On Taichung’s western coast is a vast tidal flatland where the sea intrudes into the land and creates the marshy wetlands of Gaomei. Here you can watch spectacular sunsets over the vast open space, breathe fresh salty air and walk with the sea critters that live in the watery coastline. Its not your usual tropical sunset over a beach with a defined surf. Instead its vast and expansive, its flat and its water logged, muddy and wet.
There are big wind turbines lining the side of the winding road, and its in the eye of the beholder whether you think the wind turbines add or detract to Gaomei Wetlands’ appeal. On the opppsite shore there is a 800m boardwalk through the marshes so you can get up close to the sea environment without trampling on the mud or destroying any precious ecosystem.
How to go to Gaomei Wetlands from Taichung City by Bus
To get to Gaomei Wetlands from Taichung City, the most straightforward way is to take the bus 309. The bus stops along 3 places in Gaomei Wetlands before it terminates at Wuci Fishing Port: Gaomei Wetland Shansunlun Road, No. 18 Wind Turbine and No. 9 Wind Turbine. We suggest that you alight at the middle stop, No. 18 Wind Turbine. From here you can cross the blue Gaomei Wetlands bridge to the visitors’ centre and to the boardwalk.
On weekends, you can also catch bus 655 from The Rainbow Village or Xinwuri TRA Station (the Xinwuri station is adjacent to the Taichung HSR). This bus also terminates at the Wuci Fishing Port and stops in front of the visitors’ centre and No. 9 Wind Turbine.
Bus 309 originates from Taichung Station and terminates at Wuci Fishing Port. The bus pass through the main thoroughfare Taiwan Boulevard so you can catch this bus at the 2nd Market bus stop, the National Museum of Natural Science bus stop (near Sogo), Taichung City Hall bus stop or Shinkong Mitsukoshi/Top City Department Stores bus stops. Travel time takes 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on traffic conditions. When we took the bus, it took us 1 hour to reach Gaomei Wetlands but the return journey took only 30 minutes.
Most people go to Gaomei Wetlands to watch the sunset. The overhead sun can be scorching so the best time to visit would be past 4pm. If you happen to arrive earlier or you still find the sun too high or too hot for your liking, or suddenly feel hungry, don’t alight at the wetlands. Instead take the bus all the way to Wuci Fishing Port which is the last stop of the bus and only one bus stop away from Gaomei Wetlands. There is a market selling fresh seafood (but of course), restaurants and lots of shops selling foodstuff. The port is worth a visit if only to pass the time before sunset. When you are ready to head back to Gaomei Wetlands just take the returning bus 309.
Spend sometime in Wuci Fishing Harbor …and try out the spicy seafood…or an ice lolly.
One disadvantage of taking bus 309 though is that you will alight along the main road and from here its still a good 30 minute walk to the boardwalk.
Take bus 309 on the opposite side of the road to return to Taichung City. The last bus leaves Wuci Port for Taichung City at 7:30pm during summer (April-September) and 6:30pm during winter. This is a pity actually as we would have liked to linger longer but we have to catch the bus back. Still we were grateful to have been to Gaomei Wetlands and see its unique environment.
Rainbow village is instagram paradise. If you don’t know yet, Rainbow Village is a cluster of houses in Taichung covered in cartoonish drawings of dogs, cats, chickens, birds, bunnies, people, pineapples, flowers and characters on bright swatches of red and blue backgrounds. Its not technically a village, since there are less than 10 buildings adjacent to each other and you can see the whole place in 5 minutes tops…if you don’t take any pictures that is. The paintings are colourful, quirky and evoke childlike wonder made even more surprising when you realise that the painter is no spring chicken himself.
As the story goes, Grandpa Huang, a former soldier and security guard who lived in the military housing complex, started painting his and his neighbors’ houses to give the area some spot of colour and life in 2010 when he was already 86 years old! The colourful houses inspired the students of the nearby university to petition to protect the former military housing complex from being torn down and replaced by condos. The rest is instagram history as today, millions of people visit Rainbow Village every year for the endless photo ops available.
If you are lucky, you may even get to meet Grandpa Huang as he still makes an appearance once in a while. We actually have the good fortune of seeing Grandpa on the day we visited but he looked so frail now we did not have the heart to disturb him.
Rainbow Village opens at 9:00 am and closes at 6:00 pm. The best time to visit is at 4:30 – 5:00ish in the afternoon when the sun is near setting and there are no shadows within the building complex. You won’t bake in the hot Taichung sun and the lighting at this time of the day is great. If you get there around 5, you will still have a good hour of scrambling for spots for great photos. Just be prepared for the crowds as it’s a really popular attraction. Its free to enter but do be respectful and keep the noise down as people still live in the houses, and if you can buy a souvenir or some food or drink to support the place, why not?
How to go to Rainbow Village using Public Bus?
You can get to Rainbow Village from Taichung City by first heading to the Taichung High Speed Rail Station. At the ground level of the station is a bus station. From the Taichung High Speed Rail Station, take buses that go to the nearby Lingtung University such as buses 70, 26, 800, 617, 56 or 74 (do note that buses 56 and 74’s stop is not in the HSR but located opposite the Xinwuri TRA Station which is adjacent to the HSR). These buses stop right across the Rainbow Village. Rainbow Village is about 15 minutes away from the HSR station.
Alternatively, you may also take bus 56 from Gancheng Station in downtown Taichung which heads the opposite way. Bus 56 terminates at the Xinwuri TRA station. However this bus runs only once every 30 minutes. Travel time from Taichung City to Rainbow Village by bus takes about 1 hour.
Rainbow Village is located in western Taichung. There is nothing in the area to see except Lingtung University and the Taichung High Speed Rail Station. The closest mall is Ikea so you may have a late lunch in Ikea then head to Rainbow Village. Given its proximity to the High Speed Rail, you may schedule your visit to the Rainbow Village around the time you arrive or depart Taichung City. You may leave your luggage inside the paid lockers in the station.
On weekends bus 655 run between Lingtung University and Gaomei Wetlands. If you finish early in Rainbow Village you could squeeze in Gaomei wetlands’ sunset. Journey time is 1 hour.
Do make time to visit Rainbow Village. Its not a large area but the place and its story is inspiring. Its how a single man can make a difference, how creativity knows no age, how joy abounds in unexpected places, and and of course how instagram can draw crowds.
Rainbow Village address: 408 Taiwan, Taichung City, Nantun District
Colourful, vibrant and quirky…It’s not a large place!
See more of our how to use the public buses in Taichung series:
Don’t miss the public buses in Taichung. Riding public buses is a great way to know a city, and feel its energy. Where better to take public buses than in Taichung? Some of the buses may be a bit old, and crowded, and the aircon not so great but never mind all that because the buses in Taichung are free! Yes, free. Its the only city in the world we have ever been to where the public buses are free. Even in Taiwan’s main city, Taipei, you have to pay for bus rides in Taipei.
I can not say it enough, Taichung buses are free to ride. Well at least for the first 10km, but as most of the well loved destinations would be within 10km of each other anyway, its no issue.
Get an Easycard
The first step to enjoying Taichung’s free public buses is to get an easycard. You can get the easycard from any convenience store. It cost NTD100 just for the card itself plus NTD100 deposit, so initial cost NTD200. You may want to add more cash value to it because you can also use the easycard in trains, inter-city buses, and to pay in shops.
Download the Taichung Bus App
As I described in my Taichung Survival Guide article, the Taichung Bus App is a livesaver. With this app you can plan your route, anticipate the arrival time of your bus and once on board you can track the bus you are riding to see how many more stops before your desired bus stops.
Things to know:
The buses only stop at designated bus stops.
To hail a bus, bring up your arm and keep it up. This is a Taichung quirk, the locals don’t wave their arms up and down like we do when hailing a bus.
Most buses have two doors, front and rear. You can enter and exit either doors. Whenever you board and get off a bus be sure to tap your Easycard. If you don’t tap out, your card will be charged the price of the entire bus route until terminal!
To get the bus to stop and alight, press the stop button.
The bus stop shows you the bus numbers that stop at that particular bus stop. Using your Tachung Bus App you can find out the timing of the next bus thats coming your way.
The app has a route planner. It can give you suggestions on what bus to take from one place to another.
Most buses have onboard flashing tickers and audio recordings that tell the approaching bus stop. The flashing screen and audio together with your bus app will help you navigate and figure out where you are at any given moment.
Using the route planner
First you need to put in your starting point. Your starting point will by default be your current location (the app will use GPS to figure out where you are), but you can type over this the name of a place or a specific landmark as your starting point. Secondly, put in the place where you want to go. The app will then give you suggestions on the closest bus stop and how far it is, and which bus number to take. A note of caution though, some of the suggested routes are complicated or involve you walking long distances. You have to understand that the app is an algorithm not a real person and you can game it. You can play around with your starting point such as using current location or different landmarks such as a department store or park you are familiar with to get the best route.
The bus stops are named after the road where they are in for example XYZ intersection, or a building for example ABC Department Store. There will be signage that show the name of that bus stop, the buses that stop at that particular bus stop and bus routes. However, only the starting point and beginning point of the route will be in English! The middle stops will be all in Chinese. Now what? Thats where your app will come in handy.
Where it again gets a bit complicated is when you realise that bus stops on opposites sides of the road, that is buses going opposite directions, have the same descriptor. For instance you can have “Taichung Station Taiwan Boulevard” on the bus stop this side of the road, and on the opposite side is also “Taichung Station Taiwan Boulevard”. To go around this conundrum, look at the bus routes pasted on the bus stops to help you figure out if the buses on your side of the road are going in the direction you want to go.
After sometime you will get the hang of the Taichung bus system. Buses originate and end mostly at Taichung Park. Two or three stops away from Taichung Park (areas around Gancheng Station and Taichung Station) are the historic and touristic sites such as Taichung Bus Station, Taichung Railway Station, Miyahara Ice Cream and ChunShuiTang Pearl Milk Tea). Beyond Main Station is Taiwan Boulevard, the main road that will bring you to the Natural Science Museum, Fine Arts Museum, Taichung City Municipal Hall, Sogo Department Store, Mitsukoshi/Top City Department Stores and Tiger City department store. Public buses that are in the 300 series (300, 301, 302, 307 etc) ply this main route. To go to Fengjia Night Market or Chungyo Department Store from Taichung Station Taiwan Boulevard, you can check out buses 82, 201 or 901 among many others. Bus 55 is also a favourite to go to Chungyo/Night Market but its bus stop is at Minzu Road.
Want to get off the bus? Press the red button, duh. In newer buses the button may be located along hand rails and poles.
Onboard a typical Taichung bus. Note the flashing screen overhead front where the next stop is shown. In this bus the stop buttons are located on the poles (yellow plastic protrusions).
Typical bus stop showing the buses that stop by.
Bus route. It’s all in Chinese except the starting and end points but don’t worry the bus app will help. In this picture, bus 33 is heading towards Overseas Chinese University.
Route Planner. I want to go to Ikea.
Bus tracker. I’m onboard the bus and it’s 6 bus stops to Ikea.
See more of our How to Use the Public Buses in Taichung:
Flying in to Taichung There is no direct flight from Singapore or Manila to Taichung. The only direct flights I found originate from HK and Macau. If you are going to Taichung your best bet is to fly to Taipei. More accurately, fly to Taoyuan International Airport which is located outside of Taipei. Taipei is 50km north of the airport while Taichung is 140km south of the airport. Fun fact Taichung actually means central Taiwan.
How to go to Taichung from the Taoyuan International Airport? There are four options how to go to Taichung from Taoyuan airport using public transportation: taxi, high speed rail, bus and provincial trains.
Taxi or private car: I had a quote for the one way trip at NTD3,000. This is an option if you have a lot of luggage.
By MRT and High Speed Rail The Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) is the bullet train, similar to Japan’s Shinkansen trains, traveling with speeds of more than 250kms per hour. To get to the high speed rail, you first have to take the MRT from the airport.
To go to the High Speed Rail Station, take the MRT from Taoyuan Airport. Taoyuan HSR station is 5 stops from Terminal 2.
After exiting the immigration area, turn to your left and follow the signs to the MRT. The MRT station is located behind the check in counters of airlines. You can buy a token for NTD25 from the machines or use your pre-paid easycard. Enter the station and take the train bound for Huanbei/Zhongli. Note that at this point, you are travelling away from Taipei going southward. Alight from the MRT train at station: Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station. Exit the MRT station and walk to the adjacent High Speed Rail station. You can buy a ticket from the machines at the station (input the origin and destination in the machine: Taoyuan/Taichung) or buy from the ticket counters. Cash, debit and credit cards are accepted for payment at the high speed rail. THSR fare Taoyuan/Taichung costs NTD540 one way for a reserved seat. There is an outlet mall with a foodcourt near the station and a McDonalds next to the THSR so you can have a meal before boarding your train. You may also bring food and drinks into the high speed trains.
There are two kinds of seats at THSR reserved and non-reserved. Reserved seats costs NTD20 more and as the name suggests guarantees you a seat and gives you a seat number like you would get in a plane when you check in. Sometimes, such as during rush hour, trains are packed, the first train in would not have any reserved seats left. If you are in a hurry or want to save money just buy the non reserved seats. You may board the train of your preferred timing just that you may not be seated together with your companions or even have to stand if the train is packed.
When going to Taichung from Taoyuan board the southbound trains. When you get your THSR ticket, note the departure time, train number journey number (the train number) and your carriage number. Reserved seats normally board carriages 1-9, while non reserved seats are located in carriages 10-12. Look at your ticket and follow what it says.
Taiwan High Speed Rail
I find the high speed rail the most comfortable form of public transport from the airport to Taichung. The high speed trains are clean, have captain seats with good legroom and eating is also allowed onboard. It takes less than 2 hours from the airport to Taichung via MRT and high speed rail including waiting times. The trains are also frequent, with trains running every 30 minutes or less. One disadvantage of high speed rail is that the Taichung station is outside of city centre. There is a bus terminal located below the station however and you can take buses to Taichung proper. Take any of the buses terminating at Taichung Park to bring you to the city proper, journey takes about 30 minutes. If you are going to the Beitun area (Lee Hospital/Alice Hotel) take bus 33, journey time 1 hour because this bus route is a bit winding. Taxi from the THSR Taichung Station to city proper costs about NTD400.
Airport Buses: the bus ride from Taoyuan Airport to Taichung takes 3 hours and costs only NTD300. The bus terminates at the Taichung Bus Terminal near Taichung Main Station. You can find the bus terminal at Basement of Terminal 1 or right outside Level 1 of Terminal. You need to purchase a ticket from the ticket counters prior to boarding the bus. Airport buses are very roomy, have captain seats and drink holders. They are comfortable except I sometimes get motion sickness so I still prefer the THSR.
The buses run once every 1.5 hours so you may have to wait a bit for the next bus. The airport bus is the cheapest option for public transportation. Other advantages are that buses are end-to-end, there is no need to transfer trains and buses like you would if you use the THSR, and the buses bring you right to the city centre.
Provincial train: TRA trains. I have not tried this option. Based on what I read on tripadvisor you have to take the MRT all the way to terminal station Huanbei then take a taxi to Zhongli TRA. I will update once I have tried TRA personally.
Language No Chinese? No problem as long as you have your phone!
Google directions and maps will help you navigate your bus and walking routes. Google translate can try to translate Chinese menus too, but sometimes the results can be funny.
Older folks in Taichung generally do not speak English however the younger generation (20s and younger) speak very good English. Most taxi drivers will not be able to understand you if you give directions in English. What I find especially useful is to have screen shots of the address in Chinese and a picture of the building to show to the driver. For instance I screen shot my booking in Agoda as the hotel address was in Chinese and showed it to the driver. Once you have checked in your hotel the hotel staff may be able to help you write down place names in Chinese. Also keep a hotel calling card with you at all times.
Restaurants in malls will usually have an English menu however some food court stalls may not. In this case, the screen shot trick also works. I took pictures of the food I wanted to eat to show to the store owner to order.
Necessity is the mother of all invention, and you will find a way to communicate, do not worry. Never fear to approach the locals, the Taiwanese are very friendly and warm so you will be alright.
Public transportation There are taxis, buses and trains you can use to go around Taichung. Taxi flag down price is NTD85 and to go between most places within the city will cost NTD165 (USD6.00) only. Buses are essentially free around Taichung if you have an easycard. (Buses only charge fare beyond 10km.). Tap your easycard against the reader as you enter and exit a bus. Push the stop button when you want the bus to stop.
Get an easycard. As soon as you can, buy an easycard from any 7-11 or other convenience store. The cards themselves cost NTD100 plus NTD100 deposit. Add cash value because you can use this card at the trains as well as to pay in restaurants, supermarkets and convenience stores. The cards work everywhere in Taiwan.
There are other versions of the integrated card (IC) that are used in Taiwan, the icash (usable mainly in 7-11 stores), iPass and HappyCash but some bus lines do not accept them. Just be careful that you get the EasyCard which has the widest acceptance.
Buses are the most popular travel option for locals. Hey, it’s free! It’s a must to download the Taichung bus app especially if you don’t speak Chinese. The Taichung Bus app was my lifesaver when I stayed in Taichung. Input the bus number and the app will show you (in English) the next bus stops and estimated time of arrival in real time. This app helped me to find out how soon my bus will arrive, and once onboard showed me when my destination is near. In addition, the bus itself has a screen and audio recording that tells the next bus stop in both Chinese and English.
Money Exchange I would advise that you plan your cashflow well. Outside of the airport, it’s not easy to find money exchangers. Only banks may exchange money and some banks only accept USD, HKD and Euros to exchange to NTD.
Alternatively you may also set up your atm cards to enable you to withdraw money locally.
Local SIM cards and other deals You can find good SIM card packages from Klook. One package we tried was phone with wifi for 10 days that cost less than USD10. You may collect (and return) the phone in the airport. The booth is located on the left, end of the hall, near the signage for the MRT.
Weather Taiwan experience four seasons with November-March being the coldest. Check out the weather before you go so you may bring appropriate clothing.
You may find navigating around Taichung a bit tricky because of the language barrier. Don’t let that stop you from exploring the city and getting around. When we let ourselves be open to new experiences, that’s when the adventure begins.
Mr & Mrs TTM spent a week in Athens and Santorini in winter and it was a really interesting holiday.
It’s true what they say about Athens- it’s an open air museum. There are lots of archaelogical sites in and around Athens. The most famous of them all of course is the Acropolis, the city on the hill that was the seat of Greece’s glory days as a world power. This city dates back to 400BC and saw the rise and fall of successive civilizations and conquerors from the Myceneans to the Greeks to the Romans, the Italians and Turks and finally modern Greece, each successive power building on (or modifying or destroying as the case may be) it’s predecessors’ architectural achievements at the same site.
The most famous of the buildings in the Acropolis is The Parthenon, originally a temple dedicated to Athena and at various points in its history was converted to a church and a mosque. Aside from the Acropolis complex there are other famous Archaeological sites at the foot of the hill e.g. Herod Atticus Odeon, the Roman Agora, Hadrian’s Library, the Temple of Zeus and the Temple of Hippastus. The modern Acropolis Museum building was built over the ruins of an old residential complex that was at least a thousand year old. You could see though the transparent glass floors the archaeological diggings under and see a 1,000-year old living room with its mosaic floor intact! It was very interesting to walk the places that have thousand year plus histories. We literally breathed history in Athens.
Unfortunately, the effects of the crisis are noticeable in the city. There is a sense of neglect around the ruins e.g. rubbish in the streets, lack of cleaners and security personnel in and about the areas, abandoned diggings and unrepaired facilities. There were some graffitis even in the ruins – these are irreplaceable monuments not just for Athens but for humanity as a whole and it’s very sad that they are not being taken care of as they should.
What we liked best about Athens is that you could walk to all the attractions. We had 3 full days in Athens and we never once used the metro in all that time. We simply walked to all the attractions. The historical and tourist sites are all located in a compact city centre. From Syntagma Square, it’s a no more than a 30-minute walk to Acropolis. In between lies the Plaka and Monastiraki where you can find great restaurants, shops and more-a turn in a corner could surprise you with an excavated site, they are just all over the city.
We found the accommodation in Athens cheap. We stayed in the Acropolis area in a quiet neighborhood in a 3 star hotel that cost less than €100 per night. However, the food is quite expensive, more expensive than Barcelona. (See our post on our Holiday in Barcelona Lovely Food, Great Art) Lunch or dinner in middle range restaurants across the Acropolis museums with 3-4 items good for two people is €40. We found a gem of a place that not only saved us money but also let us have a taste of home cooked Greek food. To Kati Allo is an unassuming place located behind the Acropolis museum. They have large servings and the bill for two people only comes up to €15-30. If you are not picky, souvlakis and sandwiches could be have for €4. Greek cooking uses lots of olive oils, tomatoes and eggplants. Seafood is not as common or cheap as we would have liked but we did enjoy the salads and grilled vegetables and meats.
The Itinerary:
We were supposed to go on our holidays in September but due to work commitments it got pushed back lots of times and before we knew it it was the last week of November. We had misgivings about going to Greece in the winter but you go when you can right? As it turned out, autumn/winter is a great time to visit Athens as the cooler weather made for comfortable exploring.
Day 1
Started the day wandering around in Syntagma Square and watched the changing of the guards at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier; visited the ruins of Hadrians Library and the Roman Agora; walked around Monastiraki,wandered into the famous Athens flea market, and after more walking found ourselves on the foot of the Acropolis. The white marbles of the Acropolis steps and the theater of Dionysius are impressive.
Day 2
Morning spent in Acropolis Museum which gave us a nice background to the visit to Acropolis itself in the afternoon. The museum is just a 10 minutes walk to the Acropolis.
Day 3
Rode the bus to Piraues Port out of curiosity (nothing there, not worth a visit unless you’re joining a cruise or getting on a ferry); went back Syntagma Square and walked to the Roman Temple of Zeus barely making it before they close for the day. The highlight of our day was watching the sunset from Areospagus Hill (or Mars Hill) which is just off the entrance to the Acropolis. If you are Christian the Aerospagus is significant because this was the place where Saint Paul preached to the members of the Aerospagites which is a jury that tries murder cases in Ancient Athens. In the evening after dinner we bought souvenirs in Plaka.
Tips:
1) Walk to everywhere- it’s a very walkable city. The marble steps to the Acropolis are very manageable with low gradient but they can get slippery so do be careful.
2) When you do need to use public transport the metro is very easy to navigate and is clean and modern. Single trip tickets for the metro could be purchased at the station. We took the X95 bus from the airport to Syntagma Square and while the bus is a bit old it was not so bad. Cost €6 per person and took about 40 minutes to the city. Tickets were purchased at the kiosk just before the bus stop outside the arrivals hall. Taxi fares are fixed- no meters in Athens. Be sure to fix the price with your driver before getting in the car. Generally expect to pay: €5 for Syntagma-Plaka or Acropolis area; €38 from the Airport daytime but midnight-5am rides are more expensive at €55. Public buses are trickier- tickets need to be purchased from designated kiosks in the city centers though we never found the kiosks to buy the bus tickets from.
3) Validate your ticket (by inserting it into a machine located on the bus or right outside a metro station) as soon as you board a bus or enter a metro station. There are no turnstiles or gates at the metro stations but you apparently risk a large fine if you’re caught without a validated ticket inside the metro.
4) Do you need a guide to the Acropolis? This is a matter of preference. We hired the services of a licensed tour guide on the spot before going into the Acropolis. Honestly we found the guide only distracted us from enjoying our time at the Acropolis. Going first to the Acropolis Museum and/or reading up before going into the Acropolis would give you enough background information to understand and appreciate what’s at the site.
5) Be mindful of opening hours. Acropolis closes at 5pm and the other ruins generally close at 3pm which we find too early. We are not sure if it’s a public policy or we just got lucky but we’ve turned up at monuments 30 minutes before closing time and got in for free. Just enough time to snap photos and read the plaques, but it was free of charge so we can’t complain.
A visit to Corinth makes a nice day tour from Athens. To go to Corinth from Athens by train, take the metro blue line from Syntagma all the way to the last station on the line-D. Plakentias. Metro cost €1.4 per person one way. The blue line is the same train line that goes to the airport from the city.
Transfer to one of the suburban trains from D. Plakentias bound for Aktio. Corinth is third to the last station and it takes one hour from D. Plakentias to Corinth station. You may buy the train ticket at the station, the cost is €14 per person round trip. Be sure to validate the ticket before boarding and keep the validated ticket with you at all times as inspectors would ask for your ticket at some point in the journey.
Ancient Corinth is about 5km away from the Corinth train station. To go to Ancient Corinth we took a taxi from the station and it cost €10 each way.
Ancient Corinth ruins include a temple to Apollo and a Roman Fora. If you are Christian this place is significant as one of the places where Saint Paul established early churches and the Roman Fora is where he was tried by Gallus after Jewish accusations that he was preaching a foreign religion. Entrance fee to the archaeological site cost €4. They close at 3pm.
On the top of the mountain is Acrocorinth or the Acropolis of Corinth. You can drive here or hire a taxi to see amazing views of the Agean Sea.
Aside from Ancient Corinth ruins, visitors could also see the Corinth Canal but this attraction is closed in winter.
We just got back from Santorini and like everyone else who’ve been there or dreaming to get there, we’ve become fans of the island. That didn’t happen immediately though.
We were supposed to go on our holidays in September but due to work commitments it got pushed back lots of times and before we knew it it was the last week of November. We had misgivings about going to Greece in the winter but you go when you can right?
We wanted to get to Santorini as quickly as possible so we flew RyanAir which took less than an hour from Athens instead of an 8-hour ferry trip. (Next time we visit and have more time we would try the ferry so that we could see more of the Greek isles and have a mini-cruise). The flight was full. We landed before 8 in the morning and from the airport took the local bus to Fira. Bus stop is right outside the single airport building. The bus is clean and modern, so unlike the crappy airport buses in Athens. We checked into Hotel Antonia where our host greeted us with smiles, maps and hot coffee. Thankfully, even that early in the morning our room was ready and we managed to rest a bit before hitting the town.
We arrived Santorini from Athens. It was November and the temperature was at 17C. We weren’t expecting beach weather and knew that this is the winter or low season. What we didn’t expect though was how isolated the island felt with 90% of the houses and business closed! We walked from Fira’s Main Street to the winding little streets and steps that connect the many hotels and houses on the cliff and had our first sight of the caldera. To be perfectly honest we were disappointed because it was overcast, skies were gray and looked washed out in photos, there was a faint mist covering the caldera, cigarette butts and rubbish were on the ground and in some places it smelled of donkey poo!
The famous Caldera
We walked from Fira to Imerovigli for more than an hour. The businesses were closed and there was no one around except for a few construction crews repairing or renovating for the hotel owners and a group of package tourers wandering around like us. An odd family here or there may have been inside the houses because there was the faint cooking smell of tomato -this made us hungry but there were no open restaurants once we left Fira behind all the way to Imerovigli where we finally found a bakery selling sandwiches.
The next day we took the 10am public bus from Fira to Akrotiri. We walked up a little hill and followed the trail on the cliff below huge rocks piled on each other and ignoring the warning signs stuck on the way against the danger of landslide!! We were rewarded by one of the most amazing sights we’ve ever seen- the red beach. At the same time the sun’s rays came out from behind the clouds and we got some lovely photos. I think this is the moment we feel in love with Santorini.
Red Beach
After the red beach we found time to visit the Akrotiri Archaelogical Site before taking the bus back to Fira. In Santorini, all public buses start from and terminate at Fira. There are no inter-village buses except the buses that go to either Akrotiri or Perissa which stops by Pyrgos from or to Fira.
In the afternoon we went to Ia (Oia) and this is where the love was sealed. The drive from Fira to Ia is very scenic and the landscape diverse-one minute you see plains, next volcanic mountains and the caldera. In Ia we finally found the spot to take the perfect blue dome picture- you know the picture that appears on every magazine or postcard advertising Santorini.
Famous domes in Ia
Our third and last day on the island we spent in Pyrgos, Perissa Beach and catching the sunset one last time in Fira.
Anywhere in Santorini is picture perfect..
So is Santorini in November (or in autumn or winter) possible? Yes very much so just keep in mind the following:
1) Stay for a few days. The weather could be unpredictable and you will be very sad if the only day you were there it was overcast or raining. We stayed 3 full days and we only got bright blue clear skies on the third day. Besides you need more than a day to see the different sights the island has to offer.
2) Fira is where you should stay as at least the Main Street retains some semblance of life. You can catch the public bus from Fira station, roads are still busy here and there would be a few restaurants and eateries open, more than enough to give you choices.
3) The days will be short so plan well. Sunset is at 5pm. Local buses only make 9 or so trips a day (lesser on weekends). Renting a car is cheap and driving if you can is the best option to explore the island.
Notwithstanding the isolation in the winter time, there are lots of advantages visiting Santorini in November. You could walk and hike long distances very comfortably in the cool weather. People are friendly and more relaxed, everyone’s quick to offer a smile or greeting. But the one single best reason to come to Santorini in November as we discovered is precisely the lack of crowds- no scrambling for a spot to watch the sunset and best of all no unwanted photo bombers in your photos! How else could we have gotten the blue dome pictures just like the ones in the magazines?
We could not get enough of Catalunya. After gorging ourselves on Food and Art in Barcelona and slowing down in tranquil Cadaques we visited Figueres and Girona on our way back to Barcelona. The bus took us from Cadaques to Figueres. From the bus terminal we went to the city square and walked to Dali’s museum.
Dali himself commissioned this museum to himself before his death. Surreal, madcap, self absorbed and totally convinced of his own genius, Dali’s works are colorful and lively.
Who would paint his wife with one breast exposed? Great detailing on the snake bracelet.
Before Rihanna there was Dali
Look up the ceiling
He even designed jewelry
We went in the morning about 10am to the Dali museum and it was already fairly crowded. People could not get enough of this mad genius.
Aftee lunch we boarded the train and went to Girona. We spent our last night in Catalunya in Girona. Girona is very similar to Barcelona with it’s historic alleys and old buildings.
After our feast of Food and Art in Barcelona, we wanted to go off the beaten track a little and decided to go up to Costa Brava.
Costa Brava is Catalunya’s northeastern coast. It stretches from just outside of Barcelona all the way to the French border.
Cadaques used to be a sleepy fishing village, it hosted Dali and his swinging friends just before WW2 and now attracts visitors from all over the world who wish to enjoy its beautiful coastline and the peace and quiet of a small town. Mediterranean light is different from light anywhere else in the world, probably because light from the sun hits the Mediterranean at 45 degrees. Cadaques is a shinning example of this Mediterranean luminosity. Clear dark blue waters capped by a bright sky and wispy clouds. The white houses perched precariously on the cliffs. We imagine in the summer months of July and August there would be plenty of sun worshipers, but in the middle of October only a few brave souls were in the water.
The clear waters of Cadaques
We could stay here forever
White washed houses on the hill
We took the Renfe train from Passieg de Gracia in Barcelona before 10 in the morning. The train’s last stop was Figueres which we reached about 12, so we had to take a bus to go further. After a tapas lunch we boarded the 1pm bus. The bus from Figueres stopped along the way in the various towns among them Roses, which is equally famous as Cadaques. We reached Cadaques about 2:00 in the afternoon. We walked up from the bus terminal to the town centre. Cadaques was much colder than Barcelona, about 10C that time.
Cava, sangria, anchovies and the sunset
As we did not make any reservations beforehand we had to quickly look for accommodations. While walking around we bumped into a compatriot from the home country and she recommended Ranxho hostel. It was a good choice as the rooms while basic were very clean, the bed was comfortable and the sheets while mismatched smelled of laundry dried under the sun. The hostel is run by a family and we could see they take pride in their place. It was the cheapest room we stayed at while in Catalunya at €40. We planned on staying only one night but Cadaques was so beautiful we ended up staying two nights!
We had breakfast the next day at one of the places by the beach. We walked up narrow alleys and admired the holiday homes with white washed walls, wrought iron windows and colorful plant boxes. We followed the road down the coastline all the way to the little island off the coast, and just breathed the fresh ocean air feeling grateful to be alive and enjoying the beautiful sights. We even found time to walk up the opposite side of town to Port Lligat where Dali had a house.
Our lunch of spaghetti, steamed mussels and more chillies
When we got hungry we had lunch at the place next to the hostel where we had the largest spaghetti portion we ever had, with tapas and coke. For dinner we had our host Rita’s crepes. Yum yum.
Food and Art. These 2 words sum up our Barcelona trip. Our week in Catalunya was the best gastronomical experience of our lives and in between meals we saw the works of the masters Gaudi, Picasso and Dali. Yummy food, great architecture and paintings, what more could you ask for? Add in nice weather and friendly people and you’ve got the perfect holiday, a Barcelonan holiday.
The itinerary
5 days Barcelona
2 days Cadaques
1 day Figuerres/Girona
Pace of Sightseeing: slow
We spent 5 days in Barcelona middle of October 2015. We like to travel during the shoulder season to save money and we love fall weather. The weather was refreshing, between 15-20C, we got away just wearing light sweaters and cardigans, which was good for me, as I hate feeling cold and bulky clothes (hubby likes cold better). Barcelona in October, fall season was just beginning, the leaves turning bright yellow, a quarter of the leaves have fallen but a good deal of them are still firmly attached to the trees. The weather was mild and clear, other than the night we had dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant when it rained, we were blessed with nice, cool weather that was perfect for walking around and sightseeing.
The people we met were polite and nice if slightly aloof. Nobody was in a hurry. Everybody in the hotels and restaurants spoke English but they appreciate if you try some Spanish or even better Catalan.
Food Glorious Food
Tapas
Peach Melba at Caelis, a 1 starred Michelin restaurant
Patatas Bravas and Fried Chilis
We ate some of the best meals we ever had in Barcelona. Of course it helped that the weather was cool and we were hungry from all of that walking, but really the food was beyond compare, very fresh, with great variety and some awesome cooking. We had croissants, coffee and zumo naranja natural (fresh squeezed orange juice) for breakfasts, gorged on fresh seafood, paellas and tapas for lunch and dinner, ate cakes and sweets from neighborhood bakeries, and treated ourselves to a Michelen restaurant dinner. We found the restaurant food to be cheaper and nicer in Barcelona than Singapore where we live and work, most of our meals (without wine) came to under €30 for two people. Add €20 for a bottle of cava. None of the hotels we stayed at served breakfast and that was alright because there were plenty of neighborhood cafes serving the locals their cafes, te and croissants for €5 and under. The Michelen restaurant dinner was an extravagance, but hey why not, this was Barcelona, the city with the largest number of Michelen starred restaurants.
Be sure to try La Paradeta, a non-pretentious restaurant that sells and cooks seafood by the weight market style. If you stick to mussels, squid and fish and avoid the expensive oyster you can easily tuck in a nice and filling lunch or dinner for under €20 for two people (before wine). In the Boquerria market in Ramblas, we tried one of the stalls that sold seafood by weight as well..food was nice but more expensive and not as fresh as Paradeta.
Here is our itinerary:
Day 1 – Arrive about 3pm, and settled into our first hotel.
Day 2 – As this was a Sunday went for mass in a church, walked to admire the houses on Passeig de Gracia (Gaudi’s Casa Batllo, La Pedrera and their equally magnificent neighbors), changed to our 2nd hotel, lunched at one of the restaurants around Rambla Catalunya and spent the afternoon in Parc Guell.
Day 3 – Joined a Montserrat and winery daytour. Dinner in La Boqueria market in La Rambla.
Day 4 – Morning went to Sagrada Familia by metro, looked around and appreciated Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, bought souvenirs from one of the shops around Sagrada Familia, took the public bus to Arc de Triomf, walked around Ciutadella Park, took the bus and metro back to Sagrada Familia to tour the inside (we only managed to get tickets on the day itself for the 5pm intake). Finished the night with a dinner at a Michelin starred restaurant.
Day 5 – Changed into our 3rd hotel, walked around La Rambla, visited Barri Gotico or the Old Quarter and toured Picasso museum.
Tips:
1) Stay in Eixample rather than on Ciutat Vella or La Rambla to save on hotel rates. Hotels on the Passeig de Gracia side of the Placa Catalunya are cheaper (and newer) than the other end of the street going to the harbor. Aside from hotels, restaurants and shops also tend to be cheaper on this side.
2) Use public transport. We took the aerobus from and to the airport. You can buy the ticket from the driver onboard. The bus end at Placa Catalunya from which the Ramblas are within walking distance. Buy the T10 ticket in one of the machines in the metro stations and use it on both bus and metro around Barcelona. T10 allows you to take 10 journeys on the card, and the card can be shared by more than 1 person, and last we checked the T10 costs €10per ticket, this is very economical compared to the €2 per single journey ticket.
3) Pre-book the Sagrada Familia tickets. If you want to see the inside, know that this is a very popular tour and they only allow ingress by the hour on your ticket, but once inside you may stay as long as you like. We did not prebook any tickets online, and when we tried to buy tickets online the night before going there the website would not sell us any. We had to go buy from the ticket counter at the back of the church, we were very lucky to have gotten tickets to get in at 5pm, one of the last intakes for the day!
4) Wear comfortable shoes. If you stay around Placa Catalunya like we did you could walk to almost all the attractions.
5) Barcelonians are not Spaniards, they are Catalans. Their language is not the standard Spanish (which they call rather condescendingly “Castellano” they speak Catalan; say Hola (hello) and Gracies (not gracias, pronounced like “gratzi”).
Top picks:
Our top sights (in this order) for Barcelona are: Parc Guell, Sagrada Familia & Barri Gotico.
Parc Guell
Viaducts in Parc Guell. Gaudi led a very austere life. Yet his works are playful, even whimsical.
The viaducts blend into the natural environment
Gingerbread houses
Paid Area, the main square
Allocate half a day to see the enormous Parc Guell, go in the afternoon when the sun is coming down. Entrance to the Parc is free, but you need separate tickets to get to see Gaudi’s house and the main square. Parc Guell was supposed to be an exclusive gated community for the affluent in the 1900s Barcelona who wanted a residence far away from the hustle of the city and was designed by Gaudi. Parc Guell is on a mountain. You can have a good panoramic view of Barcelona from up here. The Parc is sprawling and there is plenty of whimsy in the winding viaducts, birds nests and colorful tiles. There is a big stage like area near the entrance which was supposed to be the main square and an aqueduct at the same time to collect rain water. From here you can take photos of the fairylike gingerbread houses (which were built as guard houses to the estate but now used as gift shops). How to get here: bus or taxi. We used the metro to get to Parc Guell but this turned out not to be a good idea as we ended up at the back of the park and had to walk a long way to get to the main square.
Sagrada Familia and Gaudi’s works
Sagrada Familia Church, still under construction almost 100 years since they started
A monster of a church, looking gothic and weathered outside but inside, amazingly light and airy it was almost unbelievable. Supposed to be Gaudi’s crowning masterpiece unfortunately he passed away before the church’s completion. Metro station: Sagrada Familia.
Amongst the 3 masters Gaudi is inarguably the one with the greatest influence in Barcelona. The city is so highly shaped by Gaudi that you can not take Gaudi and still have a Barcelona. Walk along Passieg de Gracia and admire the madcap genius of a house of dragons bones and skin of Casa Batllo and the chimney stacks shaped like knights’ masks of Casa Mila. Metro station: Passeig de Gracia.
Casa Batlo at night, a house designed by Gaudi
Las Ramblas and Barri Gotico
La Rambla from Placa Catalunya
Walk along Las Ramblas and take in the main tourist street. Stop by and eat and shop in La Boqueria. Continue to Barri Gotico or the old quarter. Centuries old buildings, cobblestone and narrow alleyways to get lost in and breathe the history. Try and ignore the souvenir shops. Perfect for walking and exploring.
We went to see the Picasso museum just behind Barri Gotico but left not so impressed, maybe because we were not really fans of the guy. The museum has a good collection of his early works as an art student. There were some knick knacks too, for instance they show an old magazine page where Picasso sketched his friend’s head, tehee it looked like something a fifth grader will draw.
How to get here: From metro station Catalunya walk to Placa Catalunya, to Las Ramblas and Barri Gotico. Or if you want to start from the Picasso Museum metro station: Jaume Uno.
Montserrat
Mysterious Montserrat
The Montserrat day tour was the only guided tour we had during this trip. It was good to get an overview of Barcelona and its history. We bought the tour online via viatour and the tour was run by Castletour. We met up with the group in Placa Catalunya, then a bus took us to Montserrat. In Montserrat our tour guide told us the history of the church and its surrounds and we had a couple of hours free time. We used the time to go up the funicular train to the top of the mountain and hiked there a bit. We left the monastery a little before noon and went to a small winery where we had lunch and had a tour of the vineyard. We had wine tasting and the guide gave us a great lesson on wines and its characteristics, my aspiring sommelier husband really enjoyed knowing about grading wines scent, taste, color, leg, etc. It was one of the highlights of our trip, it cost us USD100 per person. The pace of the day tour was nice and easy and left plenty of time to enjoy our surroundings. My only disappointment was that we had to leave the Montserrat church before lunch and missed the boys choir performance. You could go to Montserrat using public transport (train) and that’s what we would do should we have another chance to visit Barcelona again.
We enjoyed our time immensely in Barcelona, and as with any other trip we want to wander off the beaten track. When we travelled to London we added Edinburgh and Inverness on the side. This time around we took a trip up the Costa Brava coast and went to Cadaques. Check here for our trip from Barcelona to Cadaques.
