So this blog never finished. My first thirty days of Taipei turned into one-and-a-half years, and then I never got around to updating this blog. But since so many people ask me about Taiwan, here is my general use guide which I'll just post here. (By "so many" I mean more than three.) It's half touristy, half not. I'm sure you'll cover the basics in any guide book, so I tried to stray from most of those recommendations and highlights.
For context please keep in mind that I am me. Weird hours, late nights, anti-scenery, and hate crowds/people. So moving on... Note: I lived right near Zhongxiao Xinshen MRT right about, so most of the stuff I was familiar with was kind of central Taipei. In general, the blue MRT line goes east to west and goes to most of the stuff I’m talking about…
Keep in mind there is Taipei proper and then New Taipei, which is akin to say, San Francisco and then Inner Sunset, etc. Also, as I learned from my friend's LV Taipei Guide, Taipei was built from west to east, so as you work your way across the blue line, things get newer and fancier, so it depends on what you’re looking for. Also, read this "Thirty-something things you might want to know about Taipei before moving there" from Robyn before moving forward if you want some living in Taiwan insights.
Oh right, there are no trash cans in Taiwan, or napkins. Be prepared to carry your trash with you, and to carry napkins always. Actually, from the top I'll just say to go to some professionals for guides: Thousandth Girl and Roboppy. Half the stuff I send to friends is from their sites anyway and Steph and Robyn do a far better job of doing Taiwan coverage. If you're looking for food, nightlife, cafes, hikes, etc, go dig into their archives. And I'll be linking liberally to them in the following sections.
You can get 4G data from any of the main Taiwan carriers -- there are three big ones: FarEast, Taiwan Mobile / MyFone, and I forgot -- and they used to do an unlimited 3G plan for US$30 a month, but that may now be gone.
Generally I’d suggest getting your phones hooked up at the airport, but if the time is not right and they are not open, you’ll have to wait to hit a Far East or MyFone store the next day — they typically don’t open until 11AM. You’ll need to have your passport, and it’ll take maybe thirty minutes as there is a whole lot of stuff for them to get through.
If you're lucky they sometimes speak English (definitely at the airport) but often they don’t. If they do, just tell them how long you’re there for and they’ll suggest something. I’d recommend going for the unlimited option if they have it, at least for one of your party, since then you don’t have to worry about using your phone to look things up. Plus that person can hotspot their phone for everyone to use if possible. You probably won’t need voice, just pure data. Unless you will be using your mobile to call around to make reservations at places to eat or stay I suppose...
Before you leave the States, make sure your US phone is unlocked. Don't skimp on wifi. You'll want it to look things up and to find directions, everything. Plus it's cheap, like US$15 for ten day unlimited or something? Plus you have great cell phone service in the MRT, it's a thrill.
Also Taoyuan airport has wifi right when you get off the plane, so you can login and contact your people to know you made it. Or post that pressing social media update. But depending on immigration and customs, it’ll be awhile before you clear out of there.
To/from airport:Taxis from airport to the city run about $1200 NT ($40 US) but I think there is now a subway line that takes you, the green one. That’s new so I’ve never tried it. The subway, or bus, is obviously way cheaper, but for convenience the taxi is super easy. Also, no need to tip but I always add like NT$100. In general taxi drivers are honest almost to a fault and there is no need to fear airport scam artists as long as you are in a real taxi.HUGE TIP: Don't go scrounging for wifi for your laptop, even though Taipei advertises free wifi everywhere. Just hotspot your smartphone and your computer is good to go. I wasted many days on my first trip trying to hunt down public wifi without realizing my phone could just do it...
ESSENTIALSEasy Card: You use an Easy Card (or "yoyo card") for MRT rides, bus rides, and paying at convenience stores if needed. Easy to refill at any MRT station or convenience store. I'd recommend buying a cute one instead of the generic one because, well, cute things are better.
Convenience Stores: The three major brands of the ubiquitous 24/7 convenience stores are 7-Eleven, Family Mart (green), and HiLife (pink). That's also the hierarchy. They're open always, locals pay their utilities there, you can send packages, etc. It's the greatest thing about Taiwan really. But for short term visitors the most important part of convenience stores is mostly the food, snacks, drinks, and cheap beer. Taiwan is open container, so drink away.
LINE: If you're planning to meet/communicate with people in Taiwan, download LINE app or Whatsapp or both. I prefer LINE for the stickers but express yourself I guess. Most people in Taiwan are on LINE though, so really it's a must now that I think about it.
Pleco Chinese Dictionary: I'd download this app and use the free search/dictionary part just to draw in some Chinese characters if needed. There are some apps out there that offer live reading of stuff, mainly useful for menus, but this was our go-to school app but also serves nicely for total foreigners I would think.
Taipei is organized into twelve districts, just like Hunger Games! These are the ones I'd highlight, and I'm passing over most of them except the following with general commentary.
Xinyi: Home of large department stores by day and clubs by night. Maybe worth a stroll at night just to see the party people, stop at a bar, etc. Dance clubs aplenty, but most of them charge hefty US$20-25 cover. (Guys can’t wear shorts for most of the places.) Avoid: Brass Monkey, a sports bar that is basically home to the dirtiest expats. Actually avoid any place with a shit ton of expats, with very few exceptions. A basic Xinyi itinerary would be to start at Frank or Barcode and then float over to the actual clubs which are literally all located in one building, the ATT building.
- Thousandth Girl: 2017 Nightlife Guide (currently down, but here is 2015's)
Shaved Ice: Everyone will say to hit up Ice Monster or its semi-sister store, Smoothie House for mango shaved ice. (The story goes that a husband and wife had an acrimonious split and now the wife runs Smoothie House, while the ex-husband runs Ice Monster.) Similar wares though. Worth a short eat, depending on crowds, I suppose. Personally, I'm a bigger fan of the soft tofu and/or shaved ice spots, which are at most of the night markets, with my go-to being Eastern Ice Store in Zhongxiao Dunhua.Shida: National Taiwan Normal University, aka NTU or Shida, is nearby — as well as my Mandarin school. By day it’s quiet and the food places are mostly closed but after 5PM the area turns into food and shopping, mostly (women’s) clothes. Definitely worth a stop, and then go poke around to the various little streets as there a bunch of cafes from here to Yongkang Street. Or go a tad further out of Shida under the bridge and find tons of cat cafes a further bit out.
- Thousandth Girl: Shida Night Market and Yongkang Street Tou (2017)
- Roboppy: My 12 favorite places to eat in Shida Night Market (2016)
- Roboppy: My 15 favorite cafes near Shida (and a bit of Taida) in Taipei (2016)
Zhongxiao Dunhua: The so-called hipster area of Taipei. It’s not hipster at all, but there are plenty of stores to look into. Also, Uniqlo and Forever 21 are here. And hookah bars, many bars, hot pot cafes, and generally a cool area to cruise and shop. It’s a seven by seven block area or so, and easy to explore.
Ximen: Ximending, the so-called Times Square of Taipei. Most people will probably be drawn here just to look around. The inner stores tend to be more brand name, the streets near the outside tend to have more interesting stuff. Great place to buy bags with cute stuff on them. Home to some tattoo shops, three movie theaters or so, and nearby there is a whole area dedicated to KTV. It's glorious. Right behind Ximen station is the Red House for theater and dance works, and then behind that is the small-ish area of gay bars and stores. Go take a look at both.
Gongguan: Home of many shoe stores and foods, and salons, and a water park made to showcase Taipei’s water or something. I've rarely seen anyone in it, and the public areas are so empty that it feels like walking around an abandoned amusement park. Fantastic! The water park is definitely not worth a specific visit but if you see it walking around Gongguan you'll be in the know.
You need to register your Easy Card with the YouBike system to use it, or pay from a kiosk or from a MRT station. The latter I'm not 100% sure because mostly I've used an aunt's account to add my bike numbers. I believe you need to have a non-temporary phone number to get on the YouBike system, although that may be different than how I understand it. Either way, it's important to get access to the bike ride system because city biking is the best!
Taipei is very flat and you are allowed to (nicely) ride on sidewalks and stuff. Biking is simply the best way to explore a city and there are huge wide lanes around, especially the Daan Forest Park and Shida area. Sure, you can make a specific trip to Guting Riverside Park to take the scenic bike trail, but it's honestly just a trek to get there and back and city riding is way better.
I highly recommend just biking in the city, even having to dodge pedestrians and weird curbs. And the cost is negligible, like maybe $1 US an hour. I recommend riding at night, because it’s literally cooler and much less traffic. Just being able to go around a city at night on a bike is the best feeling. You can even cruise through say, the Sun Yet Sun Memorial area on a bike. Nobody cares!
Note: Sometimes the YouBike sensors can be finicky and give you error messages, so make sure to dock/re-dock stuff correctly. Or get help from a local if needed. Also, the bikes have an attached wheel lock to use, so you can easily park it for awhile.
- Official YouBike site
- Download this iOS app, Ubike, for bike stations and status (in English). It’s not 100% accurate but close enough. Mostly it’ll tell you where you can drop off your bikes.
Again, I’ll direct you to my friend’s guide, "Taipei Nightlife Guide." Things both change and don't change in Taipei club life, so shit is kinda always the same. Ko is the hot new place, as of last year, but there is basically zero dancing there. Omni is the originator of the mega-club -- started by some guys from San Diego -- and they are the trailblazer I guess. Omni is in Zhongxiao Dunhua but most of the other big clubs are located in Xinyi and literally in one building: ATT Fun.
Cover is US$20-25 for guys, less for girls. And Wednesdays are ladies night so women get in free. Refreshingly there is very little dress code -- no shorts for men -- and if you pay you just get in, with no real wait aside from a crowded elevator line. Bring ID, don't get caught with drugs, and don't be lame.
Dancing in most of the clubs doesn't really start happening until 1-2am and until then it's just a lot of sitting/standing around. Note: In Taipei, it’s either mega clubs for dancing, or nothing at all. There’s really no in-between lounges, etc. like we’d have here. If you do go to one of the bigger ones, I’d recommend Chess for music, Elektro for crowds, and Omni for the generic look at a club. I hated the music at Omni but hey.
Korner: The Wall is a small indie music place, but I go to their hallway slash DJ area, Korner, for the dancing. It’s open late — all of TPE’s late night places are open until 4am or so -- so don’t even bother arriving before eleven or twelve-ish, because nothing happens before midnight anyway. The Korner has house, progressive, and a mix of all sorts of things. Semi-expat heavy, but not annoying because most people are there to dance. Also it’s tiny, literally like a long hallway. But it can be great. Cover is NT$200 I believe. "These Artists and Labels are Creating a Space for Underground Music in Taipei (2017)"
Gay Clubs: I recommend Funky, but it can skew very young. G-Star is the big one but it’s straight awful in there. Funky was more fun and depending on the night, there are some great dancers. Hi Austin!
Triangle: Some interesting music choices, and tends to be expat heavy, and way far from main TPE, but maybe of interest although I've only been once or twice. And though I tend to disagree with many of Thirsty in Taipei's assessments, the blog is still running and updated so that's a nice resource.
My friend Clio teaches hip hop at Merry Monarc, and I used to take her classes at Vaste, but I’m not entirely sure you’ll have time for this! There are a whole bunch of dance studios about though, and you'll see college kids/groups practicing around the evening time under the Huashan bridge, in Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, and definitely around the Taipei Expo Park if you are up there.
I covered all I know about the foods of Taipei in my two posts: "TPE Night Markets" and "TPE General." Overall, just use Foursquare (or Yelp, although it's relatively newer so less useful I found) to look around I say. Or explore, explore, explore! Note: My food list is mainly the things I liked, and I left out all the obvious stuff like guabao, beef noodle soup, pineapple cake, etc that everyone will recommend.
Broadly speaking, mall food courts are great. Like all of them are fantastic, in Taipei 101, in SOGO, whatever. Don’t dismiss the food courts! Also, unlike in the US, food lines in Taiwan usually mean it's worth waiting for. The lines are also well run and move quickly, and chances are you'll like what you just waited for, instead of going "WTF..."
Night Markets: I covered this in my food, but briefly, Ningxia and Raohe are the ones I’d recommend for food. Shilin is the biggest one, but honestly, it’s not great food and aside from size (and maybe shopping), it’s too much. Ningxia is tiny but foods galore, and Raohe is a nice mix if a bit crowded. Tonghua by 101 is not too bad and is a nice mix of intersecting streets and food. Shida is the school based one, and mostly cute women clothes. Snake Alley is historic but now it’s super dark and sad, and the home of old hookers, which is a statement in itself. My offbeat favorite is Lehua, both for size and selection, but it's a bit further out.
Morning markets: I didn’t frequent these as I was never awake, but wet markets and evening markets are pretty great just to look around. Any local one will do, no real use traveling for them. But I’m sure your friend will know some around her.
Drinking: I don't really drink but there are bars aplenty. Especially fancy mixed drinks, or whiskey spots. And craft beer is definitely coming up, and Taihu Brewing is one to look at. Their first location was in the East district but I believe they are now in Xinyi only. Drink prices are expensive -- for Taiwan -- and maybe about US$10 each. Again, there is always 7/11 for the cheapos.
Coffee Scene
Coffee is real in Taipei, and there’s almost too many to go through. I took Ameer through a whole bunch but also just the ones that we were nearby or he had a specific interest in. The shops range from tiny to big, grimy to fancy, and if you're really into coffee you could spend your whole trip chasing things down. We mostly looked for bags of beans, keepsake mugs, and cool coffee machines. So you'll have to figure out what you're most interested in. For example, some people are not about the coffee at all but the cats in the coffee shops!
- Clarissa Wei, "Where to Drink Coffee in Taipei" (2016)
- Saveur: Taipei is Becoming the World's Next Great Coffee City (2015)
Depending on what you’re looking for, the shopping is real hit and miss depending on style and fashion (and size). Most of the night markets get their stuff from this one wholesaler place, Wufenpu, which you can go to, but it’s located pretty further east in Taipei and only certain days. If you just want to do some shopping for clothes, random trinkets, and cheap things, Shilin is probably the spot. Or maybe Shida next. Also, here is my coverage of things bought on my short trip to Taiwan last November. I highly recommend the stationary stores, and random housewares stuff just to look around, but that's a personal preference. Always check to see if an unobtrusive store has an upstairs or a back area, there's many things to be found out of sight.
For mall shopping, department stores are definitely more expensive, and all our Mandarin books used examples of how shopping at department stores were crazy pricey. Anyway, you can go to Xinyi department stores, go check out SOGO or Breeze Center, but chances are you won't be buying that much there. My main recommendation, aside from Zhongxiao Dunhua or maybe Zhongshan is to hit TPE Main Station for the two malls underneath. (Especially useful if it rains.)
Q Square is the department store and it's sorta worth a spin, but mostly interesting for the movie theater -- the Taiwanese movie theater experience is lovely with pre-selected seats, mixed sweet/salty popcorn, and everyone respecting the law of silence! And then the underground mall, Taipei City Mall, is just cheap stuff that is totally random. A little hard to find perhaps, but mainly just go down down down. Also, the government sponsored blind masseuses are down here, in case you want a quick massage.
The most unique museum I would recommend is the Miniatures Museum. Do you like creepy dolls and lots of exhibits with tiny things? Yes! Then you should go here. It's not famous, it's not pretty, but it's very awesome.
Depending on your interest in more traditional stuff, the National Palace Museum is the spot. A lot of the treasures there were taken from China by the KMT when they ran over to Taipei. Keep in mind that as the pre-eminent museum in Taipei it's always crowded, not really accessible via MRT, and did I mention the tourists? The architecture is impressive though, and the traditional buildings are cool I guess. Good for a photo? Not my first choice of museum though. Or second. Or third actually.
Mostly I was interested in more modern art, or art made by Taiwanese artists. Toward that end, there is a Museum of Contemporary Arts Taipei, right in the city, but it’s small. It's nice for a quick dip but I'd recommend the much bigger and way more interesting Taipei Fine Arts Building. First off, the spaces are huge in there, like way more than I see in most museums. It's not over stocked with stuff, and even with some crowds here and there, it's a pleasant experience. The building itself is cool looking and the museum is easily accessible via MRT.
There's also generally some sort of art exhibit going on at Huashan or Songshan, and often a Young Artists gallery showing or something at the convention center. If you're into these sorts of things, Google away!
TEMPLES
I dunno how many temples you need in your life, but Longshan Temple is the big one and then there is an impressive looking temple right outside of Raohe Market when you go. That's plenty I'd say. Frankly, I’d not recommend going to any temples just to go, because you’ll happen upon them anyway. For example, the temple where students go to pray to the test gods or whatnot. I don't know exactly where it is but I always enjoyed running into it.
The exception being, of course, the Love Temple! While the Love Temple isn't necessarily physically impressive, it is still a love temple! Pay the US$10 or whatever and have them give you a little instructional moment about about how to do all the incense stuff so proper love enters/exits your life, etc. A looooove temple!
• Taipei Zoo: It’s not super amazing as a pure zoo but where else will you see a Formosan black bear? Or a Formosan deer? The zoo is very peaceful and is pretty nice to just walk around. Plus it's right next to the Maokong gondola ride if you want to get touristy and drink some mountain top tea. I've never done it because fear of heights plus no love for scenery means I'd rather stick with the animals down below. But yeah, the zoo!
• Shen Kang Tofu Street: And you can go to this place that teaches you how to make tofu too I believe. We went for a class and it was fun as hell.
• Pineapple Cake Class: We went here for a school trip. And again, making stuff is fun. Kuo Yuan Ye Museum of Cake and Pastry.
• Lao Jie: There is a whole lot of “old streets” which Jiufen basically is. It’s tremendously touristy, and possibly constructed for tourists? There is a whole of of these in Taiwan, an "old street" that shows traditional buildings and wares that are all suspect and more likely tourist bait. Cool once or twice but there definitely is no need to see too many of them. So, pick your poison. Most people already go to Tamshui (located on the MRT line), but Jiufen needs other transport I think as it's further. Truth: I’ve actually never gone to Jiufen — tourists and sameness — but other people are fans of it. Not I...
• Hiking: Another thing I don't do: hiking. But if you're into it, Elephant Mountain is short and easy, and here's Thousandth Girl with "Best Taipei Day Hikes (2015)." See ya at the bottom.
That's it! If you got comments, questions, corrections, you know how to reach me. See you in Taiwan!
