From personal experience, are they recommended as an ideal way to visit this Southeastern County? Final destination would be Chishan.
池上? I thought that would be Chishang? A fellow Takeshi fan I take it?
One of the best way to get to Taidong would be the Puyuma train, which takes less than 4 hours to get from Taipei to Taidong. If Chishang is the goal, Puyuma stops at Chishang station, which would take 3.5 hours.
Flying is ok. If flying propeller planes isn’t show stopper, then it’s would just be another plane ride, no different from another. It’d be more expensive, but you get there in half the time.
池上? I thought that would be Chishang? A fellow Takeshi fan I take it?
One of the best way to get to Taidong would be the Puyuma train, which takes less than 4 hours to get from Taipei to Taidong. If Chishang is the goal, Puyuma stops at Chishang station, which would take 3.5 hours.
Flying is ok. If flying propeller planes isn’t show stopper, then it’s would just be another plane ride, no different from another. It’d be more expensive, but you get there in half the time.[/quote]
Still need to get from Taitung Airport to Taitung Railway Station and take the train to Chishang, which all in all takes perhaps an hour or more. Or you take a taxi which costs even more. I’d say take the Puyuma train and enjoy the lovely scenery of the East Rift Valley. On the other hand flying over the East Coast should give you great views too. 
Btw. you need to be quick when booking the Puyuma trains. Tickets are hard to come by and you better book as soon as they are made available (two weeks before trip). Not sure about booking air tickets.
池上? I thought that would be Chishang? A fellow Takeshi fan I take it?
One of the best way to get to Taidong would be the Puyuma train, which takes less than 4 hours to get from Taipei to Taidong. If Chishang is the goal, Puyuma stops at Chishang station, which would take 3.5 hours.
Flying is ok. If flying propeller planes isn’t show stopper, then it’s would just be another plane ride, no different from another. It’d be more expensive, but you get there in half the time.[/quote]
Yep. Making our way to the tree before it is stricken by another typhoon.
I was thinking flying would cut out traveling time. The website says 6 hours to Taidong. Google says 10 hours to Chishang. 
Ayioo…
池上? I thought that would be Chishang? A fellow Takeshi fan I take it?
One of the best way to get to Taidong would be the Puyuma train, which takes less than 4 hours to get from Taipei to Taidong. If Chishang is the goal, Puyuma stops at Chishang station, which would take 3.5 hours.
Flying is ok. If flying propeller planes isn’t show stopper, then it’s would just be another plane ride, no different from another. It’d be more expensive, but you get there in half the time.[/quote]
Still need to get from Taidong Airport to Taidong Railway Station and take the train to Chishang, which all in all takes perhaps an hour or more. Or you take a taxi which costs even more. I’d say take the Puyuma train and enjoy the lovely scenery of the East Rift Valley. On the other hand flying over the East Coast should give you great views too.
Btw. you need to be quick when booking the Puyuma trains. Tickets are hard to come by and you better book as soon as they are made available (two weeks before trip). Not sure about booking air tickets.[/quote]
And book hotel and transportation. Rats, aren’t there travel agencies for this?
I can get a very juicy discount on tickets, but I have to book and pay the same day I travel or the day before. Too risky? I am thinking traveling on a Thursday and coming back Friday.
池上? I thought that would be Chishang? A fellow Takeshi fan I take it?
One of the best way to get to Taidong would be the Puyuma train, which takes less than 4 hours to get from Taipei to Taidong. If Chishang is the goal, Puyuma stops at Chishang station, which would take 3.5 hours.
Flying is ok. If flying propeller planes isn’t show stopper, then it’s would just be another plane ride, no different from another. It’d be more expensive, but you get there in half the time.[/quote]
Still need to get from Taidong Airport to Taidong Railway Station and take the train to Chishang, which all in all takes perhaps an hour or more. Or you take a taxi which costs even more. I’d say take the Puyuma train and enjoy the lovely scenery of the East Rift Valley. On the other hand flying over the East Coast should give you great views too.
Btw. you need to be quick when booking the Puyuma trains. Tickets are hard to come by and you better book as soon as they are made available (two weeks before trip). Not sure about booking air tickets.[/quote]
And book hotel and transportation. Rats, aren’t there travel agencies for this?
I can get a very juicy discount on tickets, but I have to book and pay the same day I travel or the day before. Too risky? I am thinking traveling on a Thursday and coming back Friday.[/quote]
If you’re getting a big discount on flying, then go for it. I would suggest renting a car/motorcycle in Taitung for the trip to Chishang. Local transportation in rural areas sucks.
Some of my students who run B&Bs say there may be a problem renting motorcycles to foreigners. Apparently the local rental agencies have been burned by Chinese tourists getting into accidents and skipping out without notice.
The flight is not great except for the end. They pretty well swing out to sea, and even when they come close to land it’s too high to appreciate
Problem is I don’t drive. Haven’t touched a wheel since last century. I live in Taipei.
Bicycle perhaps?
I vote for the train as suggested. IF you must fly, try Mandarin’s EM190 JET . Better then a propeller plane.
And sit on the right side of the airplane for any chance of scenery going over there.
The 190 has been rated as the second safest aircraft in the world, which is the one Mandarin use to fly to Taidong. I’ve flown on it several times and it’s fine.
The airport is located out of town. The train station is 15-20 minutes away by taxi, and it will cot you 300nt at the least, as the taxi drivers down there are - lets say, a bit different in their approach to charging.
Puyuma can be done in 4ish hours if you go in the morning and get the first train. 2 or 3 stops, but I don’t think it calls in at Chishang, so you’ll have to catch a train back up from Taidong, or get off at Yuli and ride down on a local.
Train is probably easier than flying. In any case, I usually ride a motorcycle down.
The tree is boring. Have fun.
Oh yeah, you don’t want to go there to just see the tree. You know that Takeshi Kaneshiro is not there anymore, right? 
Also, there are a lot of local tourists going there, even on bad weather days, so it’s not exactly a solitary tree. But if you rent a bicycle and ride around, the rice paddies are nice. Try the ice cream at Chishang, very nice, especially now during this hot weather.
the other thing you need to consider is what time the flights are. The KHH to Hualien route only has one midday flight each day. That is basically worthless for a two day trip.
If you take the Puyuma train on the weekend you should be able to go through a travel agent that knows how to game the booking system and get you a ticket. Even if they doubled the price it would still be much cheaper than taking a discounted flight. And probably be quicker.
Oh yeah, you don’t want to go there to just see the tree. You know that Takeshi Kaneshiro is not there anymore, right?
Also, there are a lot of local tourists going there, even on bad weather days, so it’s not exactly a solitary tree. But if you rent a bicycle and ride around, the rice paddies are nice. Try the ice cream at Chishang, very nice, especially now during this hot weather.[/quote]
I’ll tell that to my friend. But she won’t listen. 
Yes, that is why I wanted to go during the week, might be lucky not to be that crowded, though it gets pretty bad -crowd control measure for a tree? Exclusive bus to get to the paddies? That is why I was looking for, like, a tour or something. Maybe one of the big hotels has that.
[quote=“Abacus”]the other thing you need to consider is what time the flights are. The KHH to Hualian route only has one midday flight each day. That is basically worthless for a two day trip.
If you take the Puyuma train on the weekend you should be able to go through a travel agent that knows how to game the booking system and get you a ticket. Even if they doubled the price it would still be much cheaper than taking a discounted flight. And probably be quicker.[/quote]
I also get discount on train tickets, no biggie price wise. Time is of essence, as I must be back in Taipei on Saturday.
Yes, looked at the schedule, and some companies do not fly every day, and the times are … horrid. For medical reasons, my friend totally can’t get up that early. Mmm, midnight train? Red eye?
If you are coming back on Saturday then you will be going against the flow and it should be easier to get tickets.
We took the night train to Taitung to get to the morning ferry to Lanyu last year. Was not fun. Sleeping on the train. Guess I am too old for that… 
We took the night train to Taidong to get to the morning ferry to Lanyu last year. Was not fun. Sleeping on the train. Guess I am too old for that… [/quote]
Me too. I guess they do not have sleeper cars here like in India. But I feel very uncomfortable sitting for a long time.
Man, 6 hours by train… 
If you are time sensitive take the Mandarin E190. 45 mins and you are there !
Mmm, my pal is landing in Songshan. Do you think it is too cruel to book a flight right away? I have to pick her up anyways. We just leave directly from there.
To cruel to who? The beautiful city of Taipei? 
Well, it is a two hour flight from Tokyo but still, one needs time to rest and recharge. Though it would be very convenient…
Lemme sleep on it.