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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Thursday, August 13, 2015

How to get on Internet in Taiwan


iTaiwan
Internet access may be one of those small but important things during a trip. Do you need it in Taiwan? Absolutely! 

To simplify your life, we put together a 1-minute guide. We recommend you the best solution according to your itinerary in Taiwan.



Travel destinations in the big cities such as Taipei, Taichung or Kuohsiung

You do not need a SIM card. Free WiFi is available almost everywhere.

Simply register at iTaiwan to get the free access.

Taipei FreePublic WiFi Access also provides a good coverage in Taipei.

If the free WiFi speed is not as fast as you desire, visit any internet café for the high speed service.



Travel destinations outside of the big cities

It is highly recommended that you get a pre-paid SIM card with unlimited data service. The internet access can come handy when you need to use the translator or map. It’s inexpensive and trouble free to get it. Trust me. You will thank me later.

With all the options available, we recommend you to use Chunghwa telecom due to its broad coverage. It is the largest telecom company in Taiwan. You are more likely to be covered with the most spots. It provides a great variety of products with unlimited data service.

You can buy them in the airport, 7-Eleven or Chunghwa telecom stores.

Alternatively, our tour provides a free laptop per car with unlimited WiFi service. : ) Contact us for more details. 

Hope you all get hooked. : )


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Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Surf’s Up – Soudelor Typhoon Surf Forecast




Photo: Central Weather Bureau
Category 4 typhoon Soudelor is forecasted to land in Taiwan on 8/6 local time. Although there is only one typhoon this time, it is a solid storm. 


Some great surf is expected at the end of this week in the East coast of Taiwan. Keep an eye on the conditions though. It’s not too late to book your fly for the rare super typhoon. 


Surf forecast looks great so far. We can expect the surf to hold at 7-10 ft range starting on Thursday evening. We are seeing 4-6 on Thursday mid-morning with strong NE wind. Soudelor may hit the east and  northeast of Taiwan on Thursday night. 


On Friday, we may see some 20 footers passing by.  Wind might be problematic. But Magic Seaweed gives a 5-star at this point. So let’s hope for the best. If you are in Taiwan now, definitely pack your board or rent one.  


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!

Photo: MSW

Photo: Surfline




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Sunday, August 2, 2015

Experiencing the Hospitality in Taiwan



Lunch / dinner boxes and Conductor Chen
Photo: Chen via CTS TV
Warm-hearted people are iconic in the Taiwanese culture. It’s like the food everywhere. It is difficult to not notice it when you travel in Taiwan, unless you don’t speak to any locals during your trip. The little story below may just represent how it rolls in Taiwan.


A few days ago, on a train going south, a grandpa train conductor asked “who can speak English?” 

It was about 7 pm. The car was full of commuters. A girl volunteered. He told her that five tourists from the States telling him that they were hungry with their gestures. But the dinner boxes were sold out.


He wanted the girl to tell them that the dinner boxes on the train were sold out and to ask where they were going. A lady volunteered her dinner box at this time… assumingly it was not opened yet. :P
Through the translation, the American tourists told the conductor that their destination was 3 hours away in Tainan. The grandpa conductor knew that they wouldn’t be able to eat until 10 pm. He felt bad seeing them starving for such a long time.


So he turned on his Woki Toki and asked the train’s next stop to deliver 5 dinner boxes. Unfortunately they were sold out too. The conductor then asked the ground staff to get the dinner boxes from the nearby 7-Eleveven convenient store. 
Finally… at the next stop, the 5 dinner boxes were delivered fresh on the train within 30 minutes. The 5 tourists were surprised and happy that they didn't have to starve for 3 hours. 


Photo: Conductor Chen  via AppleDaily
The entire car witnessed it happen. One passenger shared the story online and it went viral. Local TV and news publishers rushed to interview the grandpa conductor for his excellent customer service. 


The 65-year-old grandpa conductor, Chen, told the reporters that it was his job to take care of the customers. He said he treated every customer the same, no matter where they were from. It was the first time he felt so nervous helping out travelers though. He was sweating to squeeze the English he learned 50 years ago when he was a student.  : ) 


In addition, he welcomed his customers to tell him whatever that they need.  However, his excellent service will be expired soon as he will retire from the Taiwan Railway in September.


Many travelers say the most beautiful scene in Taiwan is the people. What do you think? Do you have any stories encountering warm-hearted locals when you travel in Taiwan? Let us know. If you know how to contact those 5 tourists, please let us know too. 



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