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While on his last visit to Taiwan , Ray was able to ride on the bullet train from Taipei to Kaohsiung with a couple of local employees of Advantek. In the past, travel between these 2 cities consisted of a short plane ride and all the airport hassles that went with it, or 6 hour bus ride. The new train connects the two cities in about 1.5 hours, with many trains throughout the day. We arrived at the train station about 8:00 AM and were on our way about 10 minutes later. The bullet trains travels over 280km/hr (175mph) and have various classes of travel. The one-way ticket costs about $40.
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The train roughly follows the west coast of Taiwan, although not close enough to view the ocean. The first 30 minutes going south are through a series of tunnels cut through the mountains. Then the remaining hour is along the coastal flatlands. The flatlands are densely populated as the entire stretch seems to be filled with one city after another in the distance. Along the way are various temples with intricate roof decorations interspersed between the cities and the fields. The tracks cut through vegetable farms, rice paddies, and what I think were fish farms. In one area, the vegetable fields were all covered with netting to help protect the vegetables from birds and other predators.
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When we arrived in Kaohsiung, an interesting sign at the pickup and drop off point was translated as the “Kiss and Ride” area. That makes sense for your loved ones, but not necessarily for business acquaintances. On the way back to Taipei, we ate lunch in the train station in Kaohsiung at a fast food restaurant called Mos Burger. It was pronounced "moss", so I was expecting something along the lines of a mushroom burger. Instead they had various meat options all on a bun, including ground beef, pork, fish, and their specialty--octopus. I had the spicey hamburger, made that way with jalepenos. The sides include standard french fries or deep fried prawns, so I had the prawns since that is not on the menus back home
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Coming back to Taipei, we arrived at the main Taipei Railway Station, which is right across the street from the hotel that I was staying.
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The train roughly follows the west coast of Taiwan, although not close enough to view the ocean. The first 30 minutes going south are through a series of tunnels cut through the mountains. Then the remaining hour is along the coastal flatlands. The flatlands are densely populated as the entire stretch seems to be filled with one city after another in the distance. Along the way are various temples with intricate roof decorations interspersed between the cities and the fields. The tracks cut through vegetable farms, rice paddies, and what I think were fish farms. In one area, the vegetable fields were all covered with netting to help protect the vegetables from birds and other predators..jpg)
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When we arrived in Kaohsiung, an interesting sign at the pickup and drop off point was translated as the “Kiss and Ride” area. That makes sense for your loved ones, but not necessarily for business acquaintances. On the way back to Taipei, we ate lunch in the train station in Kaohsiung at a fast food restaurant called Mos Burger. It was pronounced "moss", so I was expecting something along the lines of a mushroom burger. Instead they had various meat options all on a bun, including ground beef, pork, fish, and their specialty--octopus. I had the spicey hamburger, made that way with jalepenos. The sides include standard french fries or deep fried prawns, so I had the prawns since that is not on the menus back home.jpg)
Coming back to Taipei, we arrived at the main Taipei Railway Station, which is right across the street from the hotel that I was staying. 
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