[TW; 2023] Half day trip to Chiayi 嘉義
Let's go Chiayi!
As my work ended in Taichung, the easiest way to get to Chiayi was to board a bus from Chao Ma Bus Station (Chaofu Rd.).
Bus trips like this reminds me my backpacking trip back in 2015 :)
It was a very extremely comfy ride - 1.5 hours just went pass rather quickly! Nice paddy field views on the way.
I met up with my Taiwanese friend and we started the self-driving half day trip!
First stop: SMARTFISH 林聰明沙鍋魚頭
SMARTFISH 林聰明沙鍋魚頭
It opens at 12noon, we reached like a few minutes after 12noon, and there was a big crowd for a weekday!
(click to enlarge the menu)
It was quite a long wait so bubbling with tea while hiding under a sheltered alley.
We finally had a table after 25-30 minutes, and time for lunch!
The soup was rather at the sweet side (southern Taiwanese food are usually sweeter, because long long time ago, only the rich is able to afford buying sugar - sugar is a status symbol). But the soup had a heavy and rich taste, loved it! The side dishes were pretty well done too.
Second stop: Jourdeness Castle Biotech Park 佐登妮絲城堡
On the way to our next stop, there were a lot of colourful bridges like this:
Tucked away in some industrial park... the castle!
Jourdeness Castle Biotech Park 佐登妮絲城堡
I think you can go using public transport, just that it will be a long ride because it is not super accessible.
The castle is actually a cosmetic brand "factory", there is a small entrance ticket you need to purchase before entering. And you can imagine this place is totally for Instagram.
There are some food options, shopping area and also activities for kids:
I did a AI test on my face and it says my skin is dry (which is completely opposite of my skin condition hahahaha)
The gardens in the castle are pretty European style:
And the building architecture makes you feel like you are in Europe:
Third Stop: Xingang Fengtian Temple 新港奉天宮
We actually have a couple places pinned on the google map to visit - like an abandon toilet bowl, flowers, cafes and etc. But we ended up going for a temple... there is a small story behind it: the day before, I was taking an uber and the driver had this Baishatun Mazu Pilgrimage (wiki here) merchandises displayed on his car. So me and my sister always wanted to join one Taiwan Pilgrimage, so I started chatting with him and he told me that Dajia Mazu Pilgrimage (wiki here) just passed by Taichung and currently heading to Chiayi.
So on the route to the abandon toilet bowl, I asked my friend if she went for a Mazu Pilgrimage before, and she said no. Within split seconds, we decided we need to be there to join the festive.
Went we drove into the town, there is this Mazu's hat accessory design everywhere. So cool!
It was so crowded that we had to park the car a distance away and walk over, at the start of the journey there were stalls selling merchandises.
Start of the long walk:
It is really a festive!
We came a little too late that all the ceremony stuffs are over, but still very crowded! And a lot of the stalls over there were distributing free food.
Many people camping overnight - because they walking back together with Mazu to Taichung the next day.
The temple, finally after a long walk:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/sE8bF8DcZaBZSp968Xingang Fengtian Temple 新港奉天宮
It was so packed with people hence I didn't spend much time inside the temple. But it was quite an eye-opener to experience this.
We were a little thirsty and hungry, so we walked along the stretch of stalls and bought some food.
My second bubble tea for the day!
Smelly tofu - can you believe it is my first time having it despite traveling Taiwan for 9 times?
It was surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be :)
My friend wanted to try some luck after prayers, so we got a scratch card from the nearby lottery store.
Guess what - a mini win of NT$100 :)
Last Stop: Chiayi 高鐵嘉義站
Chiayi 高鐵嘉義站
Tip to save some money: If you miss the early bird discount, and klook 20% off tickets are not helpful, why not try purchasing non-allocated seat (自由座) tickets over the counter. Every train has specific number of non-allocated seat cabins - so it is like first come first serve. I'm sure for non-peak hours, you can get a seat. Peak hours, maybe some luck is needed but HSR is rather fast, you won't need to stand around too long :)
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