Tainan is the oldest city in Taiwan and was the capital of Taiwan for over 200 years. It is also said to be the culinary capital of Taiwan, with many traditional Taiwanese snacks that originated here. Surrounded by historical sites, from the Dutch, Koxinga, and Qing Dynasty, it is a great place to enjoy Taiwan's interesting history and its delicious cuisine.
Below I will list out some of the best places in Miaoli that I have visited. I will be sure to update this blog as I visit more places later. How to get around in Tainan? As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county. However, you can also a great deal of Tainan by taking the train, inter city bus, local bus, or bicycle (T-bike rental). When to go? Tainan is great year round, but it can get a little hot in the summer, and Typhoon season and heavy rain season lasts from about May to October. If you are afraid of the heat and rain then you can visit during winter when the temperatures are mild and the climate is dryer. You can see a map of all the places that we will visit in this blog below:
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Liuhe Night Market in Kaohsiung is one of the most wide open I’ve seen, maybe because it was on a week night. It turned out there were lots of western and southeast Asian foreigners here.
It's no secret Taiwanese people love foreigners in general. Taiwan is one of the most foreigner friendly countries on earth, especially when it comes to western foreigners, and it has constantly been named one of the best places in the world for expats. Here we will list the main reasons why Taiwanese people love foreigners.
Taiwan is a weird place, especially in the eyes of a western foreigner. In this blog listicle, we have filtered down the 10 most weird places we have visited in Taiwan. Most of these places are not scary, are actually quite beautiful, and you should visit them.
Let's get started. This list is not going to write itself. 
Ruifeng Night Market (aka Rueifong Night Market) is currently the largest and most crowded night market in Kaohsiung, and in my view the best. It is located right next to the Kaohsiung Arena MRT station, making it a convenient place for tourists to visit. Here you can find every kind of traditional Taiwan night market food you could ask for, such as fried squid, fried octopus balls, papaya milk, milk tea, and chicken and beef steak, as well as games, clothes, and other shopping.
Background: Ruifeng Night Market has about 1000 stalls, and includes over 21 rows of stalls. Parking is available next door at the Kaohsiung Arena in Zuoying District of Kaohsiung. The name Ruifeng comes from Ruifeng Street in Gushan District of Kaohsiung, where the night market was originally located. After about 10 years there, due to lack of convenient transportation the night market was relocated to its current location near the MRT, where it has remained for about 20 years. The night market is near many high schools and universities, so the crowds here are mostly younger. The night market is one of the largest in Kaohsiung, and certainly could be the winner of most crowded night market in Sothern Taiwan. Hours: About 8 PM to 2 AM Closed Mondays and Wednesdays. Price: Free How to get there: By Car/Scooter: Take provincial highway 17 north to Kaohsiung Arena MRT station and turn left. There is paid car parking nearby and free scooter parking near the night market. By MRT: Take the Kaohsiung Red Line MRT to Kaosiung Arena station. The night market is about a three minute walk from the station. Map: Please see below: 
As someone contemplating expat life in Taiwan, you may be afraid of what life is actually like living here as a foreigner. Therefore we have created this short list of the main things you should consider before taking the plunge and moving to Taiwan. All things considered, you should move here; it's perhaps the best country in the world to live for expats.
Taiwan is one of the best places for expats to live, due to its high standard of living, friendly environment for western foreigners, convenience, great food, and amazing sites. In this blog, I will give you the top ten reasons why you should live in Taiwan.
As a long-time driver/scooter rider/cyclist in Taiwan, I have seen my fair share of bad driving. Taiwan has its own unique driving culture, which combined with a lack of proper traffic law enforcement has created many bad habits among Taiwanese drivers. Below is a list of some of the quirky bad habits and customs you can see on the roads in Taiwan.
Please note that the following is satire and not to be taken seriously. Please do not perform any of the following. Please follow all the traffic laws of the Republic of China. Please be safe while driving or riding a scooter in Taiwan. Multiple people are injured and killed in traffic accidents in Taiwan every day, partly because they follow these dangerous unwritten rules. Most of these are just bad habits shared by many Taiwanese drivers. 
Taiwan is one of the best countries in the world. Everyone should learn more about this bastion of democracy in Asia, which also happens to be the best kept tourism secret in Asia. There is so much here to do and explore, and thanks to a great quality of life it has been constantly named one of the best places for foreign expats to settle.
For those of you that are new to Taiwan or know little about it, we have created this short listicle to help educate you about this amazing country. 1. Taiwan is Not Your Home Country 臺灣不是你的家鄉 
During the Covid 19 pandemic, Taiwan has been lucky to avoid lock-down due to great government procedures and policies. In Taiwan we can still go out, but safe social distancing is still required, after all this is a global pandemic and we do not know when the next COVID-19 case will be detected. Obviously the best place to social distance is at home, but to help you have fun in Taiwan while at the same time keep safe social distance, we have made a list of the top 15 sites in Taiwan that are usually free of other people.
Of course the list of social distancing locations in Taiwan is limited, with two thirds of the island filled with mountainous area. Below is a full list of all the tourist sites we have blogged about in Taiwan for your reference. 
For you expats or foreigners who have never left Taipei, Miaoli is a large rural county in central Taiwan. For years I myself never visited, because I didn't know what was there and had no reason to go. It turns out there are quite a few attractions here in this secret paradise.
Below I will list out some of the best places in Miaoli that I have visited. I will be sure to update this blog as I visit more places later. How to get around in Miaoli? As always, we recommend renting a scooter as the best way to see Taiwan. However, you can also a great deal of Miaoli by taking the train, inter city bus, or local bus. Getting around in a car is also a convenient option as there is plenty of parking pretty much everywhere in this less crowded county. You can see a map of all the places that we will visit in this blog below:
As Foreigners living in Taiwan, we have spent years living in and travelling in Taiwan, but there are some places so remote and secret that we haven’t had the chance to go there. Below is a list of the top places we know of that we want to go to, as well as the small bit of information we have that makes us want to visit there. (BTW none of these pictures are ours; we haven’t been to any of these places.)
10. Mangrove Green tunnel 紅樹林綠色隧道 
This is a river with a tunnel made of trees in Tainan. Apparently there is a boat ride that you can take for 150 NT through it. It reminds me of the Louisiana bayou, and seems out of place in busy Taiwan. This is definitely a photogenic and magical looking place. Photo cred: http://blog.xuite.net/ks.ob1/twblog/139571994-%E5%85%A8%E5%9C%8B%E5%94%AF%E4%B8%80++%E7%B4%85%E6%A8%B9%E6%9E%97++%E6%B0%B4%E4%B8%8A%E7%B6%A0%E8%89%B2%E9%9A%A7%E9%81%93
9. Da Yi Temple 大義宮 
This is a temple in the Penghu island chain. Its basement has a pool with a bunch of giant sea turtles swimming in it! There is probably some religious significance that goes along with this, but we just want to see those turtles. You are justified in thinking of us as pervaders of animal cruelty. We are sure there are tons of coins in those poor turtles stomach’s that need to be surgically removed. Photo cred: http://loloto.pixnet.net/blog/post/32644579-%E3%80%90%E6%BE%8E%E6%B9%96%E3%80%91%E7%AB%B9%E7%81%A3%E5%A4%A7%E7%BE%A9%E5%AE%AE%EF%BC%8E%E8%93%AE%E8%8A%B1%E7%8F%8A%E7%91%9A%E6%B4%9E%EF%BC%8E%E7%B6%A0%E8%A0%B5%E9%BE%9C%EF%BC%8E
8. 都蘭 Dulan 
This is a small village in Eastern Taiwan. Apparently there is a secret local village beach (no picture), few visitors and lots of stuff to eat. Also, there is a unique physics-defying feature there: Water Running Up Hill水往上流. It’s probably just a stupid optical illusion, but it captures our interest nonetheless. Photo cred: https://www.eastcoast-nsa.gov.tw/zh-tw/Attractions/Detail/33
7. Nangan 南竿and Beigan北竿 islands 
These two isolated islands are in Matsu county. On Beigan北竿, there are preserved Fujian villages, coastal scenery, peaceful beaches, and surely there are no crowds. Photo cred: https://solomo.xinmedia.com/photo/21829-matsu
On Nangan there is a military tunnel北海坑道, connected to the ocean in which you can kayak. A very special place indeed. Photo cred: https://www.google.com.tw/search?q=7.+%E5%8D%97%E7%AB%BF&newwindow=1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjmvruBkqbUAhWFgrwKHVVEDZsQ_AUICigB&biw=1440&bih=721#imgrc=eW68Io1AIv5r8M
6. Chi’mei island 七美鄉 
This outer island next to Penghu has one of the most photogenic heart-shaped structures built into its beach. Although this was originally made to catch fish, it has become one of the staples of Taiwan tourist marketing. Too bad, like all the outer islands, it is not so easy to get to. Photo Cred: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%83%E7%BE%8E%E9%84%89_(%E8%87%BA%E7%81%A3)#/media/File:Fishpot.jpg
5. 60 Stone Mountain 六十石山 
The is the first picture that I have ever seen of Eastern Taiwan. It is the sole reason I took my first trip there, even though I never went to the place the photo was taken, which I regret. I will definitely go there some day. Photo cred: http://share.irving.tw/talk/join.aspx?Seq=107
4. Turtle Island 龜山島 
Why is this place called turtle island? Take a wild guess. This place has some great whale watching and snorkeling. I don’t know if you are allowed to sleep overnight there, which makes me want to sleep overnight there. Photo cred: https://www.tripzilla.com/photo-guishan-island-turtle-island-taiwan/19337
3. Guanziling 關子嶺 
This is a place in Tainan county. It doesn’t just have hot springs, it has MUD hot springs，and it doesn’t just have mud hot springs, it has FIRE hot springs! What other reasons do you need to want to visit this place? Photo cred: http://guanzi.emmm.tw/
2. Chaori Hotspring 朝日溫泉 
This hot spring is located on Green Island, an island off the coast of Taiwan (like many of these places). These aren’t just hot springs; these are natural seawater hot springs, one of only three such natural hot springs in the world! Enough said. Photo Cred: http://tour.taitung.gov.tw/)/Travel/ScenicSpot/372/%E7%B6%A0%E5%B3%B6%E6%9C%9D%E6%97%A5%E6%BA%AB%E6%B3%89
1. Jade Mountain 玉山 
Okay, this is not a secret place; it’s probably the most popular hike for tourist in Taiwan. But it is relatively hard to get to. You have to have a local friend draw out of a raffle to get to hike this thing, weather permitting. If the weather gets bad the day of the hike, too bad. Wait until next year. We have been trying to climb this thing for years with no luck, and no time in our schedules. However after writing this we have learned that Foreigners don't have to take part in the raffle, so we might do it soon. But it is Taiwan’s ultimate hike and gives one the right to brag for a lifetime. Photo:
https://www.facebook.com/YuShanNationalPark/photos/pcb.1017952931680596/1017951025014120/?type=3&theater So you might have realized that most of these places are on the outer islands in Taiwan. That is because the outer islands are naturally secretive, hard to get to, and great vacation spots. We will be sure to update and expand this list in the future. If you have any secret Taiwan spots that you want to share with the rest of us, please comment below. -Foreigners in Taiwan |
Author 作家We are US Expats that have extensive experience living, working, and travelling in Taiwan. In our day, we had to learn many things about Taiwan the hard way. But we have come to learn that Taiwan is one of the best places in the world for Foreigners to live. Our blog does not represent the opinions of every foreigner in Taiwan. We are just trying to help others learn more about this beautiful country. Archives 檔案
March 2023
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