Category: Taiwan

This post is really just memories of a really nice couple of days in two really nice cities. I arrived in Tainan via train with just enough time to walk the ten minutes to my hostel, off the main road and hidden away in one of Tainan’s many windy narrow lanes, and get settled in. This is actually Tainan Part 1 as I decided to come back later in the trip. I needed a bit of a rest so indulged in doing my laundry at the hostel for about 50p (I’m not sure why but I find doing laundry in hostel really satisfying, enjoyable even), treated myself to a western style avocado brunch at the ‘Australian’ cafe over the road and signed up for a walking tour in the afternoon.

I then set off for the Amping Fort area, walking along the riverside for an hour which sounded lovely but was actually just walking along a busy road with hardly any pavement and stopping to cross the street every 5 minutes. It was interesting though to see the residential areas next to the river.

Walking in Tainan isn’t the easiest as what looks like a pavement is actually a moped parking area, or seating for a restaurant and often just abruptly comes to an end. It also takes forever to cross the road as like Japan, nobody ignores the little red man and the timers on the traffic lights run for a couple of minutes. I spent ten minutes backtracking as I missed my hostel entrance, mistakenly crossed the road, tried to walk along one side and literally came up against a brick wall then had to wait to cross back again, all whilst being only a few metres away from the hostel the whole time. In fact Tainan has a huge roundabout in the middle of the city which is impossible to cross without waiting to cross five lanes of traffic.

Tainan is Taiwan’s oldest city and has a rich history spanning 400 years. Initially established by the Dutch East India Company as a trading base known as Fort Zeelandia during the Dutch rule, Tainan was the capital city for 260 years. It gained the name ‘the Phoenix City’ due to the number of changes that it went through – from the Dutch rule, to being seized by the famed Koxinga (the most highly respected saint known for getting rid of the Dutch – the “original ancestor” for a free Taiwan) in 1662 and surviving under the Chinese Qing dynasty until 1887, followed by the Japanese Empire until 1945.

The old Dutch Fort therefore is at the centre of this history. Built in 1624, Fort Zeelandia (meaning the place where land meets the sea) was one of the most important sites for trading in East Asia due to it’s location. Now known as Amping Old Fort, the Dutch style buildings were completely destroyed during Japanese rule and it was reconstructed in red brick.

The streets around the fort are filled with food stalls and Bubble Tea shops. I tried a peanut rice ball which was not the sweet treat I expected – instead it was filled with veggie meat but I had to eat half of it as I was sitting next to the woman rolling them in banana leaves – and an Oat Milk Tea which turned out to be milk tea with thick sweet porridge oats at the bottom.

I didn’t want to miss the walking tour so I rushed back to the centre on the bus, helped out massively by an old couple who told me which bus to take and exactly when to get off, in fact half the people on the crowded bus were involved in making sure I got off. The lady also told me ‘you are very courageous!’.

It was only when I arrived at the meeting point at the Chihkan Tower and nobody was there that I realised I had mixed up the two walking tours and it actually departed from the Fort. Exactly where I had just come from. With nothing else planned, there was time for a massage at the spa next to the Australian cafe with the most attentive masseuse I’ve ever had. It was just less relaxing when I could feel him looking at me intently every minute to check if I flinched and to constantly ask if the pressure was OK (it always was).

Something else worth a look is the historic Hayashi department store from the 1930s and it’s ‘granny lift’ with the floor number pointer that everyone wants to see. This meant everyone was queuing take the lift up, which I thought was a bit unfair on the actual grannies who actually did need to take the lift.

Rather than wait, I just walked up the four flights of steps and all the way up to the rooftop which houses a Shinto Shrine, and where bullet holes from WW2 are visible (although I couldn’t see them), then hopped straight in the lift down and out past the queue.

One of the things I loved about Tainan is the amount of plants everywhere. Plants of all sizes in flowerpots, clearly being looked after by someone. The food is also great and there are plenty of interesting independent cafes – Oreo tofu pudding is a new favourite.

With a trip booked a couple of days later to a place I was really looking forward to, the Alishan National Forest, I left the next morning via train to the smaller city of Chiayi – the jumping off point for buses and trains to Alishan.

I expected Chiayi to just be a stopover but it was a nice surprise. I paid around £10 at the Planet 23 hostel for a hi-tech style pod with different coloured lights and individual air con controls, a big clean common area with free coffee from a proper coffee machine and toast and peanut butter for breakfast. You would expect it to be fully booked but I only saw one family.

The train station separated the area where the hostel was from the rest of the city. Since the station was under some sort of construction, in order to cross to the other side of the main road, I had to pass through the station by taking a fake ticket, showing it to station staff and going all the way through the platforms and up and down over passes. This meant I again spent a long time trying to get out of the station.

I spent a very pleasant afternoon wandering around the Japanese inspired Hinoki village, which is not cheap but has lots of cute Japanese shops and I had to try the peanut latte coffee which cost me the same as a meal over here.

I ended up walking all the way through the city streets, past the old prison and up to the lovely Chiayi Park and the Sun-Shooting Tower. The park was pretty parched looking but filled with older locals exercising as is common in Taiwan, including women stretching on bars like ballerinas with their legs higher than people half their age could manage, a Tai Chi group and a man power walking backwards.

The other demographic out at sunset were younger people with cute little handbag sized dogs. I wasn’t sure what the Sun-Shooting Tower was all about as it was closed, but it was nice to walk around! There would generally be more to see on a day other than Monday when things like the art museum are closed.

That’s all I had time for in the South of Taiwan for now – but I’d already decided to extend my trip and spend a bit more time here. Moving on to the mountains in the centre of Taiwan to the Alishan National Forest…

Moving clockwise around Taiwan, the next stop was the city of Khaosiung in the South West of the island – an over the top mix of old and new with a good amount of nature thrown in. Khaosiung has it all and I loved it immediately. The “mountain line” train journey from Taitung was also beautiful as it hugs the coast then cuts across inland. The only thing I didn’t like was my choice of budget accommodation which was my own fault – you get what you pay for and £10 a night got me a pod style bed in a dark basement of a building, with a slightly creepy giant teddy bear sitting in the windowless lounge area that nobody used. The lack of windows meant I got dressed for a summery day only to go upstairs to find it pouring down with rain.

Top of my list of things to: visit the circuit of outlandish temples around the Lotus Pond, go for a hike up Monkey Mountain and take the ferry to Cijin Island. The city is connected by monorail around the centre, then local trains and buses but nowhere near as frequently as the northern cities so it can take twice as long as you think. I fitted in a quick visit to the Fine Arts Museum, only to find it was less fine arts and all modern art.

On to the temples – the Lotus Pond is a man made lake, with over 20 incredible and fairly garish temples situated on the 3km cycle and walking paths that surround it. Renting a bike and cycling would probably be the better option. The biggest ones are the Spring and Summer Pavilions, the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas and the Confucian Temple.

My favourite had to be the Dragon and Tiger Temples, which were designed to stand in the lake. These are no ordinary temples – I’m talking about temples where you enter through the mouths of huge dragon and tiger statues, climb up towers 7 stories high, and walk through tunnels connecting the temples to the shore, containing art that apparently tells stories (this went over my head). It’s mental and amazing.

In the evening I headed to the Pier 2 area (recommended by the lady on the bus in Taitung who told me YOLO!). The harbour area is absolutely gorgeous in the evening and the modern buildings are in stark contrast to the temples. I’ve added a lot of photos because they are all different examples of the architecture on show.

One of stars of the show has to be the dolphin shaped pedestrian bridge that is Asia’s longest rotating bridge, horizontally rotating 90 degrees in 3 minutes. Although I didn’t see the Great Harbour Bridge in action, walking across was good enough.

As I walked along the harbour, I came across the massive stadium beaming lights up into the night sky. I wasn’t sure what it was at first but asked a very young student who had stopped me to tell me I was cute (when I politely said he didn’t need to accompany me he graciously said that’s fine we can just be friends).

Things get more modern and more weird the further around the harbour you go. An absolutely massive floating alien like creature awaits. What I didn’t understand was why there was a real life man sitting on the alien and another in the water. Some official looking people were shouting instructions from the harbour, so they weren’t there by mistake. I Googled it later and found out it was not in fact an alien but a giant inflatable “Ultraman” statue floating in Love River Bay. Ultraman being a Japanese superhero character.

After a lot of walking I made it to the Water Drop Teahouse vegetarian restaurant just before closing time at 20.00 where a very smiley and kind nun made me extremely welcome and assured me there was plenty of time so no need to rush my vegetable curry soup.

The next day, having ready about a hike where you can see monkeys, on Monkey Mountain, naturally I had to go. It was a hot day so I saved the location of the start of the trail head, behind a temple around the corner from a 7-11 not that far from the Fine Arts Museum and set off. I saw a man who looked to be in his 70s and clearly dressed to go hiking – full walking gear, boots and poles – and followed him past the numerous signs warning not to take any food inside the forest. I had ironically just finished my banana and in Taiwan there are no rubbish bins. Anywhere. I carried this banana skin around looking fruitlessly for somewhere to throw it until the point of entering the forest when I had to accidentally drop it away from the CCTV. It was either that or take a banana skin into an area known for aggressive monkeys.

Following the old man was a rookie mistake. It turns out there is more than one entrance to the trails and this was not the “easy, signposted route” I was looking for. These are the retired Taiwanese super hikers and this was something I needed a lot more water for and a proper map. Luckily there were two local women who were also on the wrong path so I followed them to get back on track.

You see monkeys everywhere on this mountain and they are the bigger, more intimidating macaw monkey. Signs presented instructions in English that if a monkey was to jump on you, don’t panic or wave or shout. Just carry on calmly and “the monkey will leave”. I absolutely loved seeing families of monkeys eating fruit, grooming each other and hanging out on the side of the trail. A couple of times they might have been following me. These macaws have the intelligence of a 3 year old child and you should not drink water or open your bag infront of them if you don’t want it to be stolen.

The 70 year old pro hikers powered on past making light work of the steps, wearing their sweatbands, carrying their portable speakers and playing their music out loud.

The “boardwalk” trail isn’t actually a boardwalk after you finish the stairs up, rather it’s a stony path. But it’s signposted and there are several rest areas with benches where you can watch monkeys. All in all I spent a couple of hours here and thoroughly enjoyed it. As before you can safely embark on these hikes alone as there are enough people around without it feeling in the least bit crowded.

In the afternoon there was just the right amount of time to catch the short ferry over to Cijin Island. This narrow stretch of land (a sandbar) is only 5 miles long and has a real holiday atmosphere. I loved seeing how all the people on scooters rode on and off the ferry – you just have to look where you’re walking at all times. Cijin Old Street has a long street market filled with that rancid smell of the local speciality “stinky tofu” and due to construction work there is no other option but to go past every single stinky stall.

The palm tree lined black sand Cijin beach that stretches 1.5km is very pretty, too windy to swim but perfect for walking. You just have to dodgy the cutesy tricycles decked out like cartoon creatures that everyone rides like they’ve never ridden a bike before. Imagine strolling along enjoying the view then Mickey Mouse comes hurtling around the corner and there’s nowhere for you to go.

I also climbed the hill up to Cijou Fort which dates back to 1720 when Taiwan was ruled by the Qing Empire of China. There is a beautiful view over Khaosiung Harbour that it was designed to protect. At the top stands the Lighthouse, whose history is also interesting. The harbour was opened to foreign traders in 1863 and it was British engineers who initially built a Chinese style lighthouse in red brick. The Lighthouse was then rebuilt in 1916 during Japanese rule and opened to the public as a historical building in 1985. There is a small museum inside, not much in English but some interesting old photographs of the construction.

In order to get up to the Lighthouse you must walk through the Tunnel of Stars (a wind tunnel through the cliffs decorated in stars and psychedelic art). Again I didn’t know what it actually was until I looked it up but it’s a Japanese era military tunnel. The effect of the wind rushing through from the sea was deafening.

After a busy day I headed to a tiny dirt cheap restaurant with 5 star reviews where the ex-Michelin restaurant chef now cooks up the most delicious vegan stirfries on his outdoor gas flame. He was keen to have a chat and gave me all the free spinach from the buffet before he closed up shop.

I hope this conveys the absolute variety of places, styles and the unexpected sites in Khaosiung. I would definitely return here for a few more days next time. That’s all I had time for before catching an evening train to Tainan as the race to reach Taipei again before the Chinese New Year continued …

Lesson learned when taking budget flights in Asia. They are strict. Firstly I was forced to buy a ticket out of Taiwan before they would let me check in at the airport in Okinawa and secondly what constitutes carry-on baggage in Europe doesn’t mean carry-on here. If you thought Ryan Air staff were petty, Air Asia staff weighed every single item I had on me with a hand-held scale and as it was over 7kg I had to pay to put my ridiculously small bag into the hold. Airport hassles aside, arriving in Taiwan was smooth sailing. I bought an ‘Easy Pass’ travel card and took a fast train to the city from the airport. You get to choose a cute design for the card (I went for a sort of gothic Minnie Mouse) which makes it fun to use and it’s valid all over Taiwan on buses, trains (apart from the High Speed Rail) and in convenience shops, just top it up with cash.

The ‘’Old Door Hostel” was actually right opposite one of the many exits of the Taipei Main Station. This is a convenient base although my friend in Taipei warned me to expect a lot of homelessness, which was sad to see. The main station is a maze of floors and underground shopping malls and subways. It felt like I spent half of my time in Taipei somewhere in that station trying to get out. Not to worry, there are people on hand with English translators ready to spot anyone looking lost.

Taiwan is noticeably quieter at night than Hong Kong or Japan. Restaurants generally open for lunch from 12.00-14.00 and again from 17.00-19.00, so a bit of planning is needed so you don’t miss out. Some of my favourite cheap food has been in the food courts of the shopping malls, particularly vegetarian buffets which are always busy, the food is fresh and you can fill up for £3.

What I’m saving on food and accommodation on this trip I could easily spend on coffee. Taiwan has an excellent coffee scene with independent coffee shops and speciality cafes everywhere. I made the mistake of popping in one in the more touristy area of Dihua Street and tapping to pay for their “signature hand dripped coffee” without checking the price. I could not believe it when I realised later that I had paid over £6 for a single black coffee that I didn’t even like. Granted, it was served with a sample in a test tube and ice cubes to taste how the flavour changes when it gets cold. It didn’t taste any better.

The Old Door Hostel has its own bar and cafe downstairs which is a nice touch. I never got back on time for the free whisky shot, probably because I was still in the station. It’s about £15 a night for a bed in a pod style dorm but the Japanese powder rooms are long gone. It’s two showers per 12 or so beds here and a couple of shared wash basins.

I had 2 days in Tapei before starting my route Eastwards around the island, with a plan to return at the end. I quickly fell in love with the capital city, and Taiwan in general. There are flowers and plants everywhere. The roads are crazy busy with motorbikes and you have to wait for what seems like eternity to cross the road (nobody skips the lights). A lot of the restaurants are in the huge shopping malls so it might take a while to find them. I spent a few hours browsing the electronics shops – there is some serious gaming going on here. Prices go down the further away you get from the big stores.

I found my ideal food spot in another mall, called VegeCreek, which seems genius and I wish we had this concept in the UK. You take a basket and choose all the ingredients like you’re in a grocery shop, then they make a stirfry or soup for you with the price based on how many items you pick.

There is enough to do in Taipei alone for a couple of weeks with it’s cultural sites, city parks, temples, the river … each district has it’s own vibe and then there’s the day trips, hiking routes and hot springs. To make the most of my 48 hours, on my first day I walked to the Peace Park. Here there is a memorial to the 228 Massacre, a crackdown on Taiwanese civilians by the KMT-led Nationalist government, triggered by a dispute over cigarette contraband in Taipei. On February 27 1947 agents beat a female cigarette vendor and killed a bystander. Protests escalated the next day and Chinese troops began a crackdown specifically targeting students, lawyers, and doctors, aiming to suppress dissent. The following period known as “White Terror” started with the declaration of martial law in May 1949 which continued for 38 years, not lifted until 1987.

The estimated death toll for the 228 Massacre ranges from 18,000 to 28,000. I gained my information from the plaque in the park but here is a link to Wikipedia for more details: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_28_incident

A shortish walk from the park (not counting the time waiting to cross the roads) is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. This national monument from 1980 was built to honour the former President of the Republic of China.

The scale of the building isn’t immediately obvious as you enter through the ornate gate and walk up towards the monument itself – but it’s absolutely massive up close. Inside is a huge bronze statue of Chiang Kai-shek. It’s totally worth the climb for the view alone.

A great way to spend the afternoon is wandering around the Datong district and Yongle market. As my friend said, it’s so busy because it’s the equivalent of a Christmas market in Europe. Stalls were selling all kinds of snacks in preparation for the Chinese New Year which was in a couple of weeks time.

This area is famous for its tea industry which was booming in the 1860s. It became the centre of Taiwan’s tea trade and today the streets are full of traditional tea houses and little shops. I found the most wonderful little vegan restaurant but don’t remember the name. The lovely owner has travelled a lot and speaks perfect English, now spending her time lovingly preparing her menu at the counter where her regular customers sit in a row. One lady purchased 3 bag fulls of cookies. It feels like being in her home.

On my second day after a terrible nights sleep with snoring in the dorm – a definite downgrade from Japan – I met up with my friend Ann who I used to work with via video calls but had never met in person until now. It rained on our plans to climb the Xiangshan mountain so Ann, her sister in and I met for coffee followed by lunch at a “Michelin recommended” vegetarian restaurant. It was the most incredible experience and probably the best food I’ve experienced on my travels.

The restaurant served a vegan version of the traditional New Year’s hotpot, listed on the menu as the interestingly named dish “Buddha jumps over the wall”. The pot comes out steaming and packed full of so many different ingredients – including chestnuts, dates, several kinds of mushrooms, taro and “vegetarian sharks fin” (no idea what that actually was). It was amazing to try mushrooms I’ve never seen before and vegetables I’ve never heard of. Apparently Taiwan cultivates over 30 types of mushrooms. We ate so much we couldn’t manage any dinner but there’s always room for tofu pudding and shaved ice!

Ann took me to some cool places I might have otherwise missed, like the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, a former tobacco factory. It’s now a collection of arty shops, including a 24 hour bookshop where you can get coffee and read any time you fancy and the Taiwan Design Museum.

Taiwan has earthquakes on a regular basis, so much so that the locals take it in their stride. I asked Ann what to do – she said “nothing unless it’s a big one”. “What’s a big one?” I asked. “If things keep shaking for over 30 seconds, consider going outside. Actually, you can open the door as well, just so the door doesn’t get stuck.” She added that if I was really worried, I could take my pillow and hold it over my head though I’d get some funny looks if it wasn’t a “big one”. Hoping that’s not what my travel pillow gets used for.

The Taiwanese love their tea so much they even have tea cocktails, which I had to try, served in a classy old building (the sort you’d normally dress up a bit for, not go in your walking shoes and rain jacket but Taiwan is free of judgement). The first cocktail wasn’t on the menu but the barman assured me it was a “good first drink, nice and light” – he wasn’t wrong. The second one was a gamble – oolong tea, Campari, sherry, prickly ash pepper and prosecco. It took two of us to finish it. Ann’s gamble on a seaweed based cocktail did not pay off – it was so undrinkable she asked them to make her something else.

After two days of sightseeing and enough food to see me through for a week, it was time to start my route eastwards around the island…