I need some good ideas of something cheap and fun to do with my husband (possibly baby son also). I can be durring the week. I’ve looked over the resturant thread and realized there’s a lot I’m missing, but what something other than food.
My husband grew up here so temples aren’t interesting, but he grew up in Kaohsiung so there’s not a lot he’s ever done in Taipei. We’ve been to the memorial hall and the big wonderful cultural museam.
We really need some cheap and creative ideas. My son’s 4 months old now and we haven’t been “out” since he was born. We’re gettin kinda desperate, but we’re on one income now, and it’s the lesser one, so it’s pretty tough.
Thanks for all the ideas! 
There are some cool doggy cafes in Taipei. You can buy a tea, watch, and pet dogs from your table. Pretty cool, if your kid isnt freaked out by animals!
Dont know the address, sorry
Is there anything else?
A friend is visiting from out of town (all of a sudden). I was going to take her to the Crystal place – blancocrystal.com (ok, buying the stuff ain’t cheap, but getting the aura picture taken is funny). But there won’t be enough time after 8:30 pm tonight.
Any other cool ideas of what to do see in Taipei?
My friend is based in HK, and travels all over Asia for a week at a time for work (what a a great job!). But this is only her second visit to Taipei. Becuase I’m only free in the evenings, this rules out temples
Other ideas?
Check out the Mud Olympigs Oct 5th in Tienmu http://forumosa.com/3/viewtopic.php?t=11943
it will be fun and cheap.
Chou
I like that park by the ball field and will definitely be there for the mud olympics. Thanks to Chodofu because I hadn’t heard about it.
With a four-month-old, they don’t really care where they go but I think they like getting pushed around in a stroller. That park in Tianmu is good or any other big park in Taipei. Da An park is nice and big. The main thing is that they are free. Mall walking can also be fun.
The weather’s been fabulous and let’s hope it stays that way for a while. So it’s a good time to do some hiking (you can always strap your tot in one of the backpack things for infants).
There’s a thread about it and about natural swimming pools near Hsin Tian. Wu lai’s close by too.
Cheap, fun and CLEAN.
When I first saw your thread, I saw CHEAP, FUN and DIRTY.
But that’s me just being an alleycat.
I hadn’t been to Tamshui in a year or so and was SHOCKED to see how nice it is–beautiful new boardwalk, outdoor cafes. You can walk from the MRT all the way to the end (keep walking until it forces you back inland. Check out Hongmaocheng (Fort San Domingo) which is open until 5pm (and cheap too). Then head back to the boardwalk where you can stay for the sunset or:
Take the ferry across the Tanshui River to Bali–there’s a great boardwalk there too!! Also brand new. Walk toward the visitors center, from there you can take a bus to the Shih-san-hang Museum which is also (yes!) brand new, and beautifully constructed. It’s an interesting explanation of one of Taiwan’s largest and most fascinating archaelogical digs. It’s open until 6pm and has a coffee shop on it’s back which is open 'til 7 (part of the museum is shaped like a sand dune… the coffee shop perches right on top). You’ll want to get there by 4:30 at the latest, though, because the museum stops selling tix at 5:30 and you want enough time to walk around.
You can also take a bus to the (yes, brand new) fisherman’s wharf (yu ren ma tou) for a nice walk. It’s lit up at night.
If you want to make a whole day of it (which might be tough with a four-month-old), take the Tanshui MRT to Kuandu first, and a taxi to the Kuandu Temple (has a neat tunnel filled with statues that leads through the mountain to a beautiful lookout on the Tanshui River). You can walk from the MRT station, but it’s about 20 minutes. Someone mentioned the crystal museum–nice place for a tour and a coffee. It’s also a 10 minute walk from the Kuantu MRT station (you’ll need to cross over the tracks first).
One final note–Tamshui now has mounted police (I believe they are on the Bali side). They make appearances on Saturdays at 10 or 11am, and then again at 2-4 (I think??). I believe that they also interact with the crowds.
Most of the things I’ve mentioned are free or cheap, and the crowds are sparse during the week… I did the above in an easy half-day 1pm-6:30pm on a weekday (minus the crystal museum and fisherman’s wharf).
hope that helps!
Weel, I read on the back page of today’s China Post that its not indecent to mount a girl, so I suppose the same applies to cops. 