Most of the time when we travel, we DIY because it is a whole lot better than organized tours for the following reasons: you take control of your own time and speed, you have your own freedom to explore, and it is way cheaper.

But that is not always the case. Sometimes, choosing convenience and comfort over spontaneity is the best choice.

You see, exploring Taiwan would have been easy if the bus routes and directions were also written in English. Not that I'm saying it's difficult, but we simply want to relax and not stress over boarding the wrong buses, getting lost, and chasing bus schedules that we chose to book a guided Yehliu-Shifen-Jiufen tour from KKDay. And I never thought traveling could be this easy and hassle-free (this is not a paid endorsement and also, I think we're just getting old).

This isn't part of our itinerary. Honestly, I didn't know about this until we realized that we still have more than eight hours to spend before our flight back home. And I'm glad I came across TripAdvisor's Top Ten Things to Do in Taichung because it would be a bummer if I missed something lovely as this.

Zhongshe (also spelled as Chungshe) Flower Market is one of Taiwan's attractions located in Houli Township, Taichung. It is a vast six-hectare land filled with beautiful and vibrant flowers that bloom all throughout the season. I would have loved to see my favorite flowers - the tulips - in bloom but we were there during the wrong season. Different season offers you different flowers. As for the tulips, you will see them around February to March.

But still, even if I didn't see my favorite flowers, even if some flowers were not in full bloom,  it is one of the most beautiful places I've been to. The pictures will speak for itself.

When we extended our travel dates, I know that a visit to Sun Moon Lake is a must. Two hours by bus from the city of Taichung, Taiwan lies the beautiful and breathtaking Sun Moon Lake.

Sun Moon Lake offers a lot of activities. You can do a round-the-lake bus tour, or board the boats and sail some areas of the lake such as Lalu Island and Ita Thao, or try the ropeway (a.k.a. cable car), where you can see a fantastic view of the lake from above.

But of all the activities that are offered, I only wanted to do one thing: go cycling. Sun Moon Lake has been dubbed as one of the most scenic cycling paths in the world.

And it did not disappoint.

I've got to say, this is one of the most memorable trips I've ever had. And I bet Jan would say the same.

We booked our Taiwan trip from November 16 to 19, thinking that 3 days would be enough for Taipei. But since the airline cancelled our flight on the 16th, we had it moved to the 14th. Coming from Davao, international trips can be steep because we also have to fly either to Manila or Cebu since the only international flight available from Davao is going to Singapore and vice-versa (soon to Kuala Lumpur). Fortunately, we were able to book an early flight to Cebu because we also planned to go to Bantayan Island before the Taiwan Trip.

So apparently, the Bantayan trip has to be scrapped to give way to Taiwan. And even with the extended travel dates, 5 days is still not enough to experience Taiwan. And one blog post will not be enough for that. So for now, this post will only be about Taipei.