The Taiwan High Speed Railway

Trip Start Apr 26, 2008
1
7
20
Trip End May 09, 2008


Loading Map
Map your own trip!
Map Options
Show trip route
Hide lines
shadow

Flag of Taiwan  ,
Monday, April 28, 2008

We found Dr Wu and his assistant David just outside the main exit of the airport. Both men are exceedingly gracious and accommodating, insisting that they take our luggage to the car. Melinda and I were too tired to even feel guilty. David has hired a car to transport us from the airport (located in Taoyuan about an hour outside of Taipei). It's dusk outside and there's not much to see, unfortunately. The temperature was a balmy 78 degrees F and there was not as much humidity as I expected.

During the ride in the car we passed many construction zones, most of which appeared to be apartment buildings. In about 15 mins we were outside a new and very modern glass and steel train station. We waited while Dr Wu bought our tickets to Tainan for the Taiwan High Speed Railroad (HSR). The station itself was beautiful, but nothing in comparison to the train itself.

My boys are into trains and I have read countless book and watched many shows on the Discovery Channel about high speed trains, but they cannot do it justice. Riding a HSR is awesome. We went 250 km (about 155 miles) in just a bit over an hour, including 4 stops. The ride is smoother than most electric subways I have been on in the USA. And there is a restroom in each car too, though I didn't use it. The seats were very comfortable with lots of support, they reclined, and had very ample leg room.

After our short trip we exited the HSR and rode by car to our hotel in Tainan. There was not a lot of traffic, but there were scooters EVERYWHERE. How they drive cars here and don't have multiple maimings a day I just can't figure out. We arrived at the hotel about 9pm and checked into our rooms.
Slideshow Print this entry Taoyuan hotels