A year in the life...

(A Guideblog by Beatrice)

[astudentandtaiwan]

Scroll all the way to the bottom to read my journey from the first month.

Shops info & other written in 2015-2016, may be susceptible to changes. 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Final post (revised) Question time?

I realise some of you who have just come across this blog are about to go off and experience their own " first month" and want to know how I got over all the bumps. Here are some questions you might be thinking. Where are good areas to live? (looking at a metro map) I recommend near Guting, Dongmen, Taipower Building, Gongguan. These places are really close to the Main Station/Bus Station which if you want to go for trips, is pretty convenient. It’s also really close to NTU and NTNU which are the main universities in Taipei so there are a lot of students, restaurants, coffee places and much more. It’s safe and there are parks around. I went to NCCU but I lived in Guting because I still wanted to be in the city. It depends what your priorities are, if you want something super cheap, go further out the city centre, even two or three stops on the metro will do it. In Guting, I paid about £60 a week bills included for quite a big furnished room in a flat shared with 3 other girls. How did you sort out your phone? I asked my English provider to unlock my phone for me, then I went to 大哥大 MyPhone and got a sim card. It was pretty easy, just take your passport and money (sometimes they ask to have a person over 21 there). I got a pay-as-you-go deal which you can top up in 7/11 but I know you can also get contracts. What about money and banking? I’m afraid I can’t help with this because I had difficulties with my bank and setting up a Taiwanese bank account is a very long process and is made longer by the absence of an A.R.C ( Alien Resident Certificates). I just used my English card and got out large quantities each time which in hindsight cost me a lot so maybe I should have made more of an effort with my banking. How did you get your things to Taiwan and back to your country?  When I was on my way to Taipei I found shipping was too expensive so I just arrived with one suitcase which was surprisingly fine but because of this, towards the end of the year I found I had bought a great deal of things. I had to ship things back in a box which roughly cost £60 for 10kg. You can also add luggage to your flight, the cost of which depends on the airline. If you have things you can’t ship or take back, you can sell them on sites like Facebook’s page “Taipei: buy, sell, trade” (this is also good for cheap household items that you need when you arrive) or with clothes and shoes, you can give them to a charity shop. P.s There is no censorship in Taiwan, unlike China, so you don’t need a VPN. How did you manage with the language when you first got there? I did have a tough time coping with the language barrier when I first got there, even with studying Chinese at university. My advice is not to stress too much about this, people are always friendly, ready to lend a hand and many Taiwanese do speak English. I would also recommend getting a language partner, it is a great way to meet friends and even if you are not interested in learning Chinese seriously, it is very convenient to pick up the basics. Finally, I have already mentioned earlier in the blog this amazing app called Pleco which has an English-Chinese/Chinese-English dictionary with phrases and audio pronunciation. It’s free to download and is immensely useful when you are lost in translation or stuck for a word, whether it is with a potential new friend or a shopkeeper. If you have anymore questions, feel free to ask!   

Have a good time :)

[astudentandtaiwan]

I survived! 9 months. My final blog post

I’ll start by explaining why I started this blog. When I first landed in Taiwan, I didn’t know where to go, let alone how to get there. Yes, I had my Lonely Planet guide but it’s crammed with so much stuff, you don’t really know which is worth going to. Unless you are a super organised person, you aren’t going to google every place. I was so overwhelmed when first I got there, I felt embarrassed walking around, obviously not knowing where I was going with people staring at me. Safe to say, I got lost many times and looked to Starbucks and other western restaurants as a safe haven, instead of feeling really out of place like an idiot in a local restaurants. I didn’t realise how much feeling out of place drains you. I’m not going to lie to you, the first few months are hard, especially the first. Now everyone’s experience is different, but i’ll recount you mine so you have something to go on. People tend to say that when you first get to a place you encounter the “holiday phase” but to be honest, I was too worried about where I was going to live, who I was going to live with, setting up a bank account, unlocking my phone and just generally getting my life together to experience it. The first month was a blur, don’t get me wrong, I had a great time exploring the place where I was going to live for the next year but it was scary at first. I tried to fill this blog with the information I wish I had been given when I first landed. It might have gaps but hopefully it will help fill in some of the picture, instead of starting with a blank canvas like I did. I hope I didn’t scare you! I just mean that you shouldn’t get discouraged because now my year abroad is over all I can think about is how much fun it was! There is nothing like living in a completely strange and exciting new place. Going on spontaneous bike rides in the evenings because it’s still really warm and youbikes cost 5 dollars an hour. Enjoying good food and desserts all the time because eating out is so cheap. Grabbing a Milk Tea whilst walking home because the streets of Taipei are extra safe. Drinking iced coffee with your friends in a trendy coffee shop because that’s how the Taiwanese do it. Whatever you’ll do, it will be one crazy year.

[astudentandtaiwan]

Dihua St

Chinese medicine, art&craft shops, souvenirs, material shops, coffee shops, hand crafted goods, nuts, teas, dried fish and everything wacky can be found in Dihua Street, making this one of my favourite places in Taipei. Zhongshan MRT Exit 5, turn right down Nanjing W Road, keep walking straight down, past the roundabout and Ningxia Night Market, all the way down (approx.15 minutes) till you see the Dihua St sign. (I’ve been told you can get here from Beimen MRT stop but I have never been that way.) It’s a really nice place to take a visiting relative or just to have a wonder about! 

Photo credit 

[astudentandtaiwan]

I-have-an-approximate-knowledge-of-many-things post

Things I still have to say but don’t have enough information on to make a post! 

Best student areas for food&cafés. Just a few places in a sea of a hundred good places that when you walk by, you have a guarantee that they are good. Gongguan- Yogurt Art, ImPerfect Café , Sababa Pita, So Free Pizza, Masala house, Picnic Cafe. Dongmen- Cafe Kafka, Yong Kang Beef Noodle, Smoothie House Shaved Ice, James Kitchen.

Must go to an island, any island before you leave! Taiwan’s islands are known for their beauty and marine life. I went to Green Island which was really great for snorkelling and open air BBQ restaurants, It was all organised for me by my Taiwanese friends so unfortunately I can't tell you much information!

Not to be missed, experience a Taiwanese club. Here the clubs are quite unique, safe, fairly cheap, and fun. Wave is one I liked most, it’s fancy, all you can drink, you get a cool elevator up to the top, next to Taipei 101 and easy to get to as it is in ATT4FUN Mall. Last I checked it was 400NTD for girls, 700NTD for boys.

Anime Lovers, this one’s  for you. Taipei City Mall inside Taipei Main Station sells everything from merchandise to manga and even has maid cafes. 

If you miss charity/second hand shops, there are a few but the easiest and convenient one to find is inside Guting Metro Station (Exit 9 side). This is useful because you can donate clothes and shoes that you can’t take back at the end of your stay.   

Riverside parks like Guting Riverside Park are great for cycling, 

Daan is a lovely park with basket ball courts, a rollerskating rink and a children’s park. It is also super easy to get to because it has its own Metro stop.

Beitou is a great place for hot springs.

Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall has its own Metro stop and a great view of Taipei 101. It is also a very popular place to go see the New Year’s Eve Fireworks but you have to get there an hour early if you want to try and get a good place!

I’ve heard Miniatures Museum of Taiwan(袖珍博物館, MMOT), is a good place to visit but I never had the chance to go myself ! 

Keelung’s Miaokou Night Market is very good for food but not for other things. From the station, follow the port round to find the entrance. 

Here is a website with great information and directions: https://guidetotaipei.com/

[astudentandtaiwan]

National Museum of History & Botanical Gardens 

This is a great way to spend an afternoon in Taipei, the gardens are just behind the museum so after you visit one, you can visit the other! The museum is 30NTD for a full price ticket and half of that for a student ticket, whereas the gardens are free. (Price for exhibitions vary) Get to the museum from Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂), Exit 1 or 2 and walk down Nanhai Road for about 10 minutes. The museum will be on the right side. To the gardens, Xiaonanmen (小南門) Exit 3, turn left down Bo'ai Road (博愛路) to enter the park.

Photo credit 

[astudentandtaiwan]

五分埔 Wu Fen Pu  

By far the best place to go shopping for clothes! Save all your money because you will buy a lot, using the “oh, it’s only 100 dollars” excuse. With this place, you do have to rummage and most of the time you can’t try stuff on but I still think it is well worth it! It’s a whole area planned out like a maze, full of clothes shops and it is not just open at night, it’s also a day market. Songshan Exit 4, go out and turn back on yourself, walk straight past the Songshan Station. Cross the road, turn left at Cosmed and go into the first side street. 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Treasure Hill

Treasure Hill is a crooked village on top of a hill, as the name goes, which has been overrun by artist and their art work. It’s nice to have a look around and get some cool pictures, if you dig deep enough, you might find some hidden graffiti gems. It has workshops, coffee shops and a temple at its entrance. I always just seem to stumble across there so I’m worried about giving the wrong directions. Here is the address:  100, Taiwan, Taipei City, Zhongzheng District, 汀州路3段230巷23號. You can also follow directions to Treasure Hill Temple 寶藏巖. It’s very close to the Museum of Drinking Water and Gongguan MRT. 

P.s Many of you might have the Lonely Planet Guide which will say that it is a dreamy place to explore at night. I would strongly discourage this idea as I tried it myself and found it a bit pointless since nothing is open and it is not very well lit. But maybe it’s just me. 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Cafe Niau 沐肆貓廬

I like this cafe because it’s really a hidden gem and whenever I show it to friends they always have this wow-you-really-know-your-way-around-this-city-look on their face which makes me feel a little smug. Come out of Exit 5, Dongmen MRT and take Yongkang St. Go all the way down, cross the road and keep going until just before the restaurant “James Kitchen 大隱酒食 ”, then turn onto Lane 17, Lishui St, keep walking down for about 5 minutes and you will see it. It’s a small cafe with one fluffy fat cat, cakes, homemade jams for sale and it’s average price (~120NTD). The coffee is good and the owner always puts lots of care to make a little design on it :)  

Photo credit

[astudentandtaiwan]

佐藤咖哩 Sato Curry  

This very trendy, small, Japanese restaurant makes some curry worth posting about! It only has about three different types of curry to choose from but there are lots of toppings you can add. Prices range from 160-180NTD for curry, 20-40NTD for toppings and the price gets reduced by 50NTD if you take away. Go out of Liuzhangli MRT and immediately turn right, down Heping E Rd for about 5/10 minutes. Then turn right again onto Lane 228 and it’s one of the first few. Enjoy! 

(Copy & paste the Chinese name into Google for address and more pictures)

Picture taken from their Facebook

[astudentandtaiwan]

8 months’ reflection 

不只是很好的城市，也是座森林 !

1. Survived unwelcomed encounters with cockroaches: check

2. Had awkward negotiations with bin men: check

3. Became numb to the ridiculously high sugar level & random earthquakes: check

4. Got the wrong order because sometimes it’s just easier to nod: check

5. Lost my temper (in my head) at being stared at: check

6. Discovered a shop or a restaurant down a small alleyway: check

7. No longer flinch at the smell of stinky tofu: check

8. Got stuck to my clothes due to the humidity: check 

9. Nearly got frostbite from the air conditioning: check 

10. Fell in love with Taiwan: check 

10/10! If you also answered check to all or most of the above, especially the last one, then in my eyes you are a true foreign local. well done. 

P.s. mosquitoes: 18379 me: 0 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Jianguo Holiday Jade, Flower & Artist Market 

Take exit 6 of Daan Forest Park metro, turn left and walk straight for about 5 minutes. This market is great for browsing or if you are looking to buy a bit of a pricey authentic present to send back home. It really reminds me of the markets I went to when I was in Mainland China. Just keep going through the market to encounter the next one, they are all in one straight line. It’s a good weekend trip but it does get quite crowded! 

P.s It’s only open at the weekend

[astudentandtaiwan]

Side note

All my posts give directions from Taipei which I understand can’t be very useful for people in other parts of this country but hopefully it will give you some good ideas on where to go! Feel free to ask any questions :) 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Shida Night Market

This night market has a lot of Japanese and Korean influences, it is really for the young and trendy. It is close to Shida University so it is always full of students! It’s a great place to get cheap stationary & jewellery and is definitely considered as more of a female orientated market. Come out of Exit 3 (Taipower MRT) and immediately turn right onto Shida Road, walk along for five minutes and you can turn into any side lanes to get onto the main market street (Longquan st), but I believe it starts around Lane 105 (Shida Rd). Next to Arnor Crepes (Lane 39, Longquan st) there is a nice independent market with smaller business/artists selling handmade produce. The crepes are also really good!  

[TIP] At Exit 4 of Taipower, there is a really good smoothie place!  

Photo credit 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Sun Moon Lake 

~1 or 2/3 full days recommended 

Sun Moon Lake is a beautiful lake with a stunning backdrop of mountains.  Around the lake, there are numerous trails to walk, several temples to visit and cycle lanes. 

How to get there: You can take a train to Nantou and take a bus from there but I think the easiest way (which I took) is to take a direct bus from Taipei (Taipei Main Station’s West bus station, Terminal B) to Sun Moon Lake with 國光客運 Kuo-Kuang buses. It costs around 400NTD and takes ~3 and half hours. The bus drops you in front of Shueishe Visitor Centre, from here, bike rentals and the docks are very close!

I recommend one day if you just want to cycle around the lake and take in some amazing sights, but two/three full days if you also want to explore and hike. Things around the lake are fairly cheap, you can get bikes & boat tickets for a whole day for about 100NTD. For the boat, they will give you a stamp on your hand which will allow you on numerous trips, be careful that your stamp doesn't fade! For bikes, they will ask you to leave an identity card of some kind but they do accept Taiwanese student cards as proof. Favourite places: Xuanzang temple & Ci-en Pagoda. Favourite bike route: from Delight Mall (Shueishe Visitor Centre) down to Xiangshan Visitor Centre. I didn't stay long here but I had such a great time cycling round! 

[astudentandtaiwan]

Taipei Expo Park

Another charming creative space in Taipei, seems like the city is full of them! This place is as lively in the day as it is at night. In the day, at the weekend, Taipei’s Farmers Market settles here, selling fresh fruit, veg & tea. In the evening, a live band performs in the courtyard, normally jazz or acoustic music. Walk out of Yuanshan MRT (Exit 1) and you will see it immediately, when you walk in, there are booths lining one side and shops lining the other. What’s interesting is that each booth sells a different type of cuisine, (i.e Korean, Indian etc) making a very cool food court. At the end, past the Maji pop-up market, there is a courtyard with trees & a pond which are lit up at night, making a great atmosphere for when the live band plays. Surrounding the commercial area, there are beautiful gardens and to the the far left there is Taipei’s Fine Arts Museum. 

Photo credit (Maji Website)

[astudentandtaiwan]

Sugar Bistro  小食糖

One of my favourite hidden cafés in the city,  located in Dongmen (Exit 6). Come out and turn back on yourself, and it’s in the first alley way you come across (Lane 181). There are two floors with a balcony on the second, a private room for meetings and its okay for both chat & study. There is also a resident cat (for all the cat lovers out there) and the food, cakes, drinks are all really good! Recommended drinks: Mixed berries smoothie or Palm sugar Milk tea. Hope you like it as much as I do :) 

Photo credit