Made up in Taiwan

Alishan National Park before the rain came

I was a little concerned when I set my itinerary of 3 full weeks on the Island of Taiwan. I need not have worried I'd have nothing to do, quite the contrary I was having to do some editing of places on my tick list in the last week.

Where my last blog left off I'd just left Tainan, I headed north east inland to Chiayi. I didn't have anything I wanted to see here but it was to prove a great base (location wise) for a couple of day trips.

I left the train station in Chiayi at 12:45 without any accommodation,  I went to the tourist information to pick up a map and location of budget hotels, found one close by, checked in, dropped bag and managed to catch the 13:00 bus to Guanziling.

Guanziling is up in the mountains and has may hot springs which in turn have brought many spa hotels. Getting off the bus too early, despite been told not to, I had a hike up the mountain to the spa of my choice.

Guanziling village where I mistakenly alighted the bus

Kings Garden Villa was located in what looked like a 4* hotel. For the meager fee of 350 NTD (£7) I had an unlimited time in the spa.

There was loads to do, there was a hot spring pool, a very hot pool, a herbal pool which was hot and a bit like sitting in a vat of herbal tea, mud spa where I covered myself head to toe in mud let it dry hard and washed it off, cold pools, a swimming pool, exercise room, fish spa (the fish in here nibbled away at all the mosquito bite scars, did a fine job) an exercise room and finally a facial mask parlour. All that was included in the fee.

I'd planned my bus back to Chiayi, but the heavens opened forcing me to stay in the spa, apply another face mask, and dip in all the pools again.

When I finally got back 'home' I was tired, instead of grabbing street food I went to a Japanese restaurant, and looked for a bar for the following night.

Taiwan but particularly Chiayi teases you when it comes to bars. Every corner you reach you think, mint, there are loads of bars down here, only to find the neon lights are a hairdresser, shoe shop or something else not what I'm looking for.

I walked a good hour, street after street looked promising, but nothing, the best nightlife to be had appeared to be McDonald's which I was never going to go to.

Beautiful scenery from the bus window on my way to Alishan

After an early night the next day was another decent day trip. Alishan National park was about 2 hours away. The journey was winding around mountains and passing many beautiful tea plantations. On the way I read that the weather is great and sunny on a morning, come lunchtime it mists up, the afternoon usually has a heavy downpour of rain. Sure enough that was the case, perhaps I should have got a bus that arrived before 11:30 as the mist was starting to roll in.

Plenty of trees and greenery in the park

I had a decent look around before it rained heavy, was nice to get way from it all into the hills and countryside. I did a few walks before rain cut short my plans.

Decent sized trees

Temple in Alishan

Getting back early I was thirsty and fancied a beer. After grabbing a train lunchbox from a street-side cafe I fancied sitting in a bar with the hope of meeting a few fellow travelers. Chiayi is probably the worst place I've encountered for such a task. Restaurant didn't serve beer and the 3 bars I found were closed. I did find one that opened at 10pm but it looked well dodgy. Google tried to help me out but could only suggest a sandwich bar some 5km away. I had to spend the night with weak beer (shady) in my room. I had 3 flavours, honey, pineapple and a lime beer.

Railway lunchbox, Pork Chop veg and a tea soaked boiled egg

I had hoped to get to Sun Moon Lake the next day but a couple of back to back day trips had taken effect on me and I decided to head back to my comfort zone that is the capital Taipei and staying in a familiar place.

Getting around on trains is easy, there are fast trains (very fast), intercity or slow. The fast train did the journey in less than 2 hours, but the departure or destination station wasn't particularly convenient to me. So plumping for express I headed to the station last minute to find it was full so had to take the cheap slow train (5.5 hours).

Back in Taipei for my final 3 nights. I had plenty of places I wanted to see and I liked the comfortable surroundings and friendly owner. I could feast on the Taiwan pork hamburgers and baked pork buns I'd loved from earlier in the trip. Delicious.

It was Saturday night and I fancied seeing what Taiwan had to offer for nightlife. I didn't want fancy, I didn't want sleaze, I wanted cheap beer in friendly surroundings. Where I went hit the spot. Beers were about £1.80, the clientele was a good mix of locals and adapts. Within minutes I was drinking with a Columbian, Canadian, French and a couple of guys from Holland. All were either teaching English or learning Taiwanese.

Happy hour finished a couple of hours later which doubled the drink prices so I went elsewhere. I just happened to stumble on a locals cafe/bar. Drinks were even cheaper, and I was the centre of attention. The owners girlfriend could speak perfect English so acted as translator as I fielded questions from all the rest of the bar. I loved that scene, they gave me a free squid also, nice.

Having lots of big ticket items left to see, I rather wasted the following day. I spent it on the balcony catching up on blogs, emails and doing my laundry.

I'd read about a nice day trip in the hills, I had a choice of two, one which everyone said I should take Yangmingshan and another which sounded good to Wulai.

Wulai Waterfall

I choose Wulai, doing it my way, a long ride to the end of the metro line and a connecting bus took around an hour and a half.

Wulai had an 80m waterfall, hot springs, a cable car up the mountain and specialty food. What's not to like? I liked it there, nice and peaceful. It was raining so the waterfall was in good flow. Sadly the log train I'd planned to ride had been wiped out by the typhoon a few years back and was not yet functioning again.

Cable car - made in Taiwan in the 70's? I hoped not.

Getting the cable car over the waterfalls was spectacular. Suspended a couple of hundred meters above the valley, I suddenly remembered the crap toys you got as a child that broke within a day all had "Made in Taiwan" imprinted on them. I was hoping that the cable car was made of stronger stuff.

After walking to the free public hot springs I couldn't really be bothered to get changed and take a dip. My book had a luxury hotel with spa and I thought that would do a better job. I did have quite a lot of Taiwan Dollars to spend in the next 24 hrs. The luxury spa and hotel didn't look up to much. Not having the energy or inclination to walk back to the public springs I jumped back on a bus into Taipei.

The scary view from the cable car

So my last night in Taiwan I went back to the same expat bar I'd been to on the Saturday. It wasn't the same, going back rarely is. I had to listen to an American chatting to me about how well traveled he was (he wasn't). I kept quiet so not to burst his bubble or prolong the conversation. When he said, "You've got to go to Berlin [I have], it is the kind of place you can not sleep for a week or a place you can not leave your hotel for a week" (I guess the same applies for anywhere in the world) I decided to make excuses and head back to the locals bar.

The owner was made up to see me again. I think he was trying to break me when he pulled out a bottle of 73% white spirit. Realising he wasn't going to win this battle he upped the ante and gave me a Taiwanese style bush tucker trial. I dealt with the chicken hearts OK, pigs intestines not too bad, but conceded defeat when he brought out chicken feet. A nice memorable evening in what became one of my favorite countries.

Royal Palace Museum grounds

Before heading to the airport in the evening I went to the very impressive Royal Palace Museum holding the finest collection of ancient Chinese Pottery, Art Work, Jade, Jewellery and ornaments. I didn't really have time to do it complete justice, another one to come back for. It also housed what seemed like the biggest mass of Chinese tour groups.

Royal Palace Museum, Taipei

Cool tiger outside the Museum

So what did I like about Taiwan? I liked the night markets and the food. I think I only want to one restaurant in 3 weeks. I liked the people , very friendly and tried hard to chat even when we had no common language. The scenery is stunning. It is quite a cheap place (almost South East Asia prices) and it is off the beaten track.

What I didn't like about Taiwan. Rubbish bins are virtually non existent in many towns (I think it is the recycling culture - a good thing right - and they don't want bins full of mixed rubbish. I didn't like the teasing streets that looked like they were populated with bars but on closer inspection were tea shops. Finally the thing I liked the least was the tune the bin lorries made each evening, it drove me mad. They blasted out an ice cream van type tune continuously as the drove down the streets and locals would put out their rubbish. I've got that tune in my head again now!

First it was Thailand, then the budget orientated travelers discovered Vietnam Cambodia and Laos. I think anyone who enjoyed these destinations should put Taiwan firmly on their bucket list, I hope it becomes the next one for European travelers, it should be. I'm glad I visited before it does.

Next and final stop is South Korea, Taiwan is firmly on my places to go back to list. If I ever take a teaching English job, then Taiwan would be I place I'd very much consider. 

Taipei, Taiwan

I hadn't really considered the implications of touching down in Taipei at 00:30 when I booked the flight. The airport was still crazily busy and immigration took a long time to clear. I didn't have the required flight ticket out of Taiwan but they never asked for it, so once I made the front of the queue I quickly got a free 90 day tourist visa. Another stamp in the passport, and another country I could put a tick beside in those on-line 'how many countries have you visited' polls.

Rainbow bridge

All the info I had from the lonely planet and various websites said buses running to the city would stop at midnight, the cost of a taxi was looking at >£20. This turned out to be duff info, a bus to the main bus station in Taipei was scheduled to run every 30-40 mins throughout the night.

The sign tells me that this bus is headed in exactly my direction

The queue for the bus ticket was horrendously long and once I'd bought the ticket the queue for the bus was longer, it snaked around and inside the terminal. This was going to take all night or so I thought.

I spoke to someone in charge, a difficult conversation as his English was only marginally better than my Chinese, I understood because it was so busy they have put extra buses on. And so they had, bus after bus pulled in and the queue soon went down. Where else in the world would a bus company add extra buses after midnight to cater for increased demand?

The bus station was about 1.5 km away from my hotel. No taxis were around so using the maps.me excellent navigation app (travellers should get this and pre load destinations) I found my hotel with little problems, but even so all the waiting around had pushed it to 03:00, and I was tired.

My hotel/hostel was described as one of those capsule hotels where you sleep in a tiny coffin like space. This hotel however was more of a plush backpacker dorm room. You had your privacy with the aid of a curtain to pull across, but you did share the room with plenty of others. The place was quite luxurious, the staff friendly and the price cheap.

I was woken just some 3 hours after falling asleep by a rustling person in my room. He must have gotten every single plastic bag and scrunched it into a small ball. This went on for 5 or 10 minutes, thankfully he left as a very tired Phil was starting to lose patience with him.

To avoid carting around many guidebooks with me, I got the digital edition of Taiwan Lonely Planet. Generally I like the Lonely Planet guides, sometimes I have a love hate relationship with them when it is clear slack research has been done. Getting around using the digital version is much more difficult. I tried to take the walking tour, something I find easy, but swiping left and right between the map and the navigation instructions just isn't the same to me as flicking the pages. Perhaps I'm just old school when it comes to books.

Longshan Temple

Temple Roof

Digital or physical the walking tour had a few mistakes and a few places where I interpreted the instructions incorrectly. The tour once on the right path led me to many fantastic temples and museums and parks. It was a long trail when tired.

Red House

Taipei park

228 Peace Park Taipei

Along the route I took in some Iced bubble tea. It had an acquired taste, the black bits were chewy jelly tapioca, which every now and again you got a lump sucked up the straw.

Bubble Iced Tea - the bubble is tapioca

I asked in the hostel a place to go to see some nightlife, it was Friday night in Taipei after all. I however was having a few nights off the beer after a reasonably busy last few nights in Philippines. I was directed near the red house which was part of my earlier walking tour. I was tired and just wasn't feeling it, so after a walk around I took the underground back near my hostel and found some delicious duck noodles.

Duck Noodles

Another fairly restless night despite been ultra tired meant I decided not to extend my stay here but move on to another part of town. The place I found was great, only a little more expensive, but I got a private room, the hosts were great, it was very secure and located right next to the train station I needed to be at for my next destination a couple of days later.

Language was proving a little difficult, most Taiwanese could speak a little but seemed shy and afraid of making a mistake. I had many conversations speaking via the excellent interpreter that is Google Translate.

I was told of a local specialty, a Taiwan Hamburger, and my host showed me where they were best. It was a mix of pulled pork and fatty belly pork in a very soft and spongy bun, with added ground peanuts, some dark green stuff (presumably seaweed) and coriander. It was a little over £1 and absolutely delicious, so I had another.

The making of the pork bun

Pork Bun

That afternoon I visited Taipei 101, the 5th tallest building in the world. I went up to the top floor and stayed up there for around 3 hours. I was mainly chatting with the locals and visiting Chinese tourists, having a laugh and a joke with them where the language barrier allowed.

On top of the world at Teipei 101

Behind is the Taiphoon and earthquake breaker up Teipei 101

Nice surroundings outside Teipei 101

Sadly the weather wasn't brilliant, it was trying (successfully at times) to rain all day. This meant that the 91st outdoor floor was closed and also spoilt what would have been magnificent views. Whilst I was there it had become dark, so I got to see buildings illuminated in neon signs.

Not my favourite huge building but a good one

On my way home I called into Riohe Night Market. Night markets are similar to town fairs in England, with games for kids and temporary street stalls selling local delicacies. I loved this night market, and it really was an experience to many of my senses. Some of the stalls, my nose told me to move on quickly, others my eyes didn't like the look of what was on offer.

Deep fried seafood stall

I never tried this

Or any of this

One stall had a huge queue making similar, but different pork buns to what I'd had earlier. As I stood in the queue you could almost imagine the commentary Rick Stein would have given this place on his food hero's series.

My supper getting made

Dough was beaten flat on steel surfaces, before been passed to someone to add a handful of spring onions, then a handful of pork was added and the bread rolled into a perfect shaped bun. A sprinkling of sesame seeds and then places of the side of a burning hot ovens. It was good to watch whilst I waited in line. Delicious too at £1, a bargain.

Just needs to be put in the oven now

Delicious but very very hot (temperature not spice

On the way back I caught a Chinese style show, I had no idea what was going on, but watched for a bit. It was a hybrid of a Punch and Judy show and an Opera.

Chinese show

Another early night, another night without beers, but I was woken firstly by a group of 20 noisy Chinese who had been sampling the beer it seemed, and then a fire a few buildings away meant 6 fire engines with full sirens blasting for a hour or so at about 02:00.

So my first 3 nights in Taiwan I had very little sleep. This still didn't stop me from taking a full day trip in. I did It all on the metro (MRT). First stop in the northernmost station on the lines was Tamsui. It was really nice here, traditional old buildings, churches, temples and a fort.

Tamsui

Tamsui University

Tamsui Cathedral

The walk back was just as entertaining as I walked along the riverside, which had plenty going on, almost a UK seaside town feel to it , from years gone by. With it been Sunday, many locals were having a day out.

A few stops towards town was Beitou a town built around thermal pools. Lots of the buildings had a 1970's concrete theme, but there were nice modern eco-buildings.

Hot spring valley

I took a walk along Thermal Valley which led to a turquoise/green lake which was so hot it had steam coming from it. Locals used to cook eggs in the lake but too many injuries led to safety fences been erected.

Steaming hot springs

There are many thermal pools and spas where you can bathe in the thermal pools. Some more pricey than others. I choose the public pools which for 80p offered great value. It had 6 pools. Very cold, cold, hot, very hot, boiling and ridiculous. I managed to stay about 5mins in the one I labelled boiling, I did dip my toe in the ridiculous pool, and thought better of it.

Hot spring pools

I calculated that I had gone through 48 MRT stations that day all for about half the price of a single trip on the London Underground. The Easy card is a must for any visitors to Taiwan, it makes it cheaper and is much more convenient. I got to use it on buses throughout Taiwan.

Another trip to the night market, another pork bun, some sausages washed down with some cranberry juice it was an early night at 21:30.  I had the hotel to myself this night, and was looking forward to a full uninterrupted night. Just as I was having a glass of water on the balcony the owner arrived with a few beers, a couple of hours later the early night was well out of the window.

Sausage man

At last a Taiwan Beer

Peter the owner arrived at the hotel with some breakfast for me as a present. It was thin Singapore style noodles, with a HOT chili flavour, various other things were in the soup, some I tried, but others didn't look do-able.

I loved my stay in Taipei, had a great time, just the two beers and if I return at the end of the trip (likely), I will stay again in the 2nd hotel.

Next up is my time spent in Eastern Taiwan.