See the True Taiwan: an insiders guide

A lot of recent college grads and world travelers have likely considered the idea that they could move to Taiwan for a while, work in a cram school, learn some Chinese and experience some local culture. A lot of advice on the internet is that you should move here for at most a year, learn whatever you can and figure yourself out, save whatever you can, don't party too hard, and keep yourself focused on your end goals. Hard truths before we even start : You won't learn Mandarin in a year unless you're already gifted in language. It's not a good place to show up to become Mr. Ladies man and exploit your foreignness. The island is VERY over the exotic foreigner thing. Take our word for it. You probably will get relatively little in the way of local experience in your first year because you're seen as a long term tourist and can't get access to the stuff you really want because you don't know anyone. It's not on par with Seoul, Hong Kong, or Tokyo fo...

One of the greatest, and worst, things about Taipei is its basin-like structure ringed by mountains. On hot summer days the heat and smog linger for what feels like an eternity and even strong winds can't blow it all way. Yet go up any of those mountains at night and you'll be rewarded with a spectacular view. Enter one of the all time classic things to do in Taiwan: The night view. Despite some rather intense discussion about if "night view" actually means anything in proper English, it's definitely what it's called here. Elephant Mountain at night in 2013. The most popular spot to take in the city at night is Elephant Mountain. You make the short but steep ascent to the large stones, turn around and...prepare to be even more breathless! On a clear night you can see the whole city from east to west, as well as almost entirely from south to north. Pre-dusk back when Nanshan Plaza hadn't gotten to full height. Elephant mountain. ...

On a recent trip back to the US east coast I ended up needing to buy a one way ticket from Taiwan, and was looking at prices well over 1,000 USD (30,000 NTD). After exhausting all the options I wound up booking an award ticket on China Airlines for a direct flight from Taipei (TPE) to New York's JFK airport. There weren't a ton of reviews about the 777 business class product, and I was reluctant to fly with China Airlines (CI) because of things I'd head as a teacher to former employees, online reviews, and their poor safety record up to 2003. Yet the improvements on the ground and in the air were incredible obvious and I will gladly fly with CI again. After a comment from a reader, just wanted to say the experience was great, and while there is some room for improvement, I was satisfied with my choice to fly CI! Check in: Check in was a bit of a mess in Terminal 2 with a single row of counters handling several international flights worth of passengers. I arrived a...

For as long as I can remember people who come to Taiwan have asked about "those wild hot springs in Yangmingshan".  Somehow the idea of soaking in volcanic water in the untamed wilderness appeals to nearly everyone, and there are a ton of blogs written about the experience at Bayan. Perhaps it's the clever name that gets people involved - wild hot springs do sound fun! - but the name tells little of the truth. A better name is "Bayan technically illegal agrichemical waste water often over crowded and full of bathing soaps wading pools", but who would want to waste a whole day going there? Agrichemicals sounds like they make for an uninviting swim, but where do the pollutants come from you ask? Just uphill of the springs - and an area you'll need to pass through if you descend to the springs - is a giant farm which also features a man made reflective pool with a rock garden. As you descend from the road you'll snake your way through the fairly exten...

Here's the best practical advice for renting a scooter during your time in Taiwan. If you live in Taiwan and hold an Alien Resident Card: Get a local license when you get here and skip trying the IDL all together. There is a written test, in English, at the DMV and a simple driving test - if you actually know how to drive a scooter - and you can get up to a 250cc machine or e-bike. Now you can rent scooters without an issue anywhere and you're covered by the minimal insurance policy it has! Bonus local ID too. As a Tourist: 2022 Update: Many countries now have reciprocal license agreements with Taiwan. The list is continuing to grow as time goes on, but with few exceptions you'll need a copy of your original license, a Chinese translation, and your passport. The program is intended for short stays Bear in mind when actually acquiring a vehicle you're still far better off holding  an IDL. Here's the link to pdf's about reciprocal licenses Bring your International...

This blog has a few reviews of hikes to go on for a day trip if you head down to Shenkeng old street of Shiding. Both towns are great to see if you're ready to spend a day touring around the mountains south of Taipei. The two trails featured here are within easy walking distance from the river and old street in Shenkeng, and are actually part of the same set of (partially) linked hiking paths. If you're really in the mood you can walk up and over the mountains here and get to Maokong Station on the gondola which runs behind the Taipei zoo. To save 99% of readers time, the final conclusion of this entire article is you should avoid these hikes unless you've a) done all the hikes in Taipei already, or b) are doing it in winter and are a genuinely avid hiker with a good understanding of how to use your phone's GPS. These hikes are not suitable for casual walks on a date, or for people just looking to stretch their legs. I set out to do this hike on the first of tho...

This post has been updated and expanded, including tons of math. Find it on this blog here . A recent post about the cost of living in Taiwan got me to thinking if I would still recommend English teaching in Taiwan as a thing for people just out of college to do. There have been a lot of Facebook friend-of-friend messages asking me about it, with questions that are now answered in question and answer format below. For those looking for a simple answer, I went ahead and polled everyone I knew in the English teaching game, and the overwhelming majority of people, when pressed for a simple "yes" or "no" answer said you shouldn't move to Taiwan to teach English. Let's look at why you shouldn't come, and for whom Taiwan is actually a good fit. Can I make and save money teaching English in Taiwan? Yes, you will be able to make and save money while you are working in Taiwan. If you work the minimum 14 hours for an Alien Resident Card (ARC) at ...