What would you do with once-in-a-lifetime, one week of vacation in Taiwan?

[laurenth]

I was unexpectedly offered a 1-week stay in Taiwan in July! I'm ecstatic!

 

I hear it's not the best moment to go to Taiwan, but it's a wonderful gift, so I'm certainly not going to be fussy.

 

As I've never been to Taiwan, does anybody have suggestions or pointers about things to see, to do, to try so I can make the most of my short but, hopefully, intense stay - linguistically, culturally, and the rest?

 

Also, I've never actively studied traditional characters, but I seem to remember that there's a list floating around containing the most frequent traditional characters that are different from their simplified counterparts. Does anybody know where I could find it?

 

Thanks!

[onebir]

Watching CCTV Travelogue's Taiwan episoodes might give you some ideas. Here's #1 (of 10!):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LfTj3PByYJo

[laurenth]

Thanks onebir, that's a good place to start.

 

For the list of important traditional characters, I finally found it on this forum, it's renzhe's list here.

[winterpromise31]

I'm so excited for you! We were in Taiwan last August. It is HOT!! Be prepared to sweat. 

 

Unless you're really into museums, skip the National Palace Museum. It was neat but it was absolutely packed. We went on a weekday and you couldn't even get close to some of the exhibits. The restaurant was really good, though! 

 

Taipei 101 is worth a visit. The mall itself didn't seem like anything special, a lot of the same stores you would see in an American mall. Looking out over Taipei from the observatory was amazing!! Totally worth the trip to the top. 

 

Embrace the local life! We stayed at the Howard Plaza in Taipei. The location is great and we just went out on foot every day. We saw normal, every day life in Taiwan because we took some of the back streets. The markets are really cool and the food smells amazing. I wanted to eat everywhere! 

 

We prefer local coffee joints but stopped at Starbucks once just to say we'd been to Starbucks in Taiwan. They had a honey chocolate frappucino that was to die for and isn't served outside of East Asia (at least it wasn't at that point in time). 

 

Stop in at a 7-11 and get a roasted sweet potato. YUM! My daughter has been begging us to take her to 7-11 in the US. (She's from Taiwan). We finally took her last week and she was sorely disappointed. 7-11s are way cooler in Taiwan!

 

We also visited Tainan for two days but liked Taipei better. 

[oceancalligraphy]

It's definitely going to be hot, so be prepared. 

 

There are so many ways to visit Taiwan! Do you want to see as much as possible and tour multiple cities? Or do you want to spend dedicated time in one area and get the most out of that? Some people plan visits around a theme: food, culture, ecotourism, etc.

 

I would start with checking out Taiwan's Tourism Bureau at http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/ to get a sense of what to do. There's a lot, but once you have more of an idea of where you'll be, it might make it easier to give suggestions.  

[Lu]

I still recommend the National Museum, even if it's crowded. They have incredibly beautiful things there.
Make sure you look at the 101 from a distance as well, in my opinion it's a beautiful building. For a more budget look at Taipei from above, consider the Mitsukoshi building next to Taipei Main Station. It has (or had, when I was last there) a good food court in the basement.
A small but very good museum is the Puppet Museum.

Take the brown MRT line and make sure you sit in front. It's an automatic train, so you can feel like you're steering it yourself. Fun for all ages.
 
For food, try the nightmarkets: Shilin (reached from Jiantan station, not Shilin station), Gongguan, Shida.
Try the 牛肉面, the bubble tea, the various fruit drinks (I love papaya milk, but find your own favourite), the all you can eat hotpot.
If you like KTV, go do that, Taipei has very good KTV (although Beijing has caught up by now).

If you like tea, go have some at Maokong.
 
Go walk up a mountain. Yangmingshan is the most obvious choice, but Xiangshan 象山 is also nice, with a good view on the 101.

Go see the crazy rock formations at Yeliu, not far from Taipei.

 

And for the rest of Taiwan:

Tainan is a nice city, but small. As I'm Dutch I went there to see Fort Zeelandia, but not much of it was left (it was still a nice outing).

There are nice beaches at Kending.

Beautiful landscapes along the east coast. (It's not very convenient to get to Kending from the east coast, unfortunately.)

Sun Moon Lake, in the center of the country, is pretty as well.

If you want to climb a high mountain, Alishan is the tallest in East Asia (if I recall correctly). I think you need a permit to climb up there though, so look into that first.

 

I'm forgetting a lot of things, but you can start with this :-) If you're only there for a week, you could consider just staying in Taipei and see things there.

[abcdefg]

I sure did like Taichung 台中。

 

My Taiwan visit last year was focused on exploring their tea culture and tea production. It was fun having a focus and a "theme" for the trip, since I had seen lots of the main tourist sights on a prior visit.

 

Rained a lot. (September.) If I had to single out one high point, it would most likely be the food at the various night markets. And, of course, the several kinds of Oolong tea we found were also memorable.

[dementior]

very brief, since you already have plenty of info. a week is too short, so you have to make choices. My personal highlights:

 

lugang (main island) small place but it has its own character, very nice to walk both daytime and nightime.

jiufen, crowded but still nice. plenty of snacks and dried fish. 

wulai, natural and free hot springs. riverside, enjoy them with the locals, dive into the river when it gets too hot

green island. more hot springs, camping by the sea and XO sauce. 

jinmen: undeveloped. plenty to explore biking.

[Lu]

Yes Jiufen! Lovely place.

Jinmen is good for biking, but when I was there (2008, things may have changed) it was hard to find a bike to rent there.

[laurenth]

Thanks everybody! This forum is incredibly helpful! 

 

I'll probably spend most of the week in and around Taipei but, if weather permits, I'd really love to walk up a mountain and rent a bike... And Lu, yes, I absolutely want to see the National Museum, crowded or not.

 

Another question: a recommendation for good bookshops in Taipei? Though I've never actively studied traditional characters and it will probably take some more time until I feel comfortable with them, I could buy comics or audiobooks...

[Lu]

Chengpin 诚品 and Page One are the biggest ones. There are also some shops around Shida (and presumably around other universities).

[winterpromise31]

Eslite! I loved it so much we visited twice. ;)  There's also a Swanson's around the corner with good ice cream. 

 

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/world/asia/taiwan-bookstores/index.html

[abcdefg]

I was unexpectedly offered a 1-week stay in Taiwan in July! I'm ecstatic!

 

In addition to offering congratulations and suggestions on what to do in Taiwan during your "lucky week," I cannot help but wondering how this came about. Did you win a contest? Was it a bequest from a kind friend or elderly relative? Are there any terms or conditions? Things you must do or places you must visit while there as part of the offer?

 

Is your lodging arranged and provided, or do you need to concern yourself with the practicalities of that?

[oceancalligraphy]

 

 

I'll probably spend most of the week in and around Taipei but, if weather permits, I'd really love to walk up a mountain and rent a bike...

 

A popular hiking destination in Taipei is Elephant Mountain (象山). It's accessible by the MRT, and (on a clear day) has great views of Taipei. 

 

For Taipei specifics, there's the Taipei tourism department.

 

Also check out the New Taipei City tourism department.

 

There are a lot of places accessible my the metro (MRT) system. The website has a lot of ideas of places to go by taking the MRT alone.

 

Eslite (誠品) would be the ideal bookstore to go to. A list of their locations are here.

I've found the Xinyi Store to be the easiest to get to since it's right off the MRT Taipei City Hall station. Also if you're trying to hit some tourist spots, it's within walking distance from Taipei 101, and near Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall.

[laurenth]

I cannot help but wondering how this came about. Did you win a contest? Was it a bequest from a kind friend or elderly relative?

 

 

I turned 50 last week. My wife and my mother know that I'm passionate about Chinese and China and that I will have very few opportunities to actually go there, so they broke their piggy bank to offer the plane ticket (and the baby sitting, as far as my supersweet wife is concerned).

 

 

Are there any terms or conditions? Things you must do or places you must visit while there as part of the offer?

 

No. Though I may post some sort of "report" here, as a way to show those who contributed to this thread that their recommendations were put to good use   Oh, and bring back gifts for my wife, my mother, and the four kids.

 

 

Is your lodging arranged and provided, 

 

No. Which is even better, I can/have to find to best ways to make the most out of my stay. Which is why I asked for help here... 

[abcdefg]

The Big Five-O is a special birthday! Congratulations! Wonderful to have a chance to celebrate it in such grand style. Hope you have a terrific time in Taiwan.

[dementior]

now that i know your age and that you will spend most of the time in Taipei I will share a few more tips.

 

Tamsui and Beitou are both worth the visit. Only problem is that summer is hot, you might consider twice hot springs in beitou...

If you go for it, Beitou has a great noodle shop in Beitou going up the hill. Is the only noodle shop there you it is not hard to find, they use hot spring water to boil.

Order any kind of noodle and also tofu and the poached egg.

 

Jiufen doable from Taipei

 

Wulai, again if you like hot springs not far from Taipei.

 

Fish market: Addiction aquatic development. Not too expensive and very good price-quality ratio. Hot pot, oysters, sushi, grill... I cant get enough of this place

 

Elephant mountain is indeed a short and nice trek, go in the afternoon to take pics

 

Formosa Vintage Museum cafe: second floor easy to miss. Very nice cozy cafe full of memorabilia. Really worth a visit

 

If you have any particular request I can give it a shot.

[Anatoliy]

Congratulations on your coming birthday and surely great vacation! All I know is that there are a lots of temples over there, visiting a couple might be worth the time. (besides some of them have food markets outside :9)

 

Please share with us your Taiwan experience after the journey!

[oceancalligraphy]

Happy birthday! This trip must be the ultimate birthday gift!

 

One thing to keep in mind about the National Palace Museum is that there's a northern branch and southern branch, so artifacts might move around. For example this announcement states the exhibition schedule for the Jadeite Cabbage and Meat-shaped stone.

 

Side note: part of the reason for that announcement is that the meat-shaped stone will be at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, which is hosting upcoming exhibit from the National Palace Museum. Also, for those wishing to go to Taiwan, the museum is running a sweepstakes for a trip for two.

 

Back to the topic at hand...

 

It might be fun to bring a blank notebook to collect stamp images, like these. Tourist areas in Taiwan have stamping stations, with a rubber stamp and ink pad. Sometimes there are special stamp images for special exhibits. I used to only look out for them at tourist destinations. But then I was surprised to find out the Din Tai Fung Fuxing Store (which is inside SOGO mall) had a stamp. I guess it is a tourist destination, after all. A notebook of these stamps might be something fun to take home to the kids (not sure how old they are), but also could be a nice souvenir for you too.

[Geiko]

@laurenth, I've just come back from a one-week trip to Taipei, and I thought I could give you some tips.

First of all, I advise you to buy an Easycard. It's very useful not only for the MRT and Taipei buses, but also for the Maokong Gondola, the bus to Jiufen, the train to Shifen... If you plan to visit several villages of the Pingxi line, then I'd recommend to buy a one-day pass for the Pingxi line, though.

I had heard that the National Palace museum tends to be packed, and that it was best to go on Friday or Saturday afternoon (after 6 pm, these two days it closes at 9 pm). So I went last Saturday and it wasn't overcrowded. As yst mentioned, you won't see the meat-shaped stone or the cabbage, but there's an amazing collection of calligraphy and several wonderful copies of 清明上河图, so it's definitely worth the visit.

The weather was definitely our biggest problem. I'm used to Mediterranean and Oceanic climate, and although I had been told Taipei had hot summers... well, I couldn't imagine it was that bad. I completely lost my appetite, I only ate breakfasts at the hotel (because they had air conditioner) and a couple of things I bought at 7-eleven every now and then, but as soon as I set foot on a night market and saw so much hot food, I just couldn't eat anything (and the smell of stinky tofu didn't make things any easier!). On the other hand, I drank A LOT: 珍珠奶茶、甘蔗汁、仙草茶、冬瓜茶、guava juice, zarzaparrilla...

If you want to visit Taipei 101, go around 6 pm: this way you'll be able to take photos of the scenery with daylight and by night (the sun sets at 6.48 pm).

I visited three night markets: Shilin, Tonghua and Ningxia, and because Shilin is the biggest and most famous of all, it was amazingly packed, I didn't really like it. Ningxia and Tonghua are much nicer to wander.

I love Chinese gardens, so if you like them too, I'd recommend you to go either to Lin An Tai or Lin Family mansion. Both are very beautiful.

If you haven't booked the hotel yet, I strongly recommend you to find one that is near to a MRT station: these days it was sunny and hot in the morning, and then suddenly a heavy storm poured down in the afternoon, and I was glad my hotel was next to a metro exit.

I agree with yst, 纪念章 are extremely funny to collect: you won't only find them in tourist places, but also in every MRT station, even the National Central Library had its own seal!

I went to Eslite Dunhua branch, it's the one that opens 24 hours a day, and it's very close from MRT Zhongxiao Dunhua (within a 5-minute walk). I was searching for a particular book, and I was surprised to realise that in the Chinese literature section, authors are not ordered alphabetically, but according to the number of strokes of their surname. I searched for 吴明益, so I found it in the 7画 section.

And finally, I will recommend you a comic book: 我的青春、我的FORMOSA by 林莉菁 Li-Chin Lin. I haven't read it yet, but according to this review, it seems really interesting.

What kind of book is 「我的青春、我的FORMOSA」? Well, it’s the book I wish I’d stumbled upon early on, when I was enthused to learn about Taiwan but couldn’t find the right material to spark my curiosity. It’s the book I wish my Chinese teacher (in Taiwan) would have chosen for my 閱讀 study material. It’s the book, I wish someone would have handed to me before my first trip to Taiwan. It’s a book which manages to present a slice of the history of Taiwan in a fun and approachable way, and hopefully inspires readers to dig further on their own.

I'm sure you're going to love your week in Taipei, just as I did. If your significant other is accompanying you, she might not be so enthusiast, though. My boyfriend has no interest watsoever in anything related to China/Taiwan, he abhorred the weather, the food, the crowds... In the end he said Taipei was just so-so, which was more than I could've wished!