I had an 18-hour stop-over in Taipei, not long to do anything interesting but long enough to get claustrophobic and airplane phobia if I stayed and spent my day in the lounge and listened to flight departure calls.
I arrived at 5 in the morning and wouldn’t leave for San Francisco until 23:00. These days I traveled with a much slower pace, like seeing a couple of sights versus gazillions of them in a single day. Now all I want is to find a nice, cozy little place and sit.
Having the tight time constraint turned out to be a good thing. I didn’t want to brag that I was in Taipei but saw nothing because “by the way, all I did was sitting in a Tapioca bubble tea and munching on pearls.” There was no coffee culture in Asian countries anyway, at least in the countries I had been. Chance was, I would end up somewhere crowded and loud among the Chinese (or Taiwanese to be politically correct).
6-8: Airport “Bed & Breakfast”
If you slept a few hours the night before and would walk for 10 hours in the cold, you would find comfort in any seat at the airport. I already had my breakfast at 3 in the morning. All I needed was “bed.”
8-9: China Airlines – City Tour
China Airlines provides FREE TOUR of Taipei to their flight customers (departing/arriving). Two tours start at 8 and 13. You can only choose one and must leave with them from the airport not join them later during their tour.
But I missed out on the morning tour and didn’t want to wait until 13, so I got the map, guides from the counter and went for a walk.
9-10: Taipei Bus Station
China Airlines operates at Taoyuan airport, in another city, an hour by bus to Taipei. Many buses are going to different places in Taipei, the most popular probably going to Taipei main train station.
Once in Taipei, I bought a day-pass, very convenient for the kind of quick in-and-out hopping-around travel. Most major touristy sights were located right next to the metro stations.
10-11: Taipei City Hall (Taipei 101)
There is nothing unusual here except Taipei 101, the tallest building in Taipei. Even the building is mediocre, especially during the day. But when you’re a tourist, I guess you have to see the city’s landmark.
(photo credit: skyscrapper.org)
11-12 Sun Yat-Sen Memorial – China’s Founding Father
15-minute walk from Taipei City Hall. Sun Yat Sen was called the founding father of the Republic of China, playing an instrumental role in the revolution to overthrow the Qing dynasty and end feudalism in China. He is perhaps the one Chinese who is universally respected by all Chinese: Chinese in China, ethnic Chinese in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Chinese abroad and even the Chinese communist government.
He was the only Chinese who had many memorials in various cities in China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taiwan.
Sun Yat-Sen Memorial
13 – 14: Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial
Chiang was a member of the same party, Nationalist or Kuomintang, with Sun Yat Sen and later became the party boss. Chiang and Sun were brothers-in-law, married to the same sisters. Unlike Sun Yat Sen and his wife who were able to maintain a good relationship with the Chinese Communists, the Nationalist Party under Chiang engaged in a civil war with the Communists who defeated him. He fled to Taiwan, still operated his party and ran mainland China from there until the Mao Zedong took over.
Chiang Kai-Shek was impressive, perhaps due to his status in Taiwan, which under his reign became one of the four Asian tigers among Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea.
Chiang Kai-Shek’s Memorial
14 – 15:30: Zhongshan District – Religion and Art
Out of curiosity about the temple where Pure Land Buddhist Master Chin Kung first entered his monastic life. I learned about Master Chin Kung and Pure Land Buddhism only a few weeks before while I was traveling in Australia. I stayed at a home of my second-grade teacher, a good friend of my mother, in Melbourne. Every day I interacted with pious Vietnamese Pure Land Buddhists who talked about Buddhism in every conversation. So when I knew that the connection of Master Chin Kung and Zhongshan, I had to come and see.
I visited Lintzi temple, located near Zhongshan metro station. The temple wasn’t at all impressive and looked mediocre, not a tourist sight. However, there were a few other sights worth visiting which I didn’t know at first. (Get a tourist pamphlet before you leave the station. It has a rough map of sights to visit.)
Within walking distance are two other Buddhist temples, Fine art museum, Fine art park, children recreational center.
The metro station at Zhongshan
The temple at Zhongshan District where Master Ching Kung first entered his monastic life
The garden
15:30 – 17:30: Tamsui River District
I almost skipped this area thinking I wouldn’t have enough time. Tamsui is a different city north of Taipei, at the end of a metro line. But I was at Zhongshan station; it took only another 20 minutes to get there.
The river town was a refreshing change of scenery, another world from the busy, crowded Taipei.
Tamsui River District
A food stand at Tamsui river district
A street performance at Tamsui
17:30 – 19:00: Longshan Temple – Evening Ceremony
I happened to walk into an evening service. The temple was packed with people. Some sat on the ground reading Buddhist textbooks. Some waited in line to offer their incense sticks. The rest were lining inside and outside the prayer hall participating in the ceremony.
A prayer session at Longshan Temple
19:00 – 19:30: Night market
Grab a late snack, ice bubble tea and watch people at a night market near Longshan temple, one of many in Taipei.
A food stand at the Temple
19:30-20:00: Ximending – Japanese sub-culture
This area claims to be Taipei fashion source and all-things Japanese subculture. It was very crowded in the evening, lots of modern shops.
(@Ximen, one metro stop Longshan station and Taipei main station)
Ximending – Japanese sub-culture area
Ximending – Japanese sub-culture area
20:00 Bus to the airport
Buses to the airport leave at Taipei main station but from a different terminal, not where I got dropped off in the morning.
21:00 Check-in
I ran into an old friend whom I met in Prague a few years ago while walking to the waiting area. He left Prague and returned to Bali, and we didn’t keep in touch. It turned out that we both flew to the same country, same city and boarded the same flight.
I'm a motivation explorer, personality type hacker, behavioral investigator and storyteller. I help startup founders, entrepreneurs, and corporate managers to understand themselves, the people they manage and how to get the best of their people. Specialty is in psychological personality types and brain-based methods. When I don't do the above, I hop around planet Earth with TravelJo.com to learn the Art and Science of people from everywhere and to give you all the free travel and tips and advice in many cool destinations.
My name is Cindy, also rhymes with travel junkie. A friend said I was probably a gipsy in my previous life. One of my many secret missions in life is to convert you to run off every once in awhile.
One thought on “12 Hours in Taiwan: Things to Do and See in Taipei When You Have Little Time”
Simon BleechmorePosted on 8:14 am - Jan 31, 2018
Loved your article, Cindy. I may find it very useful in the near future. All the best for your travels and career.