ticket-taking due date" below.  You must buy your ticket before the date and time provided.  If I remember correctly, you should buy the ticket you booked within 2 days or so, or something at the station. Not so sure.  If you don't want to pick-up your ticket beforehand, then, pay for  it online and you could pick it up 30 minutes before the train departs.  


      Buying TRA Tickets Online

     This is now the tricky part.  Checking the schedule and reserving the ticket is quite easy because there's an English website.  But for buying the ticket online, there's no English option.  But if you use Google translate, you could understand it enough to buy the ticket!  Yay!

1.     I totally forgot how I got the E-Payment website of the TRA but here's the direct link.  You'll get this page, and Google translate the page to English.  I couldn't "screengrab" for some reason, so, I just took photos of my screen.  Click the "I accpet" button.  While you're at it, read the important information on the booking process.


 2.    You'll be directed to the next page, which is this one below.  Google translate it for English translation. 

3.     Tick "One-way ticket" if you're buying only a one-way ticket, and if you reserved a return ticket, tick "Return ticket," too.  Tick the "Check foreigner."  Then fill the blanks, like the ID Number, where you need to place your passport number, and the Computer Code, where you need to input the booking code of your reserved ticket.  We have 947945 as booking code above.  Click the "Submit" button, or the left button, not the right button, below the page.


 4.     Then you'll get to the Credit Card Payments page.  Google translate it, and you'll have this page.  The details of your reserved ticket would be displayed.  You'll be asked to input the number of tickets.  Just click 1 in the "Adult Ticket Zhang."  I don't know what the other selection means, like the vote respect and love zhang.  Perhaps they're for senior citizens or whatever?  No idea.  Click the "Confirmation" button and you'll have a pop-up asking for some stuff which I presume is something like, "Are you sure you booked certain number of tickets" or something.  Click "Ok."


5.     Then it's time for the credit card payment.  Again, Google translate the page.  Fill-up the details required, like your credit card number, of course. After you're done, click the payment confirmation on the left (not the right).  You'll see the cost of the ticket.  Here, it's NTD 72.  Although it says yuan in the English translation, don't fret; it's in fact NTD.



6.  And wait for the confirmation page. You'll be shown a page, just Google translate it, and there'll be a button that you need to choose so you'd be shown your itinerary/confirmation receipt, like the ones below.  Don't forget to Google translate it so you'd know what it means.  Print the page in its original form and in its Google-translated form.



 7.  There you have it.  You've bought your ticket online.  Just go to the train station, in this case, at the Taipei Main Station at least 30 minutes before your train arrives so you could pick up your ticket at the station.  Queue at the ticketing station, and then show your confirmation receipt plus your passport (remember, you wrote down your passport details) and you'd be handed your ticket.  Yay! 

     Check the Status of Your Ticket Purchase for your Peace of Mind

     Yup, it pays to be doubly cautious.  To check your ticket purchase, go to this link HERE.  And Google translate it.   Or, just click the second button from the top of the left side bar menu E-Payment main page to get the "Credit card payment record check."  Fill it the way you booked the ticket (see #3 Buying tickets online).
 


      You can also check your ticket purchase at the website where you reserved it, HERE at http://railway.hinet.net/.  Click on the "Inquire booking records" and type in the necessary details (passport number and booking code).


     Cancelling Your Ticket for One Reason or the Other

     Yup, you can cancel your ticket and the fare will be refunded but a minimal cancellation fee will be deducted.  Go to the main page of the E-Payment page again, then click the 3rd button from the top on the left side menu.  Google translate it and fill-in the necessary details.  Afterwards, click the "Login Cancel Payment" button.  




     

Taiwan Travel Adventures 2011 - Day 1: Hostel Frenzy and Train Ride to Taichung

Sunday, May 8, 2011 Category : , , 0

     
 



     In my last post, I said that I contemplated on whether to pursue with my Sun Moon Lake plans or not.  I decided to finally just go for it.  But first things first, I had to find my hostel and leave my luggage.

     It took  me at least 15 minutes on foot to reach the hostel because I was taking my time.  On the way, I passed by a mini-mart (I forgot the name) and a lot of shops.  One of my markers was a police station, and when I saw it, I thought to myself, "Yay!  I'm near!"  But passing by a lot of closed shops, it seemed like a rather long walk.  Good thing that the establishments there are numbered; when I saw No. 132, I almost leapt for joy.  However, I still had to find the keys, enter the hostel, and climb up to the 3rd floor.


Directions to Star Hostel.

     By the time I got into my dorm room (it had one occupant), I immediately got my things out and went to the communal bathroom to take a quick shower.  I didn't even use the bed.  After shower, I hurried downstairs to double check the contents of my bag and all the things I needed for my Sun Moon Lake trip.  Then I headed back to the Taipei Main Station.

      I bought a train ticket going to Taichung via the online ticketing system of the Taiwan Railways Administration.  As to how I did it, I'll discuss it in another post.  I knew that I had to be at the station 30 minutes before my 6:15 am train departs.  By 5:30, I was already at the station to pick-up my ticket but I didn't know where to go.  So I just read the signs, and followed those.  I showed my ticket to the one manning the turnstiles to the platforms and he pointed to the correct way to my platform.  I slipped the ticket into the machine and I got in; went down to the platforms and found an information booth where I was told where I should wait for my train.




     Of course, the wait was so nerve-wracking.  What if I got into the wrong train?  Heehee.  So, when the train came, I showed my ticket to the train staff and I was told to just get in the train.  I picked a seat because there were a lot of empty seats.  I didn't know that the seats had numbers and that my ticket says which seat I should sit on.  Oh, well.  My bad.  No one seemed to mind since the train was near empty anyway.  I was seating somewhere in the 40's, probably on the wrong car, too.  My ticket says my seat number's 14 in car number 6.

     The train looks old outside but the seats are comfortable and can be reclined! And to open the doors, you need to press the buzzer.  Cool.

     Knowing that I would fall asleep, I set the alarm on my cellphone at 30 minutes before arrival in Taichung.  Then, I fell asleep for at least an hour of the two-hour train ride.  I woke up ahead of time probably because I was afraid that I might oversleep and miss my destination.  It was a good thing that I woke up because I was able to see the sights along the way.  There were several windmills, lots of houses along the tracks, fields, provincial life, etc.  As the train drew nearer to Taichung, I kinda felt really, really apprehensive.  I must still locate the shuttle bus stop going to Sun Moon Lake.




 Windmills fascinate me...

     For one reason or the other, the train station at Taichung wasn't the one I was expecting.  The platform was open-air, at street level, and the station exit wasn't like what I've seen from Google Maps.  Also, the station seemed so small, but I clearly read Taichung on the platform and I heard, too, via the train announcement.   I asked the  ticket booth where I could hail the Taiwan Shuttle bus going to Sun Moon Lake and I was told to make a left turn and I'd find it.  But I didn't find it.  By then, I was telling myself that I should have just bought a Taiwan High Speed Railway ticket to Taichung instead of a regular train.  The shuttle bus stop is just within the station but I was trying to save money!  Oh well.  I knew that the shuttle stop was less than 5 minutes on foot from the station exit and I could see it from the other side.  I walked until I reached somewhere near a flyover and turned back to ask directions from the hotel I passed by, the Twin Star Hotel.

     The staff at the hotel were very helpful.  They gave me directions and called me a cab going to the shuttle bus station. Apparently, there are 2 shuttle bus stations close by.  One takes 10 minutes on foot but I have to pass through a railway crossing, plus the directions are not easy to follow; another is 5 minutes away by taxi.  I chose the second.  And thank God for their help, I was able to catch the 9 a.m. bus.  If it weren't for them, I would have just gone for the grand opening of a mall nearby where I saw scores of people lined-up for a sale.

     By the way, the beautiful hotel receptionist asked me if I was going to Sun Moon Lake, alone, and she looked sad for me and impressed at me at the same time.  Again, my eternal gratitude to the staff of Twin Star Hotel in Taichung!

     So, I made it to Sun Moon Lake! Yay!

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