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 Taiwan 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) (Mostly International flights) or Songshan (TSA) airport you can buy Data SIM card from main carriers of Taiwan.
Due to the law, you must have BOTH your passport AND your local ID or international driver license to buy one. 😞
- Passport =>
No SIM card - ID card =>
No SIM card - Passport + ID card => SIM card!
Sign up an account from TPE-Free. Most of the public places (shopping mall, library and Metro stations) have TPE-Free.
And also, you can use iTaiwan. It will be available at some public places like post office or local government.
No need to tip.
Chinese & English, most of people will help you anyway.
Taipei MRT should be your first choice.
Uber is also available 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 a reloadable contactless card called EasyCard. 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 (with some fees) so if you still have some credits left, remember to go to the MRT counter to apply for a refund.
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.