Taipei Favorites

Favorite thing: Teaching English is my favourite thing to do here in Taipei. I love kids. Especially those ones who are still in kindergarten. They are cute and innocent. So they will believe whatever you tell them. =D

Favorite thing: Taipei city is food city. We have many good restaurants: Taiwanese, Chinese, Cantonese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Vietnam, Indian, Italian, German, French, Iran, Russian, American, Mexican, Tiebetan, Mongolian, Turkish, Spanish etc.

Many nice food stands on streets are also recommended: Boba, ice, fried oyster, spring rolls, papaya milk, french pan, middle-estern rolls, fried stuffs, spring-onlion pan, Chinese bread, Shanghai bread, B.B.Q. corns, baked sausage,s fried chicken, pig-blood cakes, egg cakes, oil-rice, fried noodles etc.

I introduce you doing like local Taiwanese in Taipei city: eat and walk; walk and eat.

Favorite thing: Being democratic -- if a bit authoritarian -- Taiwan is what all of China might be if it were not ruled by the Communist Party and its mostly geriatiric chieftains. Its people are no more industrious or enterprising than those on the mainland. But their social-economic-political system has given the Chinese on Taiwan a far higher standard of living.

Fondest memory: To encourage tourism, the Taiwan airport offers a free three- or four-hour tour of Taipei.

Favorite thing: Taiwan could get expensive, since it offers most of what a western country has to offer, BUT if you know what to do and where to go - it could be just as cheap as any other big Asian city like Bangkok, Saigon or Singapore.

English is no problem. It might look a bit scary on the first few days, since English is well hidden, but trust me – it’s out there. Most Taiwanese people speak basic English, but are a little shy about it and will not make the first approach. If they don’t speak English, they will probably find someone who does pretty fast and will go out of their way to try and answer your question and make you feel comfortable at their country. All streets have PinYin English namesigns and the buses and metros have English signs and vocal announcements.

Favorite thing: It is everybody's responsibility to take care of the environment, but especially when one is visiting a foreign country. I found Taipei, and increasingly the rest of Taiwan, to have one of the most convenient trash separation and recycling systems available anywhere. Most recyclable items bear the "recycle" symbol which looks like four arrows pointing towards the center of a square, and Taiwan recycles just about EVERYTHING from all paper, metal, plastic, and glass to used batteries, electronics, clothing, and kitchen scraps. These should be separated from trash (what little is left) and given to the truck bearing the same "recycle" symbol that usually tags along behind the garbage truck. While in the city, any metro station or 7-Eleven (among other places) will also have recycling bins marked with the "recycle" symbol. You don't need to go out of your way to help the environment in Taipei. Recycling simply cannot get any easier!

For more information, visit the EPA at: http://www.epa.gov.tw/english/

Favorite thing: ATMs that accept US cards are very abundant and easy to find throughout the city. Just in case, get a small amount of money at the airport so you will be set for the drive into the city. Exchange rates are usually bad at the airport, so just get enough money for the trip to town (less than TW$500 for the bus)

My hotel was TW$2000. You could easily get food and drink for around TW$500 (US$15) per day if you are careful with your money and eat your meals on the street. The subway varies from TW$20-65.

Favorite thing: My biggest pet peeve with Taiwan... there are a few that get to me, but this is the number one reason for frustration. Taiwan does not use the standard of Pinyin of China. It uses its own.... and the Taiwanese don't even know it and it is not the same from block to block of the same street.
So for a foreigner who knows nothing... you are walking along jungshan rd( should be Zhongshan rd) and the next block says jhongshan or zongshan or zhongxan.... My suggestion is learn characters, though the MRT has started putting up new correct signs... we can still only hope that the Taiwanese will stop being stubborn and adopt standard Hanyu PinYin.

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Favorite thing: In the CKS airport, there is a volunteers counter to help the disabled.

Any disabled who need help in term of information, vehicle arrangement, or volunteer, they are more than willing to help them as those volunteers are train to provide useful hands to the disabled.