I'm going to Taiwan for the whole month of July.
I want to do some hiking (snow mountain, taroko gorge and maybe yushan) but the permit application seems almost impossible to do. They ask for experience in taiwanese mountain hikes and a certificate???
Does anyone have experience in getting the permit?
Also Taiwan general since I don't see one.
https://www.englishintaiwan.com/travel-in-taiwan/central-taiwan-travel/climbing-jade-mountain-yushan-reaching-the-peak
Take a look here
If you're open to other mountains, Shoushan in Kaohsiung, Alishan in Chiayi, Elephant Mountain in Taipei, Baiguoshan in Yuanlin are all options
>>1124343
not OP but the china thread derailed into /pol/itics, thinking of visiting wuyi a few days then going to xiamen and getting the ferry to taiwan, is this feasible, what other options do I have instead of the taiwan route? Tea is a major motivation of the trip, i'm there for 13 days total(1-13 september) but can be more depending on other ideas I might have
>>1124345
Not sure how much of a hassle it is to come over from China by ferry, flight seems much easier.
Teawise,Taiwan is awesome.
There's a place in Miaoli. http://globalteahut.org/
Alishan and other mountains have high altitude teas. Tieguanyin is widely available.
Where's best for women, where's best for temples?
>>1124608
Any of the major cities you'll find women
Templewise, Foguang in Kaohsiung is the best one I've been to. Kaohsiung also has Lotus Pond
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lotus_Pond,_Kaohsiung
If you're looking for variety, Tainan has ~1600 temples.
I'll jump on this thread rather than make a new one. A friend and I are heading to Taiwan for a week in August, plan to spend a few days in Taipei and make day trips around for the rest of the time, but we don't have any plans or ideas where to go/where is good outside of Kenting (which I think will be packed with tourists at that time of year so I'm not too keen on going)
Anywhere you guys can recommend to go, inside or outside Taipei?
What is a practical budget for Taiwan?
>>1125245
The north has Jiufen, the oceanside town that Spirted Away was based on. Taipei has 101, and Elephant Mountain.
The east coast is a nature lovers paradise, you have Yilan / Hualien / Taidong. Yilan I've yet to go to, but have heard the scenery's good. Hualien has Taroko Gorge which is impressive. Taidong can take you to some of the outer islands, Green Island & Orchid Island.
Down south, you have Tainan, Kenting, and Kaohsiung.
Tainan is the old capital and the food capital of Taiwan. If you like history, go to Anping. For art, go to Qimei Museum, The Cultural Center or Xinmei rd. For eating as much good Asian food as you can, just walk around. It also has a good night market called Huayuan.
Kaohsiung is a lot like Tainan, but with more Western influence. Here you can find good European / American food. As for places to see, go to Pier 2, Xiziwan, Lotus Pond, Rueifang night market, Cijian Island, Xiaoliuqiu.
Kenting is where everybody goes to the beach.
As for the west, not much. You have Alishan National Park if you like giant trees. Ershui / Jiji for cycling in the fields / mountains. Yuanlin for a good small town experience. Taichung for Indian food and the Luce Chapel.
Lmk what you're in to and I can give you more specific suggestions
>>1125323
What are you wanting to do? 1k USD/Mo will last you a bit
>>1125340
I love it when people post useful stuff like this
Thank you anon, I'm also quite interested in going there next year. Mostly for the nature, but I'll have to figure out how to find a local to show me around at least for a few days. I feel like I'd miss on a lot of stuff otherwise. No idea how to find a local to hang out with before getting there, but still
>>1125343
No worries, just trying to get the word out on how awesome Taiwan really is.
As for having a local show you around, that's prolly one of the easiest things you can do here. The Taiwanese are the friendliest folk I've met anywhere, just post on Tinder/Skout/etc that you would like someone to show you around, and you'll be fine.
Just finished one semester of mandarin in uni and know the very basics, so I was planning on heading to Taiwan over July as well to drink tea and climb mountains.
I'm doing my planning today, but if anyone has any advice or places to go it would be appreciated. Anyone there can kik me at wanderingduder to team up.
23/m and I'll be there July 12 - August 15, give or take.
>>1125543
Oh definitely. Those links took me to where I wanted to go before I could ask, the intent was to say I'm cool with meeting up with other solos.
Mostly, though, since my interests align with the people here I wanted to see if they found anything else I might not easily stumble across.
Thanks though!
>>1125348
I keep trying to avoid tinder. I really don't think it would suit me. Have no idea what skout is but it looks like almost the same thing
I'll see what I can do with okc I guess...
>>1125948
I used to be the same way, then found out they're used moreso by people here as a way to meet up for a bite to eat, find travel buddies, language exchange, etc. I would never have found as many cool places and people here had I not started using them
>>1125340
This is really helpful for a dude looking to research a Taiwan trip.
Is the Chiang Kai-shek memorial worth investigating? And the Sun Yat-sen one?
I see a lot of stuff about museums, too. The National Palace Museum is where a lot of the old Forbidden City stuff ended up, right?
What I'd be really interested in is the Taiwanese side's presentation of WW2 and the subsequent civil war. It would naturally differ significantly to what is presented on the mainland. Where's the best place to do this? National Museum of History? Or Republic of China Armed Forces Museum?
>>1127024
(Same anon here)
I meant to add that yeah all of the stuff above refers to just Taipei. (Although I am also interested in modern history stuff outside that city)
>>1125348
>No worries, just trying to get the word out on how awesome Taiwan really is.
keep quiet man
>>1127024
I've never been to any of said museums, so can't help you much with that. The Armed Forces Museum seems to be more focused on equipment / weapons than history. Outside of Taipei, Kaohsiung / Taichung / Tainan may also have museums you'd be interested in.
Kai-Shek memorial has an MRT station by it, so you can stop by and see if you want to spend some time there or not.
>>1127103
Thanks bro
I've been doing a bit of research today and I'm impressed by some of the stuff I'm seeing. Like Xiangshan - a mountain you can hike up right in the city with its own subway line? Getthefuckouddahere!
Can't wait to check this place out.
BTW guys how much am I looking at for a decent hotel in Taipei? Would it be significantly cheaper in Tainan & Kaohsiung? I mean clean, ensuite, next to a subway line?
>>1127105
In general, everything is more expensive in Taipei. A hotel will cost at least $50+ a night. Kaohsiung & Tainan should be a bit cheaper. Hostels and BnB's are also readily available.
I just got back from TW couple weeks ago , visiting my aunt. You can try the karoke buses, too. They're like a mini tour guide thingy that drives around every 30 min stop bathroom break, and hike more. Alotta beautiful scenery there. But be warned , it's mostly older couples singing on a bus. I remember they took us to this hot spring.
I stayed in Taoyan (dad side) this trip and Tainan last trip (my mom's side) I think they're foods are really sweet. Definately I enjoyed Taipei more and the buses and MRTs are really easy to take. We went to some museums , anping and other places in Tainan, but that was couple years ago , gotta dig up photos . There's a bunch of museums, I think it's called the National Museum of History (it's mostly Chinese stuff IIRC). You can try Keelung and Tamsui (that beach stanks tho). Visiting TW left a really strong impression on me there that I want to take my talents to TW.
Yeah, just do your research, most of the country side is on the east side, but there's also a Pacific Coast Highway of TW. The sightseeing was great. Sightseeing the girls.
How about phones?
Is it expensive to set up a (US) phone in Taiwan? Would I be better off just buying a cheap Nokia and local SIM card for a 2 week trip?
Late bump but pic related is amazing for hiking, Huangdi Dian near Taipei. This is near the start of the mountain but if conditions are like that, you get to hike into the fog and catch a view of the mountains. There's a few spots where there's a only a steel chain attached to a vertical wall and that's all you have to propel yourself up. Definitely not a beginner trail but if you love the outdoors this is the place for you.
>>1127778
Not really, if you have a iPhone go to a phone store and they'll set a number up for you. They just swap sim cards.
>>1127873
lol We went there the drive to the mountains scenery was beautiful.
Also before you leave, do not forget about the shaved ice.
The cart sausages, pineapple cakes and beef noodle soup with the green mustard.
Just gonna leave this here.
Weird question: what do about facial hair, is it weird for them? Also, what about shaven heads, I often shave my head when on holiday to remain cool and negate the possibility of nits (which I seem to catch every time in Asia).
How would you spend 10 days in Taiwan? How would you split it between towns/cities?
>>1127105
Taipeh is pretty expensive, so maybe you want to use Airbnb if you dont feel like shelling out 50$ for a tiny windowless room in a hotel
>>1128127
don't even know how to begin answeringt hat. taiwan punches FAR above its weight in terms of thngs to do/see. there are a string of fishing villages along the coast that used to be heavily militarized and undergo daily mortar attacks. beautiful and idyllic islands, and cheap to get to/go around. you could bike up and down the coast, which is also beautiful. you could visit some of the aboriginal towns. you could visit authentic chinese temples, of which few remain anywhere but taiwan, or see authentic festivals. the food is great.
taipei is pretty strong city. I think of it as a seoul or mini-tokyo in terms of culture, cool things to do, youth trends, etc.
