Took my brother and his wife to one of those high-end Beitou hot spring hotels for a couple hours on a short layover. Had a great soak. Had a great meal. I can recommend. If it were me on a layover I would not want to go traipsing all over.
5 Likes
Yeah or maybe Pause Landis in Wulai where you have the views.
2 Likes
Taipei will be hot as shit in June though
2 Likes
Take the Maokong gondola, walk around there for a couple of hours (itās not busy when you get further away from the gondola) then go to one of the tea houses for some food and drink while enjoying the view.
4 Likes
If you go to Tamsui anyway and you dislike Taipei downtown, why not spend most of your time up there?
@marco surely can give you some recommendations for that beside the obvious places such as the fort, the fisherman wharf, the ferry across the river, the old-street area, etc.
For places to eat, check
1 Like
I know, he said āour placeā. Well, maybe they have done Tamsui before.
How about going to the other end of town? Wulai!
1 Like
I mean, I think there is little I can recommend him that he either doesnāt already know or that I havenāt already written in the Danshui thread.
2 Likes
Itās not so much disliking downtown Taipei - itās just that I far prefer it on weekdays, rather than weekends.
As Batman @TaipeiGuy2000 suggested, traipsing around all over the place doesnāt seem that appealing, and I think thatās what Danshui would be. Plus the big things Iām looking for are nice places to sit with good food and/or drink for a couple of hours, with mildly diverting attractions between the locations, and Danshui doesnāt have many places that appeal to me in that way. Itās also an opportunity to head for nicer restaurants than I usually would (hopefully my brother will pay - god knows he makes more money than I do! - but it doesnāt matter).
So, for example, right now Iām wondering about early lunch at Addiction Aquatic Development; drinks on the patio at Meowvelous; wander the department stores in Xinyi a bit; dinner at Saffron, and MRT back to the airport. Thatās roughly the level of exertion (mainly digestive exertion, I suppose!) Iād be looking at. Lunch somewhere and then up to Maokong is also an interesting possibility. Or Maokong first, but I like the idea of being up there for sunset, depending of course on his departure time.
However, I do hope the thread can be useful for others, not just me - I was surprised to not find another thread asking about this topic. The hot springs suggestion is a good one - but personally, I donāt like hot springs normally, and certainly wouldnāt be interested in them in June. I still need to look into what there is to do in Sansia and Dasi - I suspect thatās busier than what weād be interested in, but since heās flying in from Singapore, heās not going to be jet-lagged (but perhaps tired!). A tourist run of Danshui would be good for someone with more energy and, er, touristic enthusiasm (?) than I have.
2 Likes
Is he a cyclist like you? If so, take him on a ride! A cyclist friend visited me a few years ago, and I took him on a ride around Taipei. Heās still raving about it to this day and wants to do a repeat.
1 Like
Oh, that would be a great idea, but no, he is most definitely not a cyclist.
I have certainly fantasized about showing other cyclist friends around some of the hills here.
1 Like
Balcony in Danshui is an awesome spot to watch sunsets
1 Like
Yeah if you think about Taipei is a good city to live, but not that much of a tourist city.
1 Like
Speaking of places that arenāt open when I typically want to sit at a balcony with a nice view and get some reading or marking done! (Opens at 6pm Wednesday to Friday, 4pm on Saturday & Sunday). Darn it Taipei, cater more to middle-aged afternoon drinkers!
But yes, definitely a good location if weāre in Danshui around sunset time.
Google Maps link here, Facebook here.
Itās not bad. When he was here before - and when I was living in Tainan, so I was basically a tourist in Taipei as well - we had plenty of fun with the typical tourist sites, the temples, the National Palace Museum, that kind of stuff. Plenty to keep visitors busy for at least a few days. But for a layover, I think weāre looking more for a combination of good eating and relaxation spots - especially since, as you mentioned upthread, the summer heat may be in full blaze by then. At least heāll have already spent a week in Singapore, so the heat wonāt totally floor him. I confess one reason Iām drawn to the Xinyi area is the air conditioning.
Yeah eating and drinking is decent. Also maybe a pint at the expensive but outdoors Taihu Landmark, if you are in Xinyi
å飲室 Landmark (Taihu Xinyi)
+886 2 2722 0592
https://maps.app.goo.gl/QSaBHWx2rGJyvGSNA?g_st=ic
1 Like