Taiwan: Home & Away

"I've always wanted to visit Taiwan!" People would exclaim whenever I bring up visiting family in the densely populated small island.

Oh yeah? I'd respond with guarded disbelief, deeply suspicious Taiwan was being confused with Thailand, yet again. I'd stare with incredulity, eyes glazed, as supposed fans of Taiwan waxed enthusiastic, citing some documentary they'd seen decades ago and had always wanted to visit ever since; or referring to a friend of a friend who said nice things about Taiwan, a country once conquered by the Dutch who named it Formosa, or "beautiful island".

For me, Taiwan had always been a place called home – only worth visiting when it's time to rendezvous with family again. And after a 4 year absence due to the pandemic, I was finally able to rediscover my homeland and experience what it was that made travellers so keen on the island.

This time round, for the first time ever, we did Taiwan like proper tourists – no family on hand to provide food, accommodation, entertainment or transport. At least for the first 10 days.

When the flight landed, we were on our own. Jetlagged but adrenalin pumping, we had to find the way to the right exits to catch the right trains, make the right transfers onto the right MRTs, get off at the right stops, then navigate down the right streets to find our hotel 1.5 hours later – the Caesar Metro, based in heart of the city, just a convenient 5 minutes’ walk from the Longshan Temple MRT station. For those willing to spend more money, Uber is the answer.

Taipei's city infrastructure is breath-taking in its complexity and efficiency – a vast warren of MRT and train lines sprawl across the entire city and its suburbs – weaving under and above ground, connecting clusters of busy subterranean centres, malls, markets, businesses, shopping areas. There is less exposure to inclement weather; tourists never even really need to exit onto rain-lashed streets for good food and entertainment. Even large city transport infrastructures of San Francisco, New York, Melbourne are incomparable to the ease and convenience of getting from A to B in Taipei and other key cities in Taiwan.

Travelling Taiwan this time round, much like the journey from the airport to our hotel, was a zesty flurry of riding trains, the MRT and buses, cycling, pounding the pavement to the next destination, cycling, hopping on yet another round of MRT and buses, generally travelling amidst intersecting tides of courteous, well-behaved citizens rushing in every which direction. (The crowds never abate, even during work hours on weekdays.) When we reached the end of any transport line, there was always government funded racks of yellow bicycles just around the corner to take us even further – down alleys and paths not oft trodden by tourists.

Most impressive of all was taking Taiwan's high speed bullet rail from Taipei to Taichung, which zipped past rice fields, swathes of banana, betelnut and palm trees, concrete towns and cities at 300km an hour, reducing a normally 2-hour drive to a mere 40 minutes’ train ride.

The island country is small in area, about one-seventh the size of New Zealand, but nearly 5 times the population, and hence compact and compacted in the best way possible – there is more food, entertainment, attractions and culture squeezed into every square km of land than most western countries. The stark confluence between east vs west, traditional vs modern, rundown vs sparkling new, cityscape vs nature is palpable and endlessly stimulating. Hundreds of Buddhist and Tao temples are tucked amidst busy streets and alleys lined with global high-end brand stores, mom & pop shops, businesses, sleek towers and extravagant high-rises. Cultural monuments and palaces sit majestic in central locations, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of traffic, expensive restaurants, and cheap stalls & eateries. If nothing else, Taiwan is known for its love of eating and serving food. Wherever you go, there is delicious affordable dishes at 1/3 the cost of New Zealand prices – the pungent smells of seafood, baos, dumplings, stirfries, noodles, stinky tofus permeating the entire island and infusing it with that quintessental "eastern" spirit.

And then there are the famous must-do tourist attractions – the more exhilarating in Taipei include "Taipei 101", one of the tallest and most eye-pleasing skyscrapers in the world, standing at 508 metres high and costing US$1.9 billion to build; the Maokong gondola which glides over 4 km of mountain range, traversing from Taipei Zoo to its wildly popular destination in the high mountain tea village of Maokong, costing only NZ$6 for the spectacular ride. An hour north of Taipei is the enchanting old streets of Jiufen – an old mining town famous for its dazzling views of the sea, steeply tiered alleyways flanked by red lanterns and crammed with teahouses and old shops, not to mention its striking resemblance to the magical setting in the animated movie Spirited Away.

Further from the crowded towns and cities are elaborate nature trails wending poetically through Taiwan’s innumerable lush park, woodland and forest areas proliferating with ancient cypress, cedars, pines, bamboos, and conifers, leading hikers from eye-popping vista to vista. The diversity of landscape within such a small geographic area is mind boggling – from high alpine mountains, gorges and ravines, inland crater lakes, to hot thermal springs and river plains – everywhere you go, nature rules, or specifically, the sound of nature. The most iconic thing about Taiwan is the thundering chorus of cicadas hissing, chirping, crescendoing into the summer. It is, for me, the sound of home.

Taiwan's fusion of complex and polarising elements of culture and its rich vibrant hum continually puts the bounce back into the wearying tourist and keeps you on the go. Despite having visited Taiwan nearly every year for most of my life, there are still endless things to do and places to get to.