Life ‘Stuck’ in Taiwan during the coronavirus pandemic (May’s edition)

What is life like ‘stuck’ in Taiwan during the coronavirus pandemic? Strange but wonderful! It feels strange because most of the world was still on pause in May with most people still ordered to stay home. Taiwan on the other hand has been moving forward and operating as usual. We dine at restaurants, get on crowded subway rides, explore tourist sites, see students going to school, and workers going to work. We feel guilty at times for leading such free lives after we completed our home self-quarantine. If we were back in the US or France at this time, we would be unable to move around freely and would be constantly worried about possibly spreading the virus to our loved ones, so we are very grateful for the freedom we have in Taiwan. So for that, thank you Taiwan!

(If you are new to the blog, we decided to shelter ourselves in Taiwan during the pandemic. This has been – in retrospect – the best decision we could have made at the time since Taiwan is free of COVID-19 which gives us security and freedom to explore without worries).

In May, we continue what we did in April, which was exploring a lot within and around Taipei. 

We were able to check out some new restaurants and night markets while still doing our usual grocery shopping. We explored much more outside of Taipei this month with a 2 days trip to Jiaoxi (for our wedding anniversary) and multiple days trips 30-90 minutes away from Taipei to places like Keelung and Pinglin. In addition to the conveniences of a very efficient city, Taipei is also surrounded by beautiful mountains with lots of hiking trails. We’ve really prioritized time in nature during this pandemic and are making the most of getting outdoors whenever we can. As you will see from our list of activities, we have been having a wonderful time in Taipei and are just scratching the surface. For this second post, we are going to cover the month of May that we spent in Taipei. Are you ready to discover what Taiwan has to offer, even during this pandemic?

Pro-tip: If you are interested to easily locate and access all the places we are mentioning in this article, fill out the form below and we will send you a copy of our own Google Maps we created during our stay in Taiwan. (We uses this map directly from our phone when we explore, which make it super handy to find places).

Notes:

• Unless specified otherwise, prices in USD have been converted from the local currency (NT$ or New Taiwan Dollar) to USD using a 1:30 ratio. (so 1 NT$ = 0.033 USD). 
• Since we share a lot of recommendations, we use this notation [⭐️⭐️⭐️] to indicates what is the best of the best (la creme de la creme as you would say it in French). If you have a limited amount of time, try to focus on them first.

Our Favorite Sights/Activities in May

Here are the places we recommend in Taipei:

• Bike ride from Ximen to Tamsui – A nice 2-3 hours bike ride along the river to get to Tamsui which makes for a perfect stop as this town has great snacks, great food as well as a night market.
  Cost: 60 NTD to rent a Youbike + same amount to take the MRT back to Ximen

Here are the places we recommend outside of Taipei:

• Jingualiao stream, fern and tea plantations trail (Pinglin district) – An hour away from Taipei, this hike starts in the town of Pinglin and takes you along streams, fern trails, and tea plantations.
  Cost: FREE, besides public transportation cost (~60 NTD round trip from Xindian MRT station per person)

• Hiking in Wangyou Valley (Keelung) – This is a wonderful and easy 2 hours coastal hike near Keelung where you can later enjoy its night market (see below).
  Cost: FREE, besides public transportation cost (~100 NTD round trip from Taipei Main Station).

• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Snorkeling @ Longdong Bay (Longdong) – This was our first snorkeling in Taiwan and the location was perfect. You can jump off a small cliff, swim and enjoy some nice corals and some fish.
  Cost: you will be able to rent a mask + goggles + water boots for ~120 NTD per person.

• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Stegosaurus ridge hike – This is a pretty hard day-long hike but worth it. Similar to the one we did in April (Huangdidian East to West peaks hike) you need to be in good physical condition and not have vertigo as there are plenty of narrow passages and some require using a rope to go through them (both going up or down). You won’t regret the view once you reach the top!
  Cost: FREE beside public transportation cost (~180 NTD from Ximen MRT Station).  

• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Fulong bike ride – One of our best bikes rides ever. Since Taiwan is pretty quiet during COVID19, this might have added to the experience but it is a breathtaking and fun bike ride along the ocean. The path starts from Fulong station and goes through a long tunnel (old coaling tunnel) for some added fun.
  Cost: 100 NTD to rent a bike for the day at the train station.

• Hiking Sandiaoling to Houtong (Sandialong) – This is a 3-hour hike that goes through a couple of waterfalls and starts in the old town of Sandiaoling. You do cross some streams, so make sure to wear waterproof shoes. As you loop back to Sandiaoling, you can extend the day by taking a YouBike (city bike) to bike all the way down to Houtong before heading back to Taipei which is fun. “Cost: FREE, besides public transportation cost (~90 NTD round trip from Songdian MRT station per person).

• Hiking Yangmingshan National Park – This is a beautiful national park in the city. We went there to see some flowers (late blooms of lilies and mostly hydrangea for this time of the year). We then hiked down to pass a few waterfalls (creekside trail loop) for a total of 3.5 hours.
  Cost: FREE, besides public transportation cost (~90 NTD from Ximen MRT station per person).
• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Kayaking in Dongao Bay – If you are looking for a memorable kayaking experience, we recommend taking a kayak on the ocean along the Dongao Bay (we recommend Neptune kayaking). They offer various itineraries and we took the longer one: 4 hours of kayaking with a stop at a private beach and as with most (if not all) Taiwanese paid activities that include a guide and you will get a ton of pictures taken for you.
  Cost: 2000 NTD per person. We managed to get a discount as we joined a large group. 

Here are the hikes we recommend to check out in Jiaoxi:

• Hiking to Wufengchi waterfall (Jiaoxi) – This is a great 2-hour hike that ends on a really nice waterfall. Cost: FREE since there is a free tourist bus from Jiaoxi. We did walk from Jiaoxi directly as the beginning of the trail is just a 30 minutes walk away.
  Cost: FREE
• Hike to Hou Dong Keng waterfall (Jiaoxi) – Another short hike (1 hour) to another waterfall in Jiaoxi. If you have proper gear, from the top of the hike you can venture into some river tracing.
  Cost: FREE.

Our Favorite Restaurants

Here are the places we recommend in Taipei:

• 無麩質會館 – This is a great gluten/dairy-free restaurant in Da’An. The staff is super friendly and speaks good English and they will explain the health benefits of all of their dishes. A bit on the pricey side, but keep in mind that you have very limited GF/DF options in Taiwan.
  Cost: 400-500 NTD for a set meal. Mains are around 300 NTD.

Here are the places we recommend outside of Taipei:

• Keelung Night Market – Here is another very popular night market in all of Taiwan that Anthony Bourdain visited in 2013. Lots of options, including sweet potato balls! We stopped by a side restaurant along with the market that served some delicious fresh fish as well. 

Our Favorite Sweets Spots

Here are the places for snacks we recommend in Taipei:

• Soypresso – This chain specializes in everything soy-based – mostly sweet (soy milk, soy ice cream…). We went there for their soy ice cream which has a perfect texture and was delicious.
  Cost: 60 NTD for a cup of soy milk ice cream. Not cheap for Taiwan, but when you can have dairy it’s worth it! 

• Nuttea – Another place that is dairy-free that sells various milk tea alternatives to the lactose version, including boba nut milk tea which we really enjoyed.
  Cost: 75 NTD for a large size boba tea with nut milk. 

• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Bulao Hakka Traditional Mochi – If you are looking for traditional mochi, wait no more and run to this stand 🙂 Service is super fast and you can pick from 6 different fillings (such as peanuts, black sesame, red beans)
  Cost: 10 NTD per mochi! Can’t beat that.

Our Favorite Grocery Stores & Farmers Markets

We pretty much have the same recommendations we had back in April since we had settled into our routine and have been living in the same neighborhood: Ximen.

Here are our top recommendations:

• Carrefour – Carrefour is a French supermarket I grew up with (so I might be a bit subjective in my opinion :D). This place makes for a one-stop-shop for everything food-related we needed to cook. The store even offers kitchen appliances, clothes, games, and more. My favorite section of the store is probably the fresh baked goods section (approved as a French). Staff speaks English which can be convenient if you need assistance.
  Pro-tip: When going shopping to Carrefour try to go there past 8 pm as some items that the store doesn’t want to resell the next day will be heavily discounted!  
• Wellcome – A more local & smaller supermarket that is widespread in Taipei. We had one close to our Airbnb that we mostly used for a few fruits and vegetables that were noticeably more affordable than Carrefour. The staff doesn’t speak much English.
• Local markets – You will find plenty of local farmers’ markets in Taipei. The best ones are obviously the local ones IMHO. I don’t really have a strong recommendation as they all look the same and they are easy to find. Just go for the one closest to your location
• Taipei Expo Farmer’s market – If you are looking more for a higher-end farmers market, with an artisanal feel, this is a great option. It is part of a big park that is surrounded by cute shops and a park close by.

Our Favorite places to take care of ourselves

Sometimes we need to take care of ourselves for fun or by necessity!

Here are our top recommendations in Taipei:

• Zeal Haircut – I am pretty low maintenance when it comes to haircut and this chain has been perfect for me. You get it, get a ticket, wait in line and get your haircut done.
  Pro-tip: For places where I don’t speak the language, I like to show pictures of what I want to the hairdresser so you do end up with what you are looking for.
  Cost: 100 TWD (~ 3.33 USD) for a quick haircut. No tip expected.

Here are our top recommendations outside of Taipei:

• [⭐️⭐️⭐️] Yunoyado Onsen – For our 2 years wedding anniversary, we spent a few days in Jiaoxi and booked this lovely Japanese style hotel that has an in-room hot spring. 

Those were our highlights for May in Taipei! We definitely made the most of our freedom here to enjoy what the island has to offer during a less busy time. We are so thankful that Taiwan has taken the appropriate measures to make the island safe from covid-19 and allow visitors like us to stay in the country for the time-being. As nature-lovers and foodies, we definitely won’t run out of things to do in Taiwan for months.

Next month we are heading south and plan to explore Hualien, Kaohsiung, Taichung and everything in between. We are pretty excited about this “fast travel” month to see what the southern part of the island has to offer. Be sure to sign-up for our newsletter (link below) so you can get notified when we publish these upcoming posts.

Are you surprised by what life is like in Taiwan during the pandemic? Did you know there were so many activities to do? Would you be interested to come visit Taiwan (& Taipei)? Feel free to share your experience and ask questions by leaving a comment below.