Originally Posted by
eng3
Yeah, since I will arrive very early, I will first store my bag at the ariport. Then take the train/bus to Jiufen. I should be there around the times that things start to open. I don't imagine I will need much time there. Then I will head back to Taipei for lunch and check out one of the Dihua market. Then I will take the train to Taichung mostly for the night market there. I'll only catch it in the early evening hours because I'll need to start heading back to the airport to catch my midnight flight.
At least that's the plan, we'll see how it goes.
If I understand correctly, the High Speed train will never be full because I can always by a non-reserved ticket. I can also just buy reserved tickets now and change them at the station.
then I will continue on to my next destination. I will eventually end up in Singapore for CNY. I pushed my return back one day to allow for upgrade clearing. I'll be taking a overnight flight from Singapore back to taipei scheduled to arrive 5:30am to catch my longhaul flight leaving at 11am. That's probably the riskiest part of this whole thing but hopefully scoot won't get delayed too much
I'll share some thoughts. You are unfortunately a little early for decorations. In Taiwan, a lot of the more visual lunar new year decorations are for lantern festival and the displays start on or after the first day of the new year. The only somewhat significant display going up early I am aware of is at Baguashan. The theme is 3D light-up emojis on the grounds of a very large, traditional Buddhist temple, unusual and maybe not what you are looking for.
HSR, if you cannot get a reserved seat you can grab a seat or stand in a non-reserved car. During peak times expect to stand. If the cars are full you wait until the next train. People carefully queue in line and there is no cutting. Taichung's HSR station, like most outside of the Taipei area, is not close to anything. If you really want to go to a night market in Taichung consider Daqing, it is on a Taiwan rail line running from the Taichung HSR station so you can easily transfer. Maybe 3-4 stops. Fengjia night market is huge and more famous, but not as easy to get to.
Many people who go to Jiufen also go to Shifen. Jiufen and Taichung sounds ambitious, doable in a long day but not for most people. I am not sure taking a train to Taichung for a night market is going to be worth it but it all depends on what you want to do. Some people enjoy riding trains! Please feel free to PM me if you want.