Thursday, December 19th

~ 6:40 am gather at Taipei Train Station

~ 7:11 am take the high speed rail train to ChiaYi

~ top by Fenqihu 奮起湖, a small Hakka village

~ stay at Alishan Hotel overnight

Friday, December 20th

~ 4:00 am Alishan Forest Railway Train to see sunrise

~ Hike around the Alishan National Park

~ take train back to Taipei Train Station

Saturday, December 21st

Tiffany's brother Kevin will be taking his girlfriend Alice and their friends on a day tour to Jiufen and PingXi. Victor and Tiffany will not be able to join for this guided tour, but we highly encourage you to attend! Papa Ko will be sponsoring this trip <3

Jiufen is a popular day trip destination reminiscent of a bygone era - you get to indulge in local snacks and experience the narrow streets and charming scenery from the anime Spirited Away. From the A-Mei Tea House, you can enjoy a panoramic view of the surrounding mountains and sea. You can take a 10 min stop to see the Shifen Waterfall and head to Pingxi to fly a paper lantern!

The tour will take you back to Taipei and to get Taiwanese food with Tiffany and Victor at Shin Yeh Taiwanese Restaurant at 6:30 pm!

6:30 pm, Saturday, December 21st at Shin Yeh Taiwanese Cuisine

For those of you attending the Jiufen tour, the tour bus will take you directly to the restaurant. If you are not attending the tour, please meet us at the restaurant!

10:00 pm, Saturday, December 21 - join Victor's high school friends and chill at a wine bar.

Elephant Mountain Trail 象山親山步道 - This is an easy trail and a very short hike to see beautiful views! We highly suggest you visit the nearby Taipei 101 Mall, the once highest building in the world. It's worth paying the entrance fee to visit, but the other option is going to the 88th floor cafe Simple Kaffa, voted one of the most beautiful cafes in the world in Taipei 101.

Getting hungry after visiting the Taipei 101 observation deck? You won’t have to go far for the best soup dumplings in the world. At the entrance of Taipei 101 you’ll find one of the popular Din Tai Fung restaurants to get the famous soup dumplings. There are multiple locations around Taipei, but there may be a wait for all of them... it is worth it though!

The National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 - In a country where food plays such an important role, it’s no surprise that our national treasure and the famous artworks in the museum is a jade cabbage and a jade braised pork. The museum has a gigantic collection of treasures and artworks that were brought here by the Nationalists at the end of the Chinese civil war when it became clear that the communists were going to win and they fled to Taiwan.

We highly suggest you eat at Silks Palace that is right next to the museum, it is known for making miniature sizes of the popular artifacts in the museum as part of their menu! Beautiful restaurant and yummy food!

Lungshan Temple 龍山寺 - There are more than 15000 official temples in Taiwan, but one of the most famous temple in Taipei is Longshan Temple, built in the 18th century. There is also a Confucius Temple across the street, two night markets (Huaxi Street Night Market and Guangzhou Street Night Market) and the playful Ximending shopping district nearby. Tiffany's favorite night market is Ningxia Night Market that is closer to her home!

Din Tai Fung - Best soup dumplings ever - they are like little, translucent juicy pieces of heaven. Everything on the menu is amazing, but requires a short wait, so plan accordingly! There are restaurants all throughout Taipei and some are inside malls.

Michelin (and Tiffany) recommended family-owned shop with signature braised pork rice, braised napa cabbage and the best soup! They are always busy (due to take outs), but for dining in, grab an order sheet from the counter before searching for a seat inside. Make sure to order plenty as everything is snack sized and only a few dollars per dish! It is located near Tiffany's home (behind Aloft Hotel) and right next to a small night market!