Ideas for a 'foreign' staycation and/or adventure in Taiwan?

So we are pretty much all stuck here this year.

How do we avoid death by niu rou mian?

My recommendations

  • go to xiao liu qiu on a weekday and swim with the turtles (thank me later )
  • finally learn diving
  • do that big hike up Yushan, Xueshan you never got round
  • go to the smangus area and visit the little known ancient tree grove near there (thank me later )
  • drive the spine of Taiwan from North to South (I did this a few years ago it was awesome , felt like a different country at times, and there wasnā€™t one 7-11 along the whole route )
  • eat out at those pricey Thai and Western places you never tried before
  • get surfing lessons
  • go golfing (I never went golfing here cos I heard itā€™s crap but you never know)
  • finally get a nice bike and do dawn rides
  • buy a Harley and ride like the wind

Donā€™t

  • cycle round the island in the middle of summer , are you fuckin nuts ?
12 Likes

Golf at the Jingxi pitch and putt in Jingmei is very doable. Costs about 700 each for a foursome with club rental.

2 Likes

Whatā€™s the ā€œspine is Taiwanā€?

2 Likes

:+1: One of my favorite spots in Taiwan (so far)

1 Like

Iā€™m having a hard time thinking of someplace in Taiwan that makes me feel like Iā€™m not in Taiwan.

Iā€™ve had this feeling before but I canā€™t remember where right now.

2 Likes

I would not say anything about smangus is ā€˜little-knownā€™ā€¦ I was mostly unimpressed with smangus myself, mostly due to how freakinā€™ crowded it was. The scenery is beautiful and the trees are indeed cool, but at least for me the grove was one long queue for taking pictures.

Iā€™d suggest going to the stretch of land between Hualien and Taitung and find a homestay on the beach there, and do some wild hikes, visit aboriginal villages there, maybe even go to a č±å¹“ē„­ in August.
I also love Kinmen - good food, good culture, great history. One of my favorite places in Taiwan so far.

3 Likes

There are nice course. But expensive and private.

More fun:

  1. Get thrown out of a 7-11 and/or Family Mart.
  2. Start a fight with several Taiwanese guys in a bar.
  3. Explore the joys of ketamine.
  4. Join a Christian AND a Buddhist cult at the same time.
  5. Walk through a Kaohsiung night market wearing a shirt that says: ā€œHan Guo-yu sucks these big balls.ā€
  6. Go to the Taipei International Airport and have a loud conversation about your recent trip to Wuhan.
10 Likes

Very much a First World problem, but being stuck here until October at the earliest is beginning to play on my mind.

2 Likes

I have never been to Smangus itself so want to go back (road is terrible of course), I have been to the other grove about an hour or two from Smangus which was freaking amazing and there was nobody there when we went.

2 Likes

On reflection, Not enough ā€˜foreignnessā€™ in my ideas aboveā€¦Need more.:sunglasses:

Seem to be French students. Quite harmless, just drunk guy doing stupid shit.

1 Like

Mine too. It took Covid -19 and the prospect of being stuck in Taiwan for the foreseeable future to make me see how much I didnā€™t want to stay here. Trying my best not be an insufferable prick due to that internal frustration but easier said than done. First chance I get, Iā€™m out. 2 years has been long enough.

1 Like

OK guys, good ideasā€¦Keep it positive.

1 Like

I like that you put this last on your list, given itā€™s probably the last ting you will do. Especially if you go straight from Gogoro to Harley.

1 Like

I donā€™t even have a gogoro so need to get started . I could skip a few generations . You are right, Iā€™m not actually going to do this one. I do want a gogoro there is a chance that night happen but itā€™s not very foreign either :sunglasses:.

Thereā€™s that castle-like B&B near Qingjing farm. Very foreign.

Nobody is allowed to mention the dreaded 'ē•°åœ‹ę–™ē†ć€ :grin:

Iā€™m thinking there could be a business in ā€˜Bali nightsā€™ this Summer, near some beach or resort area live music, spicy food, hotā€¦coals to BBQ on. Every night is Bali night!

1 Like

Thereā€™s also a Seattle B&B. I was gratified to see my hometown represented.