Taiwan 101 (not to be confused with Taipei 101)

Happy New Year, everybody! 😇

I just got back from my Taiwan trip a few days ago and have been adjusting snugly back to my daily grind.. AKA back to work..  (someone's gotta pay the bills, right)

We were in Taiwan from 22nd Dec 2017 to 2nd Jan 2018. It wasn't really that long because we arrive at 9 PM and left at 8 AM. Weird flight times, I know.

Flights

As there are no direct flights to Taiwan from Brunei, we took MAS Airlines and flew via Kota Kinabalu using RB. We chose this route because Taiwan is a lot closer to KK as opposed to KL or SG. Aside from the weird flight times, everything was smooth sailing.

Itinerary

As usual, we went with a rough itinerary which we ended up not really following, but here is the real one:

So we did 3 places: Tainan- Kaohsiung-Taipei.
It was quite free & easy with a lot of walking and exploring. We didn't take any tours and did the whole trip on our own. It was our first time visiting Taiwan but it was quite easy to get around. Signs were clear and Google has a lot of information you need to move about.

Transport

We made the rookie mistake of taking the HSR (High Speed Rail) to Tainan from Taipei the night of our arrival. I read online that the last HSR to Tainan was at 2330 hours, and I wasn't sure how long we would take to get out of the airport, so I did not buy our tickets online. Bad mistake. When we got to Taipei Main Station before 2300 hours, they told us to run because the last HSR train to Tainan was about to leave. So we ran, caught the train, and because there were no more seats left (reserved and unreserved), we had to stand for the entire trip (1.5 hours). It was uncomfortable and we were already so tired from the day of traveling.

My advise for you is to purchase your tickets in advance online and not to rush like we did on our night of arrival. We arrived at Tainan at around midnight.

After that experience, I bought our Kaohsiung - Taipei tickets online. We didn't get the one from Tainan to Kaohsiung because that route wasn't as crowded. That HSR ride is also around 30 minutes only.

Aside from the HSR, there is no MRT in Tainan so we had to get around via taxi. There is MRT in Kaohsiung and Taipei so traveling in those cities were much easier. We also got around using taxis and Uber. For MRT rides, we got the Easy Card in Taipei, which is their public wallet which can be used for public transport, as well as purchases in shops like 7-11:

Accommodation

We stayed at Airbnb apartments for Kaohsiung and Taipei, and a hotel for Tainan.

In Tainan, we stayed at Kindness Hotel- Chihkan Tower:

 Spacious and nice

 Nice toilet with a tub

 Toiletries- separated by gender. That was interesting to see. LOL

Note how they're blue for male and pinkish for females too!

 First time seeing a condom from the hotel room as an amenity LOL 

Overall we really liked the hotel. It was in a great location and it turned out to be our favorite (yet shortest) stay in Taiwan.

In Kaohsiung, we stayed at an Airbnb which was in a building right at the Liu He Night Market.

It was OK. Old building, but the location was really good. It was also very near a MRT station. The toilet was quite cramped because they put a washing machine in it, which blocked the shower area. Also because it was an old building, the host told us not to flush our toilet paper down the toilet............. Yep..... I hated that fact about Taiwan.

Our last stay was at an Airbnb in Taipei. Excellent location but honestly much too small and claustrophobic. There was really no space for us to move around at all and it made me feel very uncomfortable. I think that ruined my experience a bit for Taiwan. The location though was fantastic as it was also right outside a MRT station and was smack in Zhong Xiao Fu Xin MRT station, which was where many shops and eateries were.

Language Barrier

My BF and I are what you call "bananas". We are Chinese but we can't read Chinese. We can speak it fairly well but we can't read or write. This was particularly tough for us in Tainan and Kaohsiung as those places had little or no English. It was better in Taipei. It was really tough for us overall, and I just feel so disappointed that I was moved to an English school in Primary 4. You gotta admit- China is taking over the world and either you're in it or you're not. I need Mandarin classes :( Overall we did OKAY because thank God we can still speak Mandarin, and my BF can speak Hokkien. Ordering food was quite difficult as menus were usually in Chinese but I guess we got by. I can read a little bit but that isn't much to brag about.

Food

Before I went, my Muslim colleague asked me if there were halal food in Taiwan. Well, there isn't much. Its not completely lacking of it but there is not much. Food was good and I have never eaten so much beef in my life lol also they have the best bubble tea. I don't know what it is but man, they really have the best bubble tea!!

Also, there are a LOT of Japanese restaurants in Taiwan, particularly in Taipei. I wonder if this is because of the Japanese occupation previously, or its just a common fascination for Japanese cuisine like it is in Thailand?

Weather

It was pretty hot when we were in Tainan and Kaohsiung. It only got cooler when we got to Taipei. And all I had were sweaters -_- I didn't need my thermals until I got to Taipei as it was drizzling the last few days of our trip. The weather was around 20 degrees in Tainan and Kaohsiung, and 17 in Taipei.

People

People were generally nice to us in Taiwan. Taxi drivers in Tainan and Kaohsiung thought we were from Hong Kong while those in Taipei were more accurate, thinking Malaysia. When you tell almost anybody there that you are from Brunei, they will immediately associate you to Wu Zun:

Lol. Impressive. Largely Mandarin speaking (almost mostly I reckon) so we got along quite fine.

Money

We were advised to convert our money in the Taoyuan Airport, right before immigration upon arrival because once you get out of the airport, there are hardly money changers in the city, and if there were, they did not have good exchange rates. There are however many ATMs that you can withdraw from. There were many SCBs so we withdrew a couple of times.

Food is generally not expensive. It is even cheaper in Tainan and Kaohsiung. Meals for two in Taipei normally account to around 700 yuan, which is around BND30 which I think is reasonable. This is for proper restaurants like those near Taipei 101 for Korean/ Japanese cuisine. Street stalls are even cheaper! We ate at a couple of famous Beef Noodle places which charged around 120~150 yuan per bowl (around $5~$7) but they came with a generous serving of soft, melt-in-your-mouth beef and noodles, which was fair.

Will break down the trip into days/ areas another day! xx