This was the very first visit we had to Asia and as jet lagged as we were, we set out to explore immediately on a 12hour layover, returning for an additional week on the way back from Australia.The first thing that struck us was how…Read More

This was the very first visit we had to Asia and as jet lagged as we were, we set out to explore immediately on a 12hour layover, returning for an additional week on the way back from Australia.

The first thing that struck us was how incredibly friendly everyone was to us. It was amazing how many asked to help when they saw us staring at our map exhausted and bewildered.

The second thing was how easy it was to get around, considering we didn't know the language. The MRT is great and so easy to figure out...in any language.

The shuttle buses are the answer for transportation from the airport .( only $5.00 ) There is a ticket counter inside the airport in the arrivals area and the buses stop in convenient locations all over the city. Not knowing where the ticket counter was we went directly to the bus . The driver was kind enough to buy our tickets inside for us solving our language barrier. Not something we had ever seen before or since!!

Since we only had the day to explore we simply took our time roaming around , We started by enjoying a tea house . This is a favorite pastime in Taipei and a wonderful way to relax and slow your pace. Small snacks are also served . My husband ordered peanut butter on toast. It seemed to take an unusually long time to be served . It was only later we realized the peanuts are ground and prepared fresh !

Next we thought we’d check out a hotel where we would stay on the return portion of our trip . Since this was our first time in Asia ,we chose the conveniently located and appropriately named First Hotel . There are loads of restaurants nearby and shops for browsing. Little did we realize that most would be closed on our return since it would be NEW YEARS…




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90 Performers21 Countries1 VoiceI've noticed Up with People were coming to Taiwan, performing Broadway style musical in Taipei, Taichung and Miaoli. I felt interested but yet did not ask to get the ticket.Then, Mino told me that she knows the Business Manager, Matthew…Read More

90 Performers
21 Countries
1 Voice

I've noticed Up with People were coming to Taiwan, performing Broadway style musical in Taipei, Taichung and Miaoli. I felt interested but yet did not ask to get the ticket.

Then, Mino told me that she knows the Business Manager, Matthew of Up With People 2009 World Tour, and he invited her to watch the performance. Then, we went together to go Up with People.

Arriving at the Auditorium in Taipei County Government, we were blocked outside of the gate since we did not have tickets in hand. Mino tried to explain the situation but it seemed that the volunteers at the entrance did not know much about the personnel at all. I started to worry maybe we would not be able to enjoy the performance.

Luckily, one girl tried to bring Matthew out, bailing us out from this embarrassing moment. Plus, we did not need a ticket, at all. Haha, we were greeted by Matthew, a young 22-year-old, professional-looking American, who were dressed up in suit. I thought he would also be a part of the cast but then he told us he would just show on stage for a little part. Then, he ushered us to the VIP seats, well sort of, as we were at the eighth row of the seats so we could see the whole stage very clearly.

After waiting for a while, the show began with Sing Out Taiwan, a local chorus, who performed three songs in Taiwanese aboriginal language (Bei-nan), Taiwanese and Hakka. To be honest, I don't think they perform their best as the male singer did not sing very loud so I could hardly enjoy their performance. What a shame! But they were not to steal the show, I suppose.

After Sing Out, the female emcee from China came on stage, asking a local boy to introduce their first song of tonight Ayiko, meaning "Let's go!" "Let's do it!" in African language. I felt astonished and sooooooooooooo surprised that the the whole performance truly drew my attention. I could not even take my eyes off the show even for one second.

"I felt the show is just like "High School Musical!" Mino whispered.
"Me too!" I replied with excitement.

The best part of tonight's show for me was the performance were not simply performing on stage but also came across the seats, dancing and singing right next to the audience so we, as audience, could thoroughly feel the immersion of their passionate atmosphere.

The music types of tonight varied from Jazz, Blue to Rock. I didn't know most of the songs sung tonight but still I enjoyed them throughout the show! When I heard "What a wonderful world", I could not help but smile. He did sing as good as Luis Armstrong. Well, or maybe close to Armstrong.

At the intermission, Matthew came to us asking how we felt about the show. Of course it was excellent, no doubt about it. Then we asked several questions to him. Matthew was one of the student, performing on stage before becoming an official staff of the UWP 2009 Tour. He also told us that his parents met within Up with People. "So you are an Up-with-People baby." Mino joked. How interesting. I asked him how did he see the reaction from audience tonight. He said they were good. But cultures differ from countries to countries as he further illustrate in Mexico they received the loudest reaction from the audience as Mexican would shout out, singing and maybe dancing with the music and rhyme throughout the show whereas in Asia or in Taiwan we tend to wait for the "right moment" to clap, applaud and show our emotion.

He was right.

Second part of the performance was much more international as we saw the Gypsy dance from Moldavia, and several interesting dances from Morocco, the States, Japan and Spain!

When I saw the screen that the Japanese song was written after the 911 tragedy, I could not help but wonder what the lyrics was about. But, although I didn't know Japanese, I still felt a peace of mind when listening to the peaceful melody and voice. Then, the show from Spain brought me back to reality as I tried hard to catch all the Spanish phrases I could understand. I got some words which made me happier!

Nevertheless, the most surprising part of tonight's event was not about Japanese or Spanish, but Mandarin!!!

I heard Up with People singing in folk song in aboriginal language and "Change Yourself" by Leehom Wang! What a big surprise! They did learn to sing in Mandarin now I really felt impressed by the efforts they've made to delight and entertain the local audience. We could see this performance drew much more attention than the others.

The show ended after curtain calls from all the cast tonight on stage. And the audience of course gave them our heartfelt ovation! We said farewell to our new friend Matthew and I wished him and their performance good luck! As we walked out of the auditorium, several performers did said to us "xie xie" (Thanks) to appreciate our presence tonight. It was we that should say thanks for inviting, and for making our night so unforgettable!Close

I didn't go to Taipei for its food. I went there on a business trip. I figured the food would be typical of any of my other business trips, except that I would be eating in Chinese restaurants. I was glad I was wrong.I don't…Read More

I didn't go to Taipei for its food. I went there on a business trip. I figured the food would be typical of any of my other business trips, except that I would be eating in Chinese restaurants. I was glad I was wrong.

I don't remember much of my trip, but I do remember eating perfectly fried chicken while standing among throngs of people at a huge night market. I remember the chicken was seasoned well with spices and sweat from the guy standing over the massive fryer.

I remember eating stinky tofu. I remember taking a whiff when I crammed myself in the food line and wondering whether I was making the right choice. I didn't, because I remember my nose wrinkling in disgust when I bit into the stale and smelly curd. It might as well have been toe crud.

I remember joining my coworkers at a hip Japanese hibachi/hot grill restaurant, where the walls were covered in polaroids of people making out and the clientele dressed like Japanese teenagers. I remember biting into paper-thin slices of rare cow tongue and wishing that all tongue tasted this good. I also remember downing a lot of calpico and vodka, which had just the right amount of tartness but the more memorable feeling of BUZZ.

I remember eating many bowls of steaming hot and spicy noodles. I remember thinking that the Taiwanese were crazy. Who eats spicy noodles in the middle of the summer? I did. Fried pork dumplings in hot sauce? Yes. Chili ice cream? No way, scratch that.

Lastly, I remember talking about food. Like that time when the waiter at the restaurant served a live monkey and ten forks to a group of executives and one guy passed out? How about the time when we went to the college cafeteria down the block from the office and we ladled soup stock from a big garbage can set in the middle of the room?

I remembered it all.Close

I don't know whether to consider myself lucky or unlucky to have driven Taipei's roads. If you don't want to miss the sights and want to avoid unnecessary headaches, then please do take taxis or public transportation or just walk. But if you…Read More

I don't know whether to consider myself lucky or unlucky to have driven Taipei's roads. If you don't want to miss the sights and want to avoid unnecessary headaches, then please do take taxis or public transportation or just walk. But if you are into a thrill ride, well, then driving into Taipei does qualify as one such thrill. Basically, there are just no rules when the Taiwanese (I think this applies to most of Asia, but nowhere did I find it so flaunted as in Taipei) get behind the wheels of their cars or motorcycles. Nowhere have I found that demarcation in the road, i.e., lanes, had not meaning at all. On a three lane highway, I have counted as many as five cars lining up the road. On a two-way street, cars heading in one direction may take up all lanes. It does sound awful, but I think the Taiwanese have perfected the art of avoiding each other, though I believe they do have a high accident rate, and no wonder. Once you have gotten the hang of it, it's quite fun. Then, things are more complicated because motorcycles are not allowed to ride on car lanes, but cars are allowed to drive or park on motorcycle lanes, so figure that out. Then motorcycles are required to park on the pedestrian footpath, so the pedestrians have to, what else, walk in the motorcycle lanes. Go figure. This makes for what started out as a fairly dense city a complete chaos. I don't know whether things have improved, for it has been a while since I last visited. I think your spleen ? (in Chinese custom the spleen supposedly supplies you with courage), just got bigger in Taipei. Thankfully, it immeditely shrank back when I got back to the States, otherwise I would have been clamped in jail long ago. Close

For those in the know, I mean, of course, Cho Dofu (literally "stinky tofu"). This Taiwanese delicacy is sold from carts in many of the markets in Taipei. When I went to visit my friend, he made me promise to try everything.…Read More

For those in the know, I mean, of course, Cho Dofu (literally "stinky tofu"). This Taiwanese delicacy is sold from carts in many of the markets in Taipei. When I went to visit my friend, he made me promise to try everything. No problem. That's one of the joys of travel, right? Well, I loved most everything I tried, Taipei has fabulous food, but this was the one thing I couldn't swallow. Seriously. It's not called stinky tofu for nothing. Cho Dofu is deep fried fermented tofu served with cabbage and hot sauce. If you can stomach it, it is a nice, cheap meal. The smell is, well, not to mince words, vile. To me it smells like my dogs doo-doo. Of course, when I tried it, it tasted exactly like the smell. No wonder I couldn't get it down. My friend was disappointed as he loves it, so, he thought he would get me to try it again. Only this time he didn't tell me what it was. What he did was get a bunch of fried vegetables and had me try them. As we had been walking for a while after he had bought them, the smell had dissipated enough that I was able to eat it. OK. So it wasn't that bad. I still didn't like it very much. I've never been a tofu fan, but at least I had kept my promise and had an interesting experience in the bargain!Close

I can't even remember the name of the place -- probably "Good Fortune Something." It's an ordinary little cafe in all respects but one. I have no idea if it's still there. If so, it's easy enough to find on the South…Read More

I can't even remember the name of the place -- probably "Good Fortune Something." It's an ordinary little cafe in all respects but one. I have no idea if it's still there. If so, it's easy enough to find on the South of Roosevelt Road, about a kilometer from the intersection with Chung Shan Bei Lu.
(Or however you want to spell it. There is no "correct" spelling for Chinese, actually. But the most incorrect is that stupid system the Communists have managed to force all Western newspapers to accept, where there are all those X words that give no clue to pronunciation if you haven't studied the system. But the worst thing is that idiot American news services are using that same moronic system to write Taiwanese words. It's part of a big movement to get the American people ready to accept feeding Taiwan to the government in Peking--or Beiping, XieXing, whatever--but it is really stupid and makes me mad.
But I digress. The restaurant I'm talking about always drew smiles because of its location in a block with only three other businesses: a pet store, a veterinarian, and a restaurant. The life cycle of a Taiwan pet. You know what they say: never let an Asian wok your dog. And in the middle of this progression from cradle to plate, the place where you eat snakes.

This never seemed as bizarre to me as it does to foreigners; it's part of life in Taipei, although not exactly everyday life. I am also blasé about a lot of things that foreigners think are so cool, like Tai Chi Chuan. Everybody jabbers about how spiritual it is, people in their twenties out their doing slow motion boxing: to me it's just something old men do in their pajamas down by the river park every morning. Big deal. Snakes, on the other hand, actually are a big deal. I admire them. I don't generally eat them, but I admire their other properties. People who do eat snakes also admire certain serpentine properties: and are not content to leave them to the serpents, but attempt to usurp them by ingestion. Eating snakes is not done to be outré, or for their low cholesterol/protein ratio: it is essential health food.

It's kind of another older man thing. Snakes are associated with virility. I wonder where that idea came from, don't you. Okay, I'll admit, the way snakes look and move probably has something to do with my attraction for them, as well. And maybe why they give a lot of women the creeps. So these guys go down to Kafe Krait and east some snake bile hoping to put a little venom in their fang, a little strike in their coil. Their are other reasons: doctors even prescribe snake elements to patients. Some customers are only interested in eating certain parts of the snake, such as the lungs or liver.

What's really cool is how the place works. Most of the tables are outside under a canopy, the rest are way inside by the "kitchen", which is essentially a hibachi, a wok, and a few big knives. And a refrigerator for drinks. The rest of the place is stacks of cages full of snakes. You can wander around and look at the snakes, which I find intriguing and serves in place of a menu. You see something you like, you just point a finger. They pull the snake out with tongs, which is a skill more important here than anything you'd learn at Cordon Bleu because almost all of the snakes are extremely poisonous. Most snakes on Taiwan are seriously deadly, and there are all kinds of snakes just about everywhere. But not always in this role: one from column A, one from column B. Taken from the cage, the snake is usually displayed for the customer's satisfaction. Then it is beheaded, skinned, filleted and stir-fried. Or maybe just the kidneys or testes or whatever are pulled out and served raw or cooked. Snakes have a huge bile gland, and sometimes it is just pulled out of the snake right at the table, and the black ink from inside squeezed out into a bowl or cup of tea, and the customer drinks it. I've got a Cobra in my tank tonight, honey.

The snakes can include the bamboo green Bamboo snakes, which are small, but highly venomous and invisible in a pile of bamboo, or 50 Pacers or 100 Pacers, both names indicating how far you get before dying if they bite you, and Kraits and Coral snakes...and the ultimate prize, Cobras. Those last three are exceptionally bad company because their venom is a neurotoxin which kills extremely fast and is almost impossible to counteract. Cobras, of course, just drip menace and majesty and are wrapped in layer after layer of myth, legend, and the kind of worship that comes from stark terror. King Cobras can run down a man or even horse, then kill. You see the Buddha sitting under the arching hoods or a many-headed Cobra. In America Cobras are homicidal pistols, suicidal sports cars, and genocidal Stallone movies. It would be hard to find a single animal in the world that commands so much respect and imagery. You see a lot of Eagles in national logos, but eagles can't kill you. So what is a man who can eat a Cobra? Royal bad, you'd have to say, and hung with swift, stunning danger. You have to laugh at the idea of oysters as an aphrodisiac. Even bear gall bladder and rhinoceros horn just lack the....well, potency...of Cobra Helper. I wonder if they ever use a Ginseng sauce.

Men are always eating these things to make them better in the old sack. But what do women eat? You never hear of foods that make women....? I guess it's just one thing we don't have to worry about and should be thankful for it. We don't need special diets to make sex possible. Or do we? Women are always looking for special diets, and it's always, if you cut the crap, so men will want to screw them. Hopefully men who have been eating aphrodisiacs or don't need to. If eating snakes could get us laid, we'd absolutely gobble up every snake in Ireland. The only time I ate at Snake King, I just wanted to see what it was like. It was interesting picking out a snake to eat (a different thing from purely platonic admiration) and interesting to watch them kill it and cook it right in front of my eyes. I let them keep the bile and gall bladder for some lucky, limp guy. And yes, it tasted something like chicken. Or something. I didn't feel empowered or potent. I didn't feel like I'd incorporated the snakes liquid moves and steel eyes and scary beauty and phallic presence. But maybe I did. How would I tell?

If you are an American traveler in Taiwan, don't worry about doing without your favorite American resturaunts in Taipei. Of course, I recommend you eating as many Chinese dishes as possible, but be reassured that there are American food establishments everywhere in the city. McDonald's,…Read More

If you are an American traveler in Taiwan, don't worry about doing without your favorite American resturaunts in Taipei. Of course, I recommend you eating as many Chinese dishes as possible, but be reassured that there are American food establishments everywhere in the city.

McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, TGI Friday's, Tony Roma's, are just some of them.

If you feel like watching movies during your stay in Taiwan, the Warner Village cinema complex in eastern downtown Taipei might be a good place to go. But Taipei has lots of other cinemas too, although they might be a little more hidden and scattered.…Read More

If you feel like watching movies during your stay in Taiwan, the Warner Village cinema complex in eastern downtown Taipei might be a good place to go. But Taipei has lots of other cinemas too, although they might be a little more hidden and scattered. but the good things about these other cinemas is that their prices are usually a lot more reasonable (maybe 1/2 of Warner Village). Also, I know there is a cinema somewhere in the Zhonghua Dong Lu area, although I don't remember the exact location. This place has maybe not the most recent pictures (probably ones that just finished in the other cinemas), but you pay one small fee, and you can stay the entire day and move between the different screens (although the ones in the ticket booth don't want people to know this... they hushed at my friend when my friend said that to me when we were standing outside).Close

Unless you are going for Western food, the fancy restaurants in the big shopping centers or scattered around the city might not be your best bet. My best experiences with Chinese food included walking around the city and finding some small back street that maybe…Read More

Unless you are going for Western food, the fancy restaurants in the big shopping centers or scattered around the city might not be your best bet.

My best experiences with Chinese food included walking around the city and finding some small back street that maybe had an old lady cooking for the locals. You can find these places anywhere, and generally the food is well cooked, so you won’t have to worry.

Recommended things for eating like this: niu rou mian (beef noodles), shui jiao (Chinese dumplings), and different types of xiao cai (finger food). like zhua bing (Chinese-style pancakes). If you're looking for more expensive things to eat, Japanese restaurants in Taipei are really good; in fact, I had a better experience with these than with eating Japanese food in Japan. Be open to try new things. One of my major hobbies in Taipei was to go somewhere unknown and buy something I knew how to pronounce on the menu even though I had no idea what it was. This gave me lots of memorable experiences.

Taipei MRT has brought some welcomed relief to the heavily congested traffic of Taipei. There is still a lot of stop-and-go and backed up traffic during heavy commute times. It's helped by reducing the amount of motor scooters on the road and its associated pollution.…Read More

Taipei MRT has brought some welcomed relief to the heavily congested traffic of Taipei. There is still a lot of stop-and-go and backed up traffic during heavy commute times. It's helped by reducing the amount of motor scooters on the road and its associated pollution. The MRT routes is heavily utilized by the people.

We purchased a day pass for NT$150, but this is not recommended. We had to show the pass at a designated gate for entry and exit, which is less convenient than buying a regular ticket and using any available fare gate.

You purchase the regular fare ticket by first looking at the start and end destinations to determine your fare, then selecting how many ticket(s) to dispense, depositing your money, and taking your ticket(s). The MRT helps getting around Taipei. It’s easier, cheaper, and cleaner.

Hours: 6am-midnight

Address: 7, Lane 48, Sec.2, Zhongshan N Rd., Taipei, TW

Phone: 0800-033-068, Fax: 2511-5003