Taiwan, Story and Photo Essay
The food, the nature, the culture, and — most importantly — the people.
This is the 5th part of my solo travel story. See the other parts here:
Part 1: Solo Travelling
Part 2: Inside My Backpack
Part 3: Vietnam
Part 4: Hong Kong & Macau
Part 5: Taiwan
Part 6: Cost
Prologue
Around 2014, I was playing a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game called DOTA 2. I was randomly matched with two Indonesians living in Taiwan. They were pursuing their master degree in National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST). From those two, I met another three Indonesians. All of them were NTUST students. I only meet them online, I’ve never seen them face-to-face. After playing some DOTA 2 matches together, they invited me to their group chat for easier communication.
On January 2016, I read this post. There’s a mention about a place named Taroko Gorge. A 19-km canyon in Taiwan’s east coast. Unfortunately Taiwan is not a visa-free country for Indonesian and I wanted convenience for my solo travel. Convenient here means I don’t need to physically go to the embassy* and can just apply it online. It turned out, as a US visa holder I can do just that! More information on this site. So it’s decided that I would visit Taiwan.
*) Technically Taiwan doesn’t have an embassy in Indonesia. It only has Taipei Economic and Trade Office (TETO).
When I decided to go to Taiwan, I casually threw the idea to my NTUST friends (via group chat). I jokingly asked if I can crash anyone’s place in Taiwan. To be honest, I didn’t expect much. If anything, I thought they would be in Indonesia considering the Chinese New Year holiday. Besides, I love staying at hostels. You can read about my hostel experience here and there.
To my surprise, two of them (Rudi and Anton) were staying in Taiwan the whole CNY holiday. Plus one more (Satryo) who would come back to Taiwan while I was still there. Even more surprising, Rudi told me I should feel free to crash his place. The surprise didn’t stop there. When I asked if anyone could pick me up at the airport, Rudi casually said OK.
Hmm…it seems too good to be true. But hey, it’s a good chance to learn living with uncertainties and to sharpen my improvisation skill. Besides, what’s the worst thing that could happen? Rudi turned out to be just an imaginary friend who’s living in my head? Or he’s just an AI robot? So there’s no place to crash? Then just book a hostel and problem solved!
Well, that’s not true. That’s not the worst. The worst thing would be getting deported as soon as I arrived in Taiwan because my US visa was rejected. That would be sad.
Taoyuan International Airport
I arrived in Taiwan at Feb 22 2018 12:15 PM. There was quite a long line in immigration. It was a little longer compared to Hong Kong. However, there’s something different with Taiwan. The atmosphere was…comforting. I didn’t feel that kind of aura before. In Hong Kong, the ambience was rather rigid and full of suspicion.
I passed Taiwan’s immigration smoothly. Then proceeded to exchange my remaining Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) to New Taiwan Dollar (NTD). I didn’t exchange the coins as I thought money changer won’t receive it. Later, Rudi told me that Taiwan money changer would accept HKD coins just fine. TIL.
Afterwards, I arrived in some kind of gate. The usual gate where people who will pick you up gather together. I walked casually while scanning them to find Rudi’s face based on what I saw on his LINE account. Then somebody shouted.
“Oi! Hover!”
My Steam ID is Hover_Phoenix.
I turned and I saw…Anton.
“Lhoh, bukane kowe ki Anton? Endi Rudi?” (Wait, what? Aren’t you Anton? Where’s Rudi?)
“Lhoh, aku Rudi!” (I AM Rudi!)
Well, hopefully the above conversation will give you an idea how ridonkulous our meeting was.
Looking back, I was quite impressed with myself. I managed to gather my courage to visit Taiwan with all those uncertainties. Entered a foreign country with a self-printed visa. No plan for accommodation. Never met Rudi / Anton / Satryo before. I didn’t even make sure that I could recognize their faces to the point I confused one for the other.
Taiwan Hospitality
We proceeded to MRT station in Taoyuan Airport. As I didn’t have MRT card, I needed to purchase a trip token (like a coin). Actually Rudi could easily bought the token for me, but I wanted to try it myself so I told him I’d do it. As I was reading the guide to familiarize myself, a girl approached me. In fluent English, she cheerfully explained how the train system works. I realized there were more people with similar outfit just like hers: black jacket with green zipper, combined with purple vest.
It turned out they were all there to help first-timers — especially the ones who don’t speak Chinese — in Taoyuan Airport. That’s quite an impressive effort by Taiwan government. However, it might very well be a sign that their system is not intuitive enough. Nevertheless, I loved this kind of initiative. It gave a warm and welcoming feeling right after I landed.
Rainy Taipei
I was greeted by quite a heavy rain in Taipei. Just like Hong Kong, February is winter season in Taiwan. Winter in Taiwan means heavy rainfall. It’s also significantly colder than Hong Kong. Taiwanese often have waterproof jacket or coat. I only brought ordinary hooded sweater, obviously not water-proof.
After storing my backpack at Rudi’s, we went to eat. My first meal in Taiwan was a Lu rou fan (滷肉饭) AKA Taiwanese braised pork rice. With an additional radish soup.
Afterwards, I decided to take a rest for a while. Checked inbox, worked on my GDP Venture Tech Day slides, and caught up with my colleagues.
At night, Anton joined the party. They decided I should eat dim sum from a famous place called Hangzhou Xiao Long Bao for dinner.
The dim sum restaurant was quite fancy. So it surprised me that they only accept cash as their payment method. Rudi and Anton told me that it’s quite normal here in Taiwan.
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall
Hangzhou Xiao Long Bao is located near Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. A monument erected in memory of Chiang Kai-shek, former President of the Republic of China.
Taiwan Night Markets
After dinner, we decided to visit Shilin Night Market. I’ve seen this kind of market from Wong Fu short film. It’s kind of an interesting culture. Most of Taiwanese night markets usually open everyday. You can find almost everything in it. Clothes, consumer goods, snacks, drinks, street foods, you name it. There’s even a small playground where you can play all sorts of simple fun games such as gold fish scooping, dart shooting, ring tossing, claw machines, and gacha machines.
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology
Breakfast
After Shilin Night Market, we decided to call it a day. At MRT station, Rudi and Anton discussed about where they should bring me for tomorrow. It’s decided that we would go around National Taiwan University (NTU) and National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST) campuses.
There’s something interesting about the above breakfast. Well, it’s not the breakfast that’s interesting. It’s the waitress. We had that breakfast in a small food joint. Only a few tables. The interesting part was there’s only ONE waitress for getting orders, serving them, and cleaning up the tables. The kitchen was invisible from the front so I didn’t know how many cook there were.
One can feel her enthusiasm. She’s doing her job with motivation and determined to make every customers happy. She often ends her sentence with xièxiè (thank you) and always smiles. A situation I rarely find in my home country. Maybe she was granted stock options :D.
National Taiwan University of Science and Technology (NTUST)
NTUST is commonly referred as Taiwan Tech by the locals. I had few friends who pursue their master degree here. All of them were either in College of Engineering or College of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Apparently, the campus is quite small. I visited Rudi’s and Anton’s lab (taking photo is prohibited) and then proceeded to NTU campus.
National Taiwan University (NTU)
NTU is about 1 km in walking distance from NTUST. Compared to NTUST, NTU campus is quite big. Rudy and Anton decided it’s a great time for me to try Taiwan U bike so I can cycle my way through the campus.
Registration is intuitive and simple. We can use the same card we use for MRT train (EasyCard).
NTU Campus
NTU campus is beautiful. Well she’s not ITB-beautiful, but I have to admit she’s beautiful. Yes, a campus is a she.
Let me digress for a bit here.
I mean…look at this beaut by the name of Institut Teknologi Bandung. Look at the symmetry! Well, I am obviously biased since it’s my alma mater.
Tempat ini diberi nama
PLAZA WIDYA NUSANTARA
supaya kampus ini menjadi tempat anak bangsa menimba ilmu, belajar tentang sains, seni, dan teknologi;
supaya kampus ini menjadi tempat bertanya, dan harus ada jawabnya;
supaya kehidupan kampus ini membentuk watak dan kepribadian;
supaya lulusannya bukan saja menjadi pelopor pembangunan, tetapi juga pelopor persatuan dan kesatuan bangsa.
Bandung, 28 Desember 1996
Rektor Institut Teknologi Bandung
Prof. Wiranto Arismunandar
End of digression.
I cycled around NTU campus. Luckily there’s still life in it despite the CNY holiday.
Later, we went to Feng Cheng Cantonese Restaurant. It’s famous for its roasted pork belly. This restaurant is popular among NTU & NTUST students. Rudi and Anton refer to this place as san bao fan — meal with three side dishes.
There’s something unique about Taiwanese food. To be honest, they’re not that super delicious. However, I just love the atmosphere. In san bao fan, you’re most likely to sit in a Lazy Susan — a round table designed for many people (> 4) to dine together. It’s always packed, so you’ll most likely eat with strangers. I don’t know how, but it just felt…nice. I didn’t even converse with them. We just occasionally helped each other passed the tea kettle, but the atmosphere was warm and comforting.
Another Night Market
After san bao fan, we went to a night market in Wanhua district. It was significantly more crowded than Shilin Night Market. We went into a place with a lot of ding dong machines.
One particular game I’ve never found in other places was this baseball batting game. Players enter into some kind of cage with sliding door. Put some coins (30 NTD) into the slot, pick ball speed, and then they can bat 20 balls. It’s obviously not unique to Taiwan only. Few weeks after I went home from Taiwan, I saw a scene with similar baseball batting in a Korean film. However, whenever I see baseball batting games inside a cage, my brain will automatically associate it with Taiwan.
Jioufen
As recommended by Uua-san (a Japanese friend I met in Hong Kong), I visited Jioufen. A mountain town in northeastern Taiwan. The town is best known as the source of inspiration for one of Hayao Miyazaki’s greatest film: Spirited Away.
Let me digress for a bit here.
I am intrigued. So I watched it the night before. Spirited Away is indeed…intriguing. I don’t get the messages/moral values the first time I watched it. Until I watched this video.
***Warning: SPOILERS ahead***
It is astonishing how Miyazaki could convey the hidden messages with so many symbolic scenes. It baffled me how the scenes can actually relate to consumption and identity problem. How it might actually try to mock post-war Japan which seems to lose their cultural identity and traditional values to capitalism and consumerism.
My most favourite scene in Spirited Away is the train scene. It can be considered as a rite of passage for the main character. Chihiro was introduced as a little girl who’s paranoid and easily frightened. In the train scene she was portrayed with mature, determined, and fearless traits.
The absence of dialogue in the scene gives an even deeper meaning. Leaving us — the viewers — with multiple interpretations.
The scene gave me a bizarre feeling. It felt lifeless yet lively. The vast ocean and occasional railway stops gave me a desolated feeling. The silent and transparent humans* — which all adults wear headgears whereas children don’t — put a hollow in my chest. I sensed death and life simultaneously. I felt lonely and empty at the same time.
*) I couldn’t help but notice something else that could be yet another hidden message from Miyazaki. There’s a scene where the train stops on a station and some humans stand up, getting ready to get off. A transparent human takes his luggage from overhead compartment. The luggage was originally colorful and opaque. When the human touches it, it becomes grey and transparent.
My interpretation for this is: the dead should not bring along their worldly belongings to the afterlife. If they tried to, the belongings would just turn into useless and meaningless things, much like their dead body. However, the scene depicted otherwise: the humans tried to bring their belongings along with them. It might actually try to mock how humans are increasingly clinging to their worldly belongings, even at the brink of their death.
“Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.” — Albus Dumbledore
Roger Ebert once interviewed Miyazaki and asked him about this very scene.
“We have a word for that in Japanese,” he said. “It’s called ‘ma.’ Emptiness. It’s there intentionally.” He clapped his hands three or four times. “The time in between my clapping is ‘ma.’ If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it’s just busyness.”
End of digression.
The next morning, I went to Jioufen by myself. I had a hard time finding the right bus stop. I didn’t know why but my phone’s GPS accuracy in Taiwan sucks. Fortunately I went quite early. The trip took about an hour by bus.
Inside the bus, I wondered how I would buy my lunch as I no longer have Rudi or Anton who would speak on my behalf. While I was wondering, I overheard two people conversing in Indonesian language. They are university students from National Cheng Kung University. They can speak Chinese, were also en route to Jioufen Old Street, and were OK with me tagging along.
No Rudi and Anton, here comes Api and Ario. Who would’ve thought, huh? Help always seems to arrive in a very unexpected way.
The town, especially the Jioufen Old Street, really does resemble the town in Spirited Away. The foods are also similar with the ones Chihiro’s parents ate.
Jioufen was once a prosperous gold mining town. The mining has been discontinued since 1950. Now, it is a popular tourist destination.
I went back to Taipei by bus and then followed by High Speed Rail (HSR) train, together with Api and Ario.
Taipei 101, Boba Tea, Bangkok Restaurant
I arrived back in Taipei around 4:30 PM. It’s still too early for dinner so I decided to visit Taipei 101 with Api and Ario. I bought some khilaf things in a shopping mall inside this tower.
After Taipei 101, I thanked my Indonesian friends as I would join Rudi and Anton’s party once again. This time, they invited me to drink the famous boba tea (bubble tea). The queue line was ridonkulously long. At first, I was skeptical as all boba teas I drank in Indonesia were just so-so. I even hate the boba (that chewy tapioca balls). As Taiwan is the birth place of boba tea, I guess I should give it a try.
…and it’s DELICIOUS! It’s totally different with what I had in Indonesia. The sugar was in perfect dose. Not too sweet, not too plain, just perfect! I even love the boba! It’s sweet and their chewiness are just right. However, boba tea still contains milk and milk lowers my appetite. Not to mention that milk won’t quench my thirst so I’d end up thirstier after drinking boba tea. Overall, I still prefer Chatime’s honey lemon aloe vera than any other beverages with milk.
After boba tea, Rudi and Anton invited me to have dinner in…Bangkok Restaurant. It’s quite counter-intuitive to dine in a Thai restaurant while in Taiwan. However, they claimed that this restaurant is so popular among Indonesians in NTUST. The existence of this restaurant has been passed down from generation to generation by Indonesian students. Its famous dish is chicken katsu with minced pork.
Hot Pot & Mango Ice Cream
The next morning, I bought a round trip train ticket to Hualien county via 7-Eleven. Thankfully there’s Rudi who could help me as there’s no English version on ticketing machine. Prior to it, I had researched the best time to and from Hualien station. It is the closest train station from Taroko Gorge National Park — my North Star metric in Taiwan.
In the evening, Satryo was coming to town. The five of us (plus Satryo’s flatmate) had dinner in a crowded hot pot restaurant.
For me personally, the hot pot was lacking in seasoning. Satryo could understand my taste because he experienced the same thing when he first arrived in Taiwan. Along the way, his tongue got accustomed to Taiwan food and for him, this hot pot’s seasoning is just right.
Afterwards, we went into a place famous for its mango ice cream. The portion was so big we only need one for the five of us.
Taiwan’s Nature
It’s time for my North Star metric in Taiwan: Taroko Gorge National Park. I have bought the ticket to Hualien county a day before. My original schedule was:
Taipei — Hualien. Feb 27. 06:17–08:24
Hualien — Taipei. Feb 27. 19:30–21:58
Then I thought, I have never tried a hostel in Taiwan. Hualien should be my perfect choice for trying it out. Besides, my Indonesian friend I met on Jioufen highly recommended me to stay in Mini Voyage Hostel if I ever decided to spent the night in Hualien. I decided to reschedule my return trip to Feb 28, 06:03–08:19.
So, the next morning when I got to Taipei Main Station, I tried to reschedule it. I have prepared to pay some rescheduling fees. To my surprise, it’s free! The booking clerk said that first-time-reschedule is free of charge. The process only took less than a minute. No nothing no non-sense. Taiwan FTW!
Train to Hualien
I spent half of my trip sleeping as it’s so early in the morning. Fortunately, the first half is the city landscape I’ve seen before, the second half is the nature landscape I rarely see so I kind of get the best of both worlds.
I arrived in Hualien train station at 08:24 AM sharp. Then proceeded to the Hualien shuttle bus terminus located just east of train station. It’s easily spotted with its all-orange color. I bought a 1-day pass ticket for 250 NTD. Around 10 minutes later, the bus arrived and my Taroko trip officially started.
Don’t forget to grab a Taroko Route flyer on the bus terminus. It contains the map of all trails in Taroko Gorge, up-to-date shuttle bus time-table, and info about approximate distance and time required to walk each trail. Pay attention to them and plan your trip ahead so you can match it with the shuttle bus schedule.
Taroko Gorge National Park
There are a lot of trails in Taroko. Some are restricted and you’ll need permission to enter it. To conveniently explore all non-restricted trails, one will need at least two days. I myself only visited five of them in this trip. All in one day.
Shakadang Trail
Half way across this trail, I just realized that I only brought bottled water. Just like Dragon’s Back, there’s no replenishing stations along the way. Luckily, there was a sausage stall by locals about 1.5 km from the entrance. The taste was very unique. It used some kind of a local herb. It’s like a cross-over of alcohol, ginger, and a little bit pepper. Just one sausage and I think it’s enough to be my brunch.
Xiao zhuilu Trail
Xiao zhuilu trail is in the opposite direction of Shakadang trail. There’s a rope bridge that’s so captivating I crossed it twice just because.
Yanzikou Trail
Personally, this is the best trail I visited. Bridge in the picture below frequently shows up when I searched about Taroko in the internet. I really wanted to cross the bridge, enter that hole in cliff, and explore what’s in there. Unfortunately I could not cross the bridge as it is located on a restricted area (a written permission is needed).
Yanzikou Trail is also called Swallow Grotto. Based on the visitor’s pamphlet, it was named after the phenomenon of “hundreds of swallows singing in the valley” in numerous small caves on the cliff. In which swallows build their nests.
Tianxiang
It’s not a trail, but more of a recreational area. It’s the last shuttle stop before it turns around and go back to shuttle bus terminus.
Changchun Shrine Trail
Changhun Shrine is the last trail I explored before I called it a day. Some paths in it were closed due to typhoon. I visited it last because it’s only accessible by shuttle on the way back.
Mini Voyage Hostel
Around 5 PM, I hopped on shuttle bus that brought me back to Hualien train station. From there, I walked on foot to Mini Voyage Hostel. It was highly recommended by Api, my Indonesian friend I met in bus on the way to Jioufen. Its rating was 9.4 out of 10!
Hualien City
After checking in, I took a hot shower and then decided to stroll around Hualien city. Based on my research, Hualien is famous for its dumpling. The name Gongzheng Baozi stood out among other names. I asked for recommendation from Mini Voyage’s receptionist and she also recommended it. I walked for about 30 minutes before I arrived at Gongzheng Baozi.
Just like the other Taiwanese foods I’ve tasted. It’s actually exceptionally ordinary, not that delicious but I somehow loved it. The cold weather or exhaustion from exploring Taroko Gorge might be contributing factors here.
The bun is so soft. They were kept warm so it’s perfect for the cold winter. The pork stuffing is tasty. I only need 5 dumplings to make my belly full.
People in Hualien
After devouring five dumplings, I stopped by a 7-Eleven to buy a drink. Then, I decided to go back directly to Mini Voyage Hostel and mingled there until sleep time.
On the way there, I saw a family of three walked in front of me. It looked like brother and sister with their grandma. We were walking in a pedestrian walk. There’s nothing special about them. They’re normal and ordinary people just like me and the other Taiwanese. Suddenly, the grandma bended over and picked up a litter (a tissue) and put it in a nearby trash can.
A small and seemingly insignificant gesture. One small deed that would be easily overlooked. I and her two grandchildren might be the only ones who saw that. Yet, it says a lot about one’s personality.
It says a lot about a country.
Yang Ming Shan National Park
The next day (Feb 28), I went back to Taipei. Satryo invited me to his apartment at night to celebrate something. I arrived back in Taipei around 08:30 AM so I still had a lot of time before it.
Based on recommendation by an old friend of mine, I decided to visit Yang Ming Shan National Park. I only visited the Flower Clock garden near the entrance. I didn’t get to visit the whole national park.
Photograph
There’s funny thing happened in my solo travel. It happened occasionally every time others asked my favor to take their pictures.
Vietnam. I was strolling around a park when a Vietnamese family asked me to take their pictures. After seeing my first take (with their iPhone), they asked me to take more pictures with their mirrorless camera.
Vietnam again. A foreign couple asked me to take their pictures in the same park. As it was quite sunny I expect there would be glare in the photos. So I positioned their iPhone in a way that the sun would even make the picture much more artsy. As I was handing them the iPhone for them to check, the man wondered if we should choose another spot due to sun’s position. The woman looked at the picture and said, “Oh, there’s no need to! It’s perfect! Thank you!”. No, it’s definitely not sarcasm.
Taiwan, Yang Ming Shan National Park. A group of travellers from Thailand asked me to take their pictures in front a cherry blossom tree. I took several pictures with various positions and angles. They shouted, “Wow, nice shot!”.
Taiwan, Yang Ming Shan National Park. After taking so many pictures of others, it’s time for my pictures. An elderly couple offered their help to take mine. The results: blurry pictures. Oh, well.
Around noon, I went back to Taipei to have lunch with Rudi. Afterwards, Rudi needed to run some errands in Taoyuan airport. I wanted to buy some more khilaf things (from an outdoor sports store) and souvenirs. Rudi recommended me to drop by the famous Chia Te Bakery and buy some pineapple cakes. We decided to split and planned to rendezvous at Satryo’s apartment later in the night.
Unlikely Friends at Unlikely Places
After buying some khilaf things and Chia Te’s pineapple cakes, I went back to Rudi’s and packed my stuffs. I managed to zip my belongings into just two bulky bags: my backpack and one souvenir bag.
I went to Satryo’s apartment around 7 PM. There were already some people there. All of them are Indonesians who are either working at Taiwan or studying at NTUST. It seems that they have spent quite a lot of time together in Taiwan.
At first, I thought there would only be Rudi, Anton, and Satryo. I didn’t expect there would be that many people. I felt like an intruder. I just hoped that I didn’t ruin their moment together, considering I’m just an outsider.
We chatted. We laughed. Ate pizza and chicken wings. Celebrated someone’s birthday. I told them a bit about my background. They told me their’s. Laughed some more. Ate birthday cake.
Around 11 PM, we decided to call it a day and everybody went to MRT station together. Four of them saw me off to Taoyuan Airport MRT.
Thank you Rudi, Anton, and Satryo for your hospitality! You guys really are my unlikely friends at unlikely places. I hope I can return the favor sometimes.
And they marked the tail end of my Taiwan travel. As well as my Feb 2018 solo travel.
Epilogue
Obviously, travelling Han style (solo) is not for everybody. It requires me a lot of courage to finally pulled the trigger to do it. Even then, I received a lot of help along my travel. It might be too much of an arrogance to call this a solo travel.
So, travelling solo or in groups? Personally, I am fine with both. In Vietnam, I basically travel in groups half the time. In Taiwan, I even cheated by receiving help from Indonesians (Rudy, Anton, Satryo, Api, Ario).
Among countries I visited on this solo travel — Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan — Taiwan is, in my opinion, the best of all. However, Taiwan is the best not because of its places, its landmarks, nor its foods.
It’s not about the destinations. It’s the journey. After all, Indonesia has much more amazing national parks than Taiwan does.
It’s not about what you eat. It’s whom you eat it with — unless it’s Bun Cha. If it’s Bun Cha, I don’t care whom I eat it with.
It’s not about the places. It’s the people.
A place is only as good as the people in it.
