Taichung was the base for our last "must-see" destination in Taiwan - Sun Moon Lake, the largest lake in the country. Unable to buy our transportation/visitation pass ahead of time in person from the bus station for reasons we couldn't quite understand, we anxiously showed up day of at 6:00 am for a 7:45 am bus and breathed a sigh of relief when we gained two passes (seriously - the weekends at this place are apparently swarming with tourists and as we had alrea...

Tainan began with continued dealing of the wet belongings situation, including drying and washing and drying of things before the situation felt in control enough to check out the city. Very close to Kaohsiung, Tainan could have been done as a day trip, but we thought we would give the area 3 nights. The city does have lots of appealing, traditional architecture, and it is the kind of place that you just want time to stroll through at your own pace. We found a...

Kaohsiung looks like a fun and eclectic port city, with a unique identity to that of Taipei, but our time exploring was unexpectedly limited due to some unfortunate circumstances that will be described later… On the day we arrived we managed to take a quick 5 minute public ferry ride to the island of Cijin, and had some glorious weather that highlighted the harbour, beach, and lighthouse areas. Now at the south end of Taiwan, there is a little more ruggedne...

It is not a good idea to delay the booking of your train journeys in Taiwan, especially when your plans include travelling on a holiday long weekend. Not realising this, we booked our tickets from Taipei to Hualien a little late, and ended up with a standing only ticket. As long as it gets you from point A to point B, right? It is also not a good idea to sit on the platform intently looking at your phones at the best things to do in Hualien in such a manner th...

You could visit Taiwan and just base yourself in Taipei for your exploring. The city is quite spread out in terms of sights, and there are lots of worthwhile day trips that can take you to other towns, the mountains, or the coast. But we decided to devote 6/15 nights in Taiwan to Taipei, at the start and finish of our trip as part of a fast-paced clockwise loop around the island. Taipei is comfortable, pleasant, and not as flashy as we had pictured. The sce...