This is a handbook for #rubyfriends from overseas put together by everyone.
If you ever go to Taiwan, check out this amazing site for trips in the country.
-- Nico Hagenburger @hagenburger
- Money
- Weather
- Ruby Meetups
- Data SIM Card
- Power (Socket)
- Free WiFi
- Tipping
- Communication
- What to buy to bring back home
- Getting Around
- Sight Seeing
- Food
- Coffee Culture
- Café
- Cat Cafés
- Currency
- Co-working Spaces
- Souvenirs
- License
- Credits
New Taiwanese Dollar, code TWD.
NT$ / NTD$ / 元 (yuan) / 圓 (yuan).
1, 5, 10, 20, 50 are coins.
100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 are banknotes.
italic means less common.
More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Taiwan_dollar.
General very hot and humid, tropical weather. Winter from December to February, Summer from June to September. March to May, October and November are best to visit. Typhoon is typical in July, August and September.
👉 https://github.com/rubytaiwan/rubytw-reboot/wiki/Meetups
At Taoyuan (TPE) or Songshan (TSA) airport you can purchase Data SIM cards from any of the four telecom providers operating in Taiwan. Regulations on SIM cards purchased outside of Taoyuan/Songshan Airport require you to present both your passport, and a secondary peice of photo identification, i.e drivers license... However, purchasing a data SIM card from inside the Airport enables you to use your entry permit/Tourist Visa/ Visa-Exempt stamp on your passport as your secondary peice of identification. For those who prefer to pre-book their SIM card prior to arrival, reservations can be completed online in English with Chunghwa Telecom （中華電信）at the following link: https://prepaidsim.twgate.net/reservation_en.html?&click=res_menu
Sign up an account from TPE-Free. Most of the public places (shopping mall, library and Metro stations) have TPE-Free.
If you purchase a Taiwanese SIM card with a local phone number you can also complete registration for iTaiwan. However, the Wifi network is purposed for citizens/residents and will only be available at public areas such as post offices, or government buildings.
When choosing to use either of the free networks provided by Taipei City please use proper pre-cautions as networks are public and data you transmit over open networks is not secure. Proper precautions like using a VPN or limiting sensitive data transmission is advised. Furthermore, if you already have a SIM card, you will find these Wifi networks to be significantly more sluggish then the speedy 4G networks Taiwan offers.
No need to tip. Tipping is not expected in any parts of Taiwan and insisiting upon tipping usually only leads to akward situations.
Mandarin is obviously the most widely used language in Taiwan, although many have at least a limited grasp of English and are usually extremely polite and helpful to tourists visiting Taiwan.
METRO RAPID TRANSIT (MRT) Taipei boasts an extremely efficent metro system that operates from 6 in the morning until a little after midnight 7 days a week. TAIWAN RAILWAY ASSOCIATION (TRA) For trips outside the reach of the MRT, Taiwan also has a railway network which runs along both sides of the island, timetables can be access via the provided link. HIGH SPEED RAIL (HSR) Last but not least is Taiwan's HSR, similar to Japan's bullet trains the HSR runs on one side of the island and can take you to several destinations in the fraction of the time that is required by TRA. Tickets can be reserved via the provided link, or via the mobile applications available for iOS/Android.
Uber has been discontinued in Taipei.
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Credit: Antonio Tajuelo
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Treasures that you won't see in Beijing's National Palace Museum.
Credit: Leon Brocard
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Elephant mountain (象山, Xiang-shan)
Here you can see the taipei 101 and whole Taipei city.
Credit: 中岑 范姜
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Maokong (貓空)
Famous for the taiwanese tea
Credit: Prince Roy
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Yangmingshan National Park (陽明山國家公園)
Credit: 宋炯瑞
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Ping Hsi Branch Railway Line & Old Town (平溪支線, 平溪老街)
Famous for the Taiwan’s sky lantern festival. You can launching sky lanterns on the railway. Like "Tangled" by Disney.
Credit: Jirka Matousek
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Jiufen (九份)
The famous Japanese animation producer Hayao Miyazaki used Jiufen as an inspiration in Spirited Away.
Credit: cotaro70s
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Tamsui Old Town (淡水老街)
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Beitou Hot Spring (北投溫泉)
Credit: カメラマン
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Wulai(Under recovery)
Anime & Manga
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Taipei Underground Shopping Street (台北地下街)
Near Taipei Main Station. Most anime shops located at the middle of the shopping street. (Not to be confused with Zhongshan Underground Shopping Street)
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Guanghua Market (光華商場)
Electronic Street, but also have some anime shops in Syntrend (三創). Huashan Park (華山文創園區) is also a good place to go.
More information: The 25 Top Taipei, Taiwan Things To Do: What to Do Today, This Weekend or in September.
You can flag down a taxi from the street. Starts at NT$70-90, but in some tourist sites, the price will be a little bit higher.
Google Maps is your good friend.
The public transport system runs on reloadable contactless cards called EasyCard (您遊卡） and iPass, although Easycard is the most common in Taipei. There are also one to five day unlimited pass (for MRT and Buses), called Taipei pass, and 24hr Taipei Metro Pass (only for MRT). It’s better to buy a EasyCard unless you will plan on making 5+ trips per day then you can buy the Taipei pass at all metro station information. The EasyCard is available at all metro station information counters and convenience stores.
EasyCard credits are refundable (only if you have registered the cards) the refund process now takes several days and generally is not worth the hassle to those only visiting the city briefly, and is better left as a keepsake.
No eating, drinking and chewing gun is allowed inside the station or on the train.
Taiwan is very famous for night market. There are so many night market in Taipei, for example: Shihlin night market and Ninxia night market. In this night market, you can find many Taiwanese foods. See also 45 Taiwanese foods we can't live without on CNN.
Probaly the most known Taiwan food. If you want to try Ding-Tai-Feng (鼎泰豐) be prepared to queue for 1 hour in lunch and dinner time.
Search Google for stinky tofu challenge
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林東芳牛肉麵
One of the best places in Taipei. Be prepared to queue
Looks like American hot dog but is broiled sausage wrapped in "rice sausage".
Similar to Japanese oden but is a Taiwan-specialized version. Also called "黑輪" (Oh-Lian)
Two types: Oil-fried and steamed. Steamed is usually only in southern Taiwan.
Unlike American style fried checken, and also unlike Japanese fried checken (kara-age), the Taiwanse fried chicken is flat and as large as your hand, some are even larger than your face.
Shaved Ice Mountain usually served with sweet beans like azuki bean or fruits. Besure to try Mango Shaved Ice which is the most known ice in Taiwan.
Note: Sun is not included in the cake.
Like Jelly but softer. Usually served in cold with lemon. This sweet is probaly only available in Taiwan.
Ongoing list of cafes put together in Wiki.
Credit: Ms.Aman
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Pineapple cake
It's great for afternoon tea. The filling is either pineapple, or more traditionally winter melon (冬瓜) sealed with a buttery crust.
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Nougat
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Tea Leaf Pack
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Sun cake
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Kavalan (Taiwan Whiskey). Only available at airport
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
This guide is inspired by Ruby Singapore community, check out their handbook if you visit Singapore.
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