Our week-long trip to Taiwan was just the break I needed before beginning to wind down the school year. From HCMC we flew 3.5 hours directly to Taipei via China Airlines. Our previous experience flying in China with other airlines was not very pleasant, but China Airlines was top notch - movies in flight, good food, friendly attendants, comfortable seats...
During our time in Taipei we visited the following places:
1. Taipei 101
- Formerly the tallest building in the world (that title now belongs to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), Taipei 101 is made up of a food court, shopping mall, a bunch of office buildings, and a few floors for tourists. You don't have to pay to go in the building, but if you want to travel in the world's fastest elevator (1010 metres/minute) 101 stories above ground, it's totally worth paying the $15 entrance fee. We spent several hours there, checking out the hazy view, browsing the expensive gift shops, and drinking ice cream beer floats at the cafe. Taipei 101 also has a massive 730 ton tuned mass damper inside. Since the tower is only 660 feet from a major fault line in Taiwan, the building needs to stay protected from earthquakes and typhoon winds. The damper acts like a giant pendulum to counteract the movement of the building. Pretty cool, huh?
2. Shilin Night Market
- Night markets are all over Taiwan, but Shilin is one of the biggest. You can buy all sorts of clothing (including t-shirts with very bad/weird English) and other goods, but the real draw for me was the FOOD. You can't go to Taiwan without visiting a night market and indulging in some deliciousness. While some of the food can be very tasty, other items may be an acquired taste, such as the famous "stinky tofu" we tried. It's tofu that has been fermented and has a very strong odour (and strong taste).
3. Beitou Hot Springs
- Easily accessible via the efficient Taipei Metro, Beitou Hot Springs was a nice way to relax for a few hours. These public hot springs are just on the outskirts of the city, and can be accessed for the admission fee of around $1! They have several hot pools (the hottest being 45 degrees Celsius!) and a few cold pools as well. I couldn't stand to be in the hot pools for too long, and I didn't even bother going in the hottest one. There were some elderly men and women who looked like they were regulars, with towels on their heads, soaking in the hot pools without even wincing at the temperatures. The hot springs also had a few guys going around with whistles (the "hot spring police"). They were there to blow the whistle on people who violated the rules, such as standing up in the pools, dipping only your feet in, or not tying up your hair. At one point there was an unruly child in the pool who received stern warnings and whistle blowings from the hot spring police. I found Taiwanese people to be so nice and friendly, but when it comes to their hot springs they don't mess around!
4. Ximending
- A hip area of the city with lots of restaurants, shops, and cinemas, Ximending was a fun place to spend an evening. This is a place where all the young people hang out. We definitely followed the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." If we saw a restaurant, food cart, or store with a long line, we joined it. Things must be popular for a reason if all the hip young locals flock to it! After wandering around and trying not to eat everything in sight, we bought tickets to see the new Spiderman movie. For about $8 you get a ticket in a theatre with a huge screen, plus a popcorn and drink included. Nice deal!
5. Danshui
- Also known as Tamsui, this place is accessible by the last stop on one of the metro lines. Danshui has a bit of a fishing village feel, and was a great place to bike around. We rented bikes and toured around the water and Fisherman's Wharf, then made our way back to the old street where there was another awesome night market. Since we visited on a weekend, it was quite busy and we had to maneuver our way around many other bikes and pedestrians. It was a nice break from the big city feel of downtown Taipei.
Overall, people in Taipei (and Taiwan in general) were so kind and friendly. There were a few times when we were a bit lost on the streets, and people stopped without us even asking for help. Even if they didn't speak much English, they did their best to direct us to where we needed to go.
Another great thing about Taipei was that it was much cleaner and organized than I expected. The city has lots of green space and traffic didn't seem to be too hectic. Streets were clean and everyone followed traffic laws. The metro was super easy to use and cheap, and people even line up to get on instead of pushing their way to the front in other countries we've visited. I was very impressed with Taipei as a city and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good city stay!
During our time in Taipei we visited the following places:
1. Taipei 101
- Formerly the tallest building in the world (that title now belongs to the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), Taipei 101 is made up of a food court, shopping mall, a bunch of office buildings, and a few floors for tourists. You don't have to pay to go in the building, but if you want to travel in the world's fastest elevator (1010 metres/minute) 101 stories above ground, it's totally worth paying the $15 entrance fee. We spent several hours there, checking out the hazy view, browsing the expensive gift shops, and drinking ice cream beer floats at the cafe. Taipei 101 also has a massive 730 ton tuned mass damper inside. Since the tower is only 660 feet from a major fault line in Taiwan, the building needs to stay protected from earthquakes and typhoon winds. The damper acts like a giant pendulum to counteract the movement of the building. Pretty cool, huh?
2. Shilin Night Market
- Night markets are all over Taiwan, but Shilin is one of the biggest. You can buy all sorts of clothing (including t-shirts with very bad/weird English) and other goods, but the real draw for me was the FOOD. You can't go to Taiwan without visiting a night market and indulging in some deliciousness. While some of the food can be very tasty, other items may be an acquired taste, such as the famous "stinky tofu" we tried. It's tofu that has been fermented and has a very strong odour (and strong taste).
3. Beitou Hot Springs
- Easily accessible via the efficient Taipei Metro, Beitou Hot Springs was a nice way to relax for a few hours. These public hot springs are just on the outskirts of the city, and can be accessed for the admission fee of around $1! They have several hot pools (the hottest being 45 degrees Celsius!) and a few cold pools as well. I couldn't stand to be in the hot pools for too long, and I didn't even bother going in the hottest one. There were some elderly men and women who looked like they were regulars, with towels on their heads, soaking in the hot pools without even wincing at the temperatures. The hot springs also had a few guys going around with whistles (the "hot spring police"). They were there to blow the whistle on people who violated the rules, such as standing up in the pools, dipping only your feet in, or not tying up your hair. At one point there was an unruly child in the pool who received stern warnings and whistle blowings from the hot spring police. I found Taiwanese people to be so nice and friendly, but when it comes to their hot springs they don't mess around!
4. Ximending
- A hip area of the city with lots of restaurants, shops, and cinemas, Ximending was a fun place to spend an evening. This is a place where all the young people hang out. We definitely followed the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do..." If we saw a restaurant, food cart, or store with a long line, we joined it. Things must be popular for a reason if all the hip young locals flock to it! After wandering around and trying not to eat everything in sight, we bought tickets to see the new Spiderman movie. For about $8 you get a ticket in a theatre with a huge screen, plus a popcorn and drink included. Nice deal!
5. Danshui
- Also known as Tamsui, this place is accessible by the last stop on one of the metro lines. Danshui has a bit of a fishing village feel, and was a great place to bike around. We rented bikes and toured around the water and Fisherman's Wharf, then made our way back to the old street where there was another awesome night market. Since we visited on a weekend, it was quite busy and we had to maneuver our way around many other bikes and pedestrians. It was a nice break from the big city feel of downtown Taipei.
Overall, people in Taipei (and Taiwan in general) were so kind and friendly. There were a few times when we were a bit lost on the streets, and people stopped without us even asking for help. Even if they didn't speak much English, they did their best to direct us to where we needed to go.
Another great thing about Taipei was that it was much cleaner and organized than I expected. The city has lots of green space and traffic didn't seem to be too hectic. Streets were clean and everyone followed traffic laws. The metro was super easy to use and cheap, and people even line up to get on instead of pushing their way to the front in other countries we've visited. I was very impressed with Taipei as a city and would recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good city stay!
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