[TAIWAN TRAVEL 1] PLAY! OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG 2016 - MALIPU PAINTING ART TRAIL 马力埔彩绘小径
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 2] PLAY! OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG 2016 - RAINBOWVILLAGE 彩虹眷村/ 干城六村
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 3] PLAY!OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG 2016 - LAVENDER COTTAGE 薰衣草森林 and MUSHROOM GARDEN 百菇庄
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 4] PLAY! OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG - ZHONG SHE HUA SHI中社花市
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 5] PLAY! OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG 2016 - GAOMEI WETLANDS 高美濕地
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 6] PLAY! OUTSKIRT TAICHUNG in 1 DAY: DRIVER'S CONTACTS, RECOMMENDATION AND ITINERARY
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 7] PLAY! NANTOU 南投 2016: CINGJING 清境農場. PAPER CARTON KING 紙箱王, SWISS GARDEN 小瑞士花園, HE HUAN SAN 合歡山
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 8] PLAY! NANTOU 南投 2016: SUN MOON LAKE— ITA THAO PIER 伊达召, XUANGUAN TEMPLE 玄光寺, CHECHENG STATION 車埕火车站
[TAIWAN TRAVEL 9] PLAY! TAIPEI 台北 2016: YANG MING SHAN 陽明山, ZHUZHIHU 竹子湖
Shan Shui Yuan Vege Guesthouse
As a solo traveler, there are no hostels in CingJing area and your next best bet is to get a singles/double bedroom. Though not necessary but basically there are no other choices.
As for where I stayed in San Sui Yuan Vege Guesthouse— there's nothing much to shout loud about.
It was one of the cheaper options but the location is really not that optimal. When Agoda reviews stated as such, I had no concept of what "not good location" meant.
Simply put, to travel out to Cingjing where the sheep shows are—located much north—or anywhere else, you will need get a pick-up and that will set you at least NT$50/ pax per trip ( at least for my guesthouse and the others around that area). So up and down, if you wanna have English Tea at The Old England etc.. yup, you know the drill.
I have not tried hailing a taxi along the main road, not sure if the rates will be good. Perhaps better than the cab services straight from the "Town Center"? But I read it's not that expensive to flag down too.
If you choose a room with view, you will be located here, overlooking the valleys and streams.
And this is the "million-dollars" view.
How to get there
To reach, as mentioned in [Travel 7], I took the bus up to CingJing and was told of a specific stop to alight: 兹心园 (Ci Xin Yuan. English Pinyin appeared on the bus LED display too, gladly, for non-Mandarin speakers.)
Throughout the journey I was looking out for this name to appear as the bus zoomed ( actually ) passed many stop-points—everyone heads to the final stop at CingJing. When my stop appeared, as expected I was the only one from the full load of 40 over pax-bus who alighted. If I missed that stop, that's it.. I have to drag the luggage back.
Anyway glad I asked the driver.
If you want to sleep in peace on the bus ( which is quite comfy by the way), then the last stop at Evergreen land/ CingJing/ "Town Centre" ( where 7-11 is) will be where almost everyone will alight and where the bus will bound to stop. :)
This is what you will see coming from the main road.
There is a signage of the guesthouse- in Mandarin and it looks worn-out for sure.
The Room
I had myself a huge spacious double room. It was a short walk from the bus stop and along the way, the home owner will communicated with me via Whatsapp to ask if I am on my way and if I know where to alight. It was nice to have such responsive owners who answered to your queries.
There are only stairs to the 2nd level and the owners will help you to carry your luggage up. The room was brightly lit in the day and being in high altitudes warrants a no air-con necessity. The facilitates were comprehensive with TV, dressing table with amenities like toothbrush, towels provided.
The bed sheets, were unfortunately not very clean. A big reduction in impression.
Nevertheless the best part of the room will have to be the huge bathroom. That really is a BIG PLUS POINT.
Really spacious and clean. ( which I realized I forgot to take photo of. :( )
Actually, the attitude of the owners I met were not the most sincere of all. Though they were friendly to help on some basis, but the service level is not up there—you can feel from the intonation. It's more of a business transaction, So that is also a point why the stay was only so-so.
The facilities were also old at some parts like the wall-paper but for a 1 night stay, it's bearable.
There are water dispensers available as well—hot and cold. Warm water is available withing certain timing but not a problem for most I would think.
Oh yesh, the one thing really a hindrance was the lack of powerpoints. There were only 2— 1 for the TV and another for the electric fan. I have searched high and low can couldn't see another powerpoint any where. So I have to forsake on one facility when I needed to charge my items. Being high up on the wall also does not do a favor especially since my charging cable was way short and the plug kept falling off.
Conclusion
In all, staying in CingJing is not cheap as compared to what you can possibly enjoy at a much lower price with better amenities , which I will share in my Taipei portion next.
As I mention the location and the transportation amount is inversely proportionate- Nearer the location to the "town centre" less/no need to spend on transportation.
San Shui Yuan Vege Guesthouse on AGODA
Reviews in Mandarin