Q&A General Info

What currency is used in Taiwan?
The New Taiwan dollar is the official currency in Taiwan. ATMs are widely available throughout the country, except in rural areas, while credit cards are accepted at most establishments. Every 7-Eleven or Family Mart (and you can find one of these convenience stores in really every street in town) contains an ATM.

 

About Food:

If you love to discover new tastes, you will be in the right place in Taiwan! However, if you like to have your safe and familiar food from home, Taiwan might not be your favorite destination. Especially out of the cities, you won't find much choice of international food.

Examples of the Taiwanese cuisine: 

► Beef Noodle Soup
Taiwan is known as the home of beef noodle soup. You can find it in nearly every local restaurant and it is a very affordable meal. Every restaurant has its own special recipe. 

► Traditional Soup Dumplings (Xiaolongbao)
Xiao long bao or soup dumplings are typicial steamed buns mainly filled with minced pork and vegetables. There is a particular way to eat this dish; first, you have to mix soy sauce with vinegar and sliced ginger. Then, you have to take the soup dumpling with your chopsticks and dip it into the sauce mixture. The next step is to put the soup dumpling into your spoon, poke a hole in the wrapper of the dumpling to release the juices. Enjoy!

► Braised Pork Rice (Stewed Pork Rice)
'Lurou fan', or braised pork rice; you can call it almost synonymous with Taiwanese food. A traditional bowl of lurou fan contains white rice with in an aromatic soy sauce slowly cooked pork belly on top. 

► Stinky Tofu 
Stinky tofu is a dish that every tourist has heard of, but only a very few have tried; many tourists simply can’t get past the smell. It is like normal tofu, but the way it is prepared makes it smell like sweaty socks. Some hotels even forbid you to take it into your hotel room!

► Bubble Milk Tea (Pearl Milk Tea)
For those of you who aren't familiar with the terms“bubble tea”or "pearl tea" (zhen zhu nai cha), they are derived from the black pearls added in the tea. These black pearls are made from tapioca starch and look exactly like "bubbles". Their locations have a really nice mix of traditional and modern art decor. The soft lighting creats a great atmosphere for chatting with friends over some tea and side dishes. You make your own bubble tea during the DIY Bubble Tea Class in Taichung at Chun Shui Tang, the place where it was invented! 

If you are vegeterian there wont't be any problem to find vegeterian meals in the city and in the countryside, however once you will leave the main cities you will need to know how to ask for vegeterian food in chinese language: 素食餐點
Halal and muslim food is also available but only in the main cities. 

 

Earthquakes and typhoons are a big problem?
Taiwan sits on the most volcanically active part of the world,  on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so earthquakes occur frequently and can be felt anywhere on the island. Don't be too worried; most of the modern buildings in Taiwan are built with earthquake safety constructions, including Taipei 101. Even the High Speed Rail system incorporates an automatic safety device to safely bring all trains to a halt when a significant earthquake is detected.

Every year, Taiwan is hit by at least half a dozen typhoons between May and October. Typhoons carry strong winds and drop huge amounts of rain in a very short period of time. In case of a typhoon during your tour in Taiwan, recommended is to stay safe at your hotel.

Will the language be a problem?
Let's be honest, you need to be prepared for a language barrier when visiting Taiwan. If you don't speak at least some English, you might have some troubles.

Let's be more then honest, sometimes English is not enough as well, especially out of the cities. Wifi and Google Translate will be a great help!

Just in case, we have listed 5 phrases of 'survival Taiwanese' for you:
► Nĭ hăo/ Nĭn hăo (pronounced as: 'Nee how / Neen how') = Hello
► Xièxie (Pronounced as: 'Hsieh hsieh') = Thanks
► Bù hǎo yì si (Pronounced as: 'Boo how eeh si') = Pardon/Excuse me
► Duō-shǎo-qián? (Pronounced as: 'Doo oh show chee an') = How much?
► Tīng bù dǒng (Pronounced as: 'Teeng boo dong') = I don't understand

 

I love nature, is Taiwan  recommended ?
If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere indeed, but Taiwan never runs out of amazing places to explore! Welcome to the paradise! 

Is Taiwan a 'luxurious' destination?
Taiwan isn't ready yet to welcome luxury guests, except for the capital Taipei and some other very few hotels. Don't expect an international luxury treatment. However, things are improving fast. If you are anyhow looking for luxurious holidays, we can definitely suggest the places we know!

Is Taiwan a 'beach destination'?
Taiwan is a mountainous island. The island has one of the largest number and density of high mountains in the world. There are 286 mountain summits over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) above sea level on the island, with Yushan being the tallest mountain in both Taiwan and East Asia. About 70% of the island is covered with rugged, densely forested mountains.

If you are looking for beaches, you can still find some nice spots in the south, in Kenting. A more off shore destination is Penghu Island, which you can reach by an half an hour flight from Taichung or Taipei. So, if the long white lazy equipped beach is what you are looking for, Taiwan might not be right place!