Taipei – quick travel guide

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Taiwan’s capital city, full of food and city sights, with nature only a short drive away.

Awesome underrated city for travelers and expats. Very developed and English-friendly, yet cost of everything still low. Has everything you want (all big city conveniences), yet still small and cozy (easy to get around). Easy to get around the rest of the island country. Easy to fly to other Asia.

Also a nice cultural mix of Chinese, Japanese, British, and other international influences. I see Taipei as a great Western-friendly introduction to China (even though it’s not mainland China).

Great city that deserves a solid 5-7 days to explore.

Where to stay:

  • Daan – most popular foreigner and expat area. Typical things like trendy cafes, nice restaurants, bars, and big city park nearby. Also very English-friendly and with international restaurants.
    • Gongguan – right nextdoor to Daan and its own vibrant night market.
  • Central Districts – Sanchong, Wanhua, Datong, Zhongshan. All of these are most central IMO. Some more popular and crowded than others.
  • Tamsui – far from city center (1 hr metro) but very nice local area on the waterfront with sunset views, vibrant waterfront, nice bars and cafes with view of the water.

Taipei is small enough that you can live anywhere and reach another area within the same day. So it comes down to what areas do you want to live next to? Do you really need to be by touristy stuff? Or are you happy just waking up to many shops and eateries just downstairs? Do you want bars and nightlife? Or do you want water views? Are you happy with charmy old-style buildings, or do you prefer modern skyrises?

For more the most central area is right where the red and blue line meet (Taipei Main Station). Being anywhere near that would be considered most central.

Hostels:

  • haven’t tried any

Neighborhoods & Walking areas:

  • New Taipei
  • Bali District – waterfront area by Bali Landmark, can go from the old street all the way to the sailing pier. There was a sand art exhibit when we went. Unfortunately this area is not quickly accessible from the city. Public transpo takes 1.5 hours. So you either need a car. Or can also use a ferry if you’re just across the water in Tamsui.
  • Taipei Main Station – has huge underground area with shops and eateries. Really big, one of the biggest in Asia but thankfully not as crazy as Tokyo Station. I guess you could explore here if that sounds fun to you.

Activities to do:

  • Buildings & architecture –
  • Parks, gardens, green spaces –
  • Beaches, bridges, water-points –
  • Arts & museums – National Palace Museum is the thing to do.
  • Sunset views – new taipei water
  • Night Market:
    • There are many in Taipei
  • Shopping:
    • 2nd Street – great secondhand clothing store. My friends loved going here everyday to find some amazing deals.
  • Boxing gyms – there a handful of good boxing, kickboxing, or MMA gyms in Taipei. I really liked the KENJON Boxing Training Center. Nice, big, friendly people. They have classes but also allow open gym training where you can train by yourself.

Restaurants & Cafes:

  • Modern Toilet Theme Restaurant – poop themed restaurant aka “toilet cafe”. Big tourist attraction IMO.
  • Thai Love Thai – omg, freaken amazing restaurant! I especially loved the shrimp cakes, crab stuff. Honestly, everything here was amazing. You can’t go wrong. Just order everything.
  • SECOND FLOOR CAFE Tamsui Station – eat here or one of the many restaurants around here for beautiful water views.
  • 鐵人壽司 – fancy sushi reservation-only restaurant, with super high quality fish, and sushi chef works right in front of you. Entire restaurant is just 2-3 chefs/waiters serving one big table. They do a lunch seating and dinner seating. That’s it. Very low occupancy and you have to reserve sometimes up to 2-3 weeks in advance. I thought it was very good and well-worth the price but I’d rather eat something more unique to Taiwanese/Chinese culture next time, especially since fancy sushi restaurants can be found all over the world already.
  • Island Thai Cuisine (Bali) – solid thai restaurant over by the Bali District waterfront. Hangout and eat here.

Bars & Clubs:

  • Taipei has several nightlife areas.
  • Revolver – small divey bar, 3 floors (upper ones have a stage), with live music some nights. Very popular with foreigners. A good place to chill the night, or pre-game before something more rowdy. Indoor seating or outdoor hangout. Has music but not so loud that you can’t talk.
  • 89 Loop Sports Bar – another one recommended by my friend.
  • Another Brick – another recommended one.

Sorry, but I didn’t try any clubs so I don’t know.

Miscellaneous tips:

  • General travel tips for Taiwan.
  • Mobile data – you can buy prepaid SIM plan right from the booth at the airport. Doesn’t cost much and comes with unlimited data. I pick the 4G plan because it’s cheaper and just as fast, I’d say.
  • Barber:
    • Many are booked out and require reservation.
    • foryou barber (Daan) – great shop. I got my cut by the woman and not the owner guy, but she still gave me a good fade. No complaints.
    • Barber’Select (Daan) – also seems like a solid shop.

Nearby towns:

Unfiltered notes:

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