Chiayi 嘉義

Chiayi is synonymous with the Alishan Forest Recreation Area, which was the objective of this leg of my adventure.

From Taichung to Chiayi

With the convenience and speed of the high speed rail (HSR), it took me only 32 minutes to get from Taichung to Chiayi.

If your accommodation is not very near to the HSR station i.e. you need to take a bus for a few stops like me, you may want to plan your train ride when there is a bus to take you to the HSR station. Otherwise, you may have to call for a private hire vehicle like Uber. Mine was about 1.7 km away and as my train ride was at 0625 hours, I did not want to risk missing the train thus I took an Uber for NT$155. 💸

iseasywith.me Gentle Reminder

From the iseasywith.me Travel Hacks in my Taichung post:
If you wish to save some money from discounted HSR train fares, remember to plan and reserve your tickets early to get 35%, 25% or 10% off.
You may wish to read and refresh your memory on the SOPs in case you miss your train.

Arriving at Chiayi

When you take the HSR to Chiayi, remember that HSR Chiayi Station and Chiayi Station are not at the same location. Chiayi Station, where you can take the Taiwan Railway (TRA) is about 14 km from HSR Chiayi Station.

Fortunately, HSR passengers are able to take the shuttle bus service 7211 free of charge from HSR Chiayi to Chiayi Station. Just follow the THSR shuttle bus/bus rapid transit signage to get to the bus stop.

The frequency of the shuttle bus is between 20 to 30 minutes and TRA Chiayi Station is 7 stops, about 20 minutes away.

If it is too hot or too cold outside, you can wait indoors but keep a look out for the bus.

The shuttle bus to Chiayi Station should stop on the right side of the bus stop. Just confirm with the bus captain that the bus goes to Chiayi Station before you board the bus.

As you board the bus, just show your HSR physical/e-ticket to the bus captain for the free ride.

The shuttle bus would turn in to the Chiayi Bus Station for passengers to alight.

To get to the TRA Chiayi Station, follow the signs that says 'TRA Station Door'.

Do note that the bus station is at the rear building of the Chiayi Station and the railway station is at the front building. The buildings are connected by an overhead bridge.

If you are not taking a train and you need to get to the front building, you would technically have to enter the train station but without a train ticket. You would have to go to the open fare gate with a printer, press the button on the printer to print a 'pass' for yourself to enter the station. Upon reaching the front building, you will come through the walkway as shown in the photo below. Just turn left and walk towards the open fare gate which has a basket to collect your 'pass' to exit the station.

In and Around Chiayi

The main place I wanted to visit for my Chiayi leg of my adventure was, you guessed it, Alishan.

Besides Alishan, I wanted to try Chiayi's iconic turkey rice.

I arrived Chiayi at about 0800 hours and went to deposit my backpack in a locker as my accommodation check-in time was after 1500 hours. The lockers are easily located. Just follow the signs that point to 'Lockers'.

I went to collect the physical ticket for the Alishan Forest Railway and went for breakfast as I was told to be at the platform about 20 minutes before train departure.

Alishan National Scenic Area

Alishan National Scenic Area or Alishan as it is popularly known, a mountainous region renowned for its natural beauty, is another must-visit place when you are in Chiayi.

Although Alishan could be accessed by road and rail, do experience taking the Alishan Forest Railway for your outbound or inbound trip.

The narrow-gauge railway line was originally built in the early 20th century to transport timber from the forests in Alishan to Chiayi and is now used to transport visitors to and from Alishan (well, almost to Alishan).

I read that visitors used to be able to take the train to Alishan but due to typhoon and landslides, the upper stretch of the railway was severely damaged. Thus, to get to Alishan now, you would have to take the train to Fenqihu Station and transfer to a shuttle bus to Alishan.

The train ran daily and on weekends and public holidays, there were additional trains and trips. If you are travelling on a weekday, I would suggest to plan your itinerary and make your booking online early.

I reserved my Alishan Forest Railway online and collected it at the ticket counter located outside Chiayi Station. If you did not buy your ticket online, you could do it here as well.

iseasywith.me Travel Tip

If you are buying your ticket from the ticket counter, check if you can get a window seat on the left, for better views along the way. The seats on the train are 2-seaters and there was a 1-seater at the first row on the right. At the time when I bought my ticket online, the seat was allocated by the system.

As I had some time before I needed to be at the platform, I went foodhunting for breakfast.

The platform for the Alishan Forest Railway is at the end of the station on the right, beyond the platform for the other commercial trains.

For my adventure, I did not know that it was a public holiday when I was there. Nevertheless, I took the first train at 0930 hours, did a pit stop at Fenqihu and took the shuttle bus to Alishan.

The train departed punctually and took about 2.5 hours to arrive at Fenqihu Station.

The shuttle bus schedule was as follows:

Bus/Time (From Fenqihu to Alishan)
7322 1117 hours
7329 1238 hours
7322 1353 hours

Bus/Time (From Alishan to TRA Chiayi Station)
7302 0900 hours
7322 0958 hours
7322 1458 hours
7302 1700 hours

Do refer to the transfer information on the electronic display at the Fenqihu Station when you arrive for any updates.

iseasywith.me Travel Hack

I wanted to spend some time to explore Fengqihu Old Street and have my lunch box since I went all the way here. To take the 1238 hours bus meant that I would have less than an hour there, which I felt it was too rushed.
From the schedules of the Alishan Forest Railway, bus from Fenqihu to Alishan, Alishan branch lines and bus from Alishan to Chiayi, I worked out the timings and yes, the following was possible:
0930h-1151h: Alishan Forest Railway from Chiayi to Fengqihu
1151h-1353h: Fengqihu Old Street
1353h-1453h: last bus 7322 from Fenqihu to Alishan
1530h-1536h: last branch line train from Alishan Station to Zhaoping Station
1536h-1630h: hike from Zhaoping Station to Shenmu Station
1630h-1637h: last branch line train from Shenmu Station to Alishan Station
1700h/1710h: last bus 7302/7322 from Alishan to Chiayi
Based on the above, as the rides were based on the last trips of the day, the schedule would have to run like clockwork.
If you plan to follow my schedule, do set your own allowance to get from place to place e.g. from Fengqihu Old Street to the bus stop, etc.
I was on a solo adventure thus was able to walk and run as required.

Alishan National Scenic Area to be continued after Fenqihu Old Street.

Fenqihu Old Street 奮起湖老街

Fenqihu Old Street is 500 metres long and the buildings followed the slope of the street. The shops sell various goods including the famous Fenqihu lunch box.

Depending on where you are in the Fenqihu Old Street area, do allocate ample time to get to the shuttle bus stop. Look out and follow the signages to 1st parking lot.

Turn to your right when you exit the 1st parking lot and you will see the shuttle bus stop.

Back to Alishan National Scenic Area

The shuttle bus journey was about an hour and ended at the Alishan Transport Station.

Before I alighted from the bus, the bus captain gave me a coupon which he said it was to get a discount on the admission ticket.

If you need to deposit your luggage in a locker, they are available in the station.

I walked to the entrance arch to buy my admission ticket.

The full admission ticket was priced at NT$300 on the website but with the coupon, it entitled me to buy a discounted ticket at NT$150. 🎉

To experience the basic Alishan, I planned for the above itinerary.

Basing on my itinerary and arrival at Alishan at about 1500 hours, the available timing for the Alishan-Zhaoping train was the last one at 1530 hours.

Upon reaching Zhaoping Station at about 1536 hours, I sprang into action to hike to Shenmu Station as I had to catch the last Shenmu-Alishan train at 1630 hours and the last bus back to Chiayi at 1700 hours.

That was why I said that my itinerary had to run like clockwork.

I bought tickets for the trains at the station counters. You could also purchase your tickets online if you have a confirmed itinerary.

Although it was stated that the hike from Zhaoping Station to Shenmu Station was 50 minutes, my guess was it was timed without photo/selfie stops as I had to brisk walk/run at quite a few points.

Hiking from Zhaoping Station to Shenmu Station

Tashan Trail

The Sisters Ponds

The Three Brothers

The Four Sisters

The Pig-Shaped Tree Stump

Finally, saw Shenmu Station in a distance.

Shenyi Waterfall- one of the 8 wonders of Alishan

After arriving Alishan Station at about 1622 hours, I proceeded to the Alishan Transport Station to wait for the last bus at 1700 hours. The timings are slightly different from what was displayed at Fenqihu Station.

When the bus came, the bus captain would allow those who bought packaged tour tickets to board first. I clarified why that was the case and he mentioned that they paid much more than the public bus fare that I paid. Looking at the bus timetable, their tickets could be some tourist bus tickets.

After my arrival at Chiayi Station, I went to check in at my accommodation.

After a quick check-in, I was on my way to hunt for Chiayi's iconic turkey rice.

From my research, I shortlisted 2 stalls to try. This greeted me when I arrived at one of them.

I walked to the other and yes, it was open and I sat down for my dinner.

After I had my fill, I was about to walk to the Wenhua Night Market when I saw the stall which was closed earlier had an outlet opposite the one I just left!

Guessed what did I do? The answer was obvious! I walked into the other to try as well. 😁

阿樓師's shop was more traditional while 阿宏師's was modern. At the time of my visits, the former had more customers.

Wenhua Road Night Market

Food and Beverage

near Chiayi Station

Fenqihu Old Street 奮起湖老街

Turkey Rice

Departing Chiayi

With that, my leg of adventure at Chiayi came to an end and my next leg was Tainan.