Taiwan

Taiwan’s population in 2026 is estimated at approximately 23.01 to 24.1 million people.

Where do I start?! What an amazing trip! I hadn’t traveled solo in six or seven years, so I had forgotten just how at home I feel on the road by myself. I love what happens when I travel.

I took a long time deciding where to travel. I arranged for my wife’s parents to come stay with her so they could help with our twins while I was gone. I looked all over the globe trying to figure out where to go. I wanted to go somewhere new, which is a challenge as I have been to over 50 countries. I wanted to go to somewhere that wasn’t too expensive. I wanted a reasonable flight for time and for cost. It also had to fit into the bus schedule from our home, as my wife doesn’t drive on the freeways yet. I looked at Central and South America. Caribbean Islands, various places in Asia. In the end, I found a reasonably priced, direct flight from Seattle to Taipei, Taiwan. I knew very little of the country except that I had heard great things about it. So, Taiwan it was.

Half the fun of travel is in the planning. I booked the tickets months ahead of time, then set about figuring out hotels and so on. I found a reasonably priced hotel called Hinoen in the heart of Taipei. Simple, but nice room. Coffee maker, hot water heater for tea, slip on flip flops, nice bed, nice bathroom. Perfect. Even had a heated toilet seat and bidet. That was a new experience for me! Why did I wait until I was 66 for such an experience?

I arranged to travel to the Seattle airport from my hometown using a bus transport company called BellAirporter. It was awesome. My wife dropped me off at the bus and it dropped me off right at the airport. It was comfortable and calm. I would take the same bus home when I returned.

I had looked into transportation in Taipei and learned that they had a very good metro system. It was much better than I anticipated. Before leaving, I ordered what is called an Easy Card online and put a little money on it. Upon arrival at the airport, I went to a Kiosk and picked up this card. It is like magic. You can use it for metro rides, bus rides, high speed trains, food in 7-11 and I am sure much more. It is so convenient. Just touch the screen and you are good. You can put more money on it in many locations. The rides on the subway are so cheap they hardly seem to impact the balance remaining. The subway system is so efficient and clean. Even the bathrooms are exceptionally clean, some with heated toilets as well. Such a change from the USA. They would surely be vandalized here. More on that later. The magic Easy Card!

I had debated using my mobile account here in the USA and just pay more for the service, but decided to use an e-sim card there. I chose a company called, Airalo, which I have used before. It is mildly tricky. You need to turn off your sim from home and turn on the new one and sometimes it seems glitchy at first. You can’t receive phone calls or text messages at your normal number,but can use WhatsApp and Messenger. it works fine for using google maps, etc… It costs less and also is nice to be out of reach of anybody trying to call. So…I guess I like it.

Funny thing about travel is that things just happen. When traveling such a long distance, some unpleasant or unexpected things can happen. After saying goodbye to my wife, I got on the bus and as I slid into my seat, my head hit a TV screen, so I tweaked my neck before the trip even began. Oh well.

It was a bit of a rough start to the trip, as I had a bad head cold and felt very weak. Unfortunately, I also had a bad achilles tendon on my right foot and plantar fascitis on my left foot. I was wondering how the trip would be. However, as the trip began, I could feel my body start to relax. I was pretty sick and wore a mask throughout the flight…my feet did not magically heal. I taped them everyday. But somehow, it all worked out. I just felt good there. I walked carefully and took lots of medication. I had packed many things to make my trip more comfortable. Decongestants, vitamins, protein bars, nuts, a massage device, etc… part of the fun of planning.

When I booked the flight, I did not pay extra to reserve a seat as I normally do. I chose to just go with it and see what was assigned. It costs more to reserve, so I didn’t do that. I usually take an aisle seat. On this trip I was assigned a seat between two other people. The man with the window seat was quiet and the women in the aisle was super nice. Unfortunately, she was traveling back to Taiwan because her father had died. She lives in Vancouver, Canada now. She was so gracious in talking about her father. It was interesting to learn about her life and her thoughts about Taiwan. She seemed to think that Taiwan would be come part of China in 2027 and indicated that the country was divided 50/50 on this concept. I didn’t know that. She did not seem to be too worried about it. I would have expected different. The flight there is approximately 13 hours and interestingly, the return trip is only about 11. I am not sure why that happens. Maybe wind currents? I couldn’t sleep, so I watched a couple of series on Paramount. Landman and Succession. That was pretty amusing. I was drowning with my congestion behind the mask and was taking a lot of cough drops and blowing my nose a lot. Somehow….I made it.

During the flight, I had tried to fall asleep by leaning forward and resting my head on the seat in front of me. I was dozing off when I was awakened in pain. The man in front of me had returned to his seat and sat back roughly, snapping my neck back abruptly. It was very painful. So I hadn’t even arrived yet and had tweaked my neck on the bus and the flight. Some things just happen.

The flight’s route was interesting. Leaving Seattle, it went along the coast of Alaska and then eventually went past Japan before arriving in Taiwan.

Arriving in Taipei, I was pretty out of it. I had a lot of trouble with my esim and was actually texting them to refund me when I finally got it working. You have to present an arrival card that you fill out online before departing. Immigration was smooth. I found the kiosk to get the Easy Card and exchanged some dollars for Taiwan Dollars and was on my way. I found the train or the metro to go to the main station in Taipei, which was supposed to be eight minutes from my hotel. The ride was arduous as I could barely stand I was so tired.

When I arrived at the Main Station, I quickly realized I had no idea where to go. The metro system underground is like a city below a city. It is immense. I tried to get directions from a couple of people, but the language barrier is significant. I figured if I could get outside on to the street I could figure it out, but I could not find a way out! I started imagining someone finding my corpse there in the metro system.

Finally, I got out of the metro and programmed my google maps to find the hotel. I did not realize that I was using the vehicle route instead of the walking route and had a terrible time figuring out where to go. That is when the magic began. It was after 11 PM in a very big city. Normally something that causes one to feel apprehension. I saw a few women walking and I needed to ask for help. As I approached, I realized they had no fear and were very approachable. Although we could not communicate super well, by looking at my phone, they happily guided me to the road I needed to be on and where to go. I then knew I was in a very safe city. I later read something on Instagram saying it was the fourth safest city in the world. Two of the cities above it were places I had lived previously, Doha and Abu Dhabi. It is hard to overstate how wonderful it is to feel so safe. As I wandered around looking for my hotel, I called my wife on WhatsApp. She told me to put my phone away, but I let her know it was safe to have your phone out there. Another thing I realized on the trip is that it is harder to orient yourself when all of the signage is in symbols you don’t recognize. Intereresting phenomenon.

Eventually I arrived at my hotel. The security box didn’t work, but they assured me they would fix it in the morning and they were good to their word. I realized that the foot massage places are open until 2 AM, so I went across the street and fell asleep during my first massage in Taipei. That became a nightly ritual. What a great deal. It was a little over 30 USD for 90 minutes. Great deal.

Once I fell asleep, I slept very deeply for about six hours. Amazing.
Waking up after such a long journey was a somewhat new sensation. My head was pounding from congestion and I could have slept all day. However. I had the energy knowing that a day of adventure awaited me. I got myself up and figured out how to utilize the coffee machine.

It is an odd time to travel. The USA is in a freefall as a country with some new level of authoritarianism and corruption happening daily. This trip coincided with the unprovoked attack upon Iran. Our Secretary of State, Rubio, rationalized it by saying, “We knew Israel was going to attack Iran and we knew Iran would then attack us (of course we have dozens of bases surrounding them), so therefore we had to preemptively attack Iran.” This stuff is grotesque. The onset was marked by the slaughter of over 150 school girls, which appears to have been done by a USA missile. Trump is now trying to blame Iran. Iran was not a threat to us. We have military bases on all sides of them, air carriers in the waters around them and we say that they are threatening us. It very much appears to be the other way around. Meanwhile, Israel is trying to expand its territory. They are invading Lebanon again, further pursuing their genocide in Gaza and bombing civilians in Iran. We have quite the history in Iran, having overthrown their leaders previously. The USA is making the world highly unstable right now. Next they will invade Cuba after having sanctioned them to near death. It is a sad story that repeats itself and unfortunately, the average American falls prey to the rampant propaganda they have been fed. So, my trip was taken with that in the background. I think that may be one of the reasons I enjoyed the trip so much. Just being away from the bad vibe of the USA. Interestingly enough, I just read that net immigration is a negative for the first time in history. More people are leaving the USA than coming to the USA, which is a remarkable accomplishment. Immigration, which has made America great is being stifled. Enough on that, but did want to include the context. Oh….and I did have a trip to the UAE scheduled at the end of March to show my children their birthplace. It was a trip that we have looked forward to for a long time. Due to Trump’s recklessness, we have had to cancel the trip as bombs and drones are falling on the UAE. The negative impact Trump has had on the world is immeasurable.

When I awoke, my head was pounding from congestion, but the excitement of what lay ahead got me out of bed. I figured out the coffee machine and did my morning exercises and taped up my injured feet. I brought along rubber tubing, juggling balls and an elastic loop for my morning routine. I then had the hotel fix my security box. It was a simple fix with batteries and I was on my way into the day. It was cool, but not cold. I wore my new day pack and carried some maps, water, protein bars and espresso beans ..chocolate ones.

Once on the street I came to a corner and realized I didn’t know where to go to get to the Metro. A stylish young lady on the corner helped me into the Metro and walked me a long ways toward the red line, which would take me to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. She had just returned from a trip to Japan and was staying in Taipei before returning to another part of Taiwan. So nice of her to help me

The Metro takes a while to figure out. The space underground is immense with stores everywhere and several floors. There are signs overhead but I often got confused as there is more than one way to get to the same place.

The important thing to know is that for each colored line, there are two trains, one in each direction. You need to know the name of the stop in each end to make sure you are going in the right direction. Remarkably I never got on the wrong train or off at the wrong stop.

The Chiang Kai Shek Memorial is grand. He was the leader that established Taiwan after losing the Chinese civil war. Apparently he was an authoritarian, but established a prosperous nation.

It was a busy Saturday with many people present. There were ponds with coi fish, turtles and birds. Beautiful bridges crossing the ponds and people enjoying the green spaces, many posing for photos beneath the cherry blossom.

It was the Chinese New Year also. The year of the Horse. One group, dressed in yellow was playing music and dancing. I believe they were from a religious group. The leader approached me and wanted to take some pictures with me. Of course I obliged.

The memorial was closed that day, but I walked up the stairs to the top for a view. After that I visited the Taiwan National Museum that had many natural history artifacts such as skeletons and butterflies. I didn’t stay long, but it was a nice experience.

After spending some time there at the square and walking up the Chiang Kai shek memorial, which was closed because of the holiday, I made my way over to a a place to have a cup of coffee and so I sat down to drink a coffee and communicated with my family back home and looked at the pictures I had taken so far.

After relaxing for a while I went out to the famous Shilin Night market, of course using the metro. The market had one level that was full of things that were being sold and games and all sorts of festivities. Lots of lights and colors and downstairs they have these big what they call food pavilions. Lots and lots of different types of food. Ended up having just a cupful of nice strawberries and and later another coffee before I got back on the train and headed toward the Ximending district which is also a very lit up place. Tons of stores and activities. Fun day!

One thing I experienced for the first time in Taiwan  was a bidet. The toilets are much like they are in Japan and I was told they were built in the style of the Japanese by the people that work here. Not only are they heated but you can also control the flow of the bidet. I’m not sure why it took me until I was 66 to have such an experience but I think I’m kind of sold on the concept makes a lot of sense. Now I am trying to figure out how to install one at home.

When I got back to the hotel it was about 9:00 so I went over and got a 90 minute or 70 minute body massage and it was very relaxing I actually fell asleep for part of it. Then I returned to the room so that I could watch my children’s soccer game being played in the state of Washington via WhatsApp video. That was a unique experience
The next day was quite busy.

After waking up I made my way over to a department store where I could exchange money. The exchange rate is not as good in the department stores in the bank but it was a Sunday and it was the only place I could change money.

After that I made my way to the Taipei 101 tower using the metro system. I’m starting to learn how to use the system very effectively. It’s an amazing network. There are multiple colored lines for the metro. Each line has a series of stops on it. Once you know the the name on each end of the line you can figure out which one you need to take and the important thing is you need to know which direction to go. If not you could easily end up going in the wrong direction.

The Taipei 101 tower was once the tallest building in the world. Then the Burj Khalifa in Dubai came along and took that place. However it is stated at the Taipei 101 tower that is it has the fastest elevator in the world. We went up 89 floors in 37 seconds. Remarkably you really couldn’t feel the speed it was very smooth and didn’t seem fast at all. Although the building is 101 stories tall most of the activity occurs on the 89th floor. The area is nicely laid out. You have extensive views on all sides to all parts of Taipei.

After coming down the tower I decided I need a cup of coffee and found a café and a department store. The coffee was nice and I combined it with a few chocolate covered espresso beans from my backpack. When finished I figured out how I could make my way to the maokong gondola which lies on the end of the brown line of the metro station. So I switched from the red line to the brown line and went to the end where the Taipei zoo is located. Interestingly enough I really never saw anything of the zoo. The gondola ride was rather lengthy and it actually turned  way up the mountain to go higher. There are several stops along the way some of which have temples. When I got off at the top I decided to finally try some famous Taiwan food. I ate stinky tofu for the first time ever. I expected the smell to be much stronger and I expected not to like it but it was delicious. I then walked up the road further and got a nice view back to the Taipei 101 tower far below the mountain. Beautiful place.

I was quite tired on this day and had to walk a lot between all of the changes of trains and up mountains and upstairs and so I was going to make my way back to town.

Once I got off the metro back in town I stopped and bought 3 different dumplings. I had a cabbage dumpling, a bamboo dumpling and a pumpkin dumpling. They were quite doughy but pretty good.

After relaxing the while I went out and found a massage place and got a 90 minute massage. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the table and in my attempt to walk home I almost felt intoxicated. There were a lot of lights in the street celebrating the Chinese New Year and as always lots of activity. Another great day in Taiwan.

Today I woke up very early. And decided to go to Jiufen. It’s an old gold mining town up in the hills about an hour away. It was a bit of a challenge to find the bus stop but I did. The card that I use for the metro which is called the easy card also works for the buses. What a great system.

The ride was pleasant but I had no idea where to get off the bus. When I saw the only other two people on the bus that looked like me get off I assumed they must be getting off where I wanted to go but unfortunately I was wrong. So I found myself in the town just past Jiufen and there was almost nobody there. I badly needed a coffee but most things were closed. Finally I found a small café that had this amazing view out over the hills and I drink a cup of coffee.

I caught the bus back to Jiufen, which I had passed by mistake. And then I wandered through the alleys and stairs and shops. It’s a very colorful picturesque town on the side of a hill with very steep stairways as alleys.

After coming back on the bus to town I got off at a metro station I had never been to before. It was the green line but I knew that eventually the green line would connect to another line and so I got out there and got on the metro again. I went to Daan park. A beautiful green space with a pond that had incredible number of birds. After walking around there for a while I had another coffee. There was a nice older Taiwanese man that I talked to briefly. I’ve been very impressed with the approachability of the Taiwanese people and they seem to be quite kind and in general well educated. Very easy to talk to.

From there I went to the Longsham temple. Seems to be a very religious place and many people were bringing various things to give to I’m not sure who, the gods possibly. They were bringing in food and fruits and flowers and plants. The very colorful display.

From there I wandered through a shopping area that seemed to have more massage and manicure and pedicure places than anything else. Then I found a Michelin rated restaurant right there. I went in and ordered a fish soup, fried tofu and bamboo shoots. It was delicious. One of the more flavorable meals I’ve ever had in my life.

In the evening I went and got a. 105 minute foot and body massage. I eventually fell asleep. Came home and went to sleep. What a great routine.

This morning, I shouldn’t say this morning, but early in the middle of the night I woke up about 2:30 AM due to the jet lag and I ended up staying awake. I talked with Denny for a while. And then Got organized for the day.

I talked to the kids when they got home from school and and then they were getting ready for their basketball game that they had. I walked over to the metro very early and I got in the rush hour traffic that is there and it was quite crowded on the trains. I took the train all the way to the end of the red line, which is Tamsui. It’s a port town and it was raining. I ended up having a coffee in a small café that looked out onto the water. I talked with Danny as the kids game took place and I she sent me videos as the game occurred which was really cool. Robert scored about 18 or 20 of his team’s 38 points in a 2 point win and they remain undefeated. 6 and O. All  of their games have been quite close. Robert is becoming quite the player.

After that I got back on the the metro and I went all the way to the other end. Of the red line. Hoping to go to the Emirates airline office. Unfortunately I found out they were only open from 10:00 AM to noon. Not very convenient and I had just ridden the train for an hour to get there. I had decided to cancel our trip to Dubai because bombs and drones were hitting the UAE and most flights cancelled.

So I wandered through Taipei, not knowing really where I was for quite a while, talking to Danny on the phone. I was able to show her some of the sites via WhatsApp. Pretty amazing technology. Some beautiful, tree-lined streets.

I decided to try and find he same restaurant I ate in yesterday. Can’t remember the name of it now. It has broth in its name. It’s near the Longsham temple. I went there and I was able to eventually find it, but unfortunately, just like the Emirates office, it was closed so I had to go to another restaurant.  This restaurant was a little less expensive. They’re all cheap and I got a meal for about $4.00. Delicious. Fishball soup, duck eggs, braised cabbage and stinky tofu.

From there I decided to find the Botanical Gardens. Seems like a very long walk. I’m probably just quite tired from waking up at 3:00 in the morning. I did find the botanical gardens and started to wander through there. Not a fancy botanical gardens, but pretty, and it was right next to the Museum of Fine Arts which had some interesting sculptures outside. From there, I walked all the way back to the hotel, which also seemed like a long way. On the way back I shopped for a few gifts and then I came home and I’m trying to decide what to do but I will probably just end up getting another massage tonight. Rough life.

Slept extremely well. Took the redline to near Tower 101 to search for the Emirates office. Another rainy day. Umbrellas are an amazing invention, but they should be windbrellas also. On the long walk I changed some money. Longest wait ever. Eventually I arrived where the office was supposed to be. I looked everywhere and tried to ask people, but the language barrier won this day. After trying many buildings. I made my way back to Tower 101 for a coffee at Curista coffee.

My last full day in Taipei. I planned to spend much of it shopping for gifts.
I explored the five stories of luxury stores in the tower, primarily for amusement. Shopping complexes here whether in buildings or on the street are seemingly endless. Soon, one is lost. It is an activity that requires stamina.

As I made my way out, I passed through an amazing food court and decided to eat. It was fish and a rice omelette. Here, it is the norm to sit very closely to strangers and it all feels natural. Nice change.

Leaving there I passed through several stores selling Taiwanese gifts. Lots of different sweets. I bought a lot. Several related to tea.
Once I stuffed my backpack full of gifts I got back on the metro (after walking a lot of course) and decided to go back to the hotel and unload my bags. Amazing how much walking you do underground in the metro. I bought a few more things along the way .

Back at the hotel I made some coffee and tried to stuff my suitcase and backpack to prepare for the flight the following day.

I eventually made my way back out into the rain. I was looking for a building that was supposed to have unique architecture and ran into a lantern festival instead.

I then wandered around the labyrinth of Ximending shopping area which is a lengthy activity. I wanted to eat some of their famous noodle soups. It was delicious until I learned the weird textured objects in it were intestines. Funny how the mind works. I tossed that and got a bean curd soup and some dumpling type stuff.
Tried to spend all of my Taiwan Dollars before departing. My bags are heavy as they are stuffed with gifts. Probably a little mistake? I can feel it in my body.

The trip was outstanding. Very stimulating and just what I needed. I enjoyed all of the planning and the daily challenge of navigating life in a foreign setting.
Taiwan is very welcoming and forgiving. You know it is safe the moment you arrive and people are very willing to try and help. For whatever reason I seemed to not have as good of directional sense as I normally do. I think part of it is the unfamiliarity with the appearance of the language. Nothing looks familiar.

It is an orderly place, yet relaxed at the same time. People seem to follow the rules, but it doesn’t feel rigid at all. Motorcycles respect pedestrians and pedestrians only cross at sidewalks and when they have a green light. Everyone following these rules makes things seem safe and everyone benefits. One small example. Retail workers are very upbeat and customer friendly.
The transportation and Easy card are the crown jewels to me. Such great planning.