Just Back From Taiwan: My Unfiltered Truth (Forget What You Read Online!)
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Hey, friends who are planning to visit Taiwan! Listen carefully to this experienced traveler's tips:
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Foodies' attention! The three major secret destinations for Taiwanese cuisine:
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Miàokǒu (Temple entrances): Small food stalls located outside temples where locals love to go because the flavors are authentic and prices are reasonable. Strongly recommended!
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Yèshì (Night Markets): Well-known among visitors but still an ideal place to experience the world of Taiwanese snacks.
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Càishìchǎng (Markets): More than just places to buy fresh vegetables, they resemble the commercial pedestrian streets like Wangfujing in Beijing or Nanjing Road in Shanghai. Not only fresh foods, but also with various restaurant stalls, souvenirs, etc. Major markets in Taipei include Nankang Market, Beitou Market.
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Top Four Taipei Night Markets for Shopping: Shilin Night Market, Ningxia Street Night Market, Raohe Night Market, and Lingan Night Market, each having distinct features.
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What exactly is "MIÀOKǑU"?
- As previously mentioned: formed by crowds offering prayers at temple gates into food stalls selling all sorts of snacks and hot food. Taiwan has many temples leading to the thriving culture around them. Locals hold Jilong Miàokǒu in high esteem.
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Transport Essential: EasyCard:
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Highly recommend to own one, similar to Hong Kong's Octopus Card.
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To start, simply top up. Use it for public transport, taxis, trains and high speed rail, as well as in Starbucks, convenience stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, and restaurants for easy and convenient usage!
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Small Sights You Encounter While Wandering in Taipei:
- Strolling through Taipei, you'll discover street names surprisingly identical to those in Shanghai, such as Nanjing Road, Hangzhou Road, and Tibet Road, giving a sense of closeness. Interestingly, the designer responsible for naming streets was reportedly from Shanghai.
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WARNING: The secret to hotel room sizes in Taiwan:
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While hotels don't come cheap in Taiwan, their way of calculating room areas differs from the mainland.
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One píng in Taiwan is about equivalent to 3.3 square meters in the continent. Therefore, if a hotel states that a room is 5 píng , do not panic; it translates to roughly 15 square meters in terms of space - much more generous than five square meters.
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WARNING: The trick when buying goods measured by weight:
- When purchasing goods in Taiwan, one jīn equates to 600 grams (corresponding to half of 16 taels in ancient times), while one jīn in the mainland equals 500 grams. Taiwan’s measurement is noticeably heavier, so make sure to keep this in mind while shopping.
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Convenience Store All-rounder:
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Convenience stores in Taiwan really have a lot to offer! Stores of 7-Eleven or Family, among others, are everywhere.
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From train tickets, MRT fares, various tickets for entertainment activities, to paying electricity and water bills, these stores serve as an actual service point, making our lives more convenient.
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Train ticket shopping tips:
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Recommended: Go directly to the convenience store to purchase train tickets with merely a ten TWD handling fee (approximately three or four RMB). It's convenient and brisk.
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Not Recommended: Buying tickets via a mobile phone app might not be tourist-friendly with numerous required verifications adding to inconvenience.
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Train ticket purchase without ID?
- Yes, in Taiwan no identification like passports is required to purchase train tickets. This seems quite unorthodox to me; could it be taken advantage by malicious individuals?
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Adoring Volunteer Workers in Taiwan:
- Lots of volunteers working in Taiwan, they can help, serve as ‘Righteous Firefighters’, or ‘Righteous Police Aides’; unpaid, purely for people’s sake and deserving much respect!
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Essential Medicine for Food Lovers: “Strengthen Stomach Powder by Zhang Guozhou”
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A familiar medicine for many Taiwanese, it is something some bring back after visiting Taiwan.
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In case one gets discomfort in the stomach due to eating too much snack food and adapting to the new location, this medicine works well.
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Avoid Nine-Fen Night Market:
- Not my favorite; stairs seem to just abound, very strenuous. Space small and cramped, not recommended for a special visit.
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Highly Recommended: Station Lunch Box when traveling by train!
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Should you take a train, must try out the lunchbox available at the station!
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It comes packed in bamboo or wooden box, ranging around thirty to forty RMB. Offers a variety of food, great taste, and provides good value for money!
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Be wary of the snack “Iron Egg” in Taiwan:
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A specialty snack, but its texture might not appeal to everyone...
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Made by repeated pickling of eggs over days before drying under the sun, becoming abnormally tough.
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When I tried it, it felt as if I were chewing on a car tire – literally! Not recommended unless you have outstanding teeth and insatiable curiosity.
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Try the ‘Yōutiāo’(Youtiao) Snack in Taiwan:
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Taiwanese youtiao varies significantly from what we are used to.
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It is recommended to try varieties like shrimp and fish paste-stuffed youtiao, or octopus and shrimp paste-stuffed ones.
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Typically deep-fried until very crispy, giving you the feeling of eating crispy chicken on the first bite, taste amazing!
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Actually, using ID cards for trains in mainland China isn't for surveillance! It's because before the real-name system, scalpers made it incredibly hard to get tickets. The system was put in place to stop them. If you don't understand this, please don't spread misinformation among fellow Chinese people!!
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It's quite ironic, actually. Many people have forgotten or simply don't know the original reason for the real-name system. When the public first called for it, the Ministry of Railways initially resisted, claiming it was too difficult to implement.
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One 'jin' is 500 grams, not kilograms! One kilogram is two 'jin', so 500 kilograms would be 1000 'jin'!
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Isn't one 'jin' 600 grams? Is it 500 grams where you are? Now I'm all confused.
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Honestly, public safety in Taiwan is pretty good. As a woman, I can walk alone on a secluded path at 2 or 3 AM without feeling scared.