30 Secrets & Best Places in Taipei, Taiwan
This is my ultimate travel guide for Taipei, Taiwan including 30 secrets and best places to visit which I carefully selected, things to do in Taipei like enjoying a knife massage, prawn fishing, death star mall, Ximending shopping district, ice cream shop snow king and the epic Taipei nightlife. Subscribe to my channel ► for weekly videos!
I went to Taiwan with no major expectations but let me tell you, the country, people, food and nature truly blew me away and now I understand why people consider it a hidden gem in Asia.
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I started my Taiwan adventure in Taipei, often called the food capital of Asia for its wide assortment of cuisines and unique themed restaurants including the prawn fishing restaurant where you'll be able to capture your own dinner but also the toilet restaurant where you can eat beef curry out of a toilet bowl.
The best way to start your Taipei adventure is with an epic Taiwanese breakfast at Fu Hang Soy Milk, the most popular joint in town but do come early, lineups can grow very large. I ordered the deep-fried bread stick, egg pancake and a delicious cold soy milk soup. There is a good reason why locals wait hours in line to get this stuff.
One of the most incredible experiences in Taipei was getting a knife massage by knife massage practitioners who require to be vegetarian and meditate daily but don't worry the cleavers used are blunt, it is quite satisfying getting hammered by blunt metal to a point where I fell asleep from relaxation.
For ancient temples in Taipei, visit the breathtaking Longshan temple, also known as 'the meeting place of the gods' were you can witness daily rituals, offerings and many locals praying to the many deities.
One of the strangest foods I tried were the fermented duck eggs which were traditionally made by a mixture of lime, salt and ash turning the egg white base into a gelatin texture and the egg yolk green from fermentation, to my surprise, this was a delicious snack.
As a giant lover of seafood, the Addiction Aquatic Development fish market in Taipei is the ultimate destination. A high-end fish market with some of the best sashimi, grilled eel and other fish products I had ever tasted, a great spot for lunch!
In conclusion, Taipei left a lasting impression on me to such an extent that I returned to Taipei a second time in less than a month time to record even more incredible footage of this mesmerizing city. If you are considering of visiting Asia, do NOT skip Taiwan.
Watch my episodes from Taiwan!
Episode 1: My Free Flight to Taiwan
Episode 2: Beautiful Mountain Village Jiufen
Episode 3: Drinking Snake Venom
Episode 4: Bizarre Toilet Restaurant
Episode 5: Eating Entire Duck
Episode 6: Taipei 101 (Icon of Taiwan)
Episode 7: Taiwan Street Food at Taipei Night Markets
Episode 8: Ultimate Taipei Travel Guide
Episode 9: Taipei Nightlife (Best Bars & Nightclubs)
Episode 10: Tainan Travel Guide
Episode 11: Kaohsiung Travel Guide
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Kaohsiung Vacation Travel Guide | Expedia
Come discover Kaohsiung, Taiwan’s busiest harbor. Located in southwestern Taiwan, this city boasts scenic seaside spots, magnificent mountain views, and a captivating culture.
Begin your journey on the island of Cijin, and visit Tianhou Temple, where Matzu, the protector of fishermen and sailors, is honored. Next, head further inland and hike the trails at Monkey Mountain; have a spot of tea with a view of the city as monkeys swing overhead from the treetops. Other popular attractions include Love River, which offers scenic pathways that run through the city, and Lotus Lake, where the Dragon and Tiger Pagodas are said to give visitors good luck. At the lake, honor the Goddess of Mercy and God of War, and marvel at the massive statue of the Mysterious Warrior, Xuan Wu. After visiting Lotus Lake, don’t miss the nearby Tianfu Palace and Taiwan’s largest Confucian Temple.
Round the day off with a jaunt to the Liuhe Night Market. As one of the largest markets in Asia, these open-air stalls serve up the freshest seafood around.
Whether you’re looking to pay your respects to the gods or find a quiet spot on the harbor with a view, check out our Kaohsiung travel guide for more travel tips and inspiration.
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TAIWAN: Temples and Mountains
Taiwan is a small island. It is about 500 kilometers from north to south and 100 — from west to east.
Practically all western coast represents a huge urbanized zone. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish, where one city comes to an end and another begins. But should we move from the coast, slightly towards the central regions, rural areas with rice fields and palm groves instantly begin to appear. And a little more further to the east — the rivers, lakes and mountain ridges.
Our travel begins in Taipei. Exactly here, in the capital of Taiwan, there is an international airport — the air gates of the country.
There are no more than one or two historical sights here. But the existing ones are treated with big respect. Temples have remained best of all. Both Buddhist and Confucian. All, small and even absolutely tiny, family temples as well as the cult complexes with pagodas, pavilions and courtyards, occupying huge territories.
The grandiose memorial Chiang Kai-shek in the center of Taipei, near the Presidential palace, the National Theater and the Concert hall reminds of the Lincoln's memorial in Washington.
The first stop is the city of Zhanghua.
In the park, on the mountain of Eight Trigramms or in Chinese Baguashans, they have built a grandiose temple complex.
Lukang was a seaport since ancient times. Therefore, it is not surprising that the main temple is dedicated not to Confucius or even to Buddha, but to the Chinese goddess of the sea — Matzu. However, she is not the only one here. The temple is filled with images of numerous Chinese gods and spirits. Literally, everyone will find his/her god patron here.
The Sun Moon Lake is one of the largest tourist centers of Taiwan.
The National Nature park of Alishan, occupies the territory of about 400 square kilometers, near the Yushan Mountain — the highest mountain top of the island.
Tainan — the fourth largest city of Taiwan, and one of the oldest in the country. In the second half of the 18th century, it was the capital of the Dongning State.
The City of Kaohsiung, with a population of about three million people — is the largest port and industrial commercial center of the southern part of Taiwan. It is rightly regarded as the southern capital of the country.
On the territory of the Chengqing Lake, there are several islands connected with the coast by bridges.
The travel around the Island of Taiwan is coming to an end in Kaohsiung. And the project World without Visas continues. Ahead are the new travels across the countries, visa-free for Russians.
Narration was done by Frederic Moretti (fredericmorettimusic@gmail.com)
A fun day in the city of Hsinchu, visiting a few interesting places, such as the city gate and small railway stations close to the coast.
00:50 New Tile House Hakka Cultural District 新瓦屋客家文化保存區
03:30 Yingxi Gate 迎曦門
05:25 Hsinchu Art Gallery and Reclamation Hall
05:45 Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall 新竹州廳
06:50 Hsinchu City Fire Museum 消防博物館
07:45 Shi Family Fish Balls 石家魚丸
08:30 Zhulian Temple 竹蓮寺
09:35 Qiding 崎頂
10:15 Landscape Platform 觀景台
12:25 Zimu Tunnel 子母隧道
15:40 Xiangshan 香山
16:25 Xiangshan Tianhou Temple 香山天后宮
18:00 Xiangshan Wetland 香山濕地
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WHO ARE WE?
We are a small publishing company (Vision) based in Taipei. We produce an English magazine (Travel in Taiwan) introducing you to Taiwan as a travel destination. Read it! Lot of useful information. We also have a website with lots of articles about Taiwan. Visit it! We try to make a video or two every week. Let us know what you think about this channel and what you would like to see about Taiwan. All the best to you!
From Travel in Taiwan magazine 2018-7-8:
New Tile House Hakka Cultural District
The New Tile House Hakka Cultural District is neither new, nor a single house, but rather a cluster of single-story buildings made of bricks (some fired, some mud) and tiles. Not much happens here on weekdays, but visit on a weekend and you might see cultural groups presenting music or dance performances.
Add: No. 123, Sec. 1, Wenxing Rd., Zhubei City, Hsinchu County
(新竹縣竹北市文興路一段123號)
Website: facebook.com/events/1107455919331421/
Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall
Unlike similar official buildings in Tainan and Taichung, the Old Hsinchu Prefectural Hall continues to play a key role in local government, and is where the city’s mayor has his office.
Add: No. 120, Zhongzheng Rd., Hsinchu City (新竹市中正路120號)
Hsinchu City Fire Museum
The museum, inside a functioning fire station, contains bilingual displays that cover both the history of the local firefighting service and how best to survive a conflagration.
Add: No. 4, Zhongshan Road, Hsinchu City (新竹市中山路4號)
Website: hcfd.gov.tw/museum
Shi Family Fish Balls
Located southwest of Hsinchu Railway Station, this restaurant has been praised by hundreds of netizens. It's an old-school eatery: There’s no English sign or menu, and not one dollar has been wasted on fancying up the décor.
Add: No. 27, Xingxue St., Hsinchu City (新竹市興學街27號)
Website: sfishball.com.tw (Chinese)
Zhulian Temple
This hall of worship is at the Buddhist end of the theological spectrum, but you’ll also see traditional folk practices. One is the casting of pairs of crescent-shaped wood blocks known to Taiwanese-speakers as poe.
Add: No. 100, Zhulian St., Hsinchu City (新竹市竹蓮街100號)
Qiding Station
There's no staff at this station, nor vending machines from which you can buy tickets. Hsinchu to Qiding is NT$21.
Landscape Platform
It takes just a few minutes to get from the station to the platform. Gazing out over the Taiwan Strait, as the wind turbines that dot this stretch of coast slowly rotated and the occasional express train rumbled past, was a soothing experience.
Zimu Tunnel
When this railway line was double-tracked in the early 1970s, it was moved slightly closer to the sea because the tunnels (there are actually two) were too narrow. Exemplars of the solid infrastructure built during the 1895-1945 Japanese colonial period, they're now preserved as part of a walkway/bike trail. The first tunnel is 67m long, the second nearly double that. No flashlights are needed; there's enough natural light for you to see where you're walking.
Xiangshan Station
The lovingly maintained station building in Xiangshan is an attraction in its own right. Dating from 1928, it’s the only remaining Japanese-era railway stop in Taiwan that was built using cypress from the Alishan area in the central mountains.
Xiangshan Tianhou Temple
The current building dates from the 1920s, but there’s been a shrine on this site since sometime in the late 17th century, when Han Chinese from Fujian (the mainland China province closest to Taiwan) began to settle on the coast here. Like the majority of Taiwan’s folk shrines, this temple houses effigies of several deities, but the principal object of veneration is Mazu, the Goddess of the Sea.
#Hsinchu #Taiwan #Taiwaneverything
Top 10 Hotels in the World 2019
Top 10 Hotels in the World 2019
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When the hotel is this good, you’ll never want to go home. Welcome to MojoTravels and today we’ll be counting down the Top Hotels in the World for 2019.
For this list, we’re taking a look at hotels and resorts around the world that are guaranteed to make your vacation unforgettable in 2019. Before we begin, we’d like to acknowledge and thank TripAdvisor for the rankings this list is based on.
10: Hanoi La Siesta Hotel & Spa
Hanoi, Vietnam
9: Kayakapi Premium Caves - Cappadocia
Urgup, Turkey
8: Belmond Palacio Nazarenas
Cusco, Peru
7: The Resort at Pedregal
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
6: French Quarter Inn
Charleston, South Carolina
5: Hotel Alpin Spa Tuxerhof
Tux, Austria
4: Kenting Amanda Hotel
Hengchun, Taiwan
3,2,1 . . .??
#Hotels #TripAdvisor #2019
Iris Goes to Taiwan: GREEN ISLAND
Anytime for Taiwan! Vote for my video:
I traveled to Taiwan last summer and went to a beautiful island known as Green Island. Traveling is truly a life changing experience because you are put in an environment where everything is new and captivating. It allows us to take a fresh breath of air away from our daily lives and it's important to do so to live a happy and healthy life! I hope you all enjoy this video and look forward to more!
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If you have any suggestions, questions, etc. leave them in the comments below!
Love, Iris Rose
1-Mile Mall! Shopping In Taipei Main Station Underground Mall
FPS: Episode 02
This is a long video! In this video I try to set it up as a FPS Games, that's right...a First Person Shopper!
This is a complete walk around Taipei City Mall, an underground mall located under Taipei Main Station. Come along for the adventure and let me know what you think in the comments!
Have you been to this mall? Do you prefer shopping in other places in Taipei?
You can find the full post at
Table of Contents
Location and Hours
Getting To The Taipei Underground Mall From Taipei Main Station Terminal
Getting To The Taipei Station Underground Mall From Beimen Station
Taipei City Main Station Underground Mall Connections
A Massive Shopping Area In Taipei
Cheap Shopping in Taipei: Negotiating and Quality Issues
Purchasing A Phone Cable
Buying Apparel
Buying Umbrellas: Cheap Shopping in Taipei!
Taipei Souvenirs: Shopping at Taipei Metro Mall
Buying Everything in This Taipei Shopping District
Anime and Otaku Stuff: Taipei Central Station West Side
Crane Games in Taipei Main Underground Shopping Street
Maid Cafes In This Underground Taipei Shopping Mall
Ice Cream Shops In The Underground Mall Taipei
Frozen Yogurt Ice Cream
Duroyal Ice Cream
Meiji Ice Cream
Restaurants In The Taipei Station Underground Mall
Cafes In Taipei Main Station Mall
Play Video Games For Free in This Underground Mall Taipei
Arcade Games for only $10 NTD
DVD’s, CD’s and VCD’s! Remember them?
Taiwan Massage In Taipei Shopping Places
Taiwan Massage Prices
Taiwan Fortune Tellers: Shopping In Taipei City Mall
Rice Reading
Bird and the cards
Turtle Shell and the 3 Ancient Coins
Math Based Taiwan Fortune Telling
Two Half Moons At Any Temple
Caricature Artist At Taipei Metro Mall
Live Performances At This Taipei
Post Office In Taipei Main Station Underground Mall
Hair Cuts In Taipei
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In Taipei Main Station Underground Mall, officially known as Taipei City Mall, you can find 1-mile of Taipei shopping places. Extending from Taipei Main Station to Beimen station at 0.5 miles (850m) so if you take a lap through the mall it’s 1-mile (1700m) of cheap shopping in Taipei.
taipei metro mall
In this Taipei shopping mall, you can find almost anything:
Arcades
Crane Games
Capsule Toy Machines
Anime: Toys, Figures, Media, Apparel
Massages: Regular massages and knife massages (get chopped!)
Electronics: movies, video games, consoles, drones, phones, accessories
Video game stations: Several places just to stop and play video games for free
Ice Cream Shops
Clothing
Souvenirs
Random things to shop in Taipei: Umbrellas, water bottles, household utensils, fans
Restaurants
Cafes (Regular cafes and maid cafes)
Fortune Telling
Caricature Artists
Live Performances
If you’ve been looking for where to shop in Taipei, this Taipei shopping mall will satisfy your shopping needs! Not only is this one of the good shopping places in Taipei, it’s also the cheapest. Making this one of the places to visit in Taipei for all your shopping desires.
taipei main station underground mall
Visual map of the Taipei Main Station underground mall
Location and Hours
Location: 100, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, Section 1, Shimin Boulevard, 100號
Hours: 11AM-9:30PM Daily
Taipei Main Station Underground Mall runs from Taipei Main Station to Beimen Station. It’s accessible from the street level along Zhengzhou Road (26 entrances/exits), Taipei Main Station, Beimen Station and the airport MRT station.
You can access this shopping area in Taipei as early as 8am. The lights aren’t actually on until 9am and most stores open at 11am. Official closing hours are at 9:30pm, but most shops begin to shut down at 8pm.
How do I know this? Because you can find me and a few elderly people walking around this Taipei shopping mall for exercise in the mornings.
If you’re looking to get to Taipei City Mall with a little less chaos, you can enter from the Beimen station side. Just get to the Beimen station and from there follow signs for the Airport MRT. Along the way on your left side, you’ll see several entrances to Taipei City Mall
Getting To The Taipei Underground Mall From Taipei Main Station Terminal
Head underground towards the Taipei High Speed Rail (THSR). Along the way you’ll see a sign for “Taipei City Mall” and follow the signs. It’s about a 5-minute walk from the terminal level.
Don’t be confused by the other malls through.
Getting To The Taipei Station Underground Mall From Beimen Station
The underground mall in Taipei is so big that it spans the length of a subway stop (850 meters). To experience the best of Taiwan shopping, start at Beimen station. It’s less crowded and it will be easier to find the underground mall Taipei.
Taipei Airport MRT sign
Within Beimen station, just follow signs for the airport MRT. After you make your first right turn from the MRT platform, there will be an entrance to “Taipei City Mall” on your left.
10 Best Things to do in Kyoto
There are a million things to do in Kyoto, but these were my personal favorites from my time in the most historical city in Japan.
Here are my 10 best things to do in Kyoto:
** The most important advice I can give is to wake up as early as possible, I mean super early.
1. Rent a bike - this is the best way to beat the tourist traffic in Kyoto.
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2. Bamboo Forest - Small forest in the neighboring area of Arashiyama.
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3. Fushimi Inari Shrine - It is literally a mountain of hidden shrines, symbolic figurines and a seemingly never-ending pathway to spiritual enlightenment.
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4. Ninja Dojo Class - Kyoto is the cultural mecca of Japan, and while you’re here its good to get a taste of that - be it fact or folklore.
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5. Kyoto Samurai Experience - As you’ve seen in last week’s video, begin to understand the way of the warrior through samurai training.
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6. Imperial Palace - Within Kyoto’s Central Park, is the Imperial Palace. Its a massive campus with pristine gardens and lots of room to do royal things.
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7. Kinkaku-ji - “the Golden Pavilion” another expansive grounds centered around this lavish zen buddhist temple.
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8. Heian Shrine - a beautiful Shinto shrine.
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9. Gion District - Perhaps the most popular thing to do in Kyoto. This is where you can spot the famous geishas heading to and from appointments. Watch the sunset next to the Yasaka Pagoda.
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Bonus: Find a great Shabu Shabu restaurant.
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10. Karaoke - Finish the day at a Japanese Karaoke spot where you pay by the hour to sing and party!
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In my personal opinion, these are the best things to do in Kyoto.
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{Trip} Taiwan Travel -- MATSU Islands, BEIGAN and NANGAN/馬祖北竿南竿
This is a video of our trip to the Matsu islands in the summer of 2012. Hope you get an idea of what it's like to travel to this lesser known area of Taiwan.
Read Travel in Taiwan at:
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More info about Matsu:
Matsu National Scenic Area website
Tai-Ma Ferry website (Chinese)
We stayed at:
Chinbe No. 25 Guesthouse (芹壁村25號)
Add: 25, Qinbi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉芹壁村25號)
Tel: 08365-56280/0975-421-178
Website:
We ate at:
Da Zhong Restaurant (大眾飲食店)
Add: 80, Matsu Village, Nangan Township (南竿鄉馬祖村80號)
Tel: 0836-22185
A-Po Fish Noodle (阿婆魚麵)
Add: 168, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村168號)
Tel: 0836-56359
We bought souvenirs at:
Xie He Foods (Master Fa) (協和食品行 [發師傅])
Add: 229, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村229號)
Tel: 0836-55236/0933-095-034
Website: 083655236.com.tw (Chinese)
Matsu Specialty Center (台灣菸酒海產金銀買賣店)
Add: 233, Tangqi Village, Beigan Township (北竿鄉塘岐村233號)
Tel: 0836-55412
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Also watch the latest video on this channel: {Trip} LALASHAN on the Northern Cross-Island Highway (北橫拉拉山)
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Let's Go - Sichuan
'Let's Go' on a journey through the varying landscapes & cultures throughout Sichuan!
China is the 3rd largest country by area with over 47% of the population living in urban areas. However, it has some of the most diverse and dramatic landscapes of anywhere in the world.
The Larung Gar Buddhist Academy in the Sichuan Province has basic amenities for the 40,000 monks and nuns who stay there. The secluded location is 370 miles from Chengdu and has grown dramatically since its creation. There are no televisions allowed throughout this village.
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