I am coming to Taipei in Febuary, I have know idea what I should go and check out. The second week I am going to be there is New Years and apparently travelling will be difficult.
I am not one for hitting the tourist attractions, I just like to have a look around and get a feel for the country.
I am from London and here in the UK I spend my time riding motorcycles, fixed gear bicycles and fly fishing. I will be bringing a rod so any information on rivers would be good, I will also be heading out to see if there is a fixie scene emerging as I heard there was and I would like to document this as I am a Photographer.
Generally though I just would love to see some beautiful scenery whether it be urban or rural so any tips would be great.
Fooligan, you are in for a treat. That is teh best time of the year to take pictures, with all the celebrations and parades and temple decorations and food and stuff.
Plus the city gets really empty so you can wander around in a relaxed and calm manner with no cares in this world.
Buses, trains will still be running so getting to the mountains, the beach is fast and convenient. As previously said, get a guide to have a clearer picture, check out some photos of Taiwan websites, you’ll see.
We usually stay in for New Year and hike around teh suburbs. This is a blessed placed in the sense those parks and trails are really close by.
For the fixie scene you’ll have to go hunting on Zhongxiao E. Rd Sec. 4 or Ximending to find them. I think they congregate in the vicinity of the Sunyatsen MRT station of an evening. There are some blogs around but in Chinese. This is a website with some info beardude.com/
Welcome to Taiwan, and I’m sure you’ll find plenty to enjoy while you’re here. But please leave your rod at home. Fish are beautiful creatures and deserve to be left unmolested in their natural habitats.
And do not, I repeat, DO NOT travel on the two days previous to New Year proper. You’ll regret it… badly. That is, I’d estimate the Exodus will begin the 11th or 12th, 13th being Saturday and New Year’s Eve.
You’ll discover that Taipei is a densely populated, polluted city. Not saying that’s bad. We all love it here. Just don’t expect A River Runs Through It.
You’ll discover that Taipei is a densely populated, polluted city. Not saying that’s bad. We all love it here. Just don’t expect A River Runs Through It.[/quote]
If you choose your bait well you can go after the large swan boats at Bitan. I’ve been using a basket of fried squid and chicken innards in recent weeks and got myself quite a good catch of Taipei County natives.
[quote=“the bear”]
If you choose your bait well you can go after the large swan boats at Bitan.[/quote]
I have vowed never to use those boats after Athula informed me that local teenagers use them as love hotels.
[quote=“Mother Theresa”]What I meant is don’t expect fishing in Taipei to look like this.
It’s more like this.
[/quote]
:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
Brutally sincere.
EDIT:
Actually, I was always amazed at people here fishing in the river next to Chengda in Muzha… until I noticed that there were this bunch of herons waiting in the sidelines… so there must be fish.
I don’t expect the romance of a river runs through it, I live in London after all. However I expect that we are going to head out of town for the first week and I will be looking for some picturesqoe little streams and rivers.
For those of you who suggest leaving my rod at home, I can tell you that I am a very conciencious Angler, I operate catch and release wherever possible (some uk stocked waters do not allow this). I am very respectful of the fish and the enviroment they live in and in the U.K if it wasn’t for Anglers alot of the rivers would be in a very poor state. My local river the Wandle is regularly cleaned (every month we do a section) to keep the waters as healthy as we can. As a result of our efforts the trout are returning which is awsome. I only hope all countries realise that they need to protect their waterways, these are the vains of the land and educate those Anglers to respect them, love them and lookafter them for the generations to come.
I will be getting down to the area where the Fixies are ao thanks very much for the info Beardude.
For those of you who suggest leaving my rod at home, I can tell you that I am a very conciencious Angler, I operate catch and release wherever possible (some uk stocked waters do not allow this). I am very respectful of the fish and the enviroment they live in and in the U.K if it wasn’t for Anglers a lot of the rivers would be in a very poor state. My local river the Wandle is regularly cleaned (every month we do a section) to keep the waters as healthy as we can. As a result of our efforts the trout are returning which is awsome. I only hope all countries realise that they need to protect their waterways, these are the vains of the land and educate those Anglers to respect them, love them and look after them for the generations to come.[/quote]
perhaps you should leave some of your grand expectations at home. here, a river or stream often doubles as many other things, including a place to discharge waste, to take rocks from, to use as a sewer, to dump cars and garbage into, to drown cats in, to suck water from for irrigation, to wash the car in, etc etc, as well as to catch fish from as you’re too poor to actually buy a fish. Not that you really would want to eat a fish from a river here. Besides, if you are as conscientious as you sound, then you will most likely be one of the few people to actually obey the no-fishing laws that apply to most of the smaller streams. there are some legal angling places but not many. And from what i have seen in my travels around the north, fly fishing is an oddity here, most use floats, BTW.
For those of you who suggest leaving my rod at home, I can tell you that I am a very conciencious Angler, I operate catch and release wherever possible (some uk stocked waters do not allow this). I am very respectful of the fish and the enviroment they live in and in the U.K if it wasn’t for Anglers a lot of the rivers would be in a very poor state. My local river the Wandle is regularly cleaned (every month we do a section) to keep the waters as healthy as we can. As a result of our efforts the trout are returning which is awsome. I only hope all countries realise that they need to protect their waterways, these are the vains of the land and educate those Anglers to respect them, love them and look after them for the generations to come.[/quote]
perhaps you should leave some of your grand expectations at home. here, a river or stream often doubles as many other things, including a place to discharge waste, to take rocks from, to use as a sewer, to dump cars and garbage into, to drown cats in, to suck water from for irrigation, to wash the car in, etc etc, as well as to catch fish from as you’re too poor to actually buy a fish. Not that you really would want to eat a fish from a river here. Besides, if you are as conscientious as you sound, then you will most likely be one of the few people to actually obey the no-fishing laws that apply to most of the smaller streams. there are some legal angling places but not many. And from what I have seen in my travels around the north, fly fishing is an oddity here, most use floats, BTW.[/quote]
I’m sure most use coarse angling tackle but I like to fish the fly, it’s not all about catching a fish it’s alot about relaxing and getting your head away from the hassles of life. Simply casting a fly is a joy for me. Who knows maybe I can start a new trend haha
I hope that it is not as bad a picture as you are painting but am sure that polution there is as bad if not worse than other developing countries. Thankfully in the UK we are more educated about our rural heritage, I hope the rest of the world will realise what they have before it’s all gone literally to shit!
The majority of rivers that once ran through London gradually became part of the sewer network and others were killed of completely, most famously the river Fleet. Perhaps instead of just excepting how it is and letting it happen someone should do something about it. One day I will be living in Taiwan and I will certainly try to educate and campaign to make even the smallest difference.
well, good luck! and bravo. Taiwan does have a small and growing eco-consciousness movement, so your added effort will be appreciated. and the state of many of the rivers is (apparently) much better than it was years ago, though there is of course room for improvement.
and don’t get me wrong, there are lovely places and idyllic streams and rivers, but the more heavily-populated regions in the north and north west do have some severe issues. usually, the more mountainous a stream, the better condition it is in.
