Top Things to do in Taipei
TOP THINGS TO DO IN Taipei, Taiwan
The capital of Taiwan! It’s a big bustling city surrounded by many options for eventful day trips. We spent about four days here. It was more than enough for non-rushed sightseeing and a single, packed day trip outside the city. The buses, trains, and subway make getting around really easy. Ample eating options everywhere make it a foodie mecca.
Here are some of the top things to do and our highlights:
> Shifen Waterfall - We did a day trip out to Shifen from Taipei via train. It took about 2 hours to get there with one train change at Ruifang Train Station. Once we arrived in Shifen, we walked through the small town which is full of vendors selling souvenirs, food, and lanterns. The waterfalls are approximately 1.5 miles from the town and there are plenty of scooter rentals and taxis you can take to get close to the trail head. I’d say it’s a pretty easy walk since you only have to navigate some stairs, walk across some fun suspension bridges and then a decent distance on relatively flat trail. Near the falls is a small community of food stalls so don’t fret not having a snack on hand! There are a couple of platforms you can view the falls from and they definitely are a site to see! (It’s worth noting that we did this and Jiufen all in one day. First, we did Shifen. Next, we went to Jiufen). Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/6hSu9juanAZoqykP9
> Jiufen, Taipei, Taiwan - Jiufen is an old mountain town north east of Taipei. Getting there is pretty straightforward. It’s just a direct (and inexpensive) train from Taipei station to Riufang Train Station. Once you get to the train station, you take a bus (965, 1062, or others) from across the street up to the top of the old town lane. Pretty much anyone there can point you to a bus stop. Once you’ve ridden the bus and are at the top of the street, you simply walk down the hill, following the old town street stopping at shops, checking out the vistas, and grabbing some food at many of the restaurants and food carts along the way. Our favorite views of the town were actually of the mountains out along the coast (and not of the town itself). There’s also a stunning temple set along the mountains what looks to be a few kilometers away from the town. Next time, we’d definitely try to give that temple a visit. The old town street was okay...mostly lots of food and touristy shops. It’s supposed to be gorgeous during sunset and at night, but we didn’t end up staying that long. Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/PzJTQAMQBPwNFCRY7
> Chang Kai-Shek Memorial Park - The memorial park is a set of structures surrounding Liberty Square. This beautiful set of buildings was unexpectedly one of the top highlights of our Taipei visit. It consists of four main structures - three buildings and a gate. They’re all really beautiful and so big! Well worth the quick subway ride getting there. While we were there some event was being set up on Democracy Boulevard - stalls, shops, and a stage. Perhaps check for any local events happening near the memorial hall and you’ll get some beautiful sites and some fun activities all in one place! Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/NZkgbTbg8YteDViAA
> Longshan Temple (Taipei) - This temple is close by the Ximen shopping district. It looks a bit lackluster from the outside, but when you enter through the gates and begin to explore the interior, you start to really appreciate all the intricacy of the carvings. One of the most magnificent parts of the temple are the carved columns that resemble dragons winding their way up and down the columns. Also, the colors and the intricate scenes depicted in the roof carvings are one of a kind. It’s a nice short walk from the main Ximen station if you need a break from all the shopping! Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/PRX4Js5VEhz62QoJ6
> 寧夏觀光夜市 (Ningxia Night Market) - This isn’t the number one night market you see written about in all the blogs, but it is less out of the way and we had read that it also is more traditional. After visiting this market, we realized that all the night markets of Taiwan (and many other Asian countries) are primarily eating affairs. As vegetarians, it can be a real assault on the senses with all the different types of creatures being freshly cooked and grilled. Still, you can’t really say you’ve visited Taiwan unless you’ve gone to at least one night market! We also tried some stinky tofu and pickled cabbage here. The smell is pretty rough, but one of us really liked the taste. You can also get some chilly sauce on the side (but we found it and all the other sides of chilly sauce we got in Taiwan to be extremely salty). As a vegetarian, the other things you can get are freshly cut fruit, milkshakes, sauteed king mushrooms (These are amazing! You have to try them!). There might be others, but these were the most obviously vegetarian items we saw. Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/NfcPMEtbexFGCAeH7
> Boba Tea - So boba was supposedly invented in Taiwan. Technically, the true origin is in Taichung, but boba is ubiquitous throughout the country. We tried boba from a few different places, but our favorites were from: Tiger and Milk. We consistently ordered the brown sugar milk tea as it appeared that version is the most popular. They’re really tasty...with that much sugar, it’s pretty hard to go wrong. The differences between the brands are the balance between the milk, tea, and sugar flavors along with the texture of the tapioca pearls. One other fun thing to learn is that you can request different sugar and ice levels in your tea depending on which type you get. It’s part of the fun of ordering boba in Taiwan! One of our favorites was Tiger Sugar Milk Tea. The blend of coffee and sugar and the texture of the boba was just amazing. They’ve got a couple of locations around town. Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/yayjnuZrF34xkyFSA
Getting Around: The bus, train, and subway system in Taiwan is incredibly accessible to foreigners. Pretty much everything is in English. Google Maps works well with the caveat that it was frequently off on bus timings. You can use the train or subway to pretty much get anywhere you want in the city our outside of it. We were about trying to navigate so many buses and trains for our trips to Shifen and Jiufen, but it ended up being pretty low stress. For trains, there are automated machines with digital screens that make purchasing tickets really easy. Read: you don’t have to stand in long lines waiting to talk to a real person. Also, we never found ourselves in a situation where we couldn’t get tickets and most of the trains didn’t appear full.
Food: Vegetarian food was also really easy. There is a large buddhist community in Taiwan and they are served by a large number of vegetarian restaurants (both large and small) across the country. In the big cities, especially, it’s really easy to find vegetarian places. One easy trick to spotting a vegetarian spot is to look for a swastika - the religious moniker is used frequently to denote a temple and restaurants use it to denote being vegetarian.
We also went to the 國立故宮博物院 National Palace Museum and the TAIPEI 101 MALL 台北 101 購物中心 building. The museum, unfortunately, was overrun by tour groups which really ruined the experience for us. It’s also a long trip from city center so be prepared. The highlight there is seeing the jade cabbage (a piece of cabbage with a grasshopper carved out of a single piece of jade). Meanwhile, Taipei 101 is a pretty neat sight to see even if just from the outside. Do your homework and read up on the architecture of the building before heading over. We opted not to go up to the top because we’re not into that type of thing, but just seeing it from the outside and admiring the architecture is worth the quick subway ride.
