I am a single Canadian older model female and have been up on a mountain, working in Zeren Village, Fushing Township, Taoyuan County. I am “the” foreigner here, do not speak Chinese, internet is not always the best, am pretty isolated and am in need of coming down the mountain which will happen in August. I live in a national park, Jiaobanshan Park, and have hiked my feet silly. I love nature but am not interested in hiking as an entertainment for a while. I do wish to see Taiwan though but have an adult class that meets every Thurs. evening, so need to do some day or 2-4 day trips with overnight accomodation and bus/train travel. I plan on being here for a few years so I do not need to do the whole island this summer. I can get to Taipei in a few hours in the early morning. Is there any way I can get down south, east, or west and back here in 4 days and actually see what ought to be seen to give me an overview of Taiwan and life here? Any and all opinions, advice welcome. Thank you.
Your post is a little unclear. Do you have weekends free? Can you also be exactly precise how long you need to get down off the mountain to any large town with a bus or train station? Should be an hour or so to Taoyuan right?
Taoyuan has a high speed rail station and trains anywhere.
How about getting back? Do you drive or take a bus up to the village?
From Taoyuan you can be in Tainan or Kaohsiung in an hour by High speed rail. Kenting in 3-4 hours. You can get to Taroko in 4 hours.
For your 2 day trips head to the west coast cities. Taipei, Tainan, Kaohsiung. When you have four days try the east or do some day trips in Taipei to Danshui and Beitou. You should also be able to fit trips to the outer islands like Kinmen and Penghu.
Are you a model in Fuxing? I’m surprised that there’s modeling work there.
Your best bet is probably a car since I’m sure any kind of public transportation takes an eternity to wait for. Fuxing is beautiful but… remote. If you have a vehicle of your own, getting to Taoyuan train station or high-speed rail shouldn’t be a problem. I’m sure some of your students make frequent trips down to the city, so maybe you can catch a ride and pitch in a little bit of gas money. Just don’t be afraid to ask.