Mission Overview

The Driver's Perspective

Every road trip has its navigator, its entertainment director, its resident complainer about rest stops. I was none of those. I was the one moving nine people across Taiwan's coastal highways and mountain-adjacent roads in a van, with an elderly passenger to consider on every turn, three kids who needed bathroom breaks that didn't align with any sensible route, and GPS input that had to happen before moving — because curvy roads and last-minute reroutes with a 9-seater don't mix.

Phase 1 in Yilan was the easier half — relatively clear roads, spacious carparks, and most attractions had enough space to manoeuvre the van. Phase 2 heading into Taipei was a different calculation: the coastal route in was scenic but long, Jiufen's roads are narrow, and city driving with this size of vehicle requires a different mental model entirely. We returned the car on Day 6 evening and switched to MRT and taxis for the last two days — best decision of the whole trip.

Early departure from Singapore — 6AM leave for Changi T1. Flight TR874 boards at 9:45AM, touchdown Taoyuan International T1 at 2:30PM local time. Cleared customs and collected the 9-seater by 4PM. First time behind the wheel of a right-hand-drive van on a road system I'd only seen on Google Maps — took a few minutes to calibrate, then we moved.

Two-hour drive to Yilan with the full crew aboard. Everyone in their seats, luggage loaded, elderly up front for comfort and easier access. Reached the hotel by 6PM, dumped all luggage, and immediately went out before anyone could decide they were too tired. Dongmen Night Market was the right call for Day 1 — takeaway dinner, no pressure, easy crowd. Everyone eats, everyone's happy, back at the hotel by 8PM.

// Driver note: Taoyuan → Yilan is mostly freeway. Straightforward. The hotel carpark fits the van — verify this before booking any accommodation with a 9-seater.

Breakfast at 8AM, on the road by 9:30AM. First stop: Brick Art Museum ↗ Maps — 30 minutes from the hotel. The kids build special LEGO heart lamps in a DIY session. This is the kind of activity where the adults have just as much fun watching as the kids do building. Allocate at least an hour.

Lunch at noon, then across to the Taxi Museum ↗ Maps — 20 minutes away. More interesting than it sounds. A lot of taxi-related displays and memorabilia; weirdly engaging for everyone, kids included. Worth 1–1.5 hours.

By 3:30PM we were at 蔥寶寶體驗農場 (Onion Baby Farm) ↗ Maps — DIY scallion pancake making, about 1.5 hours of activity. The elderly is comfortable here — it's ground-level, not rushed, and the pancake-making is something everyone can participate in at their own pace. Practical food souvenir: you eat what you make.

Luodong Night Market at 5PM ↗ Maps for dinner and street food. Back at the hotel 6–7PM.

Breakfast 8AM, depart 9:30AM. Zhang Mei Grandma Farm ↗ Maps — short zoo visit and casual walkthrough. A lighter-paced stop compared to the previous DIY-heavy day, mainly for the kids to interact with animals and burn some energy without rushing the elderly.

From 1PM: 梅花湖 (Plum Blossom Lake) ↗ Maps — electric bicycle loop around the lake with relaxed scenery throughout. The elderly may prefer to remain at the lakeside café while the rest cycle around the area, which honestly turned out to be the better tactical decision. Good balance between activity and rest for the whole group.

If time and parking availability allow, stop by Yilan Cultural and Creative Park for a brief evening walkthrough before returning. Night market dinner afterwards — Luodong or Dongmen depending on whichever the group still has appetite left for.

Final full day in Yilan. Breakfast 8AM with heavy rain already ongoing outside. Depart around 9:30AM. Lucky Art Crayon Factory ↗ Maps — expect to spend most of the day here. The advertised 4–6 hour duration is accurate. This is not a fast-moving attraction; the process follows their guided pace from start to finish. The upside is the kids stay fully occupied with hands-on activities while adults more or less surrender to the schedule. One of the better stops of the entire trip.

After lunch: Rabbit Pencil School ↗ Maps — make your own pencil from scratch. Slower and more detailed than expected, but in a good way. Around 2 hours feels comfortable here. The kids actually understand how pencils are made by the end of it, which makes this stop surprisingly memorable.

Attempted stop at Coral Museum afterwards, but the place was closed on arrival. Contingency plans activated instead, followed by a forgettable lunch somewhere nearby before returning to the hotel.

Evening is reserved for full pack-up operations. Reminder issued to all personnel: early departure tomorrow morning. Final Yilan night market dinner afterwards before closing out the Yilan chapter properly.

// Optional backup stops if schedule somehow moves faster than expected: Yilan Cultural and Creative Park · Luodong Forestry Culture Park · National Centre for Traditional Arts

Check-out from Yilan completed by morning. Bags loaded, full crew assembled, departure around 9:30AM. Today is the northbound transit run towards Taipei via the coastal highway — scenic roads, decent traffic conditions, and several moments where the sunlight became unnecessarily aggressive.

Midway through the drive, the route shifted inland briefly for shade coverage. GPS immediately lost composure and started sending the vehicle in circles. Morale remained stable.

12:45PM: 九份 (Jiufen) ↗ Maps. Most mentally demanding driving section of the entire trip. GPS was configured to avoid steep mountain roads, yet somehow still delivered one anyway. Narrow access roads require patience, careful mirror usage, and confidence in the van's dimensions. Parking secured on the second attempt. Budget around 2.5 hours here with lunch included. The old streets, lantern alleys, hillside scenery, and endless stairways are absolutely worth the effort. Kids handled the elevation surprisingly well. Elderly members will generally enjoy the lower sections more comfortably, as the upper staircases become steep fairly quickly.

Depart Jiufen around 4:30PM and proceed towards Roaders Plus Hotel Theme Taipei Station ↗ Maps. Hotel carpark warning: the 9-seater fits with approximately one centimetre of remaining clearance. Every turn becomes a precision-driving exercise. Check-in, showers, short recovery phase.

Evening deployment: Shilin Night Market ↗ Maps — oyster omelettes, endless snacks, and claw machine territory everywhere. Stinky tofu encountered and respectfully declined by selected personnel. Kids entered full snack-hunting mode before returning to the hotel around 8PM.

Final operational day with the 9-seater. Breakfast 8AM, departure around 9:30AM. First stop: Taipei Astronomical Museum ↗ Maps — space exhibits, interactive displays, and planetarium energy throughout. Good balance between educational and kid-friendly without becoming too exhausting for the adults.

12PM onwards: Snoopy Play Centre ↗ Maps — tactical energy-release operation for the kids. Two hours inside while the adults entered passive recovery mode outside. One of the smarter mid-trip scheduling decisions. Followed by Taipei Children's Amusement Park next door for additional kid deployment.

Evening destination: Tamsui Fisherman's Wharf ↗ Maps — wide waterfront boardwalk with comfortable pacing for the full group. Flat pathways made the entire area especially elderly-friendly without requiring assistance. Good sunset atmosphere, relaxed walking pace, and significantly lower stress compared to central Taipei traffic.

Original plan was to return the van tonight, but operations were delayed by one additional day after discovering that locating a diesel station in Taipei late at night was somehow more difficult than expected. Temporary extension approved. Strategic conclusion remains unchanged though — from tomorrow onwards, MRT and taxis become the superior option. Driving a 9-seater through Taipei city with shrinking parking lots is character development nobody asked for.

The van has officially left the operation. From this point onward: MRTs, taxis, and walking like actual Taipei residents. Breakfast 8AM, move off around 9:30AM. First objective: return to the Taipei Astronomical Museum ↗ Maps for the planetarium show and exhibits that were inaccessible the previous day due to renovation closure timing. Much smoother experience this round.

12:30PM: Entire family temporarily deployed at Lalaport while vehicle return operations were completed separately at Datong District. Full tank requirement successfully fulfilled with zero incidents this time. Rejoined the group around 2PM for lunch and recovery phase inside the mall.

Late afternoon: taxi deployment towards Taipei 101 ↗ Maps. Confirmed conclusion after one day without the van: taxis in Taipei are absolutely the correct strategic choice. Fast, reasonably priced, and significantly less stressful than navigating city traffic personally. Group split briefly as different members pursued separate shopping objectives while the main unit handled Taipei 101 operations.

Observation deck around 5PM. On a clear day, fully worth the ticket price. Kids immediately pressed themselves against the glass panels while adults attempted to appreciate the skyline without thinking about heights. Shopping floors on the descent took additional time as expected.

Evening return to hotel area with bonus discovery: an underground mini shopping mall nearby worth casually exploring before ending the night back at the hotel around 8PM.

Final full operational day in Taipei. Breakfast at hotel around 9AM before moving out. First mission: Pokémon Center Taipei ↗ Maps. Arrived before opening time and immediately discovered that half of Taipei apparently had the same idea. Queue system already active before doors opened. Group was instructed to return later at 1PM instead.

1300 HRS: Returned to Pokémon Center for second attempt. Kids immediately locked onto their target purchases with frightening precision. Plushies, merchandise, limited items — budget discipline heavily tested. One adult also purchased items under the justification of “souvenir purposes.” No judgement issued.

Lunch afterwards at a nearby food court. Japanese food selected for the final proper sit-down meal of the trip.

Late afternoon taxi deployment towards Ximending ↗ Maps. Weekend crowd density significantly higher than previous districts. Adults spent most of the operation tracking children between arcades and claw machine stores while preventing accidental disappearances. Elderly members assisted with visual surveillance from safer positions. Standard family travel formation maintained.

Evening objective: Raohe Night Market ↗ Maps. Final large-scale snack acquisition before departure day. Additional food secured for hotel supper operations later that night.

Returned to hotel around 9:30PM. Full pack-up procedures initiated immediately afterwards. Final in-room supper around 11PM before lights out at midnight. Tomorrow: extraction back to Singapore.

// Several attractions were originally considered and later abandoned due to logistics, travel time, or overall group fatigue. Correct decision in hindsight. The schedule stayed packed without turning into a survival exercise.

Final breakfast. Final luggage checks. Final sweep to make sure nobody leaves chargers, passports, or random Pokémon purchases behind. Check-out procedures completed before noon.

Airport transfer handled via Tripool — highly recommended to pre-book in advance rather than gambling on same-day transport for a nine-person operation. Two taxis deployed towards Taoyuan Airport around 12:30PM with enough buffer time to survive unexpected traffic without panic mode activating.

TR899 departs Taoyuan Terminal 1 at 4:30PM. Arrival back at Changi Terminal 1 around 9PM Singapore time. Nine people, nine bags, everybody accounted for. Taiwan operation officially concluded.

Driver's Debrief

Managing a 9-seater across Yilan and Taipei with kids, elderly passengers, luggage, night markets, and constantly changing schedules turns the trip into a small-scale logistics campaign. Yilan is the forgiving half — wider roads, easier parking, lower stress. Taipei is where the actual driving exam begins: tight streets, microscopic carparks, and GPS systems that occasionally develop creative opinions.

• Pre-load all GPS destinations before moving off. Do it while stationary at the hotel. Attempting navigation setup while eight other people discuss food options inside the van is operational self-sabotage.
• Jiufen deserves full concentration. The roads are genuinely narrow for a 9-seater. Low speed, patience, mirror awareness, and knowing your target carpark before entering the hills will save unnecessary stress.
• Returning the van before fully exploring Taipei was the correct decision. MRT and taxis cover the city far more efficiently than fighting urban traffic and expensive parking with a large vehicle.
• Elderly seating worked best in the second row. Easier access compared to the rear rows while still offering a smoother and more stable ride throughout the trip. The last row absorbs the full effect of uneven roads, coastal bends, and sudden braking — not ideal for longer journeys.
• Never assume fuel type. Confirm diesel or petrol before leaving the rental lot, and plan refuelling properly instead of relying on late-night “we'll find one later” optimism.