I’m planning on visiting Taiwan mid-August with my girlfriend for two weeks. We’re also planning on moving to Taiwan in about a years time. I’m hoping to use this trip to explore the island and get a feel for where we might live and what I’ll be doing (She wants to teach English and I currently work in software). Note that she studied Chinese as her major at college and I speak virtually none.
Are there things we should do during this trip that may help us when we’re looking towards moving? For example: trying to talk with some of the local schools to get a better feeling of what their looking for in hiring, even though we likely wouldn’t be there for a year. I may also want to visit a Mandarin school to get a feeling of that as well.
I’m still working on our plan for the trip. Below is a rough outline. Does anyone have any other recommendations for things to do?
Huayuan(花園)night market is in Tainan, not Taipei…and not recommended by locals.
I think the next big celebration for Pinxi sky lanterns is on Moon Festival (end of September)
but it’s still a beautiful place without the sky lanterns.
I find Yingge Pottery street a bit boring, but that’s because I’m not into pottery.
You mean chunshuitang春水堂?
if you plan to drink bubble tea in Taiwan, bubble tea booths are generally not recommended; they give you endless diarrhea. 春水堂 and 翰林茶館 should be fine.
only a day in Tainan and a half day in Kenting? What about Kaohsiung? and you’re missing Pingtung too.
Any specific recommendations for things to do in Kaohsiung and Pingtung. This is a very rough outline and I plan on making adjustments, so I can dedicate more time to the south of the island.
I hadn’t heard of sisinancun village before. That sounds like a good combination.
What’s the best way to get around on the east side of the island? I know the west side has the HSR. Would we be able to take buses up or is there a better way to travel?
Sisinancun or 44 South Village is just a few old houses of what was once a military dependent’s village. Not much to see or do there, but you could sit down to a coffee and a bagel in the Good Cho’s cafe.
Kaohsiung:
1.if you like cycling, u can use the Gushan Ferry Pier and go to Cijin Island(旗津)
2.Dragon Tiger Tower and Lianchi (Lotus) Lake are also famous landmarks.
Pingtung:
Kenting national park is in Hengchun Peninsula, so that’s in Pingtung. (main town is called Hengchun恆春) it’s about 470hectares, so you’re really not going to see anything if you decided to spend 1/2 day , not to mention other townships such as Donggang, Checheng, Manjou Township, Pingtung City, etc…all with their own distinct, interesting cultures/locals/food/nature. Those really old Roman Catholic churches down in the south are also very special.
maybe you can tailor your schedule to fit your areas of interest, so that your schedule and places to visit are not scattered all over the place.
once you get out of Taipei, I suggest you avoid scooters and rent a car. you can do so at any THSR station.