[francisvellara]

I knew very little about Taiwan before I moved here for work last year. But this country is quite the underrated gem. Great food, friendly people, virtually zero crime, scenic landscapes and beautiful roads make it a very comfortable place to live in.

Taiwan is quite a small island nation, only as big as Kerala in area. End-to-end, it measures around 400 km, with mountainous terrain in the centre, major cities on the West coast and smaller, scenic cities on the East coast. Naturally, it wasn't long before the idea of a road trip around the island began nagging my brain. Renting a car in Taiwan is very convenient, with tons of companies, including international brands like Avis, available across the country. So we got one, and found a nice, long weekend to check this off the bucket list.

The ride for this trip was a Toyota Vios (read Yaris). It wasn't exactly a driving enthusiast's tool of choice, but it did its duty well, keeping up with the other two cars in the convoy - a relatively new Nissan Sentra and a trusty 20 year old Mitsubishi Lancer - on fast Taiwanese highways and twisty roads in the hills. I should mention at this point that I have since driven on parts of this route during subsequent trips, so I have included some pictures from those drives as well. I humbly request your pardon when some pictures might make it seem like my Vios has morphed into something else.


The Vios right after I picked it up

Day 1: Taichung to Kaohsiung: 212 km



Taichung is Taiwan's second largest city, after the capital, Taipei. It also happened to be where I was working at the time, so the first leg of the trip started there.


The neighbourhood where I stayed in Taichung

This part of the trip was going to be a solo drive on one of Taiwan's west coast highways, which are largely six-laned and have a speed limit of 100-110 km/h. These highways run the entire length of the country but only on the west coast. They are quite fast and you can maintain an average speed of over 100km/h unless there's peak hour traffic.


Starting from Taichung with a bit of a drizzle coming in; two-wheelers are ubiquitous in Taiwan, but they are a lot more disciplined than back home

My destination for the day was Kaohsiung, a port city in South Taiwan, with artistic piers, pretty marinas and an active nightlife, complete with several clubs that attract a significant expat crowd. It is where a large number of people head when they want to party. It is also where our entire convoy got together, before starting the drive together the next morning.


The iconic 85 Sky Tower in the distance; Kaohsiung has several ferries, owing to the number of islands that the city contains

Day 2: Kaohsiung - Changbin: 243 km



The second day's route would take us off the expressways and onto Taiwan's East coast highways, with rolling hills to the West and the Pacific Ocean to the East. This stretch of road is considerably slower, with speed limits largely in the 60-70 km/h range, but the landscape makes up for it. Dotted along the route are several scenic spots, small parks and the life-saving convenience stores (7-Eleven and Family Mart being the most common) which are open 24/7 and offer everything from hot food to alcohol to electronic accessories and (largely) clean restrooms.


Wherever there are scenic views, one is sure to find some kind of park or rest area developed, where one can park for free and (as seen here) engage in testing one's photography skills


Several 7-11 stops were made in the course of this (and every other) trip


The convoy


Along the East coast, there are several smaller roads that take you to a good elevation within 2-3 km of driving, giving excellent views of the ocean

As the sun began to set, we reached the city of Taitung, where a short drive into the hills got us to an isolated but large (and I must admit, slightly haunted-looking) tea house.


The tea house in question


Chinese lanterns adorn the place and mellow folk music is played, making one wonder if they would get Spirited Away; Taitung City is seen in the distance

A few cups of tea and some food later, we headed to our Airbnb, around 70km further North from Taitung, in the small town of Changbin. Unfortunately, I did not take any pictures of the Airbnb (it was a charming little place right across the road from the ocean), but I did manage to grab a couple of views of the ocean from there.


We parked our cars facing the ocean; needless to say, a sizeable amount of time was spent sitting inside, watching the waves


A lone speed camera right across from our Airbnb. Speed cameras are nearly everywhere in Taiwan. Also, coconut trees are quite common in the South, to the extent where some places look straight out of KL/TN

Day 3: Changbin - Taipei - Taichung: 410 km



That's right, the rest of the drive happened over just one day. For this part, I'll let the pictures do all of the talking.


Approaching Taipei; the iconic Taipei 101 can be seen in the distance. It was the tallest building in the world before the Burj Khalifa. It is currently the 11th tallest


At a rest stop near Taipei. Being surrounded by hills means that Taipei's weather is often cloudy and rainy, as seen here


Once in the city, one can find a lot of these narrow walkways all over the place


The 101 makes an appearance again...


...and again...


...and this time from right underneath. Below the tower is a shopping mall and a metro (MRT) station below that, providing easy access to the 101 if one wants to visit using public transport.


Visitors can access floors 89-92 at a very reasonable price (~1600 INR). We timed our visit around sunset time, which turned out to be a good idea for views.


Night markets are quite the Taiwanese experience. They're a blend of food stalls, cloth stores and even electronics shops. This is Raohe Street, one of the more famous ones in Taipei.

[francisvellara]

After grabbing dinner from Taipei, it was a quick 2 hour (170km) drive back to Taichung, bringing the trip full circle. A good chunk of the time spent on this trip was spent on the road, and that may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I found it quite enjoyable.

Signing off with some miscellaneous pictures.


Duck rice, from Hsinchu, a city between Taipei and Taichung.


Catching the sunset at Anping, on the way from Taichung to Kaohsiung.


At a beach in Hualien, a city on the East coast. A lot of beaches in Taiwan have this grey/black sand; not sure why though.


Talk about standing out in a crowd; this is a Luxgen U6 SUV - Luxgen is a Taiwanese car manufacturer.


A Teppanyaki restaurant (teppanyaki is a Japanese style of cooking where the food is cooked on a large metal surface beside which one sits to eat).


Back in Taichung; at a viewpoint with great views of the city's skyline.


Iced Milk Tea is a surprisingly good drink that has grown on me in Taiwan. However, I dread accidentally calling it cold chai when talking about it.

Cheers!

[graaja]

Moving thread from Assembly Line to Travelogues section. Thank you for sharing!

[Red Liner]

Great report! Loved the in picture notes which made for great reading on a Sunday noon.

[ajmat]

I was in Taiwan for a week eight years ago. Took a lot of pics but I never did write that article.

I was very impressed with Taiwan, the precision, the courtesy - people give up seats for the needy. Taipei was so easy to get around. I could almost live there! I was that impressed

[vibbs]

Great report. I was in Taipei last year during November on work. I will be most likely visiting again this year. Fantastic country, great people and superb food. The night markets are amazing.

I went to Ningxia night market and was literally hopping stalls to taste all I could. Amazing experience!

[chennai-indian]

I lived in Taiwan for 2 years - Way back in 2002-03 when Taipei 101 was still under construction!!. Loved the place and people. Got caught in the SARS epidemic which was scary though!!

[theabstractmind]

I couldn't but help commenting on this. Having spent more than a year in Taipei it reminded me of a peaceful but vibrant city with very friendly people. The Taipei 101 is still a beauty. The New Year fireworks (I have witnessed two of them) at 101 is a sight to behold. The weekend getaways were also a plenty. The time spent there is the best part of my single and professional life! In fact I had at one time wanted to obtain citizenship and stay put there! Cheers and wish you many more years in Taiwan.

[Pythonista]

Wow...excellent pics, some feel very cosy.

Don't mind me asking, but how is the cost of living there? Is it like India or is it expensive?

[anjan_c2007]

Excellent writeup with the images that sum up the tiny island country's geography, ethos and the still pristine landscape. The scenic beauty and the cleanliness around speaks a lot about its disciplined population.

Its a country about which many of us have heard of since decades in the news, mainly about the Yankee versus Commies bickerings and avoidable escalations from time to time.

Our two wheeler maker Kinetic Engineering had started manufacturing Kinetic K4 100 step through, Challenger bike , Flyte the CVT scooter some 15 years ago and had also launched the Nova (later named Enduro by Mahindra), with Taiwanese collaboration before it was taken over by Mahindra in 2014.

Thanks for the posts and images.

[Mustang Sammy]

Nice write up. Have visited Taiwan many many times in the past, so it was a trip down memory lane.
Cannot say enough about how nice the Taiwanese people are. Extremely helpful, polite and socially conscious.
The food is also great in my experience. Love th dumplings, noodle soups, sautéed green vegetables and the crispy maida based wraps (?) stuffed with meat and spring onions that are popular in Kaohsiung.
Not a fan of the stinky tofu though.

[benbsb29]

I've never been to Taiwan, so I loved seeing the country and its locales through your posts. I always love seeing new places.

Thanks for sharing, and please share more from your travels.

[vb-saan]

Taiwan was always in my wish list to visit, and this travelogue adds to that. Its quite a popular holiday destination with families here in Singapore.

Thank you for sharing!

[Gannu_1]

A lone pic of Taiwan while transiting from one terminal to the other at Taoyuan airport during an official trip to Korea back in 2016.



Have visited the 3 other Asian Tigers. Would love to visit Taiwan some day, stay and experience the culture there. Thanks for sharing; looks like you had a great time!

[Turbosailor]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful travelogues with us. I will totally agree on your observation about how ignorant some of us are on Taiwan. Its truly a lovely country and a paradise for motor enthusiastic. If our automobiles manufactures consider getting more components form Taiwan instead of China will be great for both Taiwan & India. Looking forward for more such travelogues in our forum.