48 Hours in Taipei and Northern Taiwan: Ultimate Guide 🇹🇼

Nestled near the northern coast of Taiwan is Taipei, one of the greatest cities to visit in all of Asia. It's famous for its bustling night markets where authentic street food can be enjoyed for just a couple of dollars, and of course, its stunning architectural marvel, Taipei 101. Now, if you find yourself in Taipei, you're going to want to travel beyond the busyness of the city and experience the cultural mountain towns and scenic coastline of northern Taiwan. So, for the next 48 hours, we'll be doing just that, enjoying the best of Taipei and beyond, or should I say, more of the best, because yesterday, we were running all around the city of Taipei, enjoying some really amazing street food. So, if you want to check out our Taiwanese street food video, I'll link it in the description box below, but obviously, there's so much more to see, so let's get on going. So, yesterday, Claire and I took a hike up to Elephant Mountain, which has this incredible view of Taipei 101, but today, we're actually walking to Taipei 101 in order to go all the way to the top and get a viewpoint of the entire city. Also, got my bubble tea, which is actually how I've been starting every day here in Taiwan. It's too good of a deal to pass up, and it just tastes amazing. Something that we've really appreciated about Taipei is just how pedestrian-friendly it is. There are sidewalks everywhere, really safe crosswalks as well, and the streets are so clean. It really makes you want to get out there and walk, and because the city is rather flat, aside from the mountains surrounding Taipei, yeah, it makes for a very walkable city, which we've definitely enjoyed. Something else I wanted to mention about the crosswalks is the little symbol that shows you when you can walk and when you can't walk, and actually, as it counts down, the person walking will start running, and they go faster and faster and faster until it's time to stop. I just love the animation that they have on the streets, really, you know, motivates you to run across the street at the last minute. So we are right around the corner from Taipei 101, and before we go over there, I want to say a huge thank you to the sponsor of today's video, Get Your Guide. Over the past two years, Claire and I have been able to go on so many incredible experiences with Get Your Guide, and I highly recommend them when you're booking your travels because there's just so many perks to using them. One of my favorite things is that they have 24-7 customer service, and you can cancel your reservation up to 24 hours in advance. So if you're planning a trip, you can go ahead and book all of the experiences that you might want, but as the trip gets closer, if you need to change your plans, you can still be flexible to do so. They offer over 60,000 experiences in more than 3,600 destinations around the world, and when you book with them, you know that you're in the hands of knowledgeable local experts. So as we previously mentioned, we are using a skip-the-line ticket to go into Taipei 101, but also we have a lot of other experiences here in Taiwan that we'll be enjoying thanks to Get Your Guide. Alright, so, with all of that said, thank you so much to Get Your Guide for supporting our channel, and let's go on into Taipei 101. So we just got our tickets, it was actually super easy, all you had to do was scan the QR code on the app. There has them now, we're walking in. Yeah, we also got some free red envelopes. The year of the dragon, I think. Yeah! We just made it to the top, and it only took us 36 seconds to ride all the way up. Also, my ears popped three times on that ride. Pretty high up. Yeah. So for the past hour or so, we've been exploring the top of Taipei 101, and it's just been really relaxing and nice to just look out because everything looks so miniature. Yeah, you've got 360 views of not only the city, but the surrounding mountains, and it just feels so grand being this high up, and you can actually see pretty far out, like it's a very clear day, which obviously we're very lucky to have that, but everything is just shining golden in every direction. One of the things I like about this observation deck is that they've set up all of these little areas to take photos with flowers or wings, and I just think it's a more interactive way to experience the surroundings, especially because everyone's taking photos these days. Also in the middle, we were able to see this huge, massive dampener that helps keep this building stable during moments of earthquakes or crazy typhoons, which this island definitely gets much of. So it's cool to see the technology behind the building and how it's keeping it upright. So when we first decided that we were going to come to Taiwan, I have been so excited to come to this chain that specializes in the xiaolongbao, and we actually went to one of their locations over in Seattle all the way back in 2021 for my birthday, and it was absolutely amazing. So we've come back to the country where this chain originated from, and we were sitting at one of their locations, I put in a huge order, and we're about to have a fantastic feast. So for our appetizer, I ordered us the mur, or the wood ear mushroom, and this apparently has really amazing health benefits, and it's also extremely bouncy and chewy in texture. I don't know if Chad has had this very often in his life, but I know that I've definitely had lots of this throughout my childhood. It's more sour than I expected it to be, I thought it was going to be more savory. I like their sauce. And something else I didn't really expect from this was that it was served cold, which I actually really like, it's kind of refreshing. Our very first round of xiaolongbaos just came, I actually ordered us 20 because, you know, can't get enough of them, and as you can see, the top is just beautifully wrapped. I can't believe how many folds they're able to get on such a small little bao. I'm going to dip it into this little soy sauce and vinegar mixture, get a little bit of ginger on there as well. So I just bit a little hole in, and all the soup just came pouring out. Some of the other things that we got today is this shrimp shumai, and also this beef noodle soup. It looks so so good, but I'm starting to feel like we might have ordered a little bit too much, but I think we'll be able to finish it. So what I like about this shrimp shumai is that it kind of looks like a little volcano because the shrimp on the top kind of looks like lava to me. I think they're really cute. So the fun continues on, we decided to get some dessert because surprisingly, we ate everything that we ordered for our meal, and we decided to get the golden lava bun. There are two of them sitting in front of me, and then underneath, I'll go ahead and show you, we have some chocolate xiaolongbaos. I did not know they even made that, but inside, it's filled with like melted lava-like chocolate, but which one should we start with? Let's cover that one back up. Okay. We'll start with these? We can start with those, yeah. Oh my god. That is so good. This is why you should never skip out on dessert because sometimes the dessert is better than the meal itself. This is amazing. I would come back just for the desserts. Maybe it's because I have a huge sweet tooth, but oh my gosh, I've never had anything like this. It's just so chewy on the outside, and on the inside, it's just melted chocolate goodness. That's really good. You get hit with the richness, and then the wrapping comes, and it's kind of nice. It tones it back down. It's like a mochi. Yeah. It is like mochi. I've always wanted to try one of these, and today is my lucky day. As we previously mentioned in our food tour video, Taiwan has so many parks that have machinery for adults to work out, so we're going to do some workouts to digest all of our food. Let's see if I can do both. Front and back. Ah. I kind of match with the machine. Hey, girl. How are you doing? That is such a weird machine. I feel like a genie. I guess that's what they want you to do, is just try to keep your balance. A little mermaid. Wow, I've never seen you move this much. For the past little bit, we've been walking around Peace Park, which has just been such a beautiful oasis in the city of Taipei. What I love is it houses the National Taiwan Museum, along with all these random exhibits. There's this peace memorial in the center of the park that was just really unique. They also have playgrounds, and even in this top corner of the park, they have the first steam locomotive train that was in Taiwan, which I thought was really cool, and it's just on display, and it's over 130 years old, which is just crazy. Yeah, it's just been a great little break within the day. I've got to say, the jet lag is getting to us. We're getting a bit drowsy, but we're going to try to stay awake and make it through the night. We've come over to Ximending Walking District, which is kind of similar to Japan's Shibuya District, and basically, it's a bustling night. It seems like everyone is out kind of celebrating a Lunar New Year, and I've actually heard that everyone's off work, they're out of school, and it's vacation time, so it is popping here tonight. We're going to kind of walk around and then go and check out the night market that's connected to this area. I don't know what the evening has in store for us, but I think we're going to try some shopping, play some games, get some food, all the fun stuff. One of the things we've noticed at the night markets that they have a lot of are these claw machine games, and they have such interesting rewards that you can win. Yeah, they're hilarious. I want to do a compilation of just some of the funniest things that we've seen in these claw machines. Here, you can get a box of dishwashing pods. Like, I would play, not even for a little knick-knack, but something that I would actually use. You can also get some snacks from the claw machine, or you can get a juice box from the claw machine. It's more than just toys and little keychains, and I think that's what's kind of cool about it. Everyone can play. Are these french fries? Yep. Here, you can win an IKEA bag. Here, you can win Kirkland brand tissues. Here, you can win a Hello Kitty poncho. Here, you can win reusable Ziploc bags. At this machine, you can win yourself some face cream. And then at this machine, you can win yourself an aroma diffuser. So at this point, we have probably made about five to seven laps around the whole area. We've scouted out all the food that we want tonight, and I think the first thing we're going to be getting is this, like, beef steak that you see all over Taipei or Taiwan in general, where they grill it right in front of you. Here is my bucket of gold, I guess you could say. I was holding it like it was treasure as I walked over to the seat. He was really throwing the flames on these bad boys. One for you. Thank you, thank you. Cheers! Very good. Very juicy. All that juice just, like, flooded out of there. Yeah, it was good. Perfectly salted as well. Yeah. So, as you can see, this thing is absolutely massive. It's bigger than Chad's head, which is kind of... Uncalled for, but it's okay, we're all tired. Anywho, this is a mango shaved ice. It has a scoop of mango ice cream on the top, so much fresh mango, tapioca pearls, and awesome grass jelly. All of it. Oh my god. I just realized my head is also topped with a yellow hat, kind of like this shaved ice. Slowly but surely, we're getting through that shaved ice. I'm starting to get chills because it's just so cooling. It's giving the correct effect. Yeah, pop the collar. This is normally a summertime dessert, but we are here eating it in the winter, so a puffer jacket is necessary. Button the turtleneck all the way up. Well, I think it is time to call it an early night. Tomorrow we have a huge day ahead of us. We're going to be exploring northern Taiwan, but if you want more ideas of what to do here in Taipei, definitely check out our last video where we were walking all around the city, trying so many different street foods, and going to other landmarks that are famous here in Taipei. But, with all that said, we'll catch you in the morning for another day here in northern Taiwan. Night night! So we have just arrived at Yalu Geopark, and we are looking at all these really awesome rock formations. They're all made out of sandstone, and after years and years of eroding, they have turned into these really cool shapes. So I'm standing in front of the princess's head right now. We're about to see all sorts of different things, but I'm just really excited because this is such an extraordinary place. I've never seen anything like it before. The second one that we're visiting is the heart. So right over there is a whole sea of ginger-shaped rocks. I was laughing about what they have named all these rocks because most of them are food related, and if you didn't know, Taiwanese people absolutely love food. So that's pretty much what they're all seeing when they look at these rocks. Yeah, it's like they look at a rock and they get hungry. And then they name it ginger, or like a pork chop or something. I'm standing in front of the drumstick. If only it was, I could pick it up and eat it. I'm with the superstar of the show, the queen's head. Her neck has actually been shrinking over the past 40 years, so it's now really thin. But you can actually see the outline of her face very well from this angle. So I'm pretty excited to go up there. Okay, yes. One more. Okay, one more. Last one, yeah. One, two, three. Okay, got it. Thank you. After a 45-minute drive from the Geopark, I actually took a nap in the car. I feel well-rested and ready to explore this new area. Yeah, we've made it to Jiufen, which in Chinese means nine portions. And it's this really beautiful mountain town. As you can see, it's really foggy today. And I think it adds to the eeriness and the mysterious vibe. This place is giving off. And a fun fact for you, this mountain town actually inspired the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away, which we watched recently. So let's go and check it out. So a very common thing to do in Jiufen is to sit back, relax, and enjoy some tea. So here we have some oolong tea. And it was just a very intricate process that she kind of showed us with pouring hot water, letting the tea leaves kind of blossom. And now we have ourselves a nice cup of tea. I'm going to give it a little try. It's extremely light. And because it's a little bit chilly out and with the whole atmosphere that we have going on, this is like the perfect little snack to have throughout the day. We also have some mochi that we get to delight in, some green tea cake, and a couple of other savory snacks. Our tour guide for the day, his name is Hicks. And he has been absolutely amazing. He told us all about the history of tea. And he just knows this area so well. So he's able to show us all of these hidden gems. But one of the places I really did not expect was to be walking through this cave. So our guide has been raving about this place all day. It's just full of ice. And inside of this ice are these taro and sweet potato balls that are apparently very, very chewy. They embrace the essence of cute, as you could say. So I'm going to give these a try. I think there are also some red beans in there as well. So our tour guide was telling us a little bit of the history of this place. And Zhufan is known for its gold rush. So apparently for almost 100 years, they were mining gold here. And so there's this street that basically had the railway that would go straight through the town. So we've been walking along that street. But we've also been going along the old town street, which has all these shops and different things that you can purchase. Claire's in line to pick up some fried squid. And then our tour guide is also in line for another dessert or delicacy that is known for its QQ texture. So that bouncy chewiness. Alright, we have a couple of different things we're about to try. First of all, we have what they claim to be the world's best squid. It's golden fried on the outside. And the squid is just delicious. We actually had a sample. That's what made us buy it. And then the other thing that we have is a recommendation from our tour guide. We have two different ones. There's a salty one and a sweet one. The salty one is filled with radishes. And the sweet one has red bean in it. It looks like just a chewy blob of green. I can see the stretch of the outside. It's a chewy version of the thing your grandma makes with the leaves. Right? Yeah. That's literally what it tastes like. He's saying that it's basically a chewy version of the zongzi, or the sticky rice dumpling. You're totally right. Wow. Exactly right. Looks can be deceiving. It doesn't look the most appetizing, but it's really, really good in flavor. Right now? Yeah, right now. Take one. May your life always be warm and gentle and shining. Average luck. Just average. I'll take it. 71. It says average good luck. Dreaming in the memory is not as good as waiting for paradise in hell. Okay. Average good luck. So we just left the old city of Jufen, and on our way over to Hingshi, which is our next stop, we see this golden waterfall, which is caused by the copper in the mountain. And it's really cool, because it looks like it's coming straight out of the earth itself, just because it's green, and then all of a sudden it's like this golden color. We've made it to Jufen Waterfall, and this waterfall is kind of like a little Niagara Falls. It's very, very majestic. It has the bluest, greenish water. And what's really cool is there's so many viewpoints that give you different views of the waterfall. So you can see it from the top, you can see it from the bottom, from the sides, from right above it. We probably went to all seven, and it's just been really awesome to feel the water splashing up against our face, and just inhaling that fresh air that comes with being surrounded by such greenery. Number one to number five, you can choose the color. Let me see. I suggest you choose the multicolor. Okay. I feel like the number one might be the best one, right? Number one or number five? Korea, love, okay. Oh, money, love. No, we need health. We need health. Okay, we need health. Okay, number one, okay, number one. Butter. Butter back for Claire. Okay. So this side is for Korea, and I feel like this would be fitting. What's that eye? Yeah. Yellow represents money and finances, so I don't know who wouldn't want this to have financial independence and to retire early, but that is our hope and dream. All right. All right, so pink represents joy and happiness, and so as always, we want to cherish the little things and see the magic. I think it's now ready for us to let it loose into the air. So we just went to a street vendor that specializes in this little dessert here. So on the outside, there's this rice crepe, and then on the inside, there's peanut powder, two scoops of ice cream. There's one that's taro, one that's pineapple, and then there's also cilantro topping it. Such an interesting combination of flavors, and I have no idea what it's going to taste like, but let's do a little cheers. Cheers. So far, I just taste the rice crepe and the peanuts and the cilantro and the ice cream. Separately? Yeah, all separately. I just love that it's wrapped up. It's kind of like a little mochi. Yeah, ice cream burrito. I really like peanut on pretty much anything. It works so well with the ice cream, and then having the chewy wrapper is so interesting. It just fits with all of the food we've had in Taiwan, though. It's on theme. So the very last thing that we're going to try today is probably one of the most interesting things I've ever seen after traveling around the entire world, but essentially, it's a deboned chicken wing, and inside, they've stuffed it with fried rice, and then they barbecued it and topped it with sesame seeds. I don't even know how they got all the bones out. I don't know how they got the fried rice back in. I don't know how they barbecued all of it together, but here's the finished product. Oh, man. That is so good. That's probably the juiciest chicken I've ever bit into, and then it just gets even better when you have the fried rice in the middle. Whatever they barbecued it in, amazing flavor. I can see why our tour guide had such a big smile on as he was munching on it. That's a happy customer. Wow, what a day. We finally made it back to our hotel after one of the best tours we've ever been on. I want to say a huge thank you to Hicks, our outstanding tour guide. I also want to say another huge thank you to Get Your Guide for supporting our channel. I'll link the tour in the description box below in case you want to also have a fantastic time here in northern Taiwan. We actually have one more video here in Taiwan. We're heading out to the countryside, so if you want to see where we head next, hit subscribe, and with all that said, we'll catch y'all next time. Bye-bye!