10 Reasons Why You Gotta Love Taiwan

- by angie -

This was my second trip to Taiwan. I can't read nor speak Chinese, so I left all the planning to HH's sister (Thank you!). I may not know where I went, I may not know where I stayed, I may not know what I ate.

10. Beautiful Scenery
Taiwan has it all. Mountain resorts and hot springs, beaches, lakes, extinct volcanoes, forests, even green meadows. A lot of these places are so well maintained and protected that you just have to enjoy the breath of fresh air you get.

Mountain village of Jiufen

Yehliu Geological Park

Extinct Volcano at Yangming Mountain

Fisherman's Wharf of Danshui

Taroko Gorge

Art's Village of Yilan

9. Many night markets to visit
Ask any Taiwanese, and they can rattle off a series of night markets for you to visit. Popular ones are Shilin, Raohe, Wufenpu.

Shopping at Ximending

At a night market in Yilan

8. So many things to shop
You can get knick-knacks almost everywhere. Street vendors usually appear after dark, and they sell anything from "branded stuff" to pets and socks. Some book stores even open 24 hours!

Mum at a shop in Jiufen

The books HH brought home

7. Law AbidingTaiwanese are very honest and they follow the rules willingly. If there's a bad apple who go against the rules, anyone on the street will immediately set you straight. Try to sit on a seat reserved for the disabled, see what will happen to you :)

6. Be a kid again
I don't know if it was the intention of the Taiwan Government to keep minds active, but our parents felt very young in Taiwan. Check out these photos, they speak for themselves.







5. Enterprising Spirit
What surprised me the most on my first visit, was the fact that street vendors are made up of young folks. If they don't like their job, they'd quit and head to the streets. Someone told me that he makes a whole lot more money on the street than in a day-job.


4. A very modern city
Taipei has a very extensive rail and bus network. Almost everywhere can be reached by public transport. They are even promoting health awareness by building bicycle paths and allowing bicycles on board the train. The whole place is clean, modern and have clean toilets!


3. Act all silly and nobody will think you're weird
We really had fun in Taiwan and wouldn't normally do these things. It all started when we spotted similar actions from Hot Babes or "La Mei". These are our immitations of them





2. Oh, Glorious Food!
Everywhere we went, we had the most amazing foods. From the freshest seafood, to the spiciest innards, fluffiest buns, piping hot dumplings, and juiciest beef. Prices are approx TWD2000 for a dinner for 7 at a restaurant.









1. You gotta love this bunch of people

These 2 are the typical Taiwanese people on the street. They are the most sincere and helpful people I have even known. They really really want to help you as much as they can, even if it means going really out of their way to do it. They laugh all the time, make jokes at one another, listen to what you have to say. Thank you to Sandy and Pin Pin for such an enjoyable holiday. Next time I see someone accidentally bump their heads on the door, I'll be sure to tell them "Eh, be careful hor! Don't spoil the door!" Ya ka ka ka!