Day 4: Sanyi, Miaoli to Taichung
There was a San Ban Ciao Mask Cultural Village near Joye. So we went there the next morning before moving on to Taichung. It was a last minute decision as we did not have much planned for the day originally.
At San Ban Ciao, there was a display of all sorts of opera masks. The attraction here was you can get to do DIY mask painting. But frankly, we were not that ambitious so we painted owls and traditional Hakka lady dresses instead. Incidentally Miaoli was a Hakka area.
San Ban Ciao Mask Cultural Village
The painting was easy and fun. You design it yourself or you can use their design. It made for an interesting DIY activity especially for kids if you have extra time to spare.
Heading to Taichung we went to take a look at Rainbow village. An old man was protesting the relocation of the village for urbanization and started painting the whole village. It became so pretty and such a tourist draw that the authorities agreed to retain the village. The old man is the only person living in the village now and a group of young volunteers help man a souvenir shop to support his cause.
彩虹村 Rainbow Village
Then we headed for lunch at Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House, the place where bubble tea originated. The bubble tea here was goooodd! The pearls were chewy and didn’t become hard after a while like those you get in Singapore. They even serve the pearls with hot beverages. The food they served were mainly traditional Taiwanese noodles, rice dishes and snacks. 
Lunch at Chun Shui Tang Cultural Teahouse, where bubble tea a first started
After lunch, we went shopping for Tai Yang Bing or Sun pastry. We went to Ah Ming Shi Lao Dian Tai Yang Tang 阿明师老店太阳堂 which was supposed to be the original bakery that made sun pastry or taiyangbing, a flaky pastry with a sweet filling. Delicious! We paid for our order and requested they send fresh ones to our hotel in Taipei one day before we leave for home. The taiyangbing here was without preservatives and last 2 weeks only. They charge NTD600 for the delivery which was very reasonable. They were well received by our friends and family back home. 
Ah Ming Shi Lao Dian Tai Yang Tang, the bakery that made the original Sun pastry
Next stop : Carton King Creativity Park. There were many Carton Kings in Taiwan, but this was its first shop and came with a park of outdoor displays. There was a Carton King Zoo here with various animals created by cartons, and also landmarks of the world like the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Taipei 101 etc. large human size displays, and not just small table sized ones you see in the other shops. We had lunch before coming, so gave the restaurant, that had tables and chairs made of cartons, a miss. Entrance tickets could be used to offset restaurant bills or purchases. Other Carton Kings were restaurants or gift shops only.
Carton King Creativity Park, Taichung
Next stop, Gaomei wetlands for the sunset. It was a sunny day that whole day but when we arrived at Gaomei, it was cloudy and misty. ?. So sad, no beautiful sunset for us. We were told by our guide that this smog was due to the strong winds blowing in from the mainland that day. This was also a wind farm with wind turbines, so it was super windy. So if you want to come here, pls be prepared. 
it would have been a beautiful sunset if not for the smog…a pity.
That night we stayed at Le Parker in Taichung which was near Feng Jia Night market. We could walk to the night market from our hotel so it was really convenient. For the 7 of us, we had a double room for my parents, a twin room for my teenage boys and a family room for ourselves and our daughter. The double and twin rooms were not small but adequately furnished. The family room had 2 double beds that could sleep up to 4. It was a big corner room and even had a small sitting area. Deco of the rooms were pleasant and comfortable too.
The hotel provides self service laundry but the machines were full both times we checked. They had restricted operating hours so it was very inconvenient. The reception actually recommended us to a self service laundry shop nearby. The laundry shop closed at 9pm, but suggested that we could leave our laundry with them before 9pm and and pick it up at 8.30am the next morning when they opened. They did our laundry for us and charged us the same price as if it was self service. We paid NTD200 for 2 loads of laundry.
Breakfast was included with our room and was served in a small room next to reception. They served simple Taiwanese porridge and accompanying dishes. They also had some eggs and sausages and toast for those who did not fancy porridge. Simple breakfast but adequate. I enjoyed the Taiwanese porridge.
All in all it was a pleasant stay. Le Parker’s location near Fengjia night market was excellent and a huge plus!
Family room & breakfast @ Le Parker, Taichung
Dinner that night was just snacking at the night market which was enjoyable. It was a short walk from our hotel at Le Parker. We especially loved the smelly tofu here. There were many stalls, but there was only one with very long queue. The queue was worth it. All the other smelly tofu I tried in Taiwan after that cannot meet it’s standard. We had the flame grilled beef cubes, cheesy potato and Da Chang Bao Xiao Chang too. There were many food stalls as well as shops selling all sorts of stuff at Feng Jia. A great place to spend an evening in Taichung.
Feng Jia Night Market