My kind of place
What I loved about Taiwan, and why I recommend a visit
You won't be surprised to learn that I haven't done any cycling in the few weeks since my bike accident in Taiwan. And it's probably going to be a few more weeks before I get back on a bike. Apparently it takes six weeks for a fractured rib to heal, and my wrist is showing little sign of being ready for action.
While I wait, I’ve been reflecting on our trip to Taiwan, what I enjoyed about it, and whether I would do it again.
The short answer is that there are lots of thing I loved about our trip to Taiwan, including the cycling, the people, the food, and the scenery. And it's very safe and easy to get around. I would absolutely do it again, and recommend it to you too - whether or not you are a cyclist.
The cycling
Taiwan respects cyclists and that makes for good cycling. There are shared cycle/motor scooter lanes on many roads and shared cycle/walking paths in the bigger cities. And because Taiwan has put effort into creating scenic cycling routes and encouraging cycling, people are used to (and have no problem with) driving alongside cyclists.
I felt very safe cycling in Taiwan (my accident being something that could have happened anywhere), and certainly a lot safer than I do cycling in New Zealand. And how refreshing to have people cheering us on, rather than quietly (or not so quietly) seething that we dare to take up space on the road.
Sharing a lane with motor scooters might not sound like a good idea but it works. We found that drivers gave us a wide berth - scooters veered into the car lane, and cars moved into the oncoming lane (when safe to do so), in order to give us plenty of room.
It's not perfect of course - there aren't cycle or shared lanes everywhere, and apparently some of the government-nominated cycle routes are along busy roads rather than following a quieter, more scenic route.
I was impressed with the route that Grasshopper Adventures designed for us. It avoided the busiest roads, while still taking us to popular spots like Toroko Gorge and the southern coast near Kenting. And we got plenty of countryside and scenic hill roads, which are always my favourite.
We could have done a self-guided version of the trip instead of a group tour - we met an Australian couple who were doing just that, and enjoying it. That would have allowed us to stop and linger wherever we pleased.
But then we wouldn't have visited many of the places we enjoyed stopping at on the tour - like the tea plantation, or the indigenous community, or the mochi factory. And we wouldn't have benefitted from the local knowledge that the guides shared with us, or the camaraderie and stories of our fellow travellers.
The people
I am wary of making sweeping generalisations based on a two-week trip but, for me, Taiwan had a good vibe that comes down to the people.
The people are lovely - very polite, welcoming and helpful. I mentioned in a previous post how we found many people reserved, but also friendly and quick to respond once we greeted them.
It appears to be a very calm and orderly society, which works well for me. While lively chaos and hustle can be part of the charm of a place (like New Delhi), I usually find crowds tiring. So I loved how people in Taiwan took care to respect each other’s space and move gently around each other.
And I have never before seen such well-mannered queuing. At the metro platforms, people form tidy lines either side of the train doors so others can get off first. Coming off the trains, people quickly form an orderly queue to go up the escalators. None of that pushing and shoving, or me-first, that you get in other places.
The food
We ate very well on our trip - thanks to Grasshopper booking us in to some great places and our tour leader ordering lots of tasty dishes for us to try. There was so much delicious food on offer that I had to remind myself that I am an adult and don't have to eat everything on my plate.
Everywhere we went there was plenty of fresh seafood, meat, fruit and vegetables (and rice of course). We ate a lot more prawns and pork that we would at home, but also all sorts of mushrooms and greens. One of our favourite dishes was a thin spinach-like green known as dragon’s beard. And of course we enjoyed dumplings and steamed buns, and lots of tropical fruit.
Desserts are not really a thing in Taiwan, but there did seem to be more of an appetite for sweeter items the further south we went. The delicious oolong teas we enjoyed in the Rift Valley were replaced by sweet milky coffees and iced tea, and our Kaohsiung hotel had free ice cream on hand at all hours of the day.
Street food was dominated by deep-fried items and lots of meat, but some places served full meals. We struggled to work out what was available at some stalls and shied away from the places that worked on a ‘take-a-number’ system (there being little chance of us understanding when our number was called).
7-eleven stores are everywhere in Taiwan and are a reliable source of salty snacks, cold beer, and sweet rolls and other treats.
The scenery
Someone said to me that it's hard to impress a New Zealander when it comes to scenery. And in some ways that's true of Taiwan.
We cycled many winding hill roads that are not dissimilar to roads we’ve cycled at home. The rugged coastline, braided rivers, mountains, waterfalls and earthquake-shaped landscape all seemed familiar too. But that doesn't make them any less impressive.
Taiwan’s magnificent Taroko Gorge is on a much bigger scale than its New Zealand equivalents, and a highlight for many visitors. And nowhere in New Zealand can you cycle through countryside full of lush rice paddies and tropical fruit orchards - pomelos, pineapples and dragon fruit among them.
There are a few things that are jarring - the cement plants by the coast near Taroko Gorge, the ugly nuclear power plant at one end of a beach near Kenting. And air pollution casts a haze over Taipei and Kaohsiung.
But Taiwan also has lots of green space and national parks that appear to be well-cared for and free of the litter you will sometimes find at home.
Ease of travel
Taiwan is generally safe and easy to get around. Our tour leader said if something gets left behind, it's usually still there when you go back for it, even several days later. He told us a story about a Taiwanese person finding someone’s lost phone - not only would they not accept any reward, they wanted to pay for the international call they’d made on the phone to reunite it with its owner (back when phones were unlocked and you could do that).
Taiwan is also reasonably clean, especially in the cities and places that visitors go. We soon learned that we could always find clean Western-style toilets at metro stations, tourist spots and nearly every 7-eleven store. (Some of the rural squat toilets were a little less inviting.)
I wasn't entirely correct about being able to drink the water. Apparently the water itself is safe to drink but the pipes it passes through can be a bit dodgy. As a result, everyone drinks filtered water.
Public transport is good. We didn't use any buses but found the metro systems in Taipei and Kaohsiung a cheap and easy way to get around. There is also a good train network across the country, with high-speed rail connecting cities on the western side of the country.
It's not an English-speaking country but we found many people working in the hotels and restaurants we visited do speak some English. And our few words of Mandarin were enough for simple interactions like buying snacks at the 7-elevens.
The metro stations have English language signage, and announcements on the trains are made in both Mandarin and English. And if all else fails, you can always use Google Translate.
Thinking about a visit?
Taiwan has plenty to offer cyclists and non-cyclists. Our trip had a strong emphasis on outdoor activity and the natural environment - cycling, hiking and hot pools (and food) - but there are plenty of places of cultural interest as well.
We enjoyed our few days in Kaohsiung, especially checking out the street art and sculptures around Pier-2 Art Center and would happily make a return visit. I’d also like to visit the Fo Guang Shan Buddhist monastery on the outskirts of the city, and maybe make a day trip to the old city of Tainan.
We could easily have filled in a few more days in Taipei. The city is home to the National Palace Museum, which has one of the largest collections of Chinese treasures in the world and apparently well worth a visit. Taipei also has lots of temples, memorials and cultural centres that we didn't have time to explore.
If I was planning another trip, I would base myself in Taipei and take the metro to get around the city, and use the train network to visit other places in northern and central Taiwan. Taroko Gorge is a must-do, and I'd consider visiting Sun Moon Lake too.
Then I’d head south to Kaohsiung. You can travel there by high-speed rail in less than two hours from Taipei, and it's only an hour and a half away from Hong Kong if you want to fly in or out.
If you're interested in cycling Taiwan, I definitely recommend the Grasshopper tour. It's moderately challenging, with some steep hills, but I found the heat and humidity to be the bigger challenge, especially in the tropical south. (The climate is more temperate in the north and had cooled to the mid-20s (in degrees Celsius) when we arrived in mid-October.)
The tour was very well-organised, with a great group of guides, and the food and accommodation were fantastic.
Grasshopper run a referral system so let me know if you are interested - you get $100USD off your trip and I get a discount on my next trip too. And there will definitely be another trip somewhere.
Great recap. If only more people would embrace the financing and building of bike and walking infrastructure. People would be healthier, safer, and happier.