A collection of impressions (and photos) from the Taiwanese capital.
I used to love traveling far, but then I gradually transitioned to just enjoying what's behind my porch. What perhaps fueled this change was that, over the last 15 years, I had never stayed in one country for longer than a couple of years; I never lacked places to explore. "Why spend time and money on distant voyages if you find it fascinating where you live?" I thought. But recently, I started to think that maybe I should head somewhere further again, for the sake of breaking the routine, being surprised, and getting outside the comfort zone. After all, navigating through different systems and cultures always taught me something I wouldn't find at home. As I contemplated where to go, it emerged that I would head to Taiwan for work. "That would do!" I thought and extended the work trip into a vacation.
First, I spent a week in Taipei, and it will be the theme of this post. Nevertheless, opportunities for being out of comfort zone began even before I set foot there. I had a layover in Beijing, which appears pretty sour over Taiwan lately (see recent DW↗, Reuters↗ reports). But the layover went all right. I got groped by the security for five minutes, which is not great, but it felt like nothing compared to the last flight, which was an old 737 jet with legroom that should be illegal. The seats had hardly any cushion, so my knees, jammed in the seat in front of me, felt like I was kneeling on a grill tray, and the backrest was so thin that when the passenger behind me reached into the pocket in my seat, it felt like they were trying to steal my kidneys. My seat shook each time anyone walked down the aisle, and the flip-down overhead screens unfolded and then went back in without displaying any message multiple times per journey. Still, considering the types of unexpected behavior reported on the 737s in the last decade, we did well. We survived, and the fun could start.
As for surprises, I faced one already at the airport: one had to pay in cash to purchase a card for public transportation. I assumed I could get by with debit cards or contactless methods, since I haven't used cash in Europe lately, and when I was in mainland China before the pandemic, I met people who hadn't seen cash in years. But aha, this is why it's good to travel away from our bubble; it puts assumptions to the test. So I got cash first, and then the local metro delivered top score.
Taipei Metro
It was clean, reliable, and the stations had abundant drinking fountains. Moreover, before the train went underground, I got an exciting glimpse of the city and the steep mountains with deep forests that surrounded it.
"So many stories in here, so much exhilaration!" I thought.
What followed was conferencing on the topic of design, which was inspiring and energizing. The latter was needed, as I got possibly the worst jet lag I have experienced, so any help went a long way. The city itself was energizing, too, though. So let's get into it!
Taipei's central business district, with the iconic 101 Tower, as seen from the conference venue.
The metropolitan area of Taipei is home to a bit over seven million people. While that is a lot, it is less than London, Chicago, and under one-third of Shanghai. That said, it didn't feel overwhelming in terms of crowds, nor the distances – even walking got me far.
Speaking of walking, the main streets were so busy with traffic that, despite having wide sidewalks, they weren't very pleasant due to the noise and polluted air.
The situation significantly improved the second I turned onto side streets. They were just as visually stimulating as the big boulevards (if not more), yet walking there was much nicer.
These side streets varied in use and size; some were filled with vibrant food markets, while others were as quiet as the city gets. Some were good enough for two trucks to pass each other and even left room for parking, but in others, two scooters would be too much.
While going through these back alleys, I realized that they all felt safe. Regardless of the time of day or the district, no matter how narrow the path, I have never come across one that felt sketchy or uncomfortable. The welcoming atmosphere also applied in a neighborhood full of government buildings. Despite some featuring signs hinting at a national defense focus, the area didn't feel hostile at all, which was a stark contrast to the intimidating setting I saw around certain embassies in Europe.
What further helped with the friendly experience was that I did not notice any gated communities, and I saw multiple lovely parks around. The city also had many freely accessible, clean public bathrooms. It's one of the features I wish I wouldn't have to point out, but sadly, many cities I've visited had either paid toilets or none at all, so many people used some of those backstreets or parks instead, turning them from nice places into cesspools where nobody wants to be. Taipei, however, does it right.
But the best manifestation of Taipei's friendliness was through the people there. I read that it is a friendly place beforehand, and I got a sample of it already on the train from the airport: a local guy approached me and asked if I planned to go hiking. I guess it was because I had an outdoorsy backpack. We had a nice small chat, and when I said that I would be keen on cycling, he suggested checking out Taipei's riverfront. More on that later.
Kind encounters continued throughout the conference, as well as with strangers outside it. One evening, I got invited to learn how to make a traditional Chinese snack, Tang hulu, which, besides being a tasty experience, also included a lovely talk about Taiwan and beyond. Another evening, I waited at a crosswalk when a security guard saw my camera and started a conversation. It turned out he had just finished his shift, and as the talk went on, we ended up going to dinner together. There, he told me that he is also a language teacher and a guide, we touched on numerous topics, and it was a great time again. When I took the metro back to my accommodation, I compared this experience with my visit to New Orleans, where I also went for a walk after sunset and was approached by a guard when he saw I had a camera. But there, the guy came to me yelling, "If you try to trespass, you will wake up in jail!" No hello, no question what I am up to, straight to threats. I was on a public sidewalk, so he let me go, but still, it makes a difference when strangers consider you as a potential menace, as opposed to a potential friend. I thought about how, when people interact with someone from abroad, they serve as ambassadors of their country, and how these interactions tend to be pretty memorable. That NOLA trip was more than 10 years ago. Anyway, the "ambassadors" in Taipei did a stellar job, and I am very grateful for that.
And yet, there was more to unfold. I mentioned that I intended to cycle here; that's because bikes allow seeing the city while getting places (unlike the tunnels of the metro), are much quicker than walking, can go in directions where there are no stations, and importantly, they are often good fun as a bonus. Win-win! Taipei offers a bike-sharing system that allows paying for the service with the same card used for the rest of the public transportation, which sounded handy, and I wanted to make use of it.
To get it to work, one needs a local phone number. That was fine with me, as I wanted to get a SIM card to have internet access for translation and maps anyway. I went to the largest Taiwanese telecom service provider to buy one, but it did not work. Funnily enough, my phone was made in Taiwan, but it just didn't want to cooperate on this. The guy at the shop couldn't figure out the situation either, so I got a refund but was left offline.
The hope was still there, though. There are many open Wi-Fi spots throughout the city, and I learned that it is possible to get a temporary account with the rental bikes that does not require a local number. I went that way, but sadly, the temporary account can't be linked with the public transit card, and it required me to enter my bank card details every time I used a bike. It was pretty clumsy and dented the otherwise very convenient service. Still, being able to use the bikes meant that I could visit more points of interest, like the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, for example.
One place that many people consider a must-see in the city is the observation deck of the Taipei 101 skyscraper, once the tallest building on Earth.
Yet, I did not end up going. It is not that I wouldn't be interested in the views; I have a soft spot for cityscapes. Moreover, when visiting the observation deck, one can see the world's largest tuned mass damper, which the building utilizes to counteract sway during typhoons and earthquakes. It is precisely the type of nerdy thing that I would love to see. However, since I had limited time and the jet lag didn't help spur me into action, I had to be selective about what I got to see. I opted to go to another nerdy place, but one associated with my work instead: I went to a planetarium.
While all planetariums are built with the same idea, no two are identical. They vary in size, can be leveled or tilted, many have unique projection systems, use different software to operate, and the ways to present content in them are countless. So much to nerd about! The planetarium I saw was in Taipei's astronomical museum. The rest of the exposition was remarkable as well, and so were those in the Taiwan Design Museum and the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
And when it comes to cityscapes, well, I figured that it would be nice to have views featuring the 101 in them, which, of course, wouldn't be the case if I were to look from the 101 itself.
Then, I saw a few views in different directions, and they were grand, too. Taipei has plenty of cool perspectives to document.
Finally, I went to the recommended riverfront. While some parts were still being rebuilt to get there, other sections already featured a park with, indeed, fantastic cycling paths.
It was apparent that the city is moving in the right direction.
Along the riverside, I also stumbled on probably the largest pump track I have ever come across. Of course, I sent a few laps! It left me with a massive smile; something that happened on many occasions during my visit to Taipei.
Tap here for a few more scenes that I found intriguing:
Concrete/an actual jungle.
The streets were cleaner than many of the buildings' facades. But even if some buildings looked dirty, they were surrounded by fancy rides, hinting that the state of the facade isn't necessarily linked to the economic situation of the people around.
A digital water curtain near the 101. It reminded me of the excellent "3D Water Matrix" by Langheinrich, Partos, and Takatani.
A peaceful corner at the Taiwan Design Research Institute.
One of Taipei's separated bike lanes. They were flexible in use, though. People walked in the lanes, and cyclists used the pedestrian paths. Yet, there was plenty of room for everyone, and the flexibility ultimately worked well in my experience.
The only alarmed vehicle that I saw. Considering the city's size, I found it truly impressive. Not hearing blasting sirens every few minutes added to the safe, comfortable feel of Taipei.
Instead of pigeons, I saw these beings in parks.
Lastly, here are a couple more moments I captured to finish with.
If you've enjoyed this article, you can see what else had Taiwan in store for me. Alternatively, you might also like recounts of other cities where I had happy times, such as:
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Finally, you can browse the Blog Archives for other locations and topics. Thanks for reading!
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