Kaohsiung Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 3 - Nantou > Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 > Sleep Season House 山季节花园

Day 3: Check out Hoya Resort > Nantou > Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 > Sleep Season House 山季节花园

Accommodation: 2 nights at Season Garden House 山季节花园

Time to set off to Nantou today, the temperature here is so much colder than Kaohsiung （10 degree difference) so do take note especially when you're travelling in winter.

- Hearty breakfast @ Hoya Resort, Sticky bean get to enjoy the kids' activities and playground at Hoya Resort hotel before we check out at 12 noon

- Called for a taxi to send us to Zuoying HSR Station, lunch and shop around the HSR station

- 3:30pm took HSR to Chang Hwa (1 hr)

- Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 via taxi (30 mins, SGD22) - a place where you get up close with farm animals as they roam freely in the area, get to feed them, enjoy plenty of fresh air and a breathtaking view. They serve yummy steamboat as well, which is perfect for the cool weather higher up in the altitude.

- Check-in Season Garden House 山季节花园 read about our review here

After a hearty breakfast @ Hoya Resort, we let Sticky Bean enjoy the remote-controlled car racing game and played at the playground at Hoya Resort for a while till we officially checked out at 12 noon.

How to get Nantou via Zuoying HSR

Even though we could have taken the LRT / MRT to Zuoying HSR, taking a taxi is so much more convenient and the taxi charges in Kaohsiung were really reasonable so there's no reason to waste our energy travelling on public transport with our luggage.

Zuoying HSR was huge and look really new with proper directional signs, it's pretty easy to navigate and get to where you want.

There are also an abundance of lockers for you to deposit your luggage which we made good use of.

We purchased our HSR tickets only on the spot as we didn't want to commit to a specific timing prior hence we did not purchase the early bird tickets online. If you're very sure of your schedule, you may want to do an online purchase for the HSR tickets. Enjoy the early bird discount and skip the queue at the counter.

HSR ticket prices from Zuoying to Chang Hwa ( 1 hr journey)

• Adults: NT$670 (SGD29.48)
• Child: NT$335 (SGD14.74)

P/S: We took HSR to Chang Hwa instead of Nantou directly as it is nearer to our next destination, Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空

Very nice traffic light sculpture right outside Zuoying HSR station

We shopped around and had lunch at the mall attached to Zuoying HSR and were still a tad early for the train. 

 And so we waited and chillax while waiting for our high speed train.

Tip #6: Even though you can easily take an mrt to Zuoying HSR station but it's highly recommended to just take a taxi there especially when you're travelling with young ones, save your energy to have more fun later right?

Tip #7: If you're sure of your itinerary, then trying booking HSR tickets online, you can then skip the Q and enjoy an early bird discount if you book at least 1 week before. The HSR ticketing Q can get pretty long if you're travelling on a weekend.

Tip #8: Once you're at the boarding platform, take note of your train number and timing, they have trains stopping at the same platform at a 15 to 30 minutes interval and those are going to different places.  Being used to our MRT in Singapore, we simply boarded the next train that arrived at 3:15 pm and did not realise that this was not the train we're supposed to take which is scheduled at 3:30pm, it was only when the train was about to depart did I notice from the announcement that Chang Hua wasn't mentioned as one of the stops!!!

 Finally sitting comfortably in the HSR en route to Chang Hua.
Again, do pay attention to the station and get ready before the train stops at the station you want to alight. You'll need time to collect your luggage from the deposit area. The train very much operates like our MRT.
We made the mistake of waiting till the train pulls to a stop at Chang Hua station and was shocked to discover that other luggage was stacked on top of ours hence it took us a while to frantically get our luggage out and alight before the train moves off.

Phew, we managed to get off the train with our luggage in time

Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空

• 540, Taiwan, Nantou County, Nantou City, 猴探井街146巷200號

Our destination here will be Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空, an amazing place up on a hill with fresh cool air and a unique concept where you can get up close with animals as well as have your meal there.

We took a taxi from Chang Hua station. It is a 30 minutes ride and the taxi fare costs around SGD20. They do charge an entry fee of NT$100 which can be used as a credit when you have your meals there.

Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 only opens from 5:30 pm and the sun sets really early around 5:30 pm. So I was in a hurry to rush in and take as many photos as I could before the sunset.  This pisses Mr. Keir off a little. 

 A nice shot with popo at the entrance.
It gets really cold and windy here, we went back to the ticket counter where we deposit our luggage to get our windbreaker.

 Such a natural environment, so rustic.

Not forgetting your nature swing

Spot the real dog!

Too bad it's way too foggy up here so the photos ain't doing the place any justice at all. But the view from anywhere here is just so breathtaking. And oh my, all the way up in the hills, the air quality here is superb.

 Better take a couple more shots before the sun sets..

 There you go, the sun is almost done setting

 That's it. Night falls.

Sticky Bean love the swings all over this place. There were plenty of lighting structure as well since Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 is meant to be operating after dark.

 Oh my gosh, my favourite Alpaca! You can purchase animal feed to feed these animals too. Sticky Bean had so much fun in this place, we spent 5 hours here!

 Apologies for the lack of quality night shots

 Animals up close, super close. The only trick to get the animals to come close to you is to have food in your hands. This little girl enjoyed feeding them and stroking them.

 Super duper up close right? Even Mummy tried to take a couple of selfie with the Alpaca. This Alpaca is always on the look out for food and it will stalk you around the place.

 Pretty lights with lots of greenery

 An abundance of koi's in the pond as well. You can also purchase fish feed from the vending machine there to feed the kois. They come so close to you, you can stroke the kois too.

 Lots of outdoor tables if you prefer to dine outdoors.

Couple shot time!

 Not sure what this animal is, but it is super friendly and allows you to go really close to it. At some point, it attempted to crawl on my hand as well.

 There's a live parrot show at 6:30 pm daily as well.


Crowd start to gather for the parrot show.

 Ok it's time to change my phone to one which takes better night shots.

 Sticky Bean fed most of the vegetables to these 2 little lambs. They'd stalk you around the grasslands and everywhere you go.

 It's milk feeding time for these little pups and it's free of charge. The staff encourages kids to come upfront to get a bottle and do the feeding.

 There's a roaming mini horse as well. Some other alpacas and horses were being caged up.

 Oh yea, you can climb up and cross these bridges.

 Finally, it's chow time! Their speciality here will be hotpot of course.

I would love to have my hotpot outdoors in the breeze. But it's way too cold hence we had ours indoor instead. The food is ok, I won't say it's super good but the ingredients were fresh and the experience here made up more than anything else. I will highly recommend this place to anyone with kids especially.

Quick Review Kaohsiung Child-Friendly Itinerary Day 3: This seemingly relaxing itinerary wasn't as relaxing as I thought it to be. Must be the travelling that sucks out most of my energy. Nonetheless, the revitalising fresh air and ultimate experience at Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空is really one of its kind and make up for the tiredness. We had so much fun we spent 5 hours here alone, taking our time and soaking in the freshness of the air.

You may also be interested in the following reads:

1. Kaohsiung Kids friendly itinerary Day 1: Singapore > Kaohsiung Airport > Dream Mall > Hoya Resort > Youth Night Market

2. Kaohsiung Kids friendly itinerary Day 2: Cijin Island > Hoya Resort > Youth Night Market

3. Kaohsiung Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 3 - Nantou > Xin Yue Tian Kong 星月天空 > Sleep Season House 山季节花园

4. Kaohsiung Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 4: Nantou> DIY Chocolate Making > DIY Paper Factory > Flower Expo @ Tai Chung

5. Kaohsiung Child-Friendly Itinerary Day 5: Formosan Aborigine Village > HSR back to Kaohsiung> Check in Fun Bus

6. Kaohsiung Kids Friendly Itinerary Day 6: Fun Bus > Ciaotou Sugar Refinery ( Tai Sugar Museum)橋頭糖廠 > Mall > Ruifeng Night Market