Taipei, Taiwan (short layover) 2017

Several 30h layovers in Taipei (2017)

• Downtown, Elephant mountain, Taiwan Northeast coast (Cimpu peak, Shifen, Bitou Cape, Jiufen)
  

a) Downtown

• Downtown Taipei is the area I do not like that much in Taiwan so I will not give much detail
• By Chiang Kah Shek metro station you can visit the Memorial Hall Square, together with the National Concert Hall and the National Theater
• By the Memorial Hall you can see the National Guards performance every hour during the day
  
  
  
  
  
   
  
  
  
• In the city there are several night markets to enjoy some street food
• In particular I remember stinky tofu, which I did not try but smells really bad! Apparently the taste is nice but I did not dare to try
• Here you are a picture in Raohe St. Night Market
  
  
• Ximen is another popular area in Taipei, with both day and night market, several restaurants, shopping areas 
• It is partially tourist friendly in case of rain as some areas are covered on the sides
  
  
  
  
  

b) Elephant mountain

• My top recommendation while in Taipei is visiting Elephant mountain
• You can easily elephant mountain from Xiangshan metro station, from where less than a half an hour walk will take you to the top of the elephant mountain
• From this mountain you can appreciate the city, including the popular Taipei 101 building
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Basically you can enjoy better views than visiting Taipei 101 and avoid paying almost €15 ticket
• In this short trekking during my first time in Taipei I was lucky to meet a guy that I admire a lot (David Kao), who took me for a roadtrip in my next visit to Taipei

c) Taiwan Northeast coast (Cimpu peak, Shifen, Bitou Cape, Jiufen)

• As mentioned right before, David took me and 2 colleagues for a 3h roadtrip around the Northeast coast of Taiwan
  
• I loved that tour and I am willing to discover Taiwan since then
• First stop was Cimu peak where several trekking routes and peaks can be enjoyed
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Later on we went to Shifen waterfalls (no fee entrance)
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Just 2km far away we visited Shifen old street, famous for sky lanterns, where there is a popular market by the train railway
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
• A bit later we reached the coast
• We could see a few beaches, lovely rock formations and Cape Bitou, where there is a nice path by the coast
  
  
  
  

• On our last stop we visited the mountain city of Jiufen, including the Golden waterfall and Jiufen old street where you can find a huge market for soucenirs or some food
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• As I have said before, we enjoyed this day so much ang again, thanks a lot to David Kao
• Hope this post helps someone :)