Hsinchu on foot
If you’re planning a stay in Hsinchu, you can have all your transportation fees taken care of for the price of a train ticket (which is around $390 for the fast train return from Taipei). It’s just over an hour to Hsinchu from Taipei so going as a day trip is an option, but if you’re wanting to stay overnight with budget accommodation, I recommend the Golden Swallow Hotel. There’s plenty to do within walking distance of the main train station.
The Hsinchu City Glass Museum and Hsinchu zoo are both located in Hsinchu Park. On the way there, you could check out the residence of Hsin Chih-Ping, who was Hsinchu Junior High School’s principal. It was built in the early 1920′s by the Japanese and has some interesting and quirky architectural features such as the closets for storing sliding porch doors and the heating system for the bath.
The East Gate stands in the center of a roundabout just down from the train station. Hsinchu city was first established in 1733, and a wall with four towers was erected around it in 1826. In the Japanese era the wall and three towers were torn down, leaving just the East Gate, which now stands as a symbol of the city.
The area around the station is bustling with activity at nighttime with bands often playing at the outdoor auditorium and a wide variety of shops to visit. You can check out the traditional snacks of Hsinchu, such as pork meatballs or fried rice noodles, or if you want western-style cuisine you could walk down to Square’s, a small American-style diner at 38 Shengli Rd (on the cobblestone street bordering the “moat” just down from the East Gate). If you go there, I recommend the chicken fajita for $260.
For more info about Hsinchu in English, check out http://wikitravel.org/en/Hsinchu and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hsinchu
Hsinchu zoo
Established in the Japanese colonization era around the same time as the neighboring glass museum buildings, the Hsinchu zoo is the oldest zoo in Taiwan. For only $10 for adults and free for kids, Hsinchu zoo is a nice budget activity. The zoo is well-shaded and has a relaxed park-like atmosphere and although it is small in size, it has more than 300 distinguished into 120 species which are mostly birds and primates, with crowd-pleasers such as bengal tigers, hippos, orangutangs, and crocodiles.
Cheerful music plays from speakers disguised as rocks throughout the zoo and animals are easily accessible, with one deer roaming freely amongst the visitors.
When we visited, the croc was in the pool right next to the pane of glass and the hippo was thrusting itself out of the water, mouth wide open (although this was probably because it used to getting fed by visitors but I’ll say no more on that subject). With Hsinchu’s cooling wind and the natural shade of the trees, Hsinchu zoo is a fun outside activity even on the hottest of days.
More info here.
Hsinchu City Glass Museum
The Hsinchu Glass Museum is the first museum in Taiwan to center around the theme of glass. The museum building, which was reconstructed in 1936, was first used as a residence for Japanese royals and government officials. The museum has several areas devoted to glass exhibits and some educational areas for kids.
Around the back of the building, next to a small lake is a cafe which offers light snacks such as the very Taiwanese green tea waffles with red bean ice-cream. They also offer DIY glass projects for kids on a bench overlooking the lake under the shade of a tree.
For $130 each, our little ones came away very satisfied with a picture made from glass pebbles on a small wooden noticeboard.
At the time we visited, glass blowing demonstrations were conducted from 2pm-4pm in the adjacent building.
Miniature glass art pieces are made in the same area and can be purchased for less than $100 at stalls outside the museum. And if you’re going, don’t forget to visit the Hsinchu zoo, which is right next door and only $10 for adults!
Golden Swallow Hotel (Hsinchu)
A few minutes walk from the main train station, the Golden Swallow Hotel offers budget accommodation in the heart of Hsinchu. Prices range from $800 – $2200. As with most hotels in Taiwan, prices are cheaper during the weekdays. We payed $1800 for a room with two double beds, which would have been around $1500 during the week (Fridays are considered part of the weekend and Sundays not). Check in times during the week are 3 o’clock and 5 o’clock otherwise.
The room we got was tidy with a big flat-screen TV, mini-fridge, and a reasonable bathroom. There are bikes available for use by patrons, and they will store your bike if that’s the way you’re travelling. There are also a couple of computers if you want to get online and wireless if you have your own laptop, and free use of laundry facilities (powder included). Breakfast is included with a choice of toast and spreads or a Chinese-style buffet. There are plenty of things to see and do within walking distance, such as the Hsinchu Glass Museum, Hsinchu zoo, the residence of Hsin Chih-Ping, night markets, Sogo, Eslite, and so on. All things considered, the Golden Swallow Hotel is great value and recommended as a low-budget base for a Hsinchu stopover. If you decide to stay there, you should probably make sure to book well ahead, especially during peak periods.
Address: No.13, Minzu Rd., East Dist., Hsinchu City 300, Taiwan (R.O.C.)
Tel: 03-5227151-3
JianGuo Flower Market
A great place to go is the JianGuo flower market in Taipei. It’s covered by an elevated freeway, so is especially good for a rainy day. The entrance is from Sinyi Rd/JianGuo Rd intersection (near DaAn Park) or the other end at RenAi/JianGuo roads and is only open on weekends. If you’ve got extra time, you can also check out the artist’s and jade markets, which are also under the same roof. Stopping off halfway through the flower market at one of the food stalls for a snack is a good idea. It lets you feel more part of the surroundings, not just passing through.
We were looking for something for the kids to take away. Our main priorities were for something low maintenance that doesn’t attract insects. Our original thoughts were narrowed down to bamboo and mini cactus plants, but it didn’t take us long to find something even better, and something the kids took a real liking to – dried flowers. They are very colorful and also cheap – only $20 per bunch.
Down the market a little further, we found something else very popular with children in Taiwan: “Magic water balls”. These are bought in small packets, and when added to water they soak up the water and expand. After a few hours they become like semi-transparent, almost glowing, colored balls a couple of centimeters in diameter.
At home, we added these to a vase and with the girls’ dried flowers to create a nice souvenir of our day at the flower market.
The finished product
Cardboard box car
This is a little toy car we helped make for our daughter, Rinny’s, kindergarten project. She had made four wheels at school and was given a straw and some wire. We put a couple of little boxes together, cut the straw and threaded the wire through them for axles, and decorated it with colored paper and pen. We also made a trailer for it because her big sister, Joss, got a bit jealous and wanted us to make something for her.
Toys – Log Builder
We just got a new building toy for the kids which looks really good. It’s called Log Builder (made in Taiwan) and is around $1000 (we got it for $700 as a deal from using our ShiHua credit card), which I think is pretty good value.
Log Builder box
It comes with 162 wooden pieces of different shapes and sizes needed for creating building projects. There are 50 “Idea cards” to give inspiration. They are categorized into basic, advance [sic], and challenge [sic].
Basic idea card
Advanced idea card
Challenging idea card
On the back of each card, there are instructions to follow that specify the number and types of materials needed.
Idea card instructions
These don’t provide step-by-step instructions – you just have to go by what is in the picture, so some guidance is necessary to show the kids what to do.
The finished product
If your interested, you can purchase it from treemall (the website is Chinese only).
Miniatures Museum of Taiwan
The Miniatures Museum of Taiwan is a great place to take the little ones on a hot summer’s day in Taipei. It is the only of its kind in East Asia and is full of meticulously made miniatures. There are lots of little wonders like in the reception area, where there is a miniature model of the reception area!
Yes, this is a miniature!
The prices are reasonable and it was a nice surprise to get in for free because it was father’s day.
Pricing
Miniatures are mostly based on famous structures from around the world, such as Buckingham Palace, and the kids can get a “passport” for $20 that they need to stamp at various spots in the museum. This gives them a mission to complete and makes it more fun.
Passport
Cleverly, each of the stamps looks just like the model it represents.
Stamped passport next to the real thing
There are pieces from classic fairy tales, such as this one of Cinderella:
Poor Cinderella...
Where clever lighting changes the scene:
...can go to the ball (or flee from it, in this case)!
Here are some more photos, the first of which has a working TV the size of a postage stamp!
The museum is open Tues ~ Sun 10:00 ~ 18:00 with the last attendance at 17:00. It’s located near the corner of Nanjing and Jianguo Roads (there is a NY Bagels close by) and is also close to a good little neighborhood park with a playground and badminton court.
Neighboring playground
More info is available at www.mmot.com.tw
Little star
It was my eldest daughter’s graduation ceremony on Saturday, and both of the girls had a chance to get on the stage and have a dance. I was especially impressed with my youngest (4 year old) daughter’s performance . Man, she hit every move like a pro!
Here is the video I took of Rinny (she’s at the front in the middle):
World Chocolate Wonderland
There’s a chocolate exhibition at the Taiwan National Science Education Center in ShiLin, Taipei (189 ShiShang Rd, ShiLin, Taipei). It’s open from 9:00 ~ 18:00 The price of admission is $160 for adults and free for children. This can be paid outside the JianTan MRT station as you get onto the coutesy bus (this bus comes every half an hour, on the half hour).
All up, around 80 tonnes of chocolate was used in this exhibition from China, which was first shown in Beijing in January and features 560 35cm tall chocolate “terracotta warriors”…
- Terracotta warriors
…a ten-meter long section of the great wall of China…
The Great Wall
…and Taipei 101.
Taipei 101
There’s a DIY area at the end where the kids can make a chocolate lollipop.
DIY area
Making a chocolate lollipop
Yum!
The exhibition goes through to September 26th, and you can get more info (in Chinese) at: http://chocolate.ishow.gmg.tw/.
Here are some more photos of chocolate masterpieces…
