Taiwan Travel

Taipei 101

For anyone traveling to Taiwan having no idea what to expect and maybe even a little hesitant about going, you are in for a big surprise! That's how I was anyway when my husband told me he had to go to Taipei, Taiwan for work and he wanted me to join him last June. I hemmed and hawed over it for a while writing lists of pro's and con's the only con really being money. Did I really want to spend the money on a plane ticket to go somewhere I know nothing about? Thank the Lord I decided to go! Taiwan is one of the most extraordinary places I have ever been. I will tell you that I do not like cities, so that is the first thing I worried about. Ever since I had a very scary experience in Quito, Ecuador I have been very timid about traveling to big cities. I was especially nervous being as I have never been to Asia and had no idea what to expect!
The Taipei airport is lovely and you are shuttled on through where we pick up a taxi to our hotel. We stay at the Grand Hyatt at Taipei 101 (The second tallest building in the world!) It is right in the center of the city where everything is happening! It is about a half hours drive from the airport. The Grand Hyatt is absolutely fantastic in itself! The rooms are lovely, the concierge are pretty much my best friends by the end of my trip, and the food is wonderful! However, my favorite thing about the Grand Hyatt is the gym/spa. It has a gorgeous full gym with 3 rooms. One for yoga and other free offered classes. One with free weights, bench presses etc. Also, one with cardio and weight lifting machines! All new clean Life Fitness equipment free water towels and earphones! The pool is a wonderful oasis in the middle of the city! You would think you are on an island somewhere. The spa, OH THE SPA! My favorite, it have an ice bath, steam room, sauna, showers, relaxation room, sitting/locker room, and a large swimming pool-esque hot tub! I could and do spend hours down there! The breakfast buffet is to die for (though I wouldn't recommend the dinner buffet unless you love seafood.) They have endless pastries, cereals, egg station with potatoes and bacon and more, bread, fruit, seafood, and the best waffles you have ever had in your life! I don't know why they are so good but they are! I am sad to say we haven't tried any of their other restaurants but they did send me up a delicious chocolate cake for my birthday! The Grand Hyatt is connect by sky bride to the Taipei 101 which is fantastic!
Taipei 101 for some reason doesn't look like a very tall building standing outside of it but when you are shot to the top you realize how tall it really is! You are soaring in the sky with not a single other building even coming close to the magnificent Taipei 101! The upper deck gives you a full 360 of the city of Taipei and you can use their free automated guided tours, which is why I highly suggest this being the first thing you do on your trip! The tour will tell you all about the city and the things to do in it! You will quickly start jotting down all of the places you would like to see. Try some ice cream beer while you are up there! Shooting back down to the bottom of Taipei 101, the first few stories are a mall. The bottom floor is the food court with some familiar places such as Baskin Robins, Cold Stone, Starbucks (kind of hiding), and a really good Japanese Restaurant (kind of like the Melting Pot.) There is also a grocery store too! I like to get snacks, fruit and oatmeal there! The rest of the mall is mostly designer stores but by far the best Zara I have ever been too! It is fun to walk around after dinner and window shop! There are other sky bridges leading out of Taipei 101 and leading to ATT Fun, it has a theater and more shops like Oasis! All around this area you will find restaurants and bars and clubs! You can walk for blocks and never see the end of all the high end stores and boutiques! There are also affordable store, you just have to look for them!
This is going to sound so strange but, my favorite place to eat pretty much in the world in the Chili's in Taipei. I know here in the US it is SO gross! The restaurants themselves are usually gross and the food is horrendous. I am not but into Asian food so I decided to give it a try. So glad I did! Get the chicken nachos and the boneless wings (even the blue cheese is good!) The sandwiches are fantastic and the service is perfect! I literally eat there for lunch and dinner most days, it's just so good, I have to get my fill before I get home! If you too are nervous about eating Asian food there is also a California Pizza kitchen which is ok and a TGIFriday that I haven't eaten at. For breakfast there is a place called The Diner at ATT Fun which has all American breakfast foods and salads and burgers etc. There is a place similar that in my opinion is better and it is at the foot of the W right next to Starbucks. (That is also where the main train, bus station is!) Speaking of the MRT Station and food, it has a bakery stand with these like pesto garlic spiral bread thing and all of these other AMAZING pastries. Pastries are not a food that I would have associated with Asian but now it is!
Transportation around Taiwan is SO easy! I like to double check everything but I usually start by asking my concierge to tell me the first step of my journey (which always begins at the MRT station) and to write down where I am going in Chinese and to also show me on a map. Then I get to the MRT and ask the information people and they will help you the rest of the way. I have taken every kind of transportation there is and they are all comfortable, cheap and easy.
My first time in Taiwan I was very scared and didn't want to walk around alone or explore alone, I had no idea what they people would be like or anything. I searched on the internet for dangerous place etc. and couldn't find anything, come to find out that it had nothing to do with my Google searching skills! It is literally like the safest place ever! Even in the middle of the city! It took me really until my second trip to fully embrace this fact but man this place is SAFE. It doesn't matter which ally you go down or which town you end up in. Anyway, I was scared when I got there so I decided to book a few tours. The first one was the most fun and I would recommend it! It took us to look at some rock formations (us being me and I think some Japanese people) then way up the crack of this mountain to a wonderful town called Jiufen! I wont spoil all the history and fun things but they drop you off and you get to walk through the narrow market places and buy super cheap souvenirs for your friends and family waiting at home! Buy a lot of stuff here because I regretted not buying tons of stuff. From there it got a big weird cause we went back into the city to some like shop thing, I guess for more expensive souvenirs (they probably get some pay off for bringing us there) I didn't buy anything. I also went on another tour where he took me (just me) to the oldest temple in Taiwan, he didn't speak the greatest English but he showed me how to read my fortune! Then we went to a ceramic town where they make a lot of ceramics. It was cool but if I were you, I would just go on the one tour to Jiufen to get you used to Taiwan. From there you can find your way to any sites you want to see!
My second time to Taiwan my brother came and that made it even more fun! This is when I really fell in love with Taiwan. It was so nice to have Steven along since Bryan works all day everyday and usually gets sick on the weekend! Steven and I went hiking, right in the center of the city there are trails leading straight up into the mountains and it is a comfortable walk for anyone! Steven and I went everywhere, paragliding above the mountains and oceans, swimming in the crystal blue water and up into towns where you right your wishes on huge paper lanterns and set them free! My brother is a 20 year old night owl who loved the nightlife! His hotel, which was this awesome apartment that had everything he needed and was very cheap clean and nice, also right down the road from us, was right next to an MMA gym! Steven is a fighter so he went and took some classes and met tons of people who went out with him and showed him the town! Bryan and I are too lazy and early to bed for that, so it is fun to live vicariously through Steven! For us at night we LOVE the night markets! Try things! Eat things! The fashion in Taiwan is so timeless. I love shopping for clothes and even the stinky tofu just makes the experience something you can't miss!
The last thing and probably the most important thing that I love about Taiwan is, the people. They are literally the nicest people you have ever met in your life. Every single one of them. People who don't speak a lick of English go absolutely out of their way to help you in any way that they can. We visited a Christian Church in my brother's apartment building and a lady interpreted the entire service for us, a guy at 7-11 couldn't explain directions to us so after we left and were walking down the road he came running after us with a drawn map and guided us to the right turn! WAH! They are AMAZING! You won't meet such warm inviting people anywhere else.
So if you have an opportunity to visit Taiwan GO! Each time I go back I look forward to experiencing more things and being able to give good advice on what to see and what to skip.