Top 10 Things to Do in Taipei - pocket list special included...

Sunrise in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Taipei 101

Taipei is a big city. Like many big cities in the world, it never sleeps. You would definitely find more than 10 things to do. Yet surfers and outdoorsy travelers may need to cut down their Taipei time for waves and mountains out of town. Other folks on business trip or on a layover to Bali may have a few hours only for the city. If you are one of these folks, make sure you hit some of these top 10 things to do in Taipei to maximize your Taipei time.

1  .      Gourmet restaurants (eg. Ding Tai Fung)

Tasting Xiao Long Bao in Taipei. Photo: Ding Tai Fung

Eating is one of the most important cultures in Taiwan. The big city, Taipei, attracts all kinds of chefs to compete in the arena. There is excellent food in each corner. Just bring enough cash and pace yourself.

Three things must-try: traditional Chinese breakfast, Ding Tai Feng and beef noodles.

For traditional Chinese breakfast, try everything on the menu if you can… If you can’t, following special items are highly recommended.

danbing (Taiwanese egg crepe or egg pancake), shobing (baked bread), youtiao (Chinese donut), sweet rice milk, salty soy milk, sweet or unsweetened soy milk.

It’s easier to make a choice for beef noodles. You only need to decide between clear-broth beef noodle and braised beef noodle. Braised beef noodle has a richer flavor. If you like ramen, go for braised beef noodle.

You can find good traditional Chinese breakfast and beef noodles just about everywhere.  The Michelin 3 star restaurant, Ding Tai Fung, only has 2 stores, one is at DongMen stop on blue MRT line and the other is conveniently located in Taipei 101.  Their truffle dumplings are made of real truffle slides. Enjoy the soup inside the dumpling exploding in your mouth with truffle aroma. Truffle lovers’ must try.

Besides these three choices, Taipei offers diverse cuisines. You can find all sorts of fine dining restaurants, vegetarian or health-oriented restaurants, restaurants with live performance such as Taiwanese puppet show or themed restaurants.  Here are some themedrestaurants on CNN news .

2.      Taipei 101

Taipei 101 New Years Eve Fireworks. Photo: Taipei 101

Used to be the tallest building (508m/1667ft) in the world from 2004 to 2010, Taipei 101 still attracts thousands of visitors every day. Being a landmark of Taipei, it is also one of the touristiest spot in town. 

Don’t be discouraged by the crowd. An engineer could appreciate the design besides the view of the city.  Ding Tai Fung is conveniently located at B1 of the building.

If you happen to be in Taipei at New Years Eve, you definitely need to check out Taipei 101 fireworks. Major roads will be blocked miles away around the area. It will be crowded but not as crazy as New York Times Square. You don’t need to wear diapers to wait in line for hours.  Fireworks itself is spectacular, a 238 seconds display in 2016. Every year many enthusiastic photographers and videographers, international and domestic, fight for the best spot to shoot the event a day before. Watch some of the best in 2016 .

Taipei 101 wiki introduction 

3.       National Palace Museum

THE jadeite cabbage (AD 1875). Photo: NPM

Chinese-descent culture is part of Taiwan’s diverse cultures. Like The Louvre to France, National Palace Museum is one of the most important and iconic museums in Taiwan. It has the largest collection of Chinese artifacts in the world, ranking #7 the most visited museum worldwide. Read more on CNN’s 10things Taiwan does better than anywhere else. 

Here is more information about the culture and museum. 

Across the street is the Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines, which displays another important part of Taiwanese cultures. 

Visit Shilin night market nearby after your museum tour.

4.      Tea culture experience

Tea tasting in Taipei. Photo: Wistaria tea house

The eastern coffee, tea, is such an iconic culture in Asia. Being a mountainous island, Taiwan has the natural advantage to produce some of the best tea in the world. 

Most of Taiwan’s best quality tea comes from the tea farms in the high mountains outside of Taipei. If you have time getting out of town, we highly recommend you to visit one of these. 

If you only have time in Taipei, there are some tea farms on the hills of muzha and pinglin area. There are also plenty of tea houses or restaurants around the city where you can experience the zen of tea. That often offers the introductions of tea productions and culture, tea tasting and the art of brewing tea.

5.      Temple

Photo: Longshan temple in Taipei

Buddhism and Taoism are main religions in Taiwan. Some of the most important folk festivals are originated from the religion. Temples are the spiritual centers in Buddhism and Taoism. 

There are an estimated 12,000 temples in Taiwan. If you only have time in Taipei, these two temples below are recommended as your highlight temple tour. They are historical. They are conveniently located on MRT lines. There are interesting things to do around them.

  

a.      LongShan Temple + historical street Bopiliao + Huaxi night market

b.      XingTian Gong + the underpass avenue, “fortune-telling” street

6.      Hot spring

A historical hot spring house in Beitou, Taipei. Photo: Long Nai

Blessed with numerous active and extinct volcanoes, Taiwan has natural hot springs all over the island. Influenced by Japan in WWII, we also develop a popular hot spring culture. 

Mineral hot springs provide healing effects. Minerals in a good quality hot spring could penetrate your skin and relax your deep muscles. 

Two areas below have good quality hot springs in Taipei. Many hot spring hotels, resorts or houses scattered around in these areas. Luxury ones usually equip with standard spa services. You will sometimes have to prepare your own towels in a budget hot spring house. Yet surprisingly, some of the public bathes in budget hot spring houses offer the best quality hot springs in town.  

If you have time travel outside of Taipei, try exploring natural hot springs in the mountains. It is an extremely fun experience.

a.      BeiTou + hot spring museum

b.      YangMingShan National Park (Yangming Mountain) + wild veggie tasting

Visit Shilin night market nearby before a hot spring bath.

7.      Night market

        

food.. food.. food.. Photo: Shilin night market wiki

Night market is another important part of Taiwanese cultures. There are plenty of night markets around the island, more in the populated areas. A big city like Taipei offers many in different districts. 

You can find everything in a night market… food (small eats), beverages, entertainment, massages, clothes, toys, accessories, shoes.. etc. Cash only. So bring enough cash. Go with an empty stomach.. (although it’s a little difficult to do).

We recommend Shilin night market if you are visiting National Palace Museum tour or taking a hot spring bath. It’s one of the largest and most popular night markets. Walk or float in the crowds and enjoy the street feast from the dusk to the midnight.

8.      Hair salon

This is how you'd feel in a
salon in Taipei. Photo: MPM

If you come from an area with costly hairdressing services, you got to try the hairdressing in Taipei. 

For example, with $50 - $100+ USD, you can get a haircut in one of the top celebrity hair salons in Taipei. A package of shampoo, conditioning, and blowdry costs $5 - $10 USD in any average salons. Luxury or not, these salons all have great services. 

Feeling like being a king or queen for a few hours? Book a hairdressing service in Taipei. Many top celebrity hair salons are located in the “east district” which is also a trendy area scattered with fashionable boutique stores, restaurants and cafes.

9.      Massage

Reflexology on feet. Photo: wiki

Who doesn’t love massage? Massage is believed to be one of the important regimens in Chinese medicine. Therefore it’s a popular activity in Taiwan. 

You can find all kinds of massage services in Taiwan. But you would probably find some of the best foot massage or the acupressure (shiatsu) massage.  If you haven’t tried it, we highly recommend you to try a session. 

In Chinese medicine, a pressure point reflects a part of your organ. An acupressure massage would help release the stress of the organ. The relief feeling would last for days after a good massage. 

If you are lucky, you can feel the “chi” flowing in your body when an experienced massage therapist pressed your pressure points accurately.

10.  Performing arts

A modern dance group in Taipei, Taiwan. Photo: Cloud Gate

A big city like Taipei brings all cultures on the island together. The performing arts in town present the best sample. 

From the east to the west, traditional to modern, classic to street, you can find just about anything in Taipei. Street performers are likely to perform in the ximending, Taipei train station, or the xinyi shopping district (Taipei 101) area. Some bars offer live music, pop music, jazz, rock and roll.. etc. 

National Theater and Concert Hall  hosts all kinds of programs. It is also conveniently located in the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. You can plan a show after strolling around the memorial hall that represents some of the most classic Chinese architecture.   DaDaoCheng Theater  features Taiwanese and Chinese opera. Cloud Gate Theater  features award winning modern dance performed by Cloud Gate. HuanShan CreativePark  displays creative works of Taiwanese designers.

It’s easy to travel around the city by MRT, taxi, uber or bicycle. There is no much need for a guide unless you are in an extreme tight schedule. There are more English speakers too if you need help. Besides these activities, Taipei also offers a lot of interesting things to do such as all kinds of classes (choriagraphy, taichi, cooking.. etc), water skiing, panda watching, going to a doctor... etc. 

If you don’t find ANYTHING interesting on the list above, please feel free to write to us for more information. For those of you that want the convenience and ZERO research time, we offer a custom tour schedule design with a modest fee.  Enjoy your Taipei time!

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Does Taipei MRT ticket work outside of Taipei?

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

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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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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First-timer’s guide to surfing in Taiwan

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.

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.

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 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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The Dirtiest Contest in Taiwan

The greasy pole. Photo: 彭智聲

Grappling with the ghosts

The 7^th 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. 

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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Taiwan’s Thanksgiving: Mid-Autumn Moon Festival

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

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.

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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A beginner’s guide to eating 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.

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.

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.

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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