So you’re going to Taiwan? Friends and family might be slightly confused, some intrigued, others jealous.
After nearly a month in the country, Taiwan is one of the very few places where the capital, Taipei, was our favourite place. Outmuscling seaside towns, ancient southern cities, and even national parks.
Taipei may not be the most attractive city to the eye, or have the most interesting attractions, but it has a certain sci-fi charm that draws you in.
Before we got to Taipei, we set ourselves a budget of around £40 a day. But we quickly realised Taiwan, and especially Taipei, was much more affordable than we initially thought.
We achieved £30 a day (including flights, accommodation, travel, everything).
So, with our budget mindset, here are the 20 best things we did that didn’t break the bank in Taipei:
20. Shrimping restaurants
Splash out £8 for a rod and some bait, and see how many shrimps you can catch in a giant indoor swimming pool.
After an hour, your shrimps can be barbecued, ready for consumption.
If you don’t catch any, you don’t eat.
We went to one with a high rating: here.
The owners felt pity on us, as our pathetic catch of two was tripled to six when we sat down for them to be barbecued.
19. Baseball batting cages
Taiwan is crazy for baseball, and in Taipei batting cages are in fruitful supply.
These can be found in large arcades dotted around the city.
You’ll need coins (can swap for notes at the desk). Then choose the speed you want from the many cages. Pick up the bat and helmet (do this before paying to avoid a black eye) and bat away.
We went to this one in the Xiamen district. It was only £1.50 for every 15 balls. All equipment was included.
18. Attend a baseball game
Baseball games are easily purchased in Seven Eleven stores. Each one will have a machine where you can pick a game to attend. It will be in Chinese, so use Google Translate or ask a shop assistant.
In Taipei, they have the Wei Chuan Dragons. We wanted to go to the infamous Taipei Dome, home of the Dragons.
Sadly, we had to settle for going to a game in Tainan. Paying only £6.50, it was very much worth it.
17. Go to any night market
Probably the best thing to do in Taiwan.
Taipei is famous for its night markets, and apart from Snake Alley, we found all of them incredible.
In terms of a budget, you need to be careful, your eyes quickly become bigger than your stomach.
With great discipline, you can spend around £4 and be plenty full.
16. Day trip to Beitou hotspring town
Outside the high-rises, you’ll find many mountainous towns that surround the capital. Ones such as Jiufen, Shifen, and even a cat village.
Beitou is around a 45-minute journey from Taipei’s main station. It’s a hot spring town that feels very far away from Taipei.
We went in April, and the main public hot spring was closed, unfortunately. However, we went to Thermal Valley (or Hell Valley), which was very scenic. Although the sulfur makes the whole place smell of eggs.
Make use of Beitou’s free foot hot springs; there are a few in the town.
15. Play 9-ball pool
Like its Chinese counterpart, Taiwan is big on cue sports. You’ll find them all around the country, not just in Taipei.
Locals refrain from playing normal 8-ball, and instead play 9-ball. A very easy game to pick up, still played on a standard American-sized table. You just need to pot the balls in order from 1 to 9.
Renting a table is done hourly, and they cost around £4 a pop.
14. National Museum of Taiwan
A little culture wouldn’t go amiss.
Taipei has many museums to choose from; we only went to the big one: National Musuem of Taiwan.
The museum was worth the £1.50 we paid. You get to learn about the country’s past rulers, and how the country drove for independence, which they are still fighting for today.
13. Xiamen walking street
Taipei’s nightlife isn’t great. After a month in the Philippines, we welcomed the detox.
However, if you want to get frisky, Xiamen Walking Street in Taipei is where I would head.
Street vendors and a few bars (these are limited) can be found in the busy streets.
Our favourite was The Hole mini bar. Beers were slightly on the expensive side, around £3.50 a pint.
12. Hop on Taipei’s underground
Similar vibes to Canary Wharf in London, but on a much bigger scale. The underground has a variety of large shops and many food vendors.
Naturally, you will end up on the underground during your stay in Taipei, but it is worth slowing your walk from the stations to explore the large array of shops.
11. Cycle around on a UBike
During our whole stay in Taiwan, we didn’t use a UBike once. This was because Gina didn’t get a local SIM, which you will need to access the bikes.
If you do have a local SIM, you’ll need to download the UBike app, and off you go.
We were told UBikes are a great way to get around, and a great price.
10. Look out for the themed 7-Eleven stores
Apparently, the city has over 50 themed 7-Eleven stores. We only spotted a handful, which included Snoopy, Hello Kitty, and Pokémon.
9. Gaze at Taipei 101
Once the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101 is hard to miss.
It’s not cheap to go to the top, so instead we only viewed it from below.
8. Brave stinky tofu
The only downside to a night market is the smell of one food, and that’s stinky tofu.
To give credit to its name, it follows through. An aroma of old socks and sewage, most will give it a miss.
Gina accidentally ordered us both some.
It was disgusting.
7. Explore the many temples and shrines
After backpacking for over 7 months, you’ll quickly get fed up of temples. However, it is always a nice surprise to see one that you don’t plan to go to.
Taipei is home to hundreds of temples and thousands of shrines, many of which are surprisingly empty.
6. Find local street art
Not my forte, but Gina enjoys hunting down snaps of street art in most cities.
Taipei has a wonderful culture of Chinese and Japanese infusion, so vibrant and animated colours shine bright.
5. Hit up any arcade
You’ll find these at any night market in Taipei.
Taiwan has much smaller arcades compared to Japan, with a focus more on claw and pinball machines. They had other local games, one where you had to catch fish with your hands, which was tempting. Not sure how successful people are though.
4. Climb Elephant Mountain
Travellers we met after Taipei all climbed Elephant Mountain. Since it is free to do, that was no surpise.
We didn’t sadly, but was told the 20-minute walk to the top was worth the cost of getting there.
3. Try Taiwans famous pineapple cake
Taiwan was sweet-heavy, and their most famous creation was its zingy pineapple cake.
A more crumbly cake that is dense and moreish. You could easily eat an entire box in one sitting.
It’s not hard to find them; they are in most shops and supermarkets.
2. Modern Toilet restaurant
A shitty restaurant that feels more like a gimmick than a high-quality restaurant. Nevertheless, the restaurant, located in Ximen district, was unique and fun.
For about 5 minutes.
Sitting on a toilet seat, eating out of urinals, quickly becomes boresome. So maybe just go inside for a nosey, and leave immediately.
1. Try Taiwanese tea
If you enjoy tea, Taiwan is the place for you. Especially for green tea lovers.
Any restaurant or cafe will serve you some, that will be locally sourced.
I’m a coffee man myself, but sometimes the price of a cheaper drink sways me towards tea.
