TOP TEN THINGS to do in TAIPEI in 2024 | Taiwan travel guide

So you've decided to go to Taipei. You've made a great choice because this city is guaranteed to blow your mind. In this video, we'll do everything from feasting on street food to living the local life. I'm Kringlak Son and let's dive into the top 10 things you must do in Taipei. 1. Grab the essentials. There are two things you could grab from the airport to make your travels easier. The first is your E-Z card and the second, your travel sim card. The E-Z card is a transportation card that you could use for most types of transportation in Taipei, including the MRT, buses, and the Maokong gondola. You may purchase the E-Z card from one of the MRT service booths in either one of Taiwan Airport's terminals, or if you're coming from Songshan Airport, from the machines directly before the MRT turnstiles. You could also purchase the card on the travel booking website Klook. I recommend putting in 400 NTD initially. If you're coming from Taiwan Airport, this will cover your metro fare from the airport to Taipei Station, which costs 160 NTD. This will also cover your transportation fares, which cost anywhere between 15 to 45 NTD for buses and 20 to 65 NTD for trains. You could also use the E-Z card outside Taipei on services such as the high-speed rail, ferries, convenience stores, and more. Just look for the E-Z card symbol on these places to confirm if they are accepted. Next thing to get is your travel sim card. This especially helps when accessing Google Maps so you can find out bus and metro routes in real time. Trust me, getting one of these will save you a lot of time. You could pick from a few sim card providers as there are various packages catered to different needs. You may purchase a travel sim card in both Taiwan and Songshan airports, or you could purchase one from Klook to pick up in the airport. For this trip, I bought Far East One's 7-day sim for 450 NTD. 2. Have a traditional Taiwanese breakfast. Why not start your day with a traditional Taiwanese breakfast? It's one of the country's culinary highlights and offers a window into local daily life. Most breakfast shops have the words soy milk in their name as it is Taiwan's go-to drink in the morning. Put soy milk on Google Maps and all your options will pop up. The most popular one in Taipei is Fuhang Soy Milk, known for its long queues. In our case, we opted for Dingyuan Soy Milk which is near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Dingyuan Soy Milk has an English menu which makes ordering easier. We got a savory soy milk soup, sesame bread with scallions and egg, and egg rolls with fried dough sticks all for 135 NTD. I hope you like the mention of food because I'll talk more about Taiwan's delicious eats later. 3. Revisit Taiwan's history. Taiwan's history and its fight for self-determination is vast and complex. We can scratch the surface of its story by visiting a few locations that offer contrasting perspectives. One is the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, built in memory of the Republic of China's first president. Behind me is the Liberty Square Arch which was made in the 1980s to commemorate the 100th anniversary since the birth of Chiang Kai-shek. This arch was made completely out of marble. It features a number of intricate details and carvings. The Memorial Hall itself is in blue and white, representing key colors of the Taiwanese flag. Here we could watch the changing of the guards. Every hour from 9 a.m to 5 p.m there is the changing of the guards at the hall. You could see the respect and the high regard of the Taiwanese people for Chiang Kai-shek. Just a kilometer away from the Memorial Hall is the 228 Peace Memorial Park, a somber yet hopeful space dedicated to the victims of the 228 incident. This park serves as a reminder of this dark chapter and Taiwan's ongoing quest for democracy. We are here at the 228 Peace Memorial Park which commemorates an incident in 1947 that resulted in the deaths of 10 to 30,000 people in Taiwan. This park features, well, a park, a museum and also a temple at the back and it's a good place to spend about an hour or two in. You can sit here, have a picnic, go to the museum, go to the temple and just admire the scenery. 4. Enjoy the nightlife. Taipei buzzes with electrifying energy at night. From window shopping, eating street food and clubbing, you will never run out of things to do. The Ximending area is the popular area for a reason. It's the mecca for Taiwan's youth culture full of street food, boutiques and street performers. Here we had the famous brown sugar boba milk from Xing Fu Tang. It's rich and creamy but it's also quite heavy so don't take it on a full stomach. We also stepped inside Wanyan Building. Its basement has all manner of delicious eats including this meal which I'll talk about later and impressive figurines of various cartoons and animes. If you're looking to dance though, Wave Club Taipei is the place to be. With a high-tech stage and DJs who know how to work a crowd, it will make even a morning person dance all night long. The entry fee depends on the day and time you go. We went on Sunday midnight and I was charged 500 NTD while Frank was charged 800 NTD. The entry fee already includes unlimited drinks. 5. Explore the night markets. Of course we can't talk about the city's nightlife without mentioning its night markets. Taiwan has over a hundred night markets making it the country's quintessential experience. Make sure to add a few to your list as a little money goes a long way here. In our case we went to two night markets Ningxia and Raohe. Ningxia is smaller both in distance and width. Expect tight spaces here but there are plenty of seating areas for those eating. Here's everything we had in Ningxia. A watermelon shake for 50 NTD, a kebab sandwich for 60 NTD, eight pieces of takoyaki for 120 NTD, a pork bao for 60 NTD, pork and beef skewers for 50 NTD each, a rose lemon tea for 55 NTD, a peanut ice cream crepe with coriander for 60 NTD, and my favorite shave ice with mochi and ground sesame for 50 NTD. Our total bill 555 NTD. Raohe meanwhile needs no introduction. Raohe street night market has about 70,000 reviews on google maps so of course we have to check it out. It's the most popular night market in Taipei with lots of really good food. Apart from food there are also stalls here that sell knickknacks and have games. We didn't eat too much at Raohe but here's what we got. Stinky tofu for 70 NTD. I don't like it but um it's tolerable. Grilled mushrooms for 100 NTD, mochi for 50 NTD, pork belly for 200 NTD, and orange juice for 70 NTD. We also played UFO Chasers where we played for 10 NTD a game. What night market in Taipei are you looking forward to going to? Let us know in the comment section. Sixth, pray at a temple. With over 12,000 temples in the country it's fair to say that religion plays a vital part in the Taiwanese culture. One of the most well-known temples in the city is Longshan Temple. Behind me is the Longshan Temple which is considered to be the most important temple in Taipei. This temple was built in the 1700s by the Chinese settlers in Taiwan and it considers to be a large gathering place and worship place for many Taiwanese today. So if you want to pray like a local all you have to do is face the main hall where the statues are, put your hands together in prayer, state your name, your date of birth, and where you live, and then say your wishes. Now you can ask the deities here different wishes depending on what the deities specialties are. So if you're looking for love we have just the deity for that. Come I'll show you. Behind me is the temple of Yu Zhao who is the god of love and if you want to pray to him there are a few steps that you need to take. First of all you need to leave some sweets on his table as a symbol of sweetness. After that you can pray to him as you did in the main hall. Just put your hands together, say your name, your birthday, and where you live, and then your wish. If you are single picture the love of your life in your mind or what their characteristics are and what kind of relationship you want to have. If you already are in a relationship just pray to Yu Zhao about taking it to the next level. After stating your wish you have the red moon blocks where you could ask three questions about the love of your life and throw them to the ground. Depending on what side the red moon blocks face the question could be answered with yes, or no, or a laughing god. Meaning that you probably already know the answer yourself and you were just looking for confirmation from the gods. And after doing that three times you grab a string from Yu Zhao's temple. It's a red string that ties your faith to the love of your life and have it blessed at the incense in the main hall. So that's how you pray to the god of love here. 7. Go on a trip outside Taipei. If you have a day to spare I recommend going to Taipei's neighboring areas to see more of the country's offerings. Outside its capital Taiwan offers a completely different vibe and an insight to its slower way of life. One place you could go to is Shifen which is known for its sky lanterns. Here you could write your wishes on your own paper lantern and send it flying above town. If you'd like to participate in this remember to ask for eco-friendly lanterns which are made of paper. This eco-friendly lantern costs 200 new Taiwanese dollars. I think it's pretty much a similar price as the normal lanterns. You know what when you write your wishes down or at least when I write my wishes down it makes me think that I actually have a pretty good life because I'm not wishing for much except to win the lottery. Shifen is also the place to see Taiwan's widest waterfall the Shifen Waterfall. It's a 30-minute walk from the old street with the track to the waterfall being almost as picturesque as the main attraction. Another option for a day trip is the Yalu Geopark. The Yalu Geopark comprises of more than a kilometer of incredible rock formations. It is just an hour and a half away from Taipei by bus and the entrance fees here are 120 per adult and 60 new Taiwanese dollars for kids. Though the park is open only from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. it pays to look at their website to check if there's any night events happening in the area. Right now we could see that there are some lights set up for the evening so that would be a good thing to go to as well. Another option is Jufen especially if you're able to stay the night in the area. Jufen's spirited away vibes are better appreciated in the evening. We're now in Jufen which is about an hour away from Taipei by bus. There is a direct bus going from Taipei to Jufen so I recommend you would take that because there is no direct metro. If you do take the metro you'll have to take a certain line, go down to Ryufang I think and then from there take a bus to Jufen. Jufen is known for its old street which is very reminiscent of Studio Ghibli and in fact the place that we are staying in is quite inspired by Studio Ghibli as well. There are a lot of decorations regarding the films of Hayao Miyazaki. 8. Eat cheap Michelin recommended food. Taiwan is such a culinary haven that I have to mention its food again. Many of Taiwan's restaurants and food stalls are listed in the Michelin guide with Taipei alone having 156. The good news is that many of these eateries are affordable and will only set you back a few bucks. One such place is Lao Shandong Homemade Noodles located inside Wanyan building in the Ximending area. We ordered one regular and one large beef noodle soup plus two side dishes. Honestly this has to be my favorite meal in Taipei because nothing has come close to it in terms of flavor and depth. All of this costed us 480 NTD which is not bad. In Raohe Night Market you will spot this humble stall named Mochi Baby which is also in Michelin Guide. This stall on my back has been part of the Michelin Guide since 2018 so about six years now and they serve mochi, just mochi. So we just bought some we'll see how it tastes. Outside of Taipei we also tried Cheng's Noodles which is located in Kaohsiung. Their noodles swim in a delicious broth made with pork chicken and veggies and it was not heavy on the tummy. That soup is flavorful. And as for the noodles, yummy. This noodles doesn't have a lot of meat. I think I only see about two strips of pork in here so you should order a side dish especially if you're bodybuilding. Two bowls plus one other dish set us back 225 NTD. Check the link in my description box for more cheap Michelin eats in Taipei. 9. Go Up Taipei 101. This one's cliche but no trip to Taipei is truly complete without going up Taipei 101, once the world's tallest tower. A standard ticket costs 600 NTD which is pricey but pays off. From the top you could see a full 360 view of the city and its surroundings. Seeing the technology that keeps the tower stable is also worthwhile. There are two floors that you can access in Taipei 101 that is the 88th and the 91st floor. The 88th floor is covered in glass so if you're afraid of heights then this is a safe space for you to enjoy the view in. There are also lots of spots that are instagrammable spots that have fairy lights and also like garden themed areas. The 91st floor on the other hand is an open area so you could really feel the wind from that floor. When it's raining that floor is closed so just be mindful of that because you pay the same amount either way whether or not the 91st floor is closed or not. 10. Embrace Low Travel by Taking Your Time. To best experience Taipei the most important thing is to embrace slow travel. Don't be afraid to take your time. Wander down uncharted alleys, eat unfamiliar food and engage with Taiwan's friendly locals. Just let the city surprise you. It's in these moments that you'll truly capture the essence of Taipei and create memories for a lifetime. So ditch the stress of ticking things off a list and savor the simple joy of being present in this vibrant city. Those are the top 10 things I recommend you do in Taipei. If there's anything I missed please put your reckos in the comment section. This is Green Laxson saying hui tou jian, paalam, bye! Welcome to Shangri-La Far Eastern Taipei. We decided in this trip to have one luxury experience and this was it. So I'll show you around the room starting with the hallway. So we're just walking towards the hallway and into the closet over here where you could store I don't know all your luggages and whatever you don't want to see. And here on the left side is the kitchen. You will have your fridge here but you also have your coffee machine, your free nespressos in here as well and some bottled water. And look at this fancy thing. If you open it it's all the glasses. I really like it. Now we go towards the main hall and this is a big space where you have your living room and your bedroom. So come I'll show you the living room. Over here you could see a couch, a working table, and some nice artwork as well. And you could also see a fantastic view of Taipei and I don't know if you see it right now but the reason why this room was quite luxurious was because of the main view which is Taipei 101 over there. So you could just wake up in the morning or do your work and just have that fantastic view with you. I'll show you to the bathroom. So this one is a freaking large bathroom. You've got your his and her sinks and you've also got your bathtub in here and I think I'm not sure what this is. Oh bath salts. So you've got your bathtub and a pair of bath salts for your bath which I will definitely use later. But if you don't want to have a bath you could also just have a shower over here and your toilet is just on the right hand side. And as for the bed, here it is. It's a king-size bed and overlooking the bed of course is yet another view of Taipei 101 which you could enjoy either from the bed or from the seats here. So we stayed here for one night. I forgot how much it costed. I'm gonna put it here for transparency. If you're the type who likes comfort or like me you are old and you cannot just handle hostels anymore then this is a good option for you. So until then I am just gonna enjoy this room now. See ya!