Korean Job Discussion Forums

[antoniothegreat]

on my way back from the philipines, i will be in taiwan for two days. so its not worth getting a lonely planet.

anyone got a few ideas of what to do?

how is the shopping? are electronics cheap there?

thanks

[huffdaddy]

Go to Taipei 101 (the tall building). There's a great little grocery store on one of the basement levels (next to the food court). It's one of the reasons I'd move to Taiwan.

(disclaimer: I've never been to a Costco here, so maybe the selection isn't that great. But compared to E-Mart, Lotte Mart, Wal-Mart, et al, it rocks.)

[Smee]

I like Taipei a lot.

If you need a hostel, there's one called the Taipei Key Mall Traveler Hostel. It's across the street from Taipei Main Station, where the airport bus will drop you off. It's cheap and clean, and one of the women that works there speaks English well enough to help you out. Failing that, there's another hostel in the same building (on the 15th floor, I think).

It costs around 10,000 won to go to the top of Taipei 101. It's a nice experience. I went at night last week, although on a clear day it'd be worth visiting as well.

I don't know much about electronics and prices, but there's an outlet with a few floors of booths in the "K-Mall" building, across from the Taipei Main Station (in the same building as that hostel above). There's more information on other electronics locations here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Taipei

There's a large Eslite bookstore which has a decent selection of English books. It's outside of the Taipei City Hall subway station (the same station you'd use for Taipei 101). There's also a 24-hour Eslite in Taipei, but I don't know where it is.

There are lots of stores in the building next to Taipei 101. Also, there is a huge shopping area stretching from Taipei 101 to the subway station, although it's a little too expensive for my tastes.

For tourist stuff, if you're interested in that, I'd recommend:
- Taipei 101
- From Taipei 101 you could walk to the Sun Yat-Sen Memorial
- Longshan temple (there's a Longshan Temple MRT stop)
- Chiang Kai-shek memorial (impressive looking, accessible by an MRT stop of the same name)
- National Palace Museum (large collection of Chinese artifacts brought over from the mainland . . . it eats up a few hours, so not sure if you're into that).
- The area around Ximen station is a lively shopping area at night, similar I guess to Gangnam.
- Shillim Night Market
- National Taiwan University is a fairly large campus (by Asian standards) and the surrounding area has a lot of coffee shops, cafes, and bookstores.
- 228 Park (you can get there on foot from Ximen or Taipei Main MRT stations)

The website http://wikitravel.org/en/Taipei has a ton of good information.

I know others would disagree, but I find Taiwan (the cities at least) to be more relaxing than Korea, and I enjoy experiencing the atmosphere. I find it more foreigner- and English-friendly. Plus, there's real coffee and breakfast.

[davai!]

Get yourself a Giant bicycle at 1/3 to 1/2 off. There is a store directly west of Taipei 101 on that road (can't remember the name) where it meets the raised highway (causeway). You can have the store put it in a box for the plane. Well worth it.

[antoniothegreat]

good stuff... thanks a ton!