Taipei Airport to Chiayi
I'm heading over to Alishan with a friend a few months down the road. Our flight arrives at TPE around 5 PM, and we're planning to spend the night in Chiayi (250km south) and catching the morning train up the mountain.
So far, I've identified the following options:
1) TPE to THSR Taoyuan by bus, to THSR Chiayi by bullet train, then to TRA Chiayi station by bus
2) TPE to Taipei main station by bus, then to TRA Chiayi station by ordinary train
Option 1 would avoid the loop back into Taipei, but would require an extra transit at the Chiayi end. Option 2 would involve backtracking to Taipei and out, and the train would be slower (~3 hrs vs 1), but it would deposit us right at the center of the city. Which one is better? Can we board southbound ordinary trains at a station closer to the airport?
And oh yes, any hot Alishan tips would be more than welcome. We're currently planning to spend a night at Shermuh ("Godtree") Hotel, but Fengcihu/Ruili also sound interesting.