Out Of Kaohsiung Via The THSR

I'm done with Kaohsiung, let's head back to Taipei, still riding the HSR, just the reverse of how I came.

You already know those pictures, right? The mall where the MRT Red Line (R16) Station is located, the bus stop where there's a nearby smoking open area, and the escalators going up to the THSR Station.

So I went up to depart. Oist, I like those reminders on the sides of their escalators, parang sa atin din.

And.., the Zouying Station. Modern! Even wider and cleaner than many of our provincial airports!

Curious, I asked why their signage always say 'Business Class/Upgrade'. Staff told me that most riders buy only the economy class tickets online, then decide at the stations if they want to upgrade or not.

I did not anymore ask why, but I guess passengers want to see the 'live crowds' first, as to how crazy it will be. Then, if they notice it will be too cramped in economy, they pay for upgrade to business class.

I noted most passengers pay electronically. But instructions are not in English. So I paid in cash!

Sukli of my 2,000NTD. As I said earlier, this thing is expensive. Aba, 1,980NTD is mg 4K pesos yan!

The directional signs said my train was departing from Platform 3A at 10:35AM. Hinanap!

Nahanap naman. Pasikot-sikot pero madali lang, if you carefully read the signages and your ticket!

Oops! The floor signage says lampas ako, I should enter at the next door to the right. Gets nyo?

Okay lumipat! But it was only 10:10AM. 25 minutes pa, so tingin-tingin muna at things like these:

Let us talk about those pictures. iTaiwan, as I earlier mentioned, is the free public wifi all over Taiwan including the islands, provided by the government since 2011. Not just for citizens but for tourists too.

A non-smoking law is also strictly enforced all over the country, with a penalty that ranges from 2,000 up to 10,000NTD. Beynte mil pesos yan bai! But the difference with us is: like many other countries on earth, they have designated respectable smoking areas, provided by both public and private sectors.

The upper-right chunk of the above photo-collage shows TV monitors at the train platform. Meron din yan sa LRT at MRT natin. But until now, di ko pa rin alam kung sino ang gumagamit sa mga yan heheh! Wala namang tao malapit doon sa maliliit na TV. I know me gamit yan, but di ko pa rin alam kung ano!

The lower-right portion of our collage above is an advise about the emergency button (in the station), that one is supposed to press in case of emergency. I like that. Meron ba sa atin nyan? I am not aware.

Okay yan ah! Kunwari me nahulog na tao o malaking bagay from the platform to the tracks, pipindutin ang button na yon para 'wag muna pumasok ang mga train. Hmm, sa atin? Hiyawan at tilian lang yata!

Aw, knowing many of you my readers, I'm sure you will correct me, so uunahan ko na kayo: "di naman hiyawan at tilian lang, alert din naman ang Pinoy, getdapon agad para mapiktyuran mabidyohan yan"!

Oops, I'm sure too, some of you will say "kulang yan", so ako na rin magsasabi para sa inyo: "weh, ang iba nyan, pa-selfie pa kukunan ng picture at video yan, sabay post agad sa fb saying At The Moment"!

Hahaha... Like that! As in ganun!

Anyway.., at 10:18AM, my train arrived... I watched passengers get off, and got ready to hop aboard!

Ngee! Hindi pa pala boarding agad. Me cleaning activities pa daw, because this is an 'end station'!

Haha... pahiya sa sarili ang My Royal Highness! Shhh "don't noisy" na, di naman halata! Secret na lang!

I think I took a short video clip about that arrival and cleaning. I'll post it here soon.

10:27AM, they were done with that quick (and dubious?), or let me call it "ceremonial only" cleaning!

I have no questions about how they cleaned other areas, such as the lavatories, etc. But the wiping of tray tables, which I caught on video, was "not efficient", to say the least. Parang masabi lang na nilinis!

Well, sa Philippine National Railways, paano ba sila maglinis? Nililinis ba in the first place? Ay hehehe!

Pero sa porma at dalang kagamitan ng matatandang yon bilib ako! They have uniform black bags that contain their cleaning materials or equipment. Meron pa mga belt-bags for their other paraphernalia!

Anyway, passengers boarded when they came out and removed the "do not enter" sign.

Syempre sumunod agad ako! But it was not hard for me to find my seat 1E, which was just by the door.

By the way, my seat 1E was right-side window at the very last row of Car No. 6 (Business Class).

I'm not familiar with train layouts or seat numbering yet. Either I havent been paying attention to this aspect of train travel, or I don't get to ride this transport mode that often, or both. Last row ang row 1!

There's also no 1A and 1B. It was instead a space for luggage. But I placed mine on the overhead rack.

Here here.., I took pictures of the entire cabin while I stood beside the unoocupied Seat 1D.

This cabin was about half full. It just looks like almost empty since the backrests (sandalan) are tall.

The seats, at two on each side, are comfortably wide enough. Better than airline business class seats.

Wide leg space too between rows - even for my 'Melanie Marquez' (thank God for my long-legged)!

Specifically, I read that the seat pitch in business class is 44.1 inches - wow that's more than 1 meter!

Oh, for those who do not know yet, a Seat Pitch is the distance of seats from a backrest (sandalan) to the next. For many airlines the seat pitch is 28 inches (e.g., AirAsia, CebPac, etc.). Sa PAL 29 inches yan.

Alright, we departed on the dot, because at 10:36AM, we were already getting out of Zouying Station.

And 15 minutes into the trip, the stewardesses already came out serving these...

Whatever this thing is (I could only read Konig), it tastes good. A cake shaped like a donut!

The pack on this one only says "I Love Taiwan, Firendly & Nturally". Mixed nuts pala. Masarap din!

Everything, by the way, carries the THSR brand. So, all that they serve are custom-produced for them.

I enjoyed this morning snack, I didn't even notice we already stopped at Tainan to pick passengers!

Then there was Chiayi. I noticed that the views were getting just even more wonderful...

So I focused more on the views outside. I like that elevated highway. I wonder if it is also/still called a bridge? It is very long, passing over farmlands. Me ganyan tayo, di ba? Yung sa Bulacan to Pampanga?

Aw, I think I should post a video clip here, soon.

Urbanization and industrialization has extended way far from just Taipei, New Taipei or Taoyuan.

I think that is the city of Taichung. I'm just guessing, because of that nice building with a pointed top.

But they have so many 'greenhouse farms' and still have vast farmlands being tilled, like this.

Too bad it doesn't register well in photos or videos, but I saw a lot of expansive Dragon Fruit Orchards during this ride. For all we know, those that we buy in the philippines, probably come from this place.

And I also got a glimpse of the artsy Xingang Bridge as we approached the HSR Miaoli Station...

Yes the red thing is a huge sculpture, 35 meters tall, supposed to depict a fast-running train (the HSR). Ambot lang.., napaka-abstract naman nyan! Tren na humaharurot daw yan? Weh? Baka sa ibang angle!

Anyway, if that was Miaoli, I knew we were nearing my destination on this ride - Taoyuan Station.

Where I would connect to the Airport MRT, just reversing the way when I arrived. But no I wasn't going to A13 nor A12 yet. I wasn't leaving Taiwan yet! This time, I was bound for A14a, to check-in at Novotel.

Can you see the upper-left portion of the diagram? A18 is where I got off of the HSR, then MRT to A14a.

So okay, I arrived at MRT A14a. Here's a last glimpse of the MRT as I went up and out of the station.

Nasaan ang sangkataohan?! I was the lone human being walking the halls of this wide station.

Up & down escalators, left & right, I was on the right way, but there were no people around. Eerie!

Until my feet finally spilled my kamahalan out unto the street, also still devoid of humanity!

One has to turn left at this door if going to Novotel, which is like connected to the MRT. Ayun, doon!

I told my self "if I still don't see people, I will go back"! At least I saw that taxi driver. Padayon hahaha!

That protruding part of the glass wall at left, under a glass foyer, is the hotel's façade (main entrance). Behind the gray pillars (with glass windows) where I walked-by, is already the hotel's main restaurant.

But let's talk about this hotel later, after I check-out. Meanwhile, I needed to go to Taipei City ASAP!

That's next!

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