Taiwan – Something for Everybody

Usually I couldn’t make any use of my English, still the travel was simple. That’s mostly due to great rail connections, as the rails surround the whole island. The western part of the island also features the super fast rails, but also very costly. The prices are otherwise quite friendly for visitors. You can eat well for 3 EUR and get a place to spend the night for 15 EUR. It’s usually the best option to sleep in a hostel. I found many of them on the island. The first was in the city of Chiayi. An-lan-jie-hostel is among the newest and offers a traveller everything he might want to have. I loved the great location at the 14th floor of a skyscraper, not far from the railroad station. The room with 4 bunk beds had a great view of the city below. If I’d pay a few more Euros I could have one of the fancy bridal suites, but I felt perfectly comfortable sharing the room with a few local visitors and an elderly man from Singapore. Breakfast was included in price, that was prepared in a handy kitchen. On our last evening the owner, Angela Chang, made a special surprise. With a help of a friend she invited us to an interesting dinner with local and Indonesian specialities. »If I only find the time, I prepare such a feast once a week, « she said and smiled happily when we gave compliments to delicious dishes. Angela opened the hostel two years ago and has 64 beds on two floors. And you might not believe it – I was her first Slovenian guest.

Chiayi is a nice city with a vibrant night market where every night the stands become alive with local specialities and they’re especially proud on a rice-turkey. Each city has such a market and you really should visit them! Chiayi is also the starting point, if you want to ride the over a century old monorail, which the Japanese built to transport the wood from the peaks at the elevation of 2000 meters. As it was damaged greatly by a hurricane a few year back, you can now only ride to about the half of the elevation, to reach the village of Fenchichu. The picturesque ride has many tunnels and great views. For some the ride might be too slow, so you can also take the bus down to the city. I took one of them to the national park Alishan. The mountains might even get snow in winter, as they are as tall as 4000m. I got to see the white of the frost on a cold morning, but it didn’t spoil my exploration of the idyllic mountain landscape.

 

Inland I also visited the picturesque Sun moon lake. It’s not at such an elevation and thus more attractive for tourists. You are not allowed to swim in it, due to heavy boat traffic. But there are many walking paths around the lake you can enjoy for hours. You might also explore the surroundings of the lake by a bicycle, or with a very interesting self-standing two wheeled contraption named Reabo, which is part of the Taiwan’s high technological achievements. The ride was very interesting, especially when accompanied by my Taiwan friends, who showed me the secrets of the island and convinced me to try the local speciality – the unattractively coloured brown boiled eggs.

Taiwan has many beautiful beaches. The most touristic are to the south of the island, but I was more impressed with the eastern coast that has many steep cliffs and has less inhabitants. The sea is very attractive for surfers and they feature high waves almost all year around. One of the most pleasant surfing villages is Dulan. There are many restaurants and beddings along the main street. It also features one of the most interesting hostels I’ve seen – the Jail House hostel. It’s also among youngest hostels, as the owners only opened it last year. The furniture is new and the interiso is freshly painted, but the spaces are thematically arranged as a prison, including bars on the windows and heavy metal doors, with key chains featuring handcuffs and you can buy a prisoners wardrobe to sleep in, or at least take a selfy! As they only have 10 beds (a dorm and two rooms) you should book ahead! The hostel features a nice living room, a kitchen, a view terrace with the view of the see! The owners show their appreciation to the guests by free sweet snacks you can always find in the kitchen... Dulan is also the best place to spoil yourself with the sweet anon fruit. There are many plantations nearby and with a bit of luck the owners will give you one as a gift. Among the most beautiful parts of the coast is the Sansiantai arched bridge, made for pedestrians only and connects the main island with a small island nearby. It was interesting to cross the bridge, but even more so to explore the caves and the wild coast off shore.

The last days of my travel I spend in the multimillion capital – Taipei. It’s an always lively city and I got excited about the amusement and shopping district, just made for the young, Ximending. Along many boutiques you simply need to visit the restaurant called Modern toilet! Yes, it’s just what it sounds like! You’re sitting on a toilet and the food is served in dishes shaped like toilet bowels or urinals. But the food is delicious and the atmosphere is so incredible, you need to visit it!

 

What else? There are some monumental buildings dedicated to important people of the island and the most visible skyscraper Taipei 101, which was at the time it opened (in 2004) the tallest building in the world (with 509m)! In order to reach the 90th floor with the magnificent view, you will need to pay, but it’s worth it!

 

I found a place to sleep in a hostel, that is located in a half a century old Chinese house. Hostel May rooms is at the end of the subway line Nangang, but that’s no problem. There are many nearby restaurants and a modern shopping centre. At the large exposition space you also have the bus line taking you straight to the airport. And there’s the always good humoured owner Carol and her husband, along with the small staff, who keep the place clean. There are various rooms on two floors and guests can also use the nice terrace and the sort of a living room with the computer. Guests can also use the small but well equipped kitchen. Carol also made sure I got to spend my last few days in a very interesting manor. She took a group of tourist to a tour of the presidential palace. »If I can, I like to organize a weekend trip in the city or in the surroundings,« she explained the nice gesture. But that’s not all, she often surprised us with cakes made in the Lite pastry house, just a few steps from the hostel. Carol is one of the local people proving that in Taiwan they really like to have guests. Tourism is not only for business, they also like to offer something to people.