I was thinking about dividing this post for two shorter, but finally I realized, that it’s better to make one longer with the bolded titles inside. This will make it easier to avoid the notes about travelling for those who don’t like to read such topics. Today I’m going to write only about my Asian trip.
Buddhist temples
It’s definitely worth to visit at least one of them, to be able to feel this special atmosphere inside.
There are few temples only in Taipei, but if you prefer to spend your time in less crowded places you can also find some temple in smaller cities nearby.
The most beautiful IMO is the one located in Wanhua district in Taipei called Longshan Temple. There are a lot of prayers but also a lot of tourists.
But you have to remember, that it’s place of religious worship, so you have to respect believers. Of course no one will force you to take a picture, but it will be nice when you turn off the flash and the shutter sound. Also loud talking and eating inside won’t be probably perceived positively. I think you know what I mean ;)
There is a huge selection of fresh fruits in Taiwan even during wintertime. I don’t know names of all these fruits you can see in the picture below because I have never seen them before.
They have some names, but it was written in Chinese so I couldn’t understand the text ;) They were all tasty, but I think the most delicious is jujube fruit (this green fruit, which looks and tastes like a juicy and sweet apple) and syzygium samarangense (this red fruit which looks like small piramide).
When you’re going to come here during summertime you’ll probably find more tropical fruits. I heard, that it’s worth to thy fresh mango, it’s local delicacy, which Taiwan is famous for.
I think the best way to try tasty fruits is to buy them on local small street markets, usually you won’t meet there anyone who can speak English, but fruits are the best and the most fresh there!
If you would like to see a part of Aliexpress, you should definitely visit Guang Hua Digital and Electronic Plaza.
Those who’re interested in buying RTV devices (like computers, printers, batteries or even cables, adapters or headphones) should go to Digital Plaza.
The second one - Electronic Plaza - is for those who prefer to make some electronic DIY; you can get there everything you need - LED diodes, dimmers, transistors and even advanced microcontrollers which you can program yourself.
I can compare this place to the electronic market in the underground of GUS in Warsaw. It looks almost the same, but this one in Taiwan is much bigger than the Warsaw one - all this stuff takes 3 floors here!
Everywhere you’ll find something for cat and anime lovers
I heard, that Japan is famous for cute anime themed items and charming to the limit cats and kawaii animals. Well, I’ve never been to Japan, so I can’t say for sure how it’s there.
But in Taiwan, you can buy a lot of cute pastel Japanese items - small stickers, phone covers, handmade umbrellas or even furniture and scooters. There are thousands of stores with “everything and nothing” at once, where you can buy stationery, DIY semi-finished products and a lot of charming crap, knick-knack and other items used only to collect the dust.
There is even one district in Taipei, which is commonly known as “teenager district” where you can find the whole streets full of stores like this.
People, who were not born in Asia stick together
Well, it’s over-interpretation, that they stick together, of course when they moved here for a long time they’re in some regional groups; they’re meeting and going out together. But what I wanted to say - if you’re a tourist and you meet someone not from Asia, he/she’ll probably smile to you and say you ‘hello’. And believe me, it doesn’t matter, that you’ll never see him/her again. I think that people can feel more familiar or even less lonely here when they meet someone, who seems to be close to them. During the day I usually work in the coffee shop; besides the locals, I see the same people every day, we always say ‘hello’ to each other and sometimes we’re talking about nothing, we don’t even know our names, where do we come from and for how long. It’s nice I think.
Meal-time in Taipei
I think I mentioned it before, but I’ll say it again - it’s worth to visit night market. You can buy there a lot of high quality tasty, local food. You can get your meal only ‘to go’ and you can’t pay with a credit card, so it’s everything very cheap.
Night market usually opens around 3-5 pm and closes around 12-1 am, so you can go to eat a dinner or supper.
And if you prefer some restaurant with a waiter service, I would recommend you to check prices first. If the restaurant is expensive (compared to prevailing conditions in Taipei) you can expect high quality, otherwise, I advise you to avoid eating there.
Taiwan is definitely not a vegan-friendly country. Actually, I haven’t seen any plant-based options in the restaurants I was visiting or even looking for.
When our Taiwanese friend was in Poland (it was 1 year ago) we asked him if he wants to try some nice vegan food. He had no idea what does vegan men! All in all, he liked the meal he has ordered, but it was the first time he tried a plant-based meal.
I can recommend you 3 restaurants with Asian food I like. And believe me, it’s not sponsored ad, I just wanted to recommend you something special:
Traditional Korean grill - it simple how does it work - you have to pick a what kind of meat you would like to eat and the waiter is grilling it for you on the special grill mounted on the table. You’re also getting unlimited sides (vegetables, salads, sauces, and pasta) which you can eat with the meat.
Uh, to be honest, it’s not very easy to be a driver here and believe me, it doesn’t matter how experienced and good you are! The driving principles are not reflected in drivers behavior.
You can never expect, that the person who’s driving in the lane next to yours will pay attention to you.
It doesn’t matter if you’re using a car or a scooter, if you’re driving here you will for sure see a situation like these: pushing from the lane, going contrary to the road direction, turning right from the left lane (and conversely).
It doesn’t matter that someone is waiting for a green light on the lane with straight direction, you have to expect that he’ll turn left without left turn-signal and intersect your driving path. Solid lines usually don’t matter, you have to remember about it in case of the car accident - it’ll be always your fault because no one will testify in your favor. A lot of drivers use a front camera - just in case.
I feel that most of the participants in road profess the principle, that if you’re bigger you always have a priority. Well, for sure buses have this rule!
We had a case like this: some bus was getting involved in a traffic. We were using the middle lane, the bus was in the road bay. He crossed right lane and suddenly appeared in our lane, forced us to stop (almost hit us) and at the end, he used a horn.
What about the drivers' culture? Well, you probably know, that sometimes some road traffic participants use high beams to let you in.
So REMBER, here using these lights means ‘Watch out! I’m driving first!’
People here use a horn sporadically - usually when they want to warn you about a dangerous situation, not to show you, that they’re angry at you. And it’s short ‘beep’! Using horn like in Poland - long and obstinate sound, which says “hey douche! What the hell you’re doin’?!” - can make someone angry, it’s possible that he’ll chase you through the whole city to lambaste you or at least damage your car.
And you can’t expect, that police will help you, even if they’re staring at you at the moment!
In Taipei city, there are special lanes for buses only. And no one uses these lanes, even taxis. Lanes I’m talking about are clearly marked with two continuous lines, sometimes they have painted diamond and they’re usually middle lanes. It’s really hard to go wrong.
It’s quite common, that you can meet some gangsters on the road. It’s really simple to recognize them - they have new, well maintained and big cars (mostly dark), almost 99% of them have blue LED strip attached to the hood (just above the bumper). They’re driving like insane but the best way is to just let them go - slow down, give the right of way, do not interact with them. If you don’t bother them, they’ll just ignore you.
And yes, you’re right - in case of some conflict - police won’t help you.
Highway roads are the best connections between cities in Taiwan. Fewer intersections mean more safety. A speed limit is usually set on 110km/h and believe me - it’s not profitable to exceed this limit. Speed cameras are everywhere! Sometimes you have a sign, which warns you about it, but not always! Some of the speed cameras are movable and mobile. I’ve seen policemen for many times too.
Well, speed limit signs are not always as clear as you can think, sometimes under the sign, there is some explanation - in Chinese of course - whom it concerns. So if you don’t know how speed you can drive, you can usually rely on other drivers, they mostly understand and know how fast is the way they’re using right now.
Some parts of the road are paid, but the prices are really low - NT$ 1.2 per kilometer (after free 20km/day).
Something, what can send a chill down to your spine is a lot of scooters everywhere. And they participate in accidents most often.
Our Taiwanese friend told us, that scooters are just exempt from following driving rules. And it’s not determined by law, it’s just the reality.
And YOU have to pay attention to them because they will never pay attention to you. When you’re going to turn anyway, you have to watch both mirrors, because scooter can magically appear and hit exactly at you.
You have to also remember, that while you’re turning right, you’re going to cross legal scooter lane - it’s marked on the most of the roads in Taiwan cities.
Parking the car is another thing which can drive you crazy. Well, almost all the cities are out of free parking space. If you find it, I recommend you to make sure, that anyone treats it like his own. Otherwise, the air can magically go out of the tires, car body can be scratched; in extreme cases, windows can be broken, or even whole car can be battered.
And if the police will tow a car, they’ll use a chalk to write on the road where you can pick up your car (in Chinese of course). You’ll have to pay for it.
So I believe, that it’s more profitable for you to use one of the exorbitantly expensive parking spots...
When we told our Taiwanese friend, that we’re going to rent a car to make a trip around the island he definitely advised us not to do that. Well… everyone advised us the same haha!
But I think if you read someone’s experiences and treat everyone on the road like 4 years old kids on bikes and rollers you’ll probably be able to see everything you dream about without any unpleasant accidents.
What about renting a car in Taiwan?
For me it’s not complicated - there are a lot of rental offices in Taiwan, we decided to rent a car in Taipei.
To rent a car you’ll need an international driving license and your passport. A lot of rental offices won’t let you take any car if you’re not at least 27 years old; also some cars are available when you’re at least 30 years old.
All the cars (in the rental office which we have used) were in good condition and were equipped with an automatic transmission.
Places, which we were able to explore
Of course we haven’t seen everything, we didn’t have enough time, but all in all, I’m happy with the result. Taiwan is amazing, picturesque and in my opinion, underappreciated.
It was the first point of our itinerary. We arrived at Yuchi on Friday evening, to be able to explore charming lake area from the Saturday early morning.
After the sunrise, it was stunning view. I think it was too early for most of the people spending their free time there; being alone there made this place even more enchanting.
This is probably the biggest national park in Taiwan, it’s located in the central part of the island and includes the most beautiful mountainous terrain. The view is incredible, it’s impossible to just describe it or even show it with photos. This is the place, what you have to see on your own!
To be honest - the whole East coast of Taiwan is so beautiful that it will take your breath away! If I would like to stop everywhere, where I could find stunning views, I wouldn’t be able to get to the next point of our trip before the end of the day!
Jiufen is small town close to the Taipei city. It stands out due to its uniqueness in view of the construction. It’s located on the steep mountainside, so some of the streets are inclined at a 45 degree angle and they’re so tight, that it’s impossible to pass with the second car. Usually, drivers are kind and this one for whom it’s easier to retreat let the second one go first.
Have you ever seen the anime called “Spirited Away”? The city showed in the movie was inspired by the Jiufen!
When you travel to Jiufen you have to see the Old Street Market. All the streets are totally crowded but decorated with red lanterns and full of some small stands. You can buy there some regional snacks, odds and sods and any stuff of nonsense you like.
Both of them are nearby Jiufen. The best idea is to go there early morning because later there is a lot of people, who want to visit these places.
You can get to the top of the Teapot peak with 3 ways - you can pick one of them depending on your strength and stamina. The shortest one will take around 45 min to get on the top, the longest is around 3 hours walking.
It’s tourist attraction located on the North East coast of Taiwan. You can see the landscape of honeycomb and mushroom rocks eroded by the sea.
It’s inactive volcano located in the Yangmingshan National Park. The biggest attractions are the 300-1000 °C fumarole and the sulfur boiling water.
The second thing is stray dogs - it’s mostly an issue of small cities. I haven’t seen any in the Taipei city.
But when you meet them somewhere in the island, you have to pay attention of them - they’ll lie in the middle of the street ignoring vehicles, sometimes they’ll run into you directly under your car’s wheels or sometimes, they’ll follow you to beg for some food. They’re not dangerous, so you don’t have to be afraid, but they can be pesky sometimes.
At the beginning I felt sorry for them, but I realized, that all these dogs and people living in the city are one big family; people take care of them, feed them and let them stay close to them - they don’t have one home and one human, but some of them are chubby ;)
To sum up our island trip - to be in Taiwan and not to see major attractions, it's like being in Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower!
All in all, despite of the chaos it’s possible for foreign people to drive a car in Taiwan. If we did it (and you have to know, that we’re not super experienced), I’m sure you’ll also be able to do it!
Since I have added my last post here I was able to walk around the capital of Taiwan.
I’ve visited Da’an Park, which is the biggest park in Taipei. It’s actually really nice and well organized, but for me, it’s not enough shaded places. Taiwan climate is nice - I can call it ‘infinity Summer’, but local people are usually using jackets and hoodies during official wintertime - even if it’s more than 25 Celsius degrees. I have no idea how they can stand it because it’s really hot I think. Maybe they’re preparing for the real Summer, which is usually more than 45 Celsius degrees…?
For me it’s cruel - all these cats are kept in small cages (sometimes with glass walls); they’ve been living there since being small kitties until now! Some of them are adults! Sellers don’t let them go out, these cages are their place to live the whole life - they have whole stuff there: food, water, litter box, soft blanket, scratching mat and sometimes some toys. My heart is broken, but I can’t do anything for them! :(
If you’re planning a trip (in Taipei or anywhere else) I recommend you to check the opening hours of the destination place. Some places have really weird opening hours.
For example, a lot of spots are closed every Monday (museums, tourist attractions, shops and even restaurants). Some of them are open in the evening for e.g. after 1 pm or 5 pm, sometimes they have a break in the middle hours.
I feel it’s better to plan everything during the previous day to not to waste the time and disappoint yourself.
It’s very interesting to me, how all the schools are located in Taipei. Well, they all are adjacent to each other - universities, high schools, primary schools and even kindergartens are all nearby!
The University of Taipei campus is enormous and neat! I’m sure that students love to spend their free time outside!
Ah, I almost forgot - thousands of mosquitos living around are totally annoying!
The only one thing I really miss here is really good quality coffee! There is a lot of coffee shops here, but none of them serve the coffee which I could rate 10/10.
I really like this creative drink bag, which is very popular in Taiwan. It’s comfortable mostly during the night market when you’re carrying a lot of stuff like few kinds of food and drinks at once.
I'm going to re-read this post...so much information! The photos of the landscapes are amazing!
ReplyDeleteAnyone planning a trip to Taiwan should be very grateful to you! This is an amazing post filled with great info. You pictures are awesome!
ReplyDeleteThat drink bag is cute and functional. That's a really good idea.
Mangoes are delicious! I hope you get to try one.
Mangos in Poland are also delicious, but I hope one day I'll be able to try this one in Taiwan. Our friend told us, that it tasted totally different than in Poland :D
DeleteHello, Olka, I've so enjoyed your posts from Taiwan. This is a country I am not at all familiar with so it's been both educational and with your terrific photos, very visual. I really get a "feel" for it from what you've said and shown. I think your tips are especially excellent, with places to go, driving, etc. The sunset is so beautiful and very interesting about the stray dogs.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you're glad to be home, though, after such a busy trip. Thanks for catching up on my posts. I'll be saving this one!
Hi Olka, I've tried to comment twice before but have been having computer problems Basically I said I loved this post -- lots of terrific info here about a place I really don't know at all and I'm saving it. Your photos are so wonderful!
ReplyDeleteBet you are glad you are home -- thanks for catching up on Marmelade Gypsy!