8 Reasons why you need to visit Taiwan
I visited Taiwan for the first time in March 2019 and I fell in love with this amazing country! Here are 8 reasons why you need to visit Taiwan before everyone else does.
It’s a foodies paradise
Taiwan has a mix of indigenous Taiwanese, Chinese and Japanese cuisines. And if you like those cuisines this is the place for you! My favourite thing about the food culture in Taiwan is the night food markets. They are usually on almost every night and there’s a plethora of different street foods to try. From the safe delicious Peppered Pork Bun to the more adventurous Pigs Blood Cake (yes, you read that correctly, an no I didn’t fancy trying it!) Besides from the night markets, my favourite dish was Beef Noodle Soup. It’s a delicious beefy broth with thick noodles and I loved it so much that I did a Beef Noodle Soup cooking class. Click here If you want to learn more about the Taiwan Night Food Markets.
Fried Chicken
Pepper Pork Bun
The Taiwanese people
They are the friendliest, kindest and most helpful people I have ever met. (I may have been helped even more because I was a solo female) I never felt worried about getting lost in Taiwan and I felt I could always rely on the Taiwanese to help me. I have many great stories about how generous they were and these are the best memories I have of Taiwan.
Easy to navigate
Firstly, the greatest thing about the transport in Taiwan is that you can use the same transport card called an Easycard for buses and metro networks all over the country. No need to get different cards if you are travelling around and moving from bus to metro! Also, they have High speed rail and its cheap!
It’s alive
I can’t speak for the whole country, but Taipei definitely felt like the city that never sleeps. Even though I haven’t been to Japan, I feel like Taipei is like a mini Tokyo in a way that it’s bright, noisy and a little crazy. There are groups of young people hanging out and there’s always a great vibe. You can do so many fun things at any hour of the day. There’s loads of boutique shops, arcades, big malls, night markets, bars, clubs etc. I could see my self living in Taipei, It has become one of my favourite cities.
Natural beauty
Taiwan is full of natural beauty and I wish I had the chance to see more of it. They have mountains you can hike and beaches you can relax on! My advice is to get out of the cities and explore the unknown Taiwan.
It’s not over run by TOO many tourist
There are a lot of Korean, Chinese and Japanese tourists in Taiwan. Long story short; go before everyone else find’s out about Taiwan!
Great for solo travellers (especially female)
This ties in perfectly with the Taiwanese being friendly and helpful. I found Taiwan very safe and I never felt uncomfortable being on my own. You can also rely on the locals to help you. On the flip side, once you leave Taipei some areas of Taiwan barely see any foreign tourists and sometimes this can feel a little isolating. My advice would be to book a hostel rated highly for it’s atmosphere or if that’s not an option, book a homestay or a room in an Airbnb. Even if there is a language barrier, it’s a comforting to know you have a host who is looking out for you.
