Taiwan

I flew back from Singapore to H. Kong on January 26th and booked another flight to Taipei, Taiwan on February the 3rd. I booked my return flight from Kaohsiung, Taiwan on the 7th. Both flights would be through H. Kong again.

Taiwan is an island nation located off the coast of southeastern mainland China, southwest of Okinawa and north of the Philippines. The island is officially known as and governed by the Republic of China or ROC whereas the mainland is the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The nation is home to more than 23 million people and is one of the most densely populated places in the world. Besides its crowded cities, Taiwan is also known for steep mountains and lush forests (which, unfortunately, I did not get to see). Taipei is Taiwan’s capital and largest city. It is located in the north part of the island. Kaohsiung is Taiwan’s second largest city and located in the southern part. Pretty much along the entire west coast of the island is ‘industrial’ Taiwan – though there are plains too, where most cities and towns are located along with its population. It is also where the major train lines are located connecting the two largest cities. The eastern part (and central) of the island is where you would find Taiwan’s natural beauty with its mountains, lakes, and forests. The eastern part of the island is naturally less populated due to the increased risks of typhoons. But, due to time constraints, I was not able to visit this part of Taiwan which was a little bit of a bummer. 

For a background of Taiwan, the following was taken from Wikipedia: In the early 20th century, the Nationalists (Kuomintang, KMT) and Communists fought a major bloody civil war in mainland China. Although the two sides were briefly united against Japan during World War II, they quickly began fighting again after the war was over. Eventually, the Communists were victorious in 1949. The Nationalist government, the remnant of their army, and hundreds of thousands of supporters then fled to Taiwan. From Taipei, they continued to assert their right as the sole legitimate government of all China. Initially very repressive, the government began to loosen control in its fourth decade under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek's son, Chiang Ching-kuo. Taiwan also experienced rapid economic growth and modernization under the leadership of Chiang Ching-kuo, becoming one of the world's richest and most modern economies and earning it a place as one of the East Asian Tigers. Democratization began in earnest through the 1980s and 1990s, culminating with the first direct presidential elections in 1996, and the first peaceful transition of power between two political parties in 2000.

Taiwanese politics remain dominated by the issue of relations between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China, which still claims Taiwan as a "renegade province" and regularly threatens military action if Taiwan attempts to break away from the current awkward One China status quo, where both sides agree that there is only one Chinese nation, but disagree on whether that one nation is governed by the PRC or the ROC. Political demonstrations and rallies, always turbulent, on occasion even turn violent.

Also from Wikipedia: today, 98% of the population is considered ethnically Han Chinese. It should be noted that the Taiwanese are to a large extent the descendants of immigrants from the mainland in recent centuries that intermarried with indigenous people. As a result, the genetic makeup of the Taiwanese is noticeably different from that of the mainlanders. I can testify to that; the Taiwanese do look different from the mainlanders.

The currency is the New Taiwan Dollar (TWD). 1 TWD = $.03. Coins come in denominations of $0.50, $1, $5, $10, $20 and $50. The $0.50 coin is rare because of its small value and has very little practical use. Banknotes come in denominations of $100, $200, $500, $1000 and $2000. Perhaps due to counterfeiting problems, the $200 and $2000 banknotes are rarely seen. I budgeted for around 10,000 TWD (~ $340) which was just about what I spent. Taiwan is still a little expensive by Asian standards but not at the same level as Hong Kong or Singapore but still way more costly than my travels to Thailand and Viet Nam. 

 

The weather was really pleasant when I was there ranging from the mid-60s to low-70s.

Northern Taiwanese speak mainly mandarin whereas the southern population predominantly speaks Taiwanese. Taiwan continues to use traditional Chinese characters, the script also used in Hong Kong and Macau, and not the simplified versions used on the mainland. Which basically means even mainland Chinese would have a hard time reading in Taiwan. Especially in Taipei, younger people generally speak a basic conversational level of English. The children often understand more English than their parents, especially with the emphasis on English language education today, and English being a compulsory subject in Taiwanese schools. Quite a few people, especially in Taipei, are proficient in Japanese due to the high number of Japanese visitors.

I planned to stay three nights in Taipei and one night in Kaohsiung. Taipei is the island's financial, cultural, and governmental center. I flew into the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the late evening. The airport is about 19 miles from the city and I took an express bus to the Taipei Main Station for about 120 TWD (~ $3). This station is the main transportation hub in Taipei where you can catch regular trains, hi-speed trains as well as the subway. I stayed at the Star Hostel my first night and JV’s Hostel for the second & third nights in Taipei. The Star Hostel was located within walking distance from the station though I had a hard time finding it and it was getting late. I had to walk into a police station for directions. I had to talk to about three officers before finding one that was able to help me. As it turned out, I was like three blocks from the hostel which was good. By the time I checked-in, it was like 10:30pm. I had my own private little room with a shared bathroom. There was free Wi-Fi and it was a nice little place. I went back out and got a quick snack at a 7-11 and then went to bed. The next day would be a full agenda of sight-seeing. Pics of the hostel and main station below.