Taipei was my first stop on an ad-hock 8-city Asian tour to celebrate my 22nd birthday. A trip that would let me experience 5 new places from the daunting list of 338 countries and territories I’m trying to visit.
The plan was to land in Taiwan, hop to Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa), train my way through 4 cities in Japan; (Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka), jump to South Korea (Seoul) and end up in the Jeju islands just in time for some sun, snorkeling and beach time – all in under a month.
Of course, a lot depends on the weather – which didn’t quite share my plans, the only snorkeling I experienced was in the bathtub ;( and I went through more umbrellas than I can count – but I still had a great time shopping, boozing, and hanging out.
Taipei: poor initial expectations
Sometimes you can’t help rating your destinations pre-travel, I was most excited about South Korea as I grew up crushing on Korean K-Pop stars and Korean culture, then Tokyo to see Godzilla who my travel partner swore was real (it’s not – sigh). Kyoto to try and spot some real Geisha, Hiroshima to learn more about the god-awful dropping of the first atomic bomb, Osaka for shopping, Jeju and Okinawa for island hopping. Way down on my list sat little Taipei.
When it comes to places near the Philippines to visit – there are so many other big cities to grab your attention – Tokyo, Bangkok, Singapore, Hong Kong – and other close destinations that just seem more exotic: Bali, Cambodia, Vietnam that I think Taipei often gets overlooked.
All I knew going into Taipei was it was famous for its night markets, bubble tea, one of the world’s tallest building, Hello Kitty airplanes, amazingly free public wifi, and that it made a great jumping-off point to Japan and Korea with fantastic airfare from the Philippines that could lure even the most die-hard Netflix fan out of their bed to go on an adventure.
I had no idea about the ‘culture of cute’ that predominates every facet of the city and would eventually win my heart. Taipei is now one of my fave cities and I’ve sworn to return, even just for a long weekend. This goal is facilitated because Filipinos don’t need a visa to visit Taiwan, you get a visa on arrival. How cool is the Taiwanese government for that!
Cute Taipei cafe entrance; Vespa, rocking-horse, and video games – what else do you need?
Manga is everywhere, I think this is a giant movie poster?
Photo booths, getting ready to go barhopping, umbrellas and cute mascots everywhere.
It’s super simple to get into the city from the airport via the train – just buy these cute little purple tokens.
Even in the rain Taipei is beautiful
Art and murals are everywhere throughout the city.
Adorable, cute and lovely – Taiwan’s Ke’ai culture
Cuteness is everywhere you look in Taipei. Ke’ai means: ‘adorable, cute, lovely’ or maybe it just means ‘loveable’ I was never able to figure that one out. Some western opinions say it’s sexist. However, in Taiwan where gender opportunities are more equal, it seems to fit in with part of a larger Asian culture, appealing to both genders, age groups, and all income levels. Cuteness is a lifestyle and aesthetic thing. Originally from Japan (Kawaii) Who doesn’t love it?
You can see this cuteness everywhere – from corner contact lens shops that sell contacts that enlarge the iris giving the wearer more innocent (manga-like) eyes. To endless rows of game shops where you can try (and mostly fail) to win cute stuffed characters for coins, the fashion, makeup, and endless kitsch – toys hanging off of purses, backpacks, and briefcases. Girls standing in the street dressed up trying to lure people into themed cafes or selling brands with their cute mascots. I even read that politicians use cute dolls to represent their image as they campaign.
Even more surprising is that this craze for cuteness has even taken hold in their religion. Cute figures of Buddha and Taoist gods have become popular.
As someone else said: “In Taiwan, the young-at-heart like to buy cute things…” Cuteness is comfortable, fun, and gives you a little break from daily life in this sometimes overwhelming digital existence.
Can you win these dolls? Or will they steal all your coins… hrm…
Taipei is visa-free
I know I said this, but I’m going to say it again. It’s FREE. No need to hike to Manila with 2kg of paperwork, go through an e-visa program or travel agent to prove you’re an upstanding citizen, not immigrating or a criminal mastermind on the lam. First started by Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in November 2017 it was such a success they’ve now extended it through 31, July 2020. Since the trial began almost 300,000 Filipinos have visited Taiwan. I hope this is something that continues and spreads to other Asian nations like Japan and Korea.
Currently, the Philippines still has an awfully low passport strength (our rating is only 74). Beneath some war-torn African countries… So I hope borders continue to open and let Filipinos experience different cultures and get in on the fun.
Street food culture
If you’re a fan of trying new things or just ogling 9 weird things and trying just one of them. Taipei streets are a buffet of new and weird decadence. Half the fun is figuring out what kind of food it is, then seeing if you’re daring enough to try it!
Glazed strawberry’s on sticks interspersed with ripe cherry tomatoes or plums, long potato chips skewers, stinky tofu which is either served fried or boiled and pre-cooked in fermented brine for weeks to months. (that’s the actual name, not my description – although it’s VERY apt). Small waffles that are cooked in two halves and then injected with warm custard, peanut ice cream rolls, scallion pancakes, fried taro balls, and of course the grand-master of them all: Pearl milk tea. It seems that locals and tourists are obsessed with it. There must be 5 pearl milk tea shops for every 7-eleven, and they’re ridiculously cheap. I tried one with brown sugar – delicious.
Honorable mention goes to KFC – they sell some kind of chicken-burger that is out of this world. It’s got a chicken patty, an egg, and then a potato patty (sort of like a hash brown) with a phenomenal sauce. I never thought I’d recommend fast food – but this thing was mind-bending.
If you’re looking for something a little different in the food department Taipei has a ton of themed cafes and restaurants -a Lego café, American diners, Hello Kitty, Alice in Wonderland and of course the cat, dog and animal cafes that are springing up everywhere. I, however, took a chance and checked out the ‘Modern Toilet Restaurant ‘- where all your food looks like poop. Yes, it’s a bit of a tourist trap, but a weird, and funny one. Your drinks are served in urinals, and all the food looks like poop… Warning: the meatball and gravy plate was just a little too real.
Patiently waiting for my yummy custard waffle, and yes… those other bags are filled with street food too.
It’s impossible to walk through a night market and not eat something…
Night Markets
Where most of the street food, shops, and clothing stalls and cuteness can be found is in the night markets. There are over 60 night markets in Taipei alone! If you just hit one I’d head for the Shilin Night Market. One of the biggest in Taipei, established before 1900 it’s like a visiting an open-air fair or festival. A great combination of shopping, food, and craziness. You can often buy your food and join the crowds sitting languidly on the temple steps in the shadows and just watch the sea of humans walk past. I took loads of pictures and never had any vendor say no or make a frowny face.
I primarily just stayed in the night markets around my hotel in Wanhu District, it was right out the door and was always bustling.
Apparently, in each of the markets, you can find specialty foods. I’ll save that for the advanced traveler or my next trip.
The markets are packed with people – eating, shopping and enjoying the night.
Double your shopping budget and halve your suitcase
There’s just so much to buy in Taipei and it’s all so cute and affordable, even by Philippines standards. If there’s one thing I’d do over it’s to double my shopping budget and bring fewer clothes from home so I’d have more room in my carry-on suitcase to buy more cute stuff. Luckily for my pocket – my small suitcase limits what I can carry – so I end up ‘shopping with my camera’ – taking photos of all the cool stuff I wish I could bring with me. Besides, do you need multiple Hello Kitty snowglobes to put on your shelf and collect dust?
I don’t know who these characters are, but they’re cute.
My hotel Recommendation
When traveling somewhere new, I tend to look up bars, food, sights, train stations (in that order), pin them in a Google map, and then wherever the most pins are – is where I look for a hotel. In the case of Taipei, I found a great little hotel near Taipei Station (central station) by the Ximen MRT in the Wanhu District that I could easily walk to with my luggage once I arrived from the airport train. Air conditioning, minibar, flatscreen and in the heart of the action and a clean and funky little entrance that gave it some style – all I could ask for, for under USD 100 (P 5,200) a night. I stayed at inHouse Hotel.
Just arrived to a fresh bed!
Hit or Miss – my take on a few popular stops in Taipei:
Taipei 101 – Miss (maybe)
Once you’ve been to the top of the Eiffel Tower, all other skyscrapers seem a little redundant. The Eiffel Tower while only 300 meters compared to Taipei 101 (at 508 meters) somehow strikes the perfect balance between getting a great view of the city vs being so high that all your photos look a little same-same. Yup, it’s cool to be 508 meters above Taipei… But, standing at the top of Gornergrat in Switzerland last year at an elevation of 3,135 meters, that’s some serious elevation!… Yes, a mountain is a different thing entirely, I get it… But Gornergrat is like 10.5 Eiffel towers stacked on top of each other or 5 Taipei 101s.
I suppose I feel that once you’ve been to the top of one skyscraper you’ve experienced 85% of being at the top of any skyscraper:
- The spendy ticket price, standing in line for the super fast state-of-art-pressurized elevator
- The expensive gift shop at the top, or the place selling champagne?
- Walls-of-windows overlooking the city you dutifully walk around taking pictures from each side mostly because you paid to get there, bridges, parks and buildings you probably can’t name
- The machine you put the coin in to get a stretched-out version as a memorabilia
- The few cute mascots that everyone impatiently waits their turn to get their picture taken in front of
- Then a glimpse at whatever technology they use (usually huge weights in the center) that keep the building from toppling over in earthquakes and typhoons (always reassuring).
The light is usually too bright for great photographs because of the high contrast, but you do your best. Then the line for the descent, another pricey gift-shop where you can buy memorabilia of… an office building… It’s essentially the same experience over and over.
I’m not saying don’t go visit Taipei 101, or that I regret it. If it’s a nice day it’s a good diversion to an obvious tourist trap. I ended up there by accident when the taxi driver took me to the entirely wrong location and I realized I was only 5 or 6 blocks away from it. Seemed like fate. It was a little overcast so the lines were short and I was able to get in and out within 90 minutes.
Hanging out in the corner of Taipei’s tallest building
There’s a cute mascot for everything, including Taipei 101
Temples – Hit
The temples in Taipei were far more ornate than most of the ones I visited in Hong Kong and Thailand. I was blown away with room after room of intricate woodwork and stone masonry. Some of the rooms even had amber glass that glowed with the candlelight. Photography seemed to be accepted, (no bad looks) – as long as you’re respectful.
Incredibly ornate interiors
View of the main temple
The Grand Hotel – Miss
Another must-see from the guidebooks that didn’t live up to the hype. Unless you’re staying there presumably. It’s a beautiful building, opulent oversized lobby, and a huge split staircase. But I couldn’t find a proper bar to languish over an old fashioned cocktail, or any old-world charm, the pool appeared to be down a long hike away from the hotel with some guards, so I gave it a miss. Pretty much, whenever I do what the guidebooks suggest I walk away wondering why I just didn’t explore a new neighborhood instead. I love seeing architecture and opulent hotels, but this one just didn’t seem to be worth the hike.
The Grand Hotel is… grand! and look how small I am on that incredibly huge staircase…
Cinema Park – Hit or Miss
My travel partner loves sticker and street art, the guidebooks promised Cinema Park to be a little mural city unto itself. In reality, it’s just an open square of some average superhero murals and another open square with some kids hanging out and skateboarding. However, the streets surrounding the park have some well-known artists, and some creative tagging, murals, and stickers. I’d probably skip it except for the neighborhood. I went twice, once early in the morning with my clear plastic umbrella, hardly anyone was around and photographing was great. So, I’m giving this one a ‘hit’ if you’re into quirky art and ‘miss’ as it’s not exactly what the guidebooks might have you expect.
When someone photographs you – always jump!
But, where are all the bars?
Speaking of cocktails – my travel partner and I are fans of speakeasy bars, upscale cocktails bars, and bars with no menus – amazingly we saw almost no bars in Taipei. Of course, they’re there – just look at pages like: The Bar Awards – Best Cocktail Bars in Taipei.
I guess they’re hidden and you have to do your homework before you go. I learned my lesson and before we hit Japan and Korea I asked friends and surfed the net, built out a google map with locations. Some of the bars are purposely difficult to find… Like the one in Japan with just a bumblebee rug out front, or a door that misleadingly says ‘bookstore’ – or often no sign at all…
But in Taipei when you’re just walking down a street looking for a bar we had a difficult time finding any. A few darts and pub type places, but most of the nightlife in our area seemed to be centered around street food, night markets, and shopping even into the wee hours. I did seek out a few of the bars, ‘Ounce Taipei’, ‘Fucking Place Bar’ (yes that’s the name?) but they were either closed, vanished or I was too late for the evening fun.
The one bar I fell in love with was ‘Hanko 60‘, just a few blocks from my hotel and an upscale but cozy feel. Just look for the Bruce Lee paintings outside – as there is no name on the door. The bartenders were all super cool and the drinks and food were delicious.
I managed to miss any party districts as you can find in the Hongdae university district of Seoul and Tokyo’s Roppongi, Shinjuku or Golden Gai. So, I guess I’ll have to make a trip back to find all the watering holes I missed.
The one notable exception is the Red House – well, actually behind the Red House. From the front if you’re visiting at night it’s like (yawn) a big red house – but behind it… Woah – like 30 gay and lesbian bars that spill out into the square. There were a handful of drag queens, great cocktails (thanks Moscow mule, mojitos, caipirinhas) and even posters for upcoming shows featuring some drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race. This is a fantastic place to sip some drinks and people watch regardless of your orientation. If there was one reason to stay longer in Taipei (for me) it would have been to spend more time in these bars. I think my favorite was Café Dalida which had cocktails like ‘Drag Queen’, ‘Blueberry Bramble’, ‘Yo-Ho’ and ‘Bad Bitch’. 😉
Getting ready for a night out
It’s difficult to picture this drag queen – she’s moving fast!
These ladies were unimpressed with me photo-bombing their lair.
The bar at Hanko 60
The people in Taipei are so big!
If you’re looking for Hanko 60 – just find the Bruce Lee posters and you’re in.
7. Tips
Taipei often gets overlooked in favor of bigger cities but it has a much richer experience than the trips I’ve made to places like Hong Kong. Or, at least it’s more vibrant and different…
