9 Causes To Slide In Appreciate With Taiwan

Thinking of all that Taiwan has to present — from planet-renowned delicacies to spirited evening markets to a fascinating sizzling springs lifestyle — it appears to be that the very little island country would be on travel bucket lists all over the planet.

From my encounter, even though, that is not the scenario. When I was preparing my journey to Taiwan a couple many years again, I generally encountered inquiries about my destination, with buddies from time to time perplexing Taiwan with Thailand.

Right after I invested time walking the energetic streets of Taipei, comforting in relaxing scorching springs in the north, and sampling each assortment of seafood conceivable, I arrived to the summary that Taiwan is vastly underappreciated.

On the furthermore aspect, that can lead to an air of authenticity that you commonly don’t get in much more-frequented places. My vacation companions and I sometimes went days without the need of observing a further English-talking tourist, which led to a feeling of cultural immersion.

Through that time, I found so quite a few points to like about Taiwan, and right here are nine of the very best.

1. No Visas For Small-Expression Stays

Officially identified as the Republic of China, Taiwan is located 100 miles off the southeastern coastline of China (the People’s Republic of China) and shares a amount of properties with its huge neighbor. Among them is the use of the Mandarin language.

Thankfully, these similarities do not extend to China’s visa prerequisite for a lot of intercontinental visitors. When I frequented Taiwan, I necessary only my United States passport. Taiwan’s website for consular affairs states that nationals from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and most European nations are qualified for visa exemption for stays of up to 90 days.

That indicates that a lot of site visitors to Taiwan can sample fantastic foods and customs that have been affected by China without the expenditure or inconvenience of a visa.

2. The Streets Of Taipei

The money town of Taipei is a sprawling metropolis of about 2.6 million folks, and its streets can seem clogged with speeding cars and scooters. But on a walking tour of the city, you are going to see Buddhist temples courting again to dynastic instances appropriate alongside slender alleys lined with avenue-foodstuff booths providing thick-slice noodles and fluffy dumplings.

Taiwan’s tourism internet site refers to its capital town as a “cultural kaleidoscope” that normally takes visitors from chaotic night time markets to neon avenue existence to the just one-time tallest building in the globe.

Among the the not-to-be-skipped stops on a tour of Taipei are the Shilin Night Marketplace, the Yangmingshan National Park, the Taipei 101 skyscraper, the Lungshan Temple, and the National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

Professional Tip: Alongside with traveling to the tourist internet sites, I also advise wandering the streets and examining out the area searching scene at the ubiquitous 7-Eleven retailers, which are astonishingly properly stocked with high-quality treats and advantage things, as nicely as the lots of present day electronics stores and stylish clothes outlets. 

3. The Historic Town Of Jiufen

As a lover of mountainside mining cities, I could not wait around to go to Jiufen, a historic seaside town positioned about an hour northeast of Taipei.

The charming city did not disappoint. Regarded for its “Old Street” that winds amidst the town’s steep cliffs, Jiufen attributes a dazzling assortment of foods booths peddling every little thing from grilled snails to ice product sandwiches to standard teas.

Despite the fact that Jiufen’s background dates again hundreds of years, it attained a put on the globe map in the 1890s when gold was learned there. Soon, the mining outpost experienced developed from a handful of people to 4,000 families, and it turned identified as a “little Shanghai.”

Whilst the town’s fortunes faded with the decline of mining activities following World War II, it was rejuvenated in modern many years as a filming place for preferred films, this kind of as 1989’s A City of Sadness. Now, Jiufen attracts 1000’s of tourists who flock to the Previous Road, wandering the winding alleyways that are adorned with vibrant lanterns.

Despite the fact that Jiufen is recognised generally as a foodie spot, the town is also a great put to store for souvenirs like quality teas, bamboo cooking utensils, adorable coin purses, and quirky Hello there Kitty trinkets.

Pro Tip: Jiufen can be arrived at by teach and bus from Taipei. Guidelines are available here.

4. The Sizzling Spring Society

Ranked amid the world’s major 15 sizzling spring areas, Taiwan has a amount of the purely natural springs concentrated in the northern location. For a entertaining and enjoyable style of Taiwan’s warm spring tradition, head to the Jiaoxi Township, found about an hour northeast of Taipei.

The rejuvenating and therapeutic attributes of the h2o in the Jiaoxi region have been regarded due to the fact ancient moments, and nowadays, there are several resorts and resorts that give very hot spring activities. The by natural means incredibly hot drinking water is mentioned to incorporate effective minerals like potassium chloride, sodium sulfide, and potassium hydrogen carbonate.

Pro Tip: For a stellar hot spring/cuisine expertise, check out Taiori, a very little mattress and breakfast that attributes in-place soaking tubs that can be filled with warm spring drinking water. A remain also comes with multicourse meals in the night and morning. Keeping at Taiori is a bit of a splurge, but the combination of food stuff, relaxation, and sizzling spring environment certainly would make it truly worth the expense.

5. Taipei 101

At 1,667 feet significant, the Taipei 101 skyscraper was the tallest building in the entire world from 2004 right until 2010, when it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa building in Dubai. Nowadays, Taipei 101 is the 10th tallest creating in the earth.

The needle-like skyscraper, showcasing a postmodernist architectural style and design, can be seen towering on the Taipei skyline from all about the city. It is also a amazing location to go to — either for the commanding view of the metropolis from the observation ground, or for a fancy browsing or eating expertise at the Taipei 101 Mall. 

6. The Breathtaking Shorelines And Islands

Owing to its spot surrounded by the East China Sea, the Philippine Sea, the South China Sea, and the Luzon Strait, the island of Taiwan is not missing in the seashore section.

From the black-sand Honeymoon Bay in the northeast to the well known white-sand Dawan in the south, Taiwan’s seashores are diverse and plentiful.

For a seaside decision about an hour and 15 minutes from Taipei, locals head to the well-known Baishawan Seashore (Baisha Bay), which translates to “White Sand Bay.” The space is a warm location for summertime water pleasurable and bayside tours.

Taiwan is also acknowledged for its wonderful offshore tropical islets, administered by counties this sort of as Penghu, Kinmen, and Lienchiang, the place blue skies and white-sand shorelines await.

7. The Evening Marketplaces

If you’re in the market place for a trendy purse, some deep-fried squid, or a bit of smelly tofu, possibilities are you will locate a little something you like at the Taipei night time markets.

Taiwan’s night time markets are famous for their varied items, like clothes, equipment, and residence merchandise, not to mention the huge range of delicious and distinctive snacks. Dependent on the sector, you’ll come across oyster omelets, spring rolls, braised pork rice, scorching stuffed dumplings, sliced noodles, and squid thick soup.

In accordance to the Taiwan tourism website, the country’s great variety of snacks is unique in the entire world, and it illustrates the essential spot that the meals culture has in the lives of the Taiwanese folks.

Evening marketplaces are available all around Taiwan, but Taipei is in particular famous for them and presents at the very least a dozen all over the town. Amongst the best regarded are the Shilin Night Marketplace, which specializes in stir-fried cuttlefish, fried buns, and shaved ice, and the Raohe Avenue Tourist Evening Sector, which specializes in oyster vermicelli, spare ribs stewed in natural soup, and pepper meat buns. 

8. The Global Delicacies Scene

From noodles and dumplings to sushi and fried squid, Taiwan has the Asian delicacies scene coated.

Taiwan prides itself on its wide variety of cuisine variations, which have been affected by a lot of diverse nations around the world more than the a long time. Alongside with its huge array of Chinese meals, other cuisines these kinds of as Indian and Thai are also preferred and great.

For dishes that are quintessentially Taiwanese, try out the common beef and noodle soup, regarded an important convenience meals through the place, or the soup dumplings (xiao lengthy bao).

Professional Suggestion: The well-known franchise Din Tai Fung, famous for its soup dumplings, originated in Taiwan, and the original place can be located on Xinyi Street in Taipei.

9. The Refreshing And Various Seafood

With its uncomplicated accessibility to the sea, it stands to rationale that Taiwan would have a powerful seafood recreation. As a lover of seafood, I was impressed by the endless alternatives and clean presentation out there everywhere you go in Taiwan.

Visitors hunting for an entertaining working experience and an astonishing assortment of contemporary seafood, sushi, and reliable condiments should be confident to check out out the Addiction Aquatic Growth in Taipei.

Professional Tips: It’s challenging to go erroneous with dining alternatives in Taiwan. Pretty much all over the place we ate, we had been served scrumptious, flavorful foods. But for a checklist of suggestions, Taiwan’s tourism internet site endorses using the Michelin Guide.

For tips on how to put together for a excursion to Taiwan, verify out my short article How Taiwan Stole My Heart.