Fast Facts:
- Country: Taiwan
- Capital: Taipei
- Location: Taiwan is located in East Asia with neighboring countries that include the Philippines to its South, Japan to the northeast and China to the West.
- Language: Mandarin
- Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (NT$ or TWD)
For this trip:
- Month of Travel: June
- Weather: 27 to 33 deg C
- What to Wear: June is the start of summer and is also the typhoon season. This means expect an odd mix of warm, humid, breeze and rain showers throughout the day. Pack light clothes but also prepare an umbrella or a rain jacket in case it pours. Make sure to cover your legs and shoulders when visiting temples and other holy places.
We have of course traveled with our own families, but this time, we boldly put both of them in the same “dream” trip. We all get along extremely well, so the real struggle was managing a total of 10 people, including ourselves, with varying energy and enthusiasm levels, moods, travel interests and priorities, and ensuring we all have a memorable time. If you’re planning a similar trip, read on. If not, skip to the activities section for the highlights.
TnT Tips:
- Take it easy and accept that this is going to be different from your usual couple trips.
- Create an itinerary that allows you to cover general interests on the first part of your day, and split up in the afternoon especially if some intend to go back to the hotel to rest.
- Select shorter walking distances, easier transportation options and faster travel time when building your itinerary.
- Rent a private driver and a van if budget allows.
- Include less strenuous activities.
- If you’re cool about lining up for food, do not expect your families to do the same.
If Japan and China had a child, it would be Taiwan. It has the makings of a perfect destination for a first big family trip – three-hour flight from the Philippines, familiar tropical weather, rich culture and food offerings, safe streets, efficient public transportation system, lush forests surrounding the city, and convenience stores at every turn. We couldn’t have picked a better country!
Shop (and eat) till you drop at Night Markets
The eclectic spread of street food and drinks, the surprising bargains on offer and the energy brought by locals and tourists altogether contribute in making Taipei’s night market scene one of the best in the world.
Way before our flight, our “elders” have spoken nothing about but night markets. Three out of our five nights in this vibrant city were spent exploring those that regularly make it to the top listings. That’s not including the ones we chanced on during the day!
Raohe Street Night Market is one of the oldest in the city. This we felt gave us the most authentic feel with an ample stretch that allowed us to explore its entirety in one visit.
Shilin Night Market is the largest, most famous and therefore most touristy out of the ones we checked out.
Ximending Night Market is the fancy sister. It looks more like an alfresco mall with big brands boasting limited edition merchandise and more modern dining options.
Some of the must-try street food in these night markets are the flame grilled cube steak, deep fried sea food (squid, shrimps, baby soft shell crabs), Taiwanese pork sausages, octopus takoyaki, octopus bbq, braised minced pork rice, beef noodles, pork buns, dim-sum… whew! While Taiwan is the birthplace of bubble teas, there are so many other drink options worth treating your taste buds to particularly the fresh fruity ones.
Explore a rare geological landscape
Known for its geological landscape, Yehliu Geopark is one of the premier destinations in northern Taiwan. The formations here have been named mostly based on their shapes so it’s not hard to miss some of these interesting sea-eroded wonders.
Queen’s Head, Sea Candles, Fairy Shoe, Elephant Rock, Ice Cream Rock and more – have fun spotting them all.
Fly a lantern at Shifen Old Street
Also located in the northern part of Taiwan is Shifen Old Street. Its still operational railway is sandwiched between bustling stores and restaurants giving a glimpse of the openness, history and culture of Taiwan in the olden days. Flying of lanterns is a favorite tourist activity here. We bought two giant ones with different colors on each side representing important aspects of life such as health, relationships, school or career and finance. After writing our wishes, we sent the sky lanterns to the heavens as if passing on our letter to the gods.
Get ‘Spirited Away’ in Jiufen (or maybe not)
Previously a gold mining town, Jiufen is now more popular for being an inspirational model for the film, Spirited Away. Although writer and director Miyazaki denied this, it would’ve been nice to experience the magic everyone talks about. While the alleyways and artisan and (always tempting) food stalls have their own charm, we weren’t necessarily blown away. We didn’t even find the famed teahouse, or perhaps we did but just missed it because we weren’t actively looking. Maybe walking at that point had become a chore for most so we didn’t reach the place. Regardless, it’s quaint overall but not exactly as mystic as the pictures and rave reviews online… at least for us.
On our way back to the hotel, we quickly stopped by the Golden Waterfall. Yehliu, Shifen and Jiufen were all covered on our eight-hour tour of north Taiwan.
See a panda and ride a gondola
Pandas are our spirit animals. Although we would have loved to find them in their natural habitat, we think for now the closest we can get is to seeing them in a zoo.
After paying our respects, we aimed to ride the gondola, which has a stop inside the zoo, however it’s closed for regular maintenance every Monday. We returned on our last day keen to have a bird’s eye view of this city built around forest-clad mountains.
Don’t miss Taipei city’s must-see’s
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is a national monument built in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, who served as political and military leader of the Republic of China. After his defeat from the Chinese Communist Party led by Mao Zedong, he and his government fled to Taiwan where they established his rule.
A few blocks away from Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is the 228 Peace Memorial Park built in memory of the victims of the 2.28 anti-government uprising that killed thousands of civilians.
Standing at the park’s north entrance is the National Taiwan Museum.
The Dalongdong Baoan Temple is a Taiwanese folk religion temple that is also a recipient of a UNESCO award for cultural heritage conservation.
Adjacent to the Baoan Temple is the Taipei Confucius Temple modeled after the original Confucius Temple in China.
Also make sure you visit Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper until the Burj Khalifa took its spot in 2010.
Inside Taipei 101, you’ll find a Din Tai Fung. Do not eat there. We encourage you to go to the original, the first ever Din Tai Fung, found on Xinyi Road.
There is still a lot that you can discover – Elephant Mountain, Beitou Public Hot Springs, National Palace Museum, Yangmingshan National Park and more night markets! While you might not run out of things to do, what we loved most is how Taiwan has been the ideal host country for this get-together.
It wasn’t easy pulling this trip off given we were literally coming from different continents. As we grow older and our families get bigger, we realize more and more how challenging it’s becoming to bring everyone in the same place. We lead our own lives, wherever we choose to be now, but we will always want to come back to this – this feeling, this home. This little getaway made us see how different we become after being apart, but how as one family we will always continue to be. 