I’m moving to Taipei next month! I’d like to know what your favorite blogs are for Taipei, preferably ones that are useful not just documenting the minutiae of someone’s life and personal opinions (unless their writing is really, really good).
For example, I was inspired to do this post because I stumbled across user Abacus’ blog ‘Taiwan’s Waterfalls’ (taiwanswaterfalls.com/), which seems pretty useful.
So do you guys have any favorites? I’m specifically interested in hiking, tips/tricks on saving money in Taipei, cooking/eating out (but more cooking than eating out), biking (not like hardcore, just nice trails for road bikes), the arts/architecture, current events, etc. Open to anything. Plug your blog if you think it has some good advice for Taipei living - I’ll check it out!
Some blogs that I like but not nearly all of the good ones.
rtaiwanr.com/ - I just found out about this one recently goteamjosh.com/blog/ synapticism.com/ - an alternative view of Taiwan taiwandiscovery.wordpress.com/ - Richard doesn’t blog much right now since he is finishing up his newest book but if you move to Taiwan you will want his guidebooks (hiking/travel) and you should join the Taipei Hikers FB group crooksteven.blogspot.tw/ - Steven writes the Bradt Travel Guide and knows a lot about Taiwan michaelturton.blogspot.com/ - A lot of politics if that is your thing - it is unbelievable that he publishes nearly every day - I publish 1-2x/wk if I am lucky hikingtaiwan.wordpress.com/ - Stu doesn’t blog anymore but his hiking archives are really awesome for planning trips taiwanincycles.blogspot.tw/ - the best cycling blog particularly if you are in the Taichung/Chaiyi area rubli.info/blog/ - Martin has been busy doing all of the great high mountain hikes in Taiwan and he has really good info
I have probably forgotten about all of the best blogs but these are all good resources.
A lot of the info you seek can be found within the forums. It just takes a lot of time to search around and you have to know the right keywords to search.
The list Abacus provided is really awesome.
I can only comment on the cycling portion. Unfortunately, I do not have a blog for you to follow or read up on, but there are other ways for you to get an idea of what are some good cycling routes.
Personally, I think the best best way is to join a club/team that’s close to your skill level and what you want to get out of the group. Some people have been cycling here for over 10 years and are very knowledgeable about the surrounding areas. When I got into cycling 1.5 years ago it took a lot of research in the cycling sub forum here and getting to know cyclists around the city to know what roads were good for certain rides.
The FB group with a very very wide range of skill levels is the one below. When I first started riding, I was with them for a few rides and eventually branched off and did my own thing. The group leader’s name is Jospehine. She’s one of the nicest people I know and really really looks out for the new people that join her group. So whether you’re an experienced cyclist or have never ridden a road bike, the group below is a great way to start. If you’re coming to Taiwan to study Chinese, it’s also a great way to practice what you’re learning with a local group of people. https://www.facebook.com/groups/biking777/