Experiences of Taiwan...

[Chapeltom]

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted on the forum and didn't know where to put this thread. It's travel related though,

I have been living in southern Taiwan for over a year but it's not that often I see tourists here and I think there's only 20,000 or so westerners who live here I know most people who come to Taiwan as tourists go to Taipei, Hualien, Kenting etc but I live in the south, in Tainan City which felt the February earthquake. There is small ex-pat community but not that many tourists get here.

So, I just wanted to ask if anyone had been to Taiwan and what they thought of it, what they thought of the transport here, what they like/don't like.

Always been interested to know what others things of Taiwan, I like it. It's just very unusual to see western tourists here which is a shame as Taiwan has a lot to offer, sadly it's an island and you have to go out your way to come here.

If you don't know anything about Taiwan, here is my take on things from someone who lives here.

• The island's railway network is modern and cheap by western standards to use. One set price for all adult tickets, and fares only depend on whether it's an fast train, semi fast or local train. It's distance based pricing too.
• The High Speed Rail network is terrific but compared to other things here, it's actually quite expensive - a return from Tainan to Taipei works out about £77 return for the 330km trip. It's something I only really use if I absolutely have to.
• The bus network between cities is good. You can make a trip from Taipei to Tainan - 330km for as little as 350 Taiwan dollars (about £9) - 1/4 of the cost of a HSR ticket.
• The city bus networks aren't too bad in my experience. Here in Tainan, it's only 18 dollars for a ride - about 50p
• There are 41 tourist shuttle buses, every county on the island have buses that take tourists to the sights. It's one of the great things about travelling in Taiwan in my view.
• Taipei/New Taipei City have a great MRT network, and Kaohsiung has a limited one. Taichung is also building a metro network, but I've only ever needed to go to Taichung once.

My main gripe is Taipei Main Station, it's a confusing multi level maze and I'm sure anyone who has been to Taipei Main would probably agree with me.

Perhaps the other thing is I've learnt is knowing some Mandarin or basic phrases/words like 'I want to go to' 'ticket' are very useful. Buying tickets in advance can be a bit of a pain too if you don't want to trudge to the bus/train station before you travel. The iBon machines in 7 Eleven are very good for buying domestic flights, bus tickets, train tickets, HSR tickets but you have to know which buttons to press as it's all in Chinese. I learnt the hard way recently, I ended up buying a bus ticket to the wrong bus station in Taipei as I was buying a bus ticket with a different company to the one I usually use! So I think recognizing characters is very useful too but there is more in English than you'd expect.

Be interested to hear what travelers, tourists or even fellow 'alien residents' think of Taiwan and the travel here.

Tom

 

[gordonthemoron]

We went to Kaohsiung & Taipei in the summer. THE HSR was great and actually cheap compared to other countries. I liked the MRT in both cities, however Kaohsiung airport was much better connected to MRT than Taipei international (no MRT). Taipei main station is indeed a mess

 

[LesS]

I spent 2 weeks in Taiwan a few years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. I agree with your general comments. The multi-level Taipei Main station is confusing. I regularly found myself on the wrong level. I always recommend visits unreservedly to all enquirers. It is my plan to have another visit before too many more years pass.

The country and the people are wonderful. Very friendly and helpful.I had no problems with language, particularly as most signage is in chinese and english. I travelled extensively on the main network, the HSP line and the city metros. Photography was no problem.

I would have liked to communicate with Taiwanwese railfans but this did not seem possible due to websites being exclusively chinese.

 

[jayiscupid]

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted on the forum and didn't know where to put this thread. It's travel related though,

I have been living in southern Taiwan for over a year but it's not that often I see tourists here and I think there's only 20,000 or so westerners who live here I know most people who come to Taiwan as tourists go to Taipei, Hualien, Kenting etc but I live in the south, in Tainan City which felt the February earthquake. There is small ex-pat community but not that many tourists get here.

So, I just wanted to ask if anyone had been to Taiwan and what they thought of it, what they thought of the transport here, what they like/don't like.

Always been interested to know what others things of Taiwan, I like it. It's just very unusual to see western tourists here which is a shame as Taiwan has a lot to offer, sadly it's an island and you have to go out your way to come here.

If you don't know anything about Taiwan, here is my take on things from someone who lives here.

• The island's railway network is modern and cheap by western standards to use. One set price for all adult tickets, and fares only depend on whether it's an fast train, semi fast or local train. It's distance based pricing too.
• The High Speed Rail network is terrific but compared to other things here, it's actually quite expensive - a return from Tainan to Taipei works out about £77 return for the 330km trip. It's something I only really use if I absolutely have to.
• The bus network between cities is good. You can make a trip from Taipei to Tainan - 330km for as little as 350 Taiwan dollars (about £9) - 1/4 of the cost of a HSR ticket.
• The city bus networks aren't too bad in my experience. Here in Tainan, it's only 18 dollars for a ride - about 50p
• There are 41 tourist shuttle buses, every county on the island have buses that take tourists to the sights. It's one of the great things about travelling in Taiwan in my view.
• Taipei/New Taipei City have a great MRT network, and Kaohsiung has a limited one. Taichung is also building a metro network, but I've only ever needed to go to Taichung once.

My main gripe is Taipei Main Station, it's a confusing multi level maze and I'm sure anyone who has been to Taipei Main would probably agree with me.

Perhaps the other thing is I've learnt is knowing some Mandarin or basic phrases/words like 'I want to go to' 'ticket' are very useful. Buying tickets in advance can be a bit of a pain too if you don't want to trudge to the bus/train station before you travel. The iBon machines in 7 Eleven are very good for buying domestic flights, bus tickets, train tickets, HSR tickets but you have to know which buttons to press as it's all in Chinese. I learnt the hard way recently, I ended up buying a bus ticket to the wrong bus station in Taipei as I was buying a bus ticket with a different company to the one I usually use! So I think recognizing characters is very useful too but there is more in English than you'd expect.

Be interested to hear what travelers, tourists or even fellow 'alien residents' think of Taiwan and the travel here.

Tom

Hi Tom,

I was there for work two years ago and had the opportunity to visit most of the main tourist sites on my trip.
I'm also an expat who's been in Asia for 4 years. I started in Vietnam, moved to Hong Kong for a year and I now live in Singapore. I miss travelling by train (the subway here doesn't quite cut it!) so when I had a free day I took the HSR to Zuoying and back for the experience. It was great to see some of the country and the stretch south of Taichung was great where you speed out of the tunnels at 300kmh and then decend on the steep viaduct. I like the livery on the HSR700T too.

I agree that Taipei main station is awful and very confusing. I got lost there a few times. I've always been keen to get outside the cities and see some of the real countryside (hence the HSR trip) but sadly I never seem to have the time.

Funnily enough I'm actually heading back to Taipei this coming weekend to meet some friends. I hear the city is having a late season heat wave (though living in Singapore I should be used to it!)

James

 

[jamesr]

I live in Hong Kong, and having been over to Taiwan for work a couple of times, I thought i'd spend the weekend travelling around it by rail - I soon gave that up when I saw the time it takes to get down the east coast on the slow lines. The new Taoyuan Airport MRT, which I think only opened properly ten days ago is great, and was surprisingly busy. Perhaps one of the most interesting journeys of any airport in Asia from a scenery point of view.

The MRT in Taipei gets better and better as it gets bigger... it compares favourably with the MTR in HK in that it the platform-to-street time is low, and it doesn't seem to be as busy, although my travelling was limited to weekends.

I went out to the tourist Pingxi branch line which was fabulous. Proper branch line, All on the "Oyster" equivalent. Jumped on an off several times, walked along the tracks for a bit. No barriers between footpaths and track, if the train comes by within inches of you when you're on a narrow bridge, it's slightly unnerving.

Attitudes to train safety in general seem surprisingly relaxed... was surprised to see organised well laid footpaths take me across the ballast overhead wired electric mainlines...

Bullet train to Zuoying and Tainan very much worth doing - done it a few times now. Comfortable, frequent, well organised.