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 Taiwan travel tales
Our customers share their travelling experiences in Taiwan.
Read about first hand stories on travel tips and guides, events, entertainment,shopping, food, business and transportation.
Also, you might want to read our
Taipei city guide.
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| P Young and pauline young |
25 January 2005 |
Stayed at Santos Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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As non-escorted tourists to Taiwan we were something of a rarity. We did tours to the Wulai Aboriginal Village (half-day) and the Taroko Marble Gorge (full-day). Both were good and the scenery in the Taroko Gorge is beautiful. We booked both of these directly with Edison Travel Service via the internet which worked out much cheaper than booking through a travel agent at home. Taipei has one of only three alpine railways in the world and with my husband being a train enthusiast, this was a "must do" for us. Despite much searching on the internet we couldn't find a tour that suited so we decided to do it on our own. The train goes from Chiayi to Alishan which is a small mountain village absolutely full of tourists at the weekends. The best hotel (a bit pricey but by far the best in the town) is Alishan House, we had a scenery suite which was decorated Japanese style, very upmarket. Everybody gets up at an unbelievably early hour to take yet another train up the mountain to watch the sunrise. It was freezing cold and not worth the effort for the sunrise we saw. Maybe some days if there is some cloud around it is prettier.
Anyway, despite the disappointment of the sunrise the trip to Alishan was well worthwhile. It is a pretty place. I booked the accommodation by phone a couple of months in advance and then had the problem of booking train tickets from Taipei to Chiayi and Chiayi to Alishan. Most travel agents I contacted couldn't help but Zion Travel Service in Taipei were most helpful. Our bookings were made by Lilia and she was fantastic. Spoke perfect English and gave us wonderful service. Our tickets were waiting for us at our hotel in Taipei, complete with a diagram showing us where to go at Chiayi railway station and an English interpretation of our tickets for the Taipei to Chiayi trip. On our last full day in Taipei we ventured up to Jouifen which is a small village north of Taipei and worth the trip. Lots and lots of shops selling souvenirs, food, etc. Very crowded but good. We took the train from Taipei to Ruifang, then a bus to Jouifen. On the return trip we took the bus all the way. We were very lucky at Taipei railway station to come across 2 local couples who had lived in the USA for 10 years and thus had perfect English. They also were on their way to Jouifen so we travelled along with them and their children. Like all Taiwanese, we found them very friendly and helpful.
In conclusion, we really enjoyed our time in Taiwan and would recommend it. Taxis in Taipei are plentiful and cheap. The reception staff at the Santos Hotel were extremely helpful in advising us how to travel around and on a couple of occasions we got them to write things in Chinese for us to show bus drivers, taxi drivers etc. As it turned out we didn't need this most of the time - we could mostly find someone who spoke English. If you are considering a trip to Taiwan you may find as we did that the internet is the best place to get info. I am happy to answer questions that other travellers might have.
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| W Poh |
17 January 2005 |
Stayed at City Hotel Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Staying in Taipei can be an interesting affair, you are often amazed by the many kinds of street food in those night markets! Don't worry if there's nothing to munch even at wee hours especially during the weekends! Nothing to do after midnight?? Check out the 24hr karaoke everyday! Every night! The most preferred karaoke hang out outlet is HOLIDAY KTV, cheapest price in town and buffet snacks 24hrs! What else can beat that??!?!!! Shopping I've yet to comment on dude...it's a paradise man. So girls.. wear your most comfortable shoes... because you've tons of shops to visit and guys prepare yourself to carry those bags!! Getting around by taxi is easy...taxis everywhere!! Who cares about taking train?? Buses?? Save it!! Don't worry it's not expensive, it's affordable. Range between 100-200TWD.
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| L Scott |
01 January 2005 |
Stayed at Howard Plaza Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Highly recommend the Taipei zoo (on the MRT line). For someone coming from North America, it was fascinating to see the wildlife from this end of the world. We arrived at 9AM and found ourselves to be the only visitors to the zoo! Danshui is a great place to walk around. Indian Beerhouse is an interesting experience - kids would get a kick out of the hundreds of dinosaurs that decorate the place - kegs of beer and food's not bad either.
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| J Hardin |
24 December 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Found Taipei easy to get around in using the MRT. Train stations very clean and lots of helpful people. Recommend visiting Taipei 101 and the Living Mall. Many good places to eat in the food courts.
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| K Hunt |
23 December 2004 |
Stayed at Imperial Hotel Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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We were only in Taipei for a layover and as such didn't get to see much of the city. We wondered around the area close to the hotel and were very happy to find a restaurant called "Malibu West" right beside the hotel. The food was excellent and the staff very friendly. When we returned to Taipei two weeks later for another lay over there was no question about where we were going for dinner. It really was one of the best meals of our entire 2 1/2 week holiday. The night market that is very close to the hotel had some very interesting things for sale. There were also many variety stores nearby.
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| T Saint |
22 December 2004 |
Stayed at Cosmos Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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We bought a pass for the MRT and then each day it was quick and easy to catch a train to explore (a 2 or 3 minute walk to catch a train.) We had a small map of the mrt system (both english/chinese) and found the signage for the stations very user friendly for english speakers.
There were 2 small supermarkets near the hotel (one in the railway mall) and diagonally across the road was a department store. 2 stations away (on the blue line to Kunyang, alight at Zhongxaio Xinsheng), or about a 20 minute walk down the road running past the hotel was an IT region, with lots of computer shops. 5 stations away, (on the red line to Danshui, alight at Jiantan) was the Shilin night market (VERY crowded, but lots of food stalls).
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| S See |
21 December 2004 |
Stayed at Grand Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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Shih Lin night market is a fantastic place to visit, particularly if you are staying at the Grand Hotel. For ladies who are shoe fanatics, you will enjoy the wide range of shoes you get at the market with each pair going for only NT$390 at various stores.
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| E Ahtuck |
02 December 2004 |
Stayed at Landis Taipei, The - Taipei, Taiwan.
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We purchased 3 different tours such as -- 1/2 day city tour which covered main tour points which is must, National Palace Museum houses many acheological items over 4,000 years old and many more art work; folk craft tour covered one of oldest temple with beautiful carvings, pottery place Ingee, old town and shopping; Pitou, rock formation and Jifun, town on the peak of the mountain which apperes in many movies and pass by the abandoned gold mine. We took MRT to cental city visited few more temple, night market, department store but seeing worthy is Taipei 101, world's tallest building standing on the land known with most frequent severe typhoon and earth quake. City center is very hi-tech and modern. We visited one end of MRT station Dunsui. Nice town with Red Castle turned into college and cathedral, mall like shop street, beautiful waterfront walk paved and many shops along the walking park.
People were very helpful and many spoke English so well. Taxi ride is very reasonable but most of the driver did not understand English. Many restaurants we tried were on the guide book and they were better than hotel restaurants. Any type of wraps filled with various ingredients, soup, noodle dish, meat & seafood dishes both Taiwan and Shanghai style are everywhere and good. Coffee shops are very nice both atmosphere and what they serve.
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| O Mentzel |
30 November 2004 |
Stayed at Santos Hotel, Taipei - Taipei, Taiwan.
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It was not a relaxing 4-day-stopover, but the food was excellent, the people are friendly, and there are some top-notch sights. You can visit the National Palace Museum and it's worth visiting the Huashi Night Market to see snake handlers playing with live cobras, to sample snake soup or a cup of snake bile, or to pick up an aphrodisiac made from powdered cobra's gall bladder. The Taipei 101 (the highest building in the world) is good to make some photos.
There are also a lot of very big and cheap department stores for computer and computer-accessories.
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| J Baird |
30 November 2004 |
Stayed at Howard Plaza Hotel Hsinchu - Hsinchu, Taiwan.
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Hsinchu isn’t called the “windy city” without reason. A windbreaker and maybe more are required any time. I suggest women leave the billowing skirts for another destination, unless they are prepared for the rise.
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