Monday, October 26, 2015

Does Taipei MRT ticket work outside of Taipei?


Long story short, it is limited outside of Taipei. Plan your budget accordingly.


Taiwan travel information surf trip Taitung East Coast
photo 邱獻欽
Single-journey ticket

This is definitely NOT able to use outside of Taipei… even outside of MRT. One ride and that’s it.


TaipeiPass

Taipei MRT and buses only.





Easy Card/ EasyCard

You pay $3 USD to get this deposit-cased card and they will give you refund for the balance. It is a very convenient card to have in Taipei. You can pretty much use it everywhere, including some taxi’s. It is more adopted than a credit card. 


But it has its limit outside of Taipei, especially in East Coast and Kenting where there are no MRT systems and few buses. The buses there don’t accept this card. You could probably still use it in the convenient store such as 7-11 or Family there. You could also use it to purchase train tickets but it is limited to certain types of train tickets.


We all know travelling is always full of surprise and uncertainties. To avoid the risk of running out of time to get your balance refund, it is a good idea to budget your deposit in the Easy Card.


For details please visit East Card official site.

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Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Can you bring your surfboards on Taiwan High Speed Rail?




The short answer is NO. You can’t.

How to get to Kenting with your surfboards?

Taking a taxi or joining a tour is the easiest way to get around Taiwan with your surfboards. Most of tours include airport pick up and drop off. If you travel with one or more people, it may be cheaper than public transportation. Public transportation takes a bit longer but it’s doable. Taiwan Railways or bus is your best bet.


Here is the luggage limits on Taiwan high speed rail


Each passenger’s personal belongings shall not exceed 150cm in length per piece, 220cm in total length, width and height per piece, 40kg in total weight. Any personal belongings exceeding the limitations referred to in the foregoing are prohibited from carrying on board; passengers carrying such personal belongings on board may be requested by the Company to disembark at the next Station. Except for Periodic Tickets holders, the Company shall refund the actual ticket fare received after deducting pass-through intervals. Where the personal belongings permitted to be carried on board require taking seat(s), full fare shall be charged according to the Train and car taken by the passengers.


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Saturday, September 26, 2015

First-timer’s guide to surfing in Taiwan





Taiwan surf guide 101
Typhoon surf. Photo 邱獻欽
In the shadow of Indo and Australia, Taiwan’s surf is still lesser known to the western surfers. Surf adventurers can still find plenty of secret spots.


General conditions

Surf Consistency

During the typhoon season in the summer, Taiwan sees 15-20 feet waves from time to time. But the swell window is not too easy to predict weeks in advance as typhoon often changes its direction. Outside of the typhoon window, it’s pretty flat in the summer. Summer is good for surfers that can book the ticket a week in advance or your layover to Bali. See our adventure's guide to Taiwan in the summer. 


Fall is the most consistent season in Taiwan. You can probably expect 4-6 feet on an average day with a fair to good condition. If you live far away and need to plan your trip ahead of time, book it during the fall.


Crowd

One of the best advantages about Taiwan is a relatively low crowd compared to Indo and Australia, especially in advanced spots with hollow, barreling waves. As long as it’s under the radar, a “satisfying” “average wave per surfer” can be guaranteed.

However no secrets can be kept forever. Surfing has become more and more popular in the past decade. It will be interesting to see the change in the future.

Surf Quality

 There are many.. many… many… point breaks with reef or rock bottoms in the east coast of Taiwan.

Taiwan travel information surf trip east coast kenting
Typhoon surf in the fall. Photo 邱獻欽


How to plan your first surf trip in Taiwan

A minimum of 5 days is a must if you are planning to surf or just visit places outside of the capital city, Taipei.

Advanced surfers

You are probably looking for consistent over head or DOH double overhead+ swells on a surf trip. It’s probably best to make Taiwan your layover stop to Indo or Australia. United States surfers often need to find a layover to Indo. 

You can opt in a 5 day layover in Taiwan before or after your Indo trip… Stopping by before your “main” surf trip can warm you up and help you adjust the jet lag.  Stopping by after your “main” surf trip allows a total relaxation, fun dessert surf trip in Taiwan. Either way is good.


Intermediate surfers

If you are most comfortable in a 4-6 ft condition, not so sure about DOH or 2-foot waves, you will have a lot of fun surfing in Taiwan. The light crowds and perfect waves will also help you step up your game. It’s an excellent place for a surfing boot camp.

Beginners

Thanks to the recent trend, there are more and more surfing schools in Taiwan. Any summer day without a typhoon is good for beginners. You can find surfing schools throughout the island. Pick a location first according to your itinerary. Then pick a local surf shop.


Taiwan surf guide 101
Surf's WAY up. Photo: Yu A Fu


Guide or no guide

Booking a surf / adventure tour is highly recommended, especially if you are visiting Taiwan for less than 10 days and you want to do as much as you can. Reasons being

     A. You need a car
Forget about the public transportations. You need a car or scooters to go to surf spots. Michael Massa of the Inertia agrees too.
A tip from Michael Massa in an article on The Inertia : Finding Friends (and Waves) on a Solo Surf Trip to Taiwan


      B. There is so much to do
Exploring process is fun but it takes time. It’s basically a time and money trade off decision. With a tour, you will be able to focus on fun things and not to worry about logistics. You can surf and explore until you are exhausted and sleep in the car on the way back. Airport to east coast takes about 6-7 hours on the road. You rather sleep or drive?!

      C.  It’s affordable
Taiwan is still under the tourism radar. The tourist price is still close to the Taiwan living standard. A lot of customized tours offer transportation/driver, accommodation, SURF PHOTOGRAPHY and in-between surf tours with a bargain price at about $160 - $200 per person per night. If you compare it with the rental car and gas price, these tours actually offer a great value of convenience.  It’s worth considering. 


Beginners, you probably don’t need a surf guide if you are not planning on a surf boot camp trip. However, if you are planning on some outdoor activities, booking an adventure tour will save you a lot of time, efforts and money.


Board rental

It is easy and inexpensive to rent a board. But if you are picky, you don’t have too many options.


Taiwan surf guide 101
Taiwan surf spots. MSW
Spots

Here is the point… surf spots! Taiwan is still under radar for most of the surfers outside of Asia. There are still many secret spots along the coast, providing anything from hollow fast barrels to trestles-like peelers. 


Magic Seaweed and Surfline have information about well surfed, classic spots. It is still worth surfing them because the crowds are probably still lighter than a lot of your home spots. For instance, SoCal.


These are good spots to test water too. If you are backpacking with limited time, it’s not a bad idea to pick one of these spots and stick around. If you have time to explore or if you travel with tour, you will likely find out many secret spots with no one around.


Most of classic point breaks are in the east coast of Taiwan. Try your luck there.


Besides surfing

There are lots of fun things to do around those good surf spots in the east coast. Nature hot spring exploring, visiting indigenous tribes, tea tasting, canyoning, rafting, fishing, camping, biking, scuba diving … and of course, trying out local food. You could do a typical surf, eat, and sleep trip. But you will be missing out. You should try them all if you have time. And again, booking a tour would really help pack all these activities in your short stay. But you will have fun either way.


As under the radar as it is, Taiwan surf trip is fun and full of surprise. If you are explorer type of surfer, you should check it out sooner than later. Drop us a line if you need more information.


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Sunday, September 13, 2015

The Dirtiest Contest in Taiwan



Taiwan travel information: Taiwan culture: ghost festival
The greasy pole. Photo: 彭智聲
Grappling with the ghosts


The 7th lunar month is the “ghost month” in Taiwan. The concept is similar to the Halloween without parties and slutty customs. And it lasts for an entire month versus the one-day Halloween, although some people extend the Halloween to a month long celebration.


Taiwanese people believe that the dead become ghosts roaming between Heaven and earth. 


Spirits without descendants to care for them are prayed to during Ghost Festival so that they may also enjoy the warmth of life among the living.


During the ghost month, people prepare offerings for the ghosts. Temples throughout Taiwan host various activities and ceremonies to pray for these orphan ghosts. 


There are also taboos in this month, such as avoiding dangerous activities because ghosts are now out and about to look for their replacement.


Among all, the Grappling with the Ghosts contest can be considered the most dangerous (totally taboo-averse) and exciting celebration. It is held on the last day of the ghost month in Taiwan. 


Contestants are formed in teams. The task is simple: contestants climbing on the 14-meter (46-ft) poles full of the black grease to the top plate form, and then climbing 30-meter (98-ft) bamboos to cut the flag off. 


Taiwan travel information: Taiwan culture: ghost festival
2015 Champion team forward, Photo: FTVNews
Hence it is also arguably the dirtiest contest in Taiwan. Champions are blessed to have the best luck in the next year.


This year the champion team broke the record, finishing up the greasy pole in 8 minutes and 9 seconds. 


The forward shared his secrets in the post-contest interview: his muscles. Haha. 


Do you think you can climb? The Grappling with the Ghosts contest is open to international teams!!  : )

Watch how it is done. 


Grappling with the Ghosts 2015 news in Mandarin, starting at 0:30





A well done 9-minute documentary in English about the ghost month and grappling with the ghosts contest.





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Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Taiwan’s Thanksgiving: Mid-Autumn Moon Festival




Taiwan travel information: culture mid-autumn moon festival in Taiwan
Blood moon. Picture: Metro
Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is one of the three main holidays in Taiwan, besides Chinese New Year and Dragon Boat Festival. 


It is a holiday to celebrate the harvest, worship the moon and get together with families. It is sorta like the idea of Thanksgiving without a turkey fest and black Friday.


It falls on the 15th of the 8th lunar month when the full moon is typically the largest of the year.  This year it is on the September 27th. 


Taiwanese people like to celebrate the holiday barbequing with friends and families. Restaurants, parks and roof tops of apartments may be a bit more crowded than usual at this time. We highly recommend you NOT to plan any romantic outings in any parks or roof tops that weekend.


Taiwan travel information: culture mid-autumn moon festival in Taiwan
Mooncakes by Howard Plaza Hotel.
Mooncake is the tradition delicacy, the sweet pastry for the holiday. It is offered among friends and families. It is usually in a round shape, representing the moon and the reunion. 


If you happen to travel to Taiwan for business or visiting a friend, it is very likely that you will receive a box of moon cakes as a gift. 


Like all the other food business in Taiwan, moon cake industry is competitive too. Bakers create new flavors every year. 


You can pretty much get whatever flavor you can imagine. For example, Moon cake ice cream can be a great choice in a hot day.


Unlike Chinese New Year or Dragon Boat Festival, there are not too many public events going on for tourists in Taiwan. If you are invited to a BBQ, we recommend you to join your local friends in Taiwan to observe the holiday. 


If not, you can still enjoy it with the moon cakes and moon worship. In 2015, the forecast is predicting a super supermoon (blood moon). Don’t miss out if you are travelling to Taiwan in September! 


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Saturday, September 5, 2015

A beginner’s guide to eating hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan




Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Certified Taiwan hairy crabs. Photo: Miaoli Crabs
Autumn is a season of crabs, especially hairy crabs. From September to November, crabs can be found everywhere from the seafood market to restaurants in Taiwan. 

If you like crabs, you won’t want to miss it. If you haven’t tried one, it is definitely worth trying.



How to pick a crab

Wild is better than farmed. Local is better than imported.

Hairy crab is originated from China. Like all the seafood, we are facing a shortage of wild crabs. Hairy crabs’ origin, Yong Sheng Lake near Shanghai, only produces 13,000 crabs per year. But Hongkongers consumed 13,000,000 crabs last year. It is not easy to get a real wild crab from Yong Sheng Lake. That said most of crabs on the market are farmed.


Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Certified Taiwan hairy crabs. Photo: Muniuhu Crabs
When selecting the farmed crabs, it is the best to select from the local farms in Taiwan. 

A. It is the freshest to eat locally grown food. 
Crabs from Taiwan are delivered live overnight. Crabs imported from China are delivered within 7-9 days. In order to keep the crabs live during the shipment, mainland Chinese farms often inject antibiotics in crabs before they are shipped.


B. Taiwan has more strict food laws to protect consumers. 

According to the Next Magazine HK, mainland Chinese crab farms use two types of feeds: 
  “vegetarian” feeds that contain of estrogen and antibiotics or “meaty” feeds consisting of dead animals, such as dead dogs, cats, chickens, ducks, rats, or shrimps. And these dead animals are likely killed by poisons such as Potassium cyanide. Due to loose to none restrictions in China, these crabs are sold everywhere in China. They may be exported to other countries if the custom inspections fail to catch these crabs.

If you are eating crabs in Taiwan, it is safer to choose locally grown crabs in Taiwan. It is slightly more expensive. But it is worthy for your health.


How to eat hairy crabs

You basically go through the same process as you would back home. But there are some customs eating hairy crabs in Taiwan.

Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
4 parts of crabs to avoid. Photo: coolsforza at youtube
Tips 1: Crab parts that you should avoid

Crabs may not be born the same. 

When consuming hairy crabs, we recommend you to avoid the heart, stomach, lung, and intestines. They are believed to be too “cold” for your body in the Chinese medicine’s perspective.


Tips 2: Starting with legs

Crabs legs are quicker to turn cold then the body. Starting with legs can ensure you to consume all parts of the crab in the right temperature.


Taiwan travel information: foodie hairy crabs (mitten crabs) in Taiwan
Crab butter. Photo: Miaoli Crabs
Tips 3: Tasting the crab butter

It is THE point of eating hairy crabs! 

It may look disgusting… but it tastes really good. If you haven’t tried it, close your eyes and try a bite. Let us know what you think.


Tips 4: Drinking ginger tea or rice wine after crab eating


Crabs are considered “cold” food in the Chinese medicine’s perspective. Most of the restaurants serve hot ginger tea after the crab meal to balance your system. 

You can also “warm up” your body with rice wine or any types of hard liquor.  If you are taking a cab home, try Taiwan’s special liquors such as Kinmen Kaoliang sorghum wine or Matsu Shaohsing rice wine.


Eating crabs in Taiwan is a fun experience. Schedule some crab time when you travel in Taiwan in the fall! Happy crabbing !



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Saturday, August 29, 2015

The Adventurers’ Guide to Taiwan in the Autumn: Surfing, Cycling and Mountain Sports


You can enjoy outdoor activities any time in Taiwan, but Fall is arguably the best season. It is still warm.  It’s relatively dry. It doesn’t have as many thunder storms and typhoons as in the summer.  From September to December, we listed some highlights for all the adventurers.


Surfing:

Taiwan adventure guide: surfing in fall
Taiwan surf consistency. Photo: MSW
The autumn is probably the most consistent season for surfing. Northeast monsoon sends over consistent wind swells to the east coast of Taiwan. You can expect 4-5+ most of the time. It is not surprising to see 6-8 footers rolling in. Current is strong during the swells as usual. 


Taiwan adventure guide: typhoon surfing in fall
Taiwan typhoon surf  Photo: Yu A Fu
There are occasionally typhoons in September and October that help the consistency. See our summer post about typhoonsurfing. Starting from November it’s mainly the northeast monsoon that generates fun waves for experienced surfers.  

Beginners, ask around. You may still be able to find some beach with smaller waves to learn surfing.   




Taiwan adventure guide: surfing in fall Taiwan open of surfing
Taiwan Open of Surfing 2014 poster. 
If you are into the contest, Taiwan Open of Surfing, an ASP surf contest, holds in the east coast of Taiwan every October /November. 

You kinda need to know how to surf to get invited to the contest. But It’s not as hard as the official tour. Consider to compete if possible or just stop by and watch it. 

The water is still in the high 70’s. The air may drop to mid-60’s in the early morning. After the sun breaks through the clouds, it could go up to 70’s.


South eastern coast may be a concern though, if you are visiting in the late November to December. When the northeast monsoon is prevalent, the area (i.e. Pingtung county) often experiences continuous strong gales, called “down-mountain” wind. 


The maximum wind speed can go up to 40 m/s (a scale 13 on the Beaufort scale). It can cause power and water cuts, the crops lost and of course the stormy surf.  Generally speaking, east coast will be your best bet in the fall.


Mountain Sports: Canyoning, Climbing, Hiking, Nature Hot Spring Exploring


Taiwan adventure guide: mountaineering in fall
Dabajian Mountain. Photo: 老山羊
70% of Taiwan is covered with mountains. The central ridge consists of 200+ peaks over 3,000 meters (10,000 ft). 


Mountaineering is popular in Taiwan. We will have a post covering Taiwan’s mountains in details. For now, we will just talk about some basics. 


The relatively dry weather favors mountain activities. Mountaineer enthusiasts could take the advantage to challenge more difficult mountains such as Dabajian Mountain (3,490 m, 11,450 ft). The highest peak on Jade Mountain (3,952 meter, 12,966 ft) is suitable for most of the regular climbers. Jiaming Lake (3,310 meter, 10,860 ft), aka Angel’s Tear, is another stunning spot for the average climbers.

If you just want a few hours of hikes, relaxation trails are easy to be found everywhere in Taiwan. Taiwan preserves several ancient trails throughout the island. It is usually deep in the mountain with the primitive scenery. We recommend you to try one of these if you have a chance.


Taiwan adventure guide: canyoning in fall
Taiwan autumn adventure:
Canyoning. Photo: U-outdoor 
Canyoning is another popular sports in Taiwan due to vast amount of gorges. It is best to do when the stream is not dry or flooded. Spring and fall provides a good condition.  


The east coast of Taiwan offers many challenging gorges for adventures in all kinds of levels. Canyoning is very similar to rock climbing. If you have intermediate rock climbing skills, you could probably try the intermediate canyoning routes.  

Taiwan classified the streams into 6 levels. A and B levels are easy ones, friendly to families with kids. C and D are intermediate levels, suitable for those who has some rock climbing skills. E and F are advance levels that requires experiences of climbing the water falls.  Know before you go.


Last but not least, when you are in the mountains, don’t forget to explore nature hot springs. Some of the nature hot springs take a whole day to explore. There are plenty of easy ones to access. Volcanic terrains offer this special scenery in Taiwan.  We highly recommend you to squeeze it in your itinerary. 


Cycling:

Taiwan adventure guide: cycling in fall
Taiwan cycling. Photo: KOM
Fall is also an exciting season for the cyclers. Taiwan hosts a series of cycling events throughout the island in October and November. 

Scenic cycle paths are a little busier than usual. These well designed cycle paths make Taiwan a paradise for cyclers. You can easily find services. And it’s safe to camp just about anywhere.

We recommend top 3 Taiwan biking routes for regular cyclers.

Round the island of Taiwan:

In 7 – 10 days, you could cycle around Taiwan across various terrains and travel experiences, big cities, small towns, lakes, mountains, rice fields and coast high way. The longer of days you plan, the better you get to taste the local cultures. A typical round the island trip is about 1000 km (622 miles). You can plan your trip according to your conditions and preference.

Cross the Island of Taiwan:

Taiwan adventure guide: cycling in fall
Taiwan cycling routes through Taroko. Photo: KOM
Taiwan has 3 scenic cross-island highways in the north, center and south part of Taiwan. 

Every highway crosses peaks in various mountain ranges, connecting east and west coast of Taiwan. 

Nature hot springs scattered along the highway may be the best rewards at the end of the day. Start with Central cross-island highway, then Southern and then Northern.

Northern cross-island highway (Highway 7)
·         132 km (82 mils)
·         Features: Daxi, Baling, Yilan

Central cross-island highway (Highway 8)
·         190 km (119 miles)
·         Features: Taroko Gorge, Dayuling, Guguan

Southern cross-island highway (Highway 20)
·         205 km (127 miles)
·         Features: Yakao, Siangyang, Jiaming lake, Taiting


Taiwan adventure guide: biking in fall
Taiwan rice fields. Photo: 邱獻欽
East Coast of Taiwan

If you only plan to cycle for a day or two, stick to the quiet roads in the east coast of Taiwan. 


Guanshan bike routes offer gorgeous views of rice fields. East coast highway route presents beautiful coast lines and spotted aboriginal fishing villages.


It takes some time to plan your route but it’s not too difficult. Mapmyride offers good information.  Taiwan Tourism Bureau host Taiwan Cycling Festival from Oct 30, 2015 to Nov 22, 2015. There are many different leisure cycling tours available around the island during the festival. You can join one of these cycle tours that lead you to the beauty of Taiwan in a relaxing pace. Contact us for help in arrangement.


Taiwan adventure guide: cycling in fall KOM Challenge
Taiwan KOM route. Source: KOM
Contest cyclers, consider to join the KOM challenge. 


KOM stands for King of Mountain. It is a unique uphill cycling race held by Taiwan Tourism Bureau. 


Taiwan’s unique terrains offer many “hells”, or “heavens” for some, in uphill cycling with the stunning scenery. 


The KOM challenge features one of the most difficult yet scenic routes. Participants are challenged to climb 3,275 meters (10,745 ft) over 105 km (65 miles) within 6.5 hours. 


Check our KOM post for more details.


There you go. If you are still wondering where you should go this fall, book your ticket to Taiwan. Plan a great outdoors vacation. Please contact us if you need assistance.  Enjoy your outdoor feast! : )



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Sunday, August 16, 2015

Surf’s Up – Goni & Atsani Typhoon Surf Forecast




CWB
We are just half way done with cleaning up after typhoon Soudelor. Yet another one and possibly two typhoons are heading towards Taiwan in the coming week or two.

Hopefully no more flying scooters, only epic waves this time.


Typhoon Goni is for sure taking an aim at Taiwan. It is forecasted to impact Taiwan at the end of this week. 

Typhoon Atsani may or may not impact Taiwan next week. We will know more in the next few days.


Despite typhoon Atsani, we can expect high surf at the end of the week. It is too early to say where typhoon Goni will make a landfall in Taiwan. The East and South East coast of Taiwan will get some great surf regardless. Book your flight. Pack your boards.


Surf forecast looks great so far. Front runners start to pick up on Wednesday at 5-8 range. By Thursday and Friday, we can see some 20 footers on the chart. It will hold and then fade through the weekend.  

As usual, wind might be problematic. Magic Seaweed gives a 6-star at this point. (I thought it was a 5-star scale?! How many stars have you seen?) So find a wind-protected spot and hope for the best.


Track the typhoons here and stay tuned. Like our facebook page for the latest typhoon news and photos. Contact us if you need assistance.


Catch the tail end of summer, be sure to check out our post: “The Adventurers’ Guide to Taiwan in the Summer: Typhoon Surf, Raftingand Tribe Carnival”. Plan your typhoon surf trip with extra flavors!


Surfline




MSW





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