Trip Report: Taiwan – Country #86

Trip report: Taiwan

Visited in May 2019

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After a long time I finally went to the Far East again in May 2019. After four years to be precise. So much time has passed since I last visited this region. I always described the Far East as my favorite region to travel to, maybe because this is where my travels have their origin. But after exploring other parts of the world in the last four years, I wanted to find out if this region still excites me so much.

From one of the least densely populated countries in the world (country 85/197: Turkmenistan) I now went to one of the most densely populated countries: Taiwan. The small island state in front of the Chinese coast represented the starting point of a 17-day journey through China and the Korean peninsula. “Wait, Taiwan isn’t a country at all!” one reader might say. Already on Instagram some people protested that the “which country” guessing game in my stories was unsolvable, because Taiwan is not a real country.

Is Taiwan a country?

Of my 197 countries, 193 are members of the United Nations. In addition, I count four other non-UN nations as countries: Palestine, the Vatican, Kosovo and Taiwan. The first of these two countries have observer status in the UN. The other two are recognized by too few countries to be members of the UN. In the case of Taiwan, there are in fact only 18 countries that recognize the sovereignty of the country, the largest of which is Guatemala.

However, Taiwan is by far the most populous of the not fully recognized countries in the world. Almost 24 million people live on the island. The country has a democratic government, its own currency, its own army, etc. and used to be a member of the UN. Funnily enough, the Guinness Book of Records counts Taiwan among the 195 countries you must have traveled to if you want to have visited every country in the world. However, Taiwan also stands for a dilemma that I had when naming Road to 197…

What happens if a new country is founded or one disappears during my trip to 197 countries? The name Road to 197 would make no sense anymore then. Countries come and go however. In 2011, for example, we saw the birth of the newest country: South Sudan. Besides, there are many independence movements in all parts of the world. Just recently there was a referendum on independence in New Caledonia. The people have rejected it and New Caledonia remains part of France. In Greenland there are also always discussions about separating themselves from Denmark. Or Scotland keeps flirting with leaving the United Kingdom. Just to give a few examples.

It’s a reversed case in Taiwan though. There is reason to fear that the sovereignty of the country will no longer exist in the medium term. The reason for this is its overpowering neighbor, namely China. After the foundation of the People’s Republic of China (what we know today under the name China) , some members of the government, elites and military fled to Taiwan and founded an independent state there in 1949.

In the same year Taiwan joined the United Nations. However, in the following years more and more countries broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan under pressure from China, so that the country had to leave the UN again in 1971.

Since then, China has repeatedly threatened to annex Taiwan, using military force if necessary. Nothing has happened so far because Taiwan still has the USA as a backup. Although the USA also broke off diplomatic relations with Taiwan in 1979, it enacted a law (the Taiwan Relations Act) in which it promises to support Taiwan against foreign threats. The USA is still behind Taiwan nowadays. So it was also a symbolically important act that Donald Trump’s first telephone conversation with a foreign government after taking office was with Taiwan.

Times are changing though. China has an ever more important role in the world and sooner or later it is in my opinion inevitable that China will take Taiwan back. However, China has other issues at the moment, for example the trade dispute with the USA. Therefore, it might take a little longer until China tries to “solve” its problem with Taiwan. Maybe I’m lucky and it happens after I have visited every country…

Five days in and around Taipei

I have to admit that until a few months ago I hardly knew anything about Taiwan. I only knew how the capital Taipei looked like. So I was all the more amazed when I started to study the country a little more intensively.

When I judge whether a country is a cool travel destination, the density of sights and attractions is an essential point for me. Or to put it another way, a country is especially interesting when you can see and do a lot without having to travel a huge distance. Taiwan is such a country. It has several places worth seeing and they are not far from each other. As a tourist you can visit many of them on a day trip from Taipei.

The decision what else to see in Taiwan besides Taipei was not so easy therefore. The offer around Taipei consists of the following: historical villages, national parks, beautiful nature and other cities. Since we would be on this East Asia journey already exclusively in cities, we decided not to visit further cities in Taiwan.

The landing at the airport Taoyuan, approximately one hour away from Taipei, also gave us a foretaste of the country: Taiwan is green as far as the eye can see. Forests, hills, meadows and rivers – Taiwan is one of the greenest countries I have ever been to. Something you wouldn’t expect if you only knew the capital of the country.

Taipei, the mini-Hong Kong

Although Taiwan is a country of its own, Taipei nevertheless remains a Chinese city. Consequently, after my visits to Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau six years ago, Taipei was the fourth Chinese city for me. Even though the cities are different, Taipei is still best compared to Hong Kong. That means skyscrapers, neon lights, colorful streets, good infrastructure, a high density of bars and restaurants, a cool vibe and lots of people. I liked Taipei at first sight. Like Hong Kong or Macau, the city felt westernized and has not much in common with mainland China when it comes to the mentality of the people.

During the five days we were in Taiwan, we spent two days and five evenings in the capital. That was enough for Taipei. The sightseeing doesn’t take longer than one day. Except if you want to see some temples beside the three main attractions: the CKS Memorial Hall, the Elephant Mountain and the Taipei 101.

We didn’t.

Taipei may not be a city for days of sightseeing, but it has some other strengths. The city is a paradise for travelers who are crazy about good food, shopping and nightlife. I have to emphasize the food especially here. Taipei does not only have an abundance of sensational restaurants. The city also offers several night markets where you can stuff tons of food into your stomach for only a few dollars.

However, the food in Taiwan, especially the street food, sometimes looks quite adventurous. And sometimes it really is. Stinky tofu, rice pudding in pig blood or pitch black eggs pickled for weeks are only a selection of what is offered here.

Beside one of the best restaurant experiences of all times we also had one of the weirdest of all times: the “poo”-restaurant with the name Modern Toilet. Here you sit on toilet seats, eat food from small toilets and drink beverages from small urinals. It is a tourist trap per excellence, because the food tastes as it looks. But it is nevertheless a funny experience.

Theme restaurants in Taipei also seem to be quite popular. I read that there is also a Hello Kitty restaurant, a hospital restaurant and a prison restaurant. In the last one, one is handcuffed to the table during the meal.

So the days in Taipei were pretty cool all in all, but we came to Taiwan not only because of Taipei but also because of the nature of the country.

Around Taipei

We used the last three days for day trips to Jiufen, Shifen, the Yehliu National Park, Wulai and the Thousand Island Lake. You can visit the first three even in one single tour. The Taroko Gorge would have been another option. We eventually decided against it because of the distance (about 3 hours each way).

In the Yehliu National Park you can admire special rock formations on the north coast of Taiwan. Certainly a beautiful place, unfortunately completely overrun by tourists. I know what you’re thinking, complaining about too many tourists is always hypocritical. After all, I am part of the problem myself. But if a place is so crowded that you can’t get a decent photo without two hundred other people on it, I can’t recommend it.

The place we visited in Shifen was basically just a rail track. Old Street is it also called. It’s a rail track, where you can let your own labeled lanterns rise into the air. And a locomotive runs through the old street sometimes. On both sides of the rail track there are dozens of shops where you can buy the lanterns and other stuff. It was as unspectacular as it sounds. Also here the crowds were an annoyance.

Even worse were the crowds in Jiufen. Jiufen is an old gold mining town in the north of Taiwan. The place is especially popular with Japanese tourists because of a tea house that served as inspiration for the movie Spirited Away. The pictures I saw online before looked charming.

But in reality Jiufen is only a (long) alley where we had to fight our way through thousands of selfie sticks and bad smells of food stalls. All this combined with very hot temperatures and an incredibly high humidity. At the end, we arrived at the famous tea house, which by far doesn’t look as beautiful as on pictures. Furthermore, we were offered to pay 9 dollars for a cup of tea with biscuits. Needless to say that we immediately left again.

Jiufen sounded like fairy-tale town, but it was as charming as Gordon Ramsay during his outbursts of rage. It was without a doubt the worst stop on the entire tour. Fortunately, the eight-hour tour to Jiufen, Shifen and the Yehliu National Park cost only 21 dollars. But that was the only good thing about it. The crowds made the places difficult to enjoy. My recommendation therefore: don’t bother to visit these places unless you go there at 6.00 AM or whenever the opening is.

It got better when we went to Wulai. Wulai is a small, idyllic village about one hour away from Taipei. We traveled to this place by taxi (the price per way was about 20 dollars), as getting there with public transport takes almost three hours. Wulai is mainly known for its hot springs at the river. Moreover, the nature reminds of countries like Switzerland, Andorra or Austria. At the foot of the river you can swim in the hot springs. Surprisingly, there are not really many tourists, so that one can enjoy the idyll at the springs quite well.

The last place we visited was the Thousand Island Lake. This trip offered the worst value for money of all three day trips. It was a half-day tour that cost about 50 dollars. We drove to two view points where you can admire the lake. It looks spectacular, but you spend about 5 minutes at both viewpoints. Afterwards, one drives to a tea tasting, which I was as fond of as much as toothache. And then we drove back to Taipei. It definitely wasn’t worth the 50 bucks.

My conclusion after three day trips from Taipei is that Taiwan indeed offers beautiful nature, but the tours suck. If you are interested in the sights outside of Taipei, you should do it on your own. With Jiufen, Shifen and the Yehliu National Park it is worth going right at the opening in the morning, I can’t emphasize that enough.

Taiwan as a travel destination

After five days in Taiwan, we were ready to move on. For the north of this small country this time is enough to get a good impression. With five more days it would have been enough to get a good impression of the south as well.

Although Taiwan was probably the least eventful part of this trip to Asia, I will remember it positively in general. The capital was fun and the surroundings were also beautiful. Even though Taipei can’t excite for days with sightseeing, our first sightseeing day was brilliant. The three main sights, the CKS Memorial Hall, the Elephant Mountain and the Taipei 101 Tower are all sights in a class of their own.

However, the country was also a bit exhausting because of the huge hordes of people, especially with Chinese tourists. Not in Taipei but when we left the city. And that should only be a foretaste of what we would experience in the next two weeks… Therefore, the nature outside the capital is only enjoyable if you can avoid the crowds.

Taiwan is still a bit of a “under the radar” destination. Perhaps because there are relatively few direct flights from Europe, Canada or the USA. In my opinion, wrongly so. Taiwan can be a good introduction to China for travelers who haven’t been in the Middle Empire yet. It’s kind of a westernized China. Like Hong Kong, just independently. There are many places to see and it’s easy to get around. Another positive thing about Taiwan is that it is quite cheap. Compared to other East Asian countries, Taiwan is about as cheap as China. The two Koreas, and Japan in particular, are in a different league. Last but not least, Taiwan is visa-free if you’re from Europe.

Otherwise, of course, I also asked myself whether the Far East still fascinates me as much as it did seven years ago. The answer is yes. After several trips through South America and Africa in the last two years I was also happy to be in countries where you can walk freely at night without the danger of being attacked. I also missed the food in the Far East. And that there is a 7/11 or a Family Mart at every corner. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t call the Far East my absolute favorite region anymore. I have got to know too many great places in the last years.

The most important thing for me for the time being is that Taiwan will remain independent in the coming years. Even one of our Taiwanese tour guides said that his country would soon have to submit to the pressure of China. So, to be on the safe side I should perhaps reserve the URL www.roadto196.com…

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Find the travel reports of the other countries I’ve visited here!