I am writing this from my room in Forté Orange Taichung Park International Youth Hostel. Here I got a single room for 1200 NTD for my first night in Taichung, Taiwan. It’s both hostel and hotel as far as I understand. The hotel/hostel is located right in the center of Taichung, in easy reach from the train station. The room is clean and I have plenty of space to unpack my backpack.

My flight to Taipei with China Airlines was fine. It is really pleasant on a flight with China Airlines, especially compared to the budget airlines I use for trips in Europe. We had two meals which were actually quiet yummy. Also there were plenty of movies to choose from. I didn’t sleep much on the plane and therefore I am really tired now!

From Taipei airport to Taipei train station I took a bus (it takes less than an hour and cost 125 NTD).

Arriving in Taiwan was a strange feeling; suddenly many memories from my semester here came back to me.  Hearing Chinese again was nice, quickly the few words that I had picked up during my semester came back to memory. At first I was really surprised when I saw more scooters than cars on the street. This sight is normal in Taiwanese cities, but after months in Germany it stood out to me again.

In Taipei I met with organizers from the Taiwan Youth Trekker Wanted Campaign. We talked about my plans for the next two weeks and they gave me some more information.

After our meeting, I took a bus from the train station in Taipei to the train station in Taichung. With Ubus that trip cost me 170 NTD. The busses are quite comfy and I slept a little bit.

After check in at the hostel and a very much needed shower, I headed out to a nightmarket. Zhong Hua Night Market is in walking distance from my hostel at Taichung Park. This market is alongside Zhonghua road and close to Chungyo Department Store. It is really huge and I love it for clothes shopping. Indeed all my tiredness was forgotten when I saw the shopping opportunities 😉

I got a yummy snack at a nightmarket stand and then moved back to my hostel. Now I am really, really tired and will finally allow myself to sleep.

See you tomorrow!

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I am currently on a trip sponsored by the Youth Trekker Wanted Campaign. As part of this campaign, young people from around the world get to travel Taiwan with a budget from the organizers. In return, we write daily blog posts during our trips. While I therefore not have to pay for this trip, what I write in this blog is my own, true opinion. For more information on the activity, check http://youthtravel.tw/youthtrekker/. I am also posting my blog entries on an official activity blog here.