Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
This sounds like a great idea! Taiwan for New Year! Could you tell us a bit about it?
We went to visit relatives (spouse is Taiwanese Americans and the in-laws and other relatives still live in Taiwan). Started our trip in Japan (cheaper to fly into Japan and spend the night there than just booking a more direct flight to Taiwan from Honolulu) and then flew into Taiwan. We went down to the family farm in the southwest part of the country ("farm" is an exaggeration as it's really my father-in-law's retirement pet project and he's quite spruced it up) for a few days. Some family friends who were also raised in Taiwan but live in the states now also made the trip, so we all hung out with them and their young children on the farm and had a big lunch before we made our way back up to Taipei.
This was my first CNY in Asia. One thing I wasn't expecting (but it makes sense) is that most everything was shut down even in Taipei on CNY day and the day after/before. I guess I wasn't expecting this as most things are open and festive in Chinatowns, etc., stateside during CNY, but I guess in Asia it's akin to us celebrating Christmas/NY with so many things closed.
In Taipei we stayed at the Mandarin Oriental (love this hotel) and the Regent Taipei.
Overall, Taiwan is still incredibly affordable especially compared to the U.S. and even Japan, though you can still find more expensive things to do/eat/see here.
Checking out this afternoon to fly back to Japan for the night, but already looking forward to our next trip out this way!
Happy to answer any other questions/specifics that you or others may have.
We went to visit relatives (spouse is Taiwanese Americans and the in-laws and other relatives still live in Taiwan). Started our trip in Japan (cheaper to fly into Japan and spend the night there than just booking a more direct flight to Taiwan from Honolulu) and then flew into Taiwan. We went down to the family farm in the southwest part of the country
Sounds great! You say the SW of the country; do you mean the Kaohsiung area? I've been there and around the south (Taroko Gorge, among other places),and also to Orchid Island (I STRONGLY recommend this!), but it was a long time ago. I also recommend driving (or taking a bus) down the east coast of the island--very scenic, and used to be sparsely populated/no traffic. IDK if that's still true.
Sounds great! You say the SW of the country; do you mean the Kaohsiung area? I've been there and around the south (Taroko Gorge, among other places),and also to Orchid Island (I STRONGLY recommend this!), but it was a long time ago. I also recommend driving (or taking a bus) down the east coast of the island--very scenic, and used to be sparsely populated/no traffic. IDK if that's still true.
We were in Chiayi County! Took the high speed rail from Taipei to Chiayi and back. I'll have to check out the places you listed for sure the next time we're here. The closest we got to touring the east side of the island was when we went to Ruifang/Jiufen Old Street in October where we had a blast. We rented a car for that trip and planned to go to Yilan, but never got around to doing so as we were busying meeting friends in Taipei, which took up more time than planned.
We were in Chiayi County! Took the high speed rail from Taipei to Chiayi and back. I'll have to check out the places you listed for sure the next time we're here. The closest we got to touring the east side of the island was when we went to Ruifang/Jiufen Old Street in October where we had a blast. We rented a car for that trip and planned to go to Yilan, but never got around to doing so as we were busying meeting friends in Taipei, which took up more time than planned.
My, my! Little Taiwan has HSR! All grown up! Maybe California should invite Taiwan to build its HSR. At least they'd get the job done within budget.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
