Six More Questions asked on Quora by the Taiwan-Curious

Taiwan Scene is your digital magazine for exploring Taiwan travel. Travel guides, sightseeing must-sees, unique events & activities and more ... menu Searchfor: StarttypingandpressEntertosearch opensearchform closesearchform Skiptocontent 1.WhatarethebestsouvenirsfromTaipei? Thebestthingyoucantakebackhomewithyouaregreatmemories.They’llstillbearoundaftertheteaisgoneandtheamusingChinglishonthatt-shirtyouboughthasfaded.Butifyou’reseriousaboutteaandareonlygoingtobeinTaipei,youshouldheadtoMaokongandpurchasesometeaonaTeaCultureDayTour.You’llbeabletonotmerelyservetheteatoyourfriends,butalsoshowoffyournewfoundknowledge.(Readmore:Adayfortea–teacultureinTaiwan)  Asforthegoofyt-shirts,they’rekindofallovertheplace.IfyouwalkaroundtheXimenneighborhoodyou’llseetons.Andifyoufeeltheurgetobuytheminbulk,theWuFenPuGarmentWholesaleAreaistheplacetodothat.(Readmore: Abriefguidetoshopping(andbargaining)in Taipei) Ifyou’relookingforagoodbalanceofneighborhoodsthatarefuntoexploreandalsohaveplentyofcooltouriststuffonsale,checkoutourarticle 15suggestionsforadayinDadaocheng, particularlynumbers4,greatplacetogetyourpineapplecakes,8,DIYartsandcraftsstuffthatyoucanthengiveasgifts,11,TraditionalTaiwanesehandpuppets;greatgiftsforkidsand13,tea,ifyoucan’tmaketheteatour.(ExploretheVintageTaipeiinDadaocheng withMyTaiwanTour) DihuaStreetatDadaocheng,Taipei 2.WhatarethebesttravelinghacksinTaiwan? We’llassumethatyou’llbehereforatleasttendaysandthatyou’replanningtodomorethanjustvisitTaipei.Withoutknowingyouritinerary,Wecan’tgettoospecific. First,we’llgettheobviousTaiwanTravelHackoutoftheway.BuyaMetroCardandputatleastNT$1000onit(about$30USD.)YoucanuseittogetonanyMetro(Taipei,Kaohsiung),almostanybus(moreonthislater),andtobuystuffatany7–11ontheisland(theyareeverywhere).Fromapurelytime-savingperspective,thecardisamazing.Evenifyouonlyuseitontrains,it’llsaveyoufromhavingtobuyindividualtokensforeverytrip,andallowyoutogetoffonawhim.YoucanalsousethecardtorentYoubikes,butyou’llneedtogothroughtheextrastepofregisteringyourcard.Youcandothisatmosttrainstations.(Readmore:BikingTipsaroundTaiwan) Ubikestation Taipei’sbussystemischallengingevenforlong-timeexpats.Unlessyourcomfortablegettinglostabit,orthebusyou’reabouttoboardsaysthenameoftheplaceyou’regoing,taketheMRTwhenpossible.Ontheplusside,manybuseshaveUSBportstochargeyourdevices.(ManyMRTstationsthroughoutTaipeihaveUSBchargingstations.) Andonthesubjectofgettinglost/MRTstations,youknowhowgenerallyspeakingmapsareorientedsothatup=north?InTaiwan,theydothingsabitdifferently,bywhichwemeandifferentfromthenormandalsodifferentonacasetocasebasis.SowhentryingtoorientyourselffromanMRTstationmap,pleasenotethatthearrowonthemapitselfindicatingnorthwillbefacinginwhateverdirectionthecartographerthatdaychosetouse.(Sorryaboutthis!) Ifyou’relookingforrestaurantswithacceptablydecentwesternmealsanotchortwoabovefastfood(andwithEnglishmenus)achaincalledDante’sisn’tfancybutfitsthebill.They’realloverTaiwan. NearlyeverycoffeeshopinTaiwanhasfreeWifi.Checkout CoffeeinTaiwan–HowanIslandofTea-drinkerscametolovethebean! ForsomeofoursuggestionsforcoffeeshopsinTaipei,aswellassomesurvivalcoffeeshopMandarin. Finally,you’llfindabunchofarticlesatTaiwanScene’sTravelTipssectionwithplentyofusefulinformation. Checkitout:Traveltips–TaiwanScene. 3.WhereisthebestplacesinTaiwantotravelwithabunchofteens? Itdependsonthebunchofteensthemselves,andhowmuchtimeyouwantedtospend.Let’sassumeyouwereaskingustocustomizeahypotheticalten-daytouraroundTaiwanfortwelveteenagersfromNorthAmerica.Let’ssayourgrouphasanaverageageof15. We’dspendthefirsttwodaysinTaipeigettingoverjetlag.Thesetwodays wouldincludeawalkingtourofDaDaoChengtointroducethemtolocalculture,followedbyatriptotheundergroundmallstretchingbetweenBeimenandTaipeiMainStationtocheckouttheawesomeAnimeshops,Cosplaystuff,andotheritemsthatTaiwaneseteenagersareprettyinto.We’dalsohittheXimendingdistrictandTaipei101.UnlessthegroupwasreallyintoChineseart,we’dprobablyskiptheNationalPalaceMuseum,choosinginsteadamuseumthatteenagerswillthinkiscooler.MaybetheJumingMuseum,ortheMuseumofMiniatures?Itdependsonthegroup.(Readmore:6thingstodoinTaipeithatshouldbeoneveryvisitorsbucketlist)  OnDaythreewe’dtakethemdowntoChiayibyHigh-SpeedRail,becausea)BulletTrain!andb)ChiayiisthestartingpointforhikesinAlishan.We’dbemetbyavaninChiayi,havesometurkeyriceandheadonuptoAlishan,encouragingthegrouptogettosleepearlysowecangetupbeforedawntohikeandwatchthesunrise. We’dthenspendthefirsthalfofdayfourhikinginthemountains,maybehavinglunchatateafarmandlearningaboutteaculturebeforeheadingdownthemountainanddrivingtoKaohsiungbynightfall.Fordinner,we’dhittheLiuheNightMarket,whichisamucheasiernightmarkettonavigateasagroupthananythinginTaipei.  (Readmore: AFinePair–SirayaNationalScenicAreaandChiayi City) Dayfive,downtoKenting,withastoponthewaytoeatserioussashimiattheDonggangHarborFishMarket.We’dgettherebyafternoon,hangoutonthebeachandspendtherestofdayfiveandallofdaysixdoingbeachstuff,maybetakingstanduppaddle-boardinglessons,andpossiblyevendoingsomehikinginthehillsoutsideoftown. Ontheseventhday,we’ddrivetoTaitungandspendtherestofday7andthemorningofday8withindigenouspeopleatatribalhomestay.Ondayeightwe’ddriveuptoHualienanddoalateafternoonhikeinTarokoGorge,eithercampingorstayingatanareaguesthouse(again,itdependsonthegroup). Zhuiluoldtrail Ondayninewe’ddrivebackupthebeautifuleastcoast,stoppingalongthewaytocheckouttemplesandothercoolstuff,definitelystoppingforeitherahotspringdipinJiaoxi(ifit’scool)oracoldspringdipinSu’ao(ifit’shot),makingittotheKeelungNightMarketfordinnerbeforeheadingbacktoTaipei.(Readmore:FourTaipeihotspringgetaways)  Ondayten,assumingit’sourlastdayandwe’reheadingbackonamidnightflight(Whynot?It’shypothetical!),we’dtakethegroupshoppingforsuitableTaiwanknick-knacksforthefriendsbackhome(JianguoMarketifdaytenfallsonaweekend)anddecideonafewlastspotsbygroupconsent/weather/etc.,).Naturally,dinneronnighttenwouldbeatraditionalTaiwanesefeastatanexcellentrestaurantbeforebringingthegrouptotheairporttogetthemcheckedinbeforetheirflight. Thisseemslikethesortoften-dayadventurethatmostteenagerswouldconsiderdeeplymemorable. InterestedintakingacustomizedtourofTaiwan?LetMyTaiwanTourcreateoneforyou!CheckouthowMyTaiwanTourcreatescustomizedTaiwanTours. 4. I’mplanningtotravelaroundTaiwan.HowmanydaysshouldIallocate? LookovertheTarokoGorge Itdependsonhowyou’regettingaround.Ifyou’rejustdriving,youcouldcircletheislandinaday,butyouwon’tseemuch.(There’sactuallyabicycleracethatcirclestheislandin48hours,butit’sstrictlyforcrazy-seriouscyclists.Anaveragecyclinggroupmighttaketendays,maybeskippingthewestcoast(bytakingthehigh-speedrailfromTaipeitoKaohsiung)inordertospendmoretimeinthemostbeautifulpartsofTaiwanincludingtheroaddownthewestcoasttoKenting,acrossthesouthernmountainstoTaitung,upthroughtheRiftValleytoHualienandTarokoGorge,maybecuttingthroughtoLishananddowntoYilanbeforeheadingbackbyvantoTaipei.(Readmore: GorgeSoaring–TheViewsofEaglesalongTarokoGorge’s Trails) CheckoutTaiwanScene’sAction,Sports&AdventuresectionforstoriesaboutcyclinginTaiwan! Obviously,non-cyclingtripsareadifferentmatter,soifyou’replanningtoeitherdriveordoabus/traincombination,yourtime/mileagemayvarybasedonwhereyou’regoingandwhatyouwanttoseeasyoucircletheisland.MyTaiwanTourdoesaneight-daytourcalled AroundTaiwanin8days that’sprettymuchdesignedtohitthehighlightsinasrelaxedafashionaspossible.  5. WhatarethebestcoffeeshopsinTaipei? Upuntilthelate1990s,theonlyplacestogetcoffeeoutsideofahandfulofspecialtycoffeeshops(thinkstoressellingtradingcardgamestoday–Imean,theyexistinTaipei,butyouaren’tgoingtofindthemunlessyouknowwheretolook–alsothisisbeforeGoogle!)wasMcDonalds(awfulbutcheap)andgoodhotels(good,butexpensive). RUFOUSCAFÉ(RESOURCES:RUFOUSCAFÉFACEBOOK) Thesedays,youcan’tswingadeadcatinTaipeiwithouthittingagoodcoffeeshopinTaipei.Butsinceswingingdeadfelinesisaterriblewaytofindanything(andis,inanyevent,immoral,unhygienicandprohibitedunderROClaw),wewrotethisarticleatTaiwanScenetofillreadersinonthehistoryofcoffeeinTaiwan,offertoshareourreadersfavoritespotsforcoffeeinTaipeiandteachyouafewphrasesofcoffee-survivalMandarin.(Readmore: CoffeeinTaiwan:HowanIslandofTeaDrinkersCametoLovetheBean) Asfarassomeofourfavoritecoffeeshops,ifwe’reinahurryandarelookingforaquickcaffeinefixonthewaytowork,ourthreefavoritechainshopsareLouisa,Camaand85°forreliablygood,quickchainshopcoffee.Ifwe’relookingforamoresit-down,localexperience,Rufouscoffee hasahipenvironment,and Tò-uatBooksxCafePhilo hasaverycoolpoliticalvibetoit. 6. WhatshouldIseeanddoasatouristinTaiwan? Prettybroadquestionwithoutknowingwhatyou’reintoandhowlongyou’llbehere,sowe’regoingtoanswerthisonemostlywithsuggestionsofthe“thingsyoucoulddo”sort,andafewlinkstoarticlesonourwebsitethatshouldpointyouintherightdirection. Ifyou’rejustinTaipeiforashorttimeandwanttogetthemostbangforyourbuck,youcouldtakeour UltimateTaipeiDayTour ,whichallowsyoutosample5000yearsofChineseart,historyandcultureattheNationalPalaceMuseum,thereligiouscultureofLongshanTemple(oneofTaiwan’smostvisitedreligioussites),thenaturalsplendoroftheYamingshanandBeitouhotsprings,andtheculinarycultureofchaotic,exoticShilinNightMarketinoneday.It’sourmostpopulartour,earningconsistentlyhighreviewsfromguests.(Readmore:SevenStarMountain,ahikeyoucannotmisswhileinTaipei) Ifyou’reinTaiwanforashorttimebutwanttogetoutofTaipei(foranevenshortertime),wehaveatourcalled TarokoGorgeinaDay that’sspecificallydesignedforvisitorspressedfortimewantingtoexperiencethemajestyofoneofTaiwan’smosticonic,scenicspotsin(asthenamesuggests)asingleday.SoyoucanwakeupinTaipeiandbestretchingyourlegsbeneaththetoweringQingShuiCliffsby9,exploringTarokoGorgeintheafternoon,eatinganearlysupperattheDongdamennightmarketandhavinganightcapTaipeiby9:30pm. Iftoursaren’tyourscene,checkout  Activities–TaiwanScene fortonsofideasaboutstufftodoinTaiwan. JulyisTaiwan’shottestmonth,sotoembracetheheatTaiwanSceneisgivingourreadersadiscountcodegoodfor5%offanyMyTaiwanTourorderpricedUSD$70orabove. ClickovertoMyTaiwanTour,chooseyourtourandenterthecodeMTT2018SUMMERduringthebookingphase. *Thefineprint: MTT2018SUMMER promotionvalidfortourordervaluedatUSD$70orabove; MTT2018SUMMER promotionvalidbetween07/01and07/31; MTT2018SUMMER promotionvalidfortoursbeginningbefore12/31/2018. 分享此文：TwitterFacebookLikethis:LikeLoading... Postnavigation CoffeeinTaiwan–HowanIslandofTea-drinkerscametolovethebean!JustPassingThrough:5TaiwanUrbanLayovers LeaveaReply Cancelreply 搜尋 Searchfor: SubscribetoBlogviaEmail Enteryouremailaddresstosubscribetothisblogandreceivenotificationsofnewpostsbyemail. 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