I am in between apartments (in Taipei) and have a bit of an angst to leave Taipei for few days.
Thinking about whether it would be a good idea to rent a car and leave Taipei for a while, and then come back and look for a place.
May be live out at Airbnbs or Minsu for few weeks. (for this discussion, let’s assume work and finances are not a factor.)
However, I am not sure if this can be done in a healthy manner (both physically and mentally). I try to eat healthy (cook often). Probably not practical to cook in above lifestyle. Also, don’t know about workouts on the road.
Has anyone done something like this? Any thoughts or pointers (for places etc) would be welcome. I am a single male - if that has any bearing on above.
Honestly, if you have a couple of weeks and you want to clear your head, just pack your bag and get on with it. Thinking so much about it means you’re already stressing, don’t worry to much about the food and exercise 2 weeks won’t kill you. You can go to the gym when you’re back (you can always work out in a park), you can find a cheep place to get your head down for the night anywhere, and if you find something nice you can splash out and treat yourself.
A car is convenient but not necessary, public transport adds another layer to your journey its Taiwan not the Serengeti.
I did this for a month on the East coast in Summer, and had an amazing time. Truly life changing. Taipei is alright, but coming back here was like coming down to Kansas after being in Oz. I remember the grey cloud of psychic smog that I felt when the train rolled into the capital. Don’t want to gripe, cos I like my job… but I miss the East cost a lot.
I slept on the beach.
Workouts can be bodyweight. Pushups, squats. Or use 5 liter water bottles/beachstones. Holding out a 5 liter water bottle for 2-5 minutes should be challenging enough for even Brian Shaw.
You can cook with an alcohol/kerosene/oil stove, if you know what you’re doing (which I didn’t back then). It’ll heat water in 5-25 minutes, which is fine for most noodles, and even a hot shower. I might leave the kerosene at home if I go, as a spill can destroy clothes. Alcohol or oil (wrapped in 5 plastic bags) is less dangerous.
I wrote about my experiences here:
Tips:
Take protein, so you don’t have to go to Familymart or a restaurant every meal. My trip would’ve been much easier if I had some protein powder, barleygrass, nuts etc. I used the opportunity to eat less carbs, and lose some fat. If I did it again, I’d focus on protein with less carbs. Fruit and green leafy veg are easy to buy and prepare on the road. You can cook digua ye in 3 minutes. Taking some ginger, pepper and chili helped.
The only things you can’t cook on the road are things which need a rolling boil for 30 minutes. That is hard for a little alcohol stove, but might be alright with gas.
Protein/nuts/beans/steak with Green leaves, chili, goji and limes might be a good road meal. That’s 5 minutes cooking.
Carrying a prop (drumsticks/electric guitar/plastic judges hammer) makes it 10x easier for people to approach and talk to you. I met a lot of people.
You could try couchsurfing or the language exchange groups to make friends, but street life outside Taipei is 3-5x more social and friendly.
There’s a hostel at YanLiao, 20-30 minutes out of Hualien city, which is kind of fun. I think its called Ocean View. Seven Star beach, 10 minutes from Hualien city center is also well worth visiting.
How about taking it slow in the beginning if you’re a bit worried?
Just take the HSR to Kaohsiung and stay in an AirBnb there for maybe two weeks and take your time to get used to the differences to Taipei?
If you feel „adventurous“ and less angsty then, you can venture in territories without High-Speed-Rails which only have busses or are actually only reachable by car or scooter
My wife and I took our dog and did this in Fenglin for the month of May in 2021. We rented an Airbnb, drove our car so we could take our bicycles/stuff easily and I worked remotely from there. I enjoyed it, I also enjoyed being back home in Taipei when it was over. Should probably do it again. I can’t do the “live off the grid” thing, but I enjoyed the slower pace there.
