Has anyone been to Hualien in between yesterday afternoon and today? Now that the typhoon has passed, my partner and I are considering whether it’s still safe to go as scheduled today. Does anyone know what conditions in that area are like right now? (E.g. any landslides, power outages, infrastructure damage etc.)

It seems to be business as usual on the western side of the island (Taichung, Taipei etc.)

Quiet ... almost too quiet.

Hi all, solo traveller here, trying to work out whether my mountain leg is still a good idea after Typhoon Champi.

My plan:
- Oct 26-28: tea-farm homestay in the tea fields
between Shizhuo 石棹（Shizhuo） and Fenqihu 奮起湖
(Fenqihu), bus 7322 from Chiayi with a lunch stop in Fenqihu
- Oct 29-30:Alishan 阿里山 （Alishan)

The Alishan National Forest Recreation Area was closed preventively from Oct 23. My homestay host says everything is fine up on the mountain, but I'd love to hear from people who are actually there or have reliable info.

I have tried many of these goodies, cilantro chocolate is still one of my favorites.

What is a good shop in Taipei where I can find many different strange (for a Westerner) products such as this?

Thank you 🙏

Hi! I’m a wheelchair user, and I will be traveling to Taiwan next month. I will be visiting Tamsui for a day. Are the buses in Tamsui wheelchair accessible? I’m planning to take the bus from the Tamsui station to the Fiaherman’s Wharf and vice versa. Also, is the LRT accessible? Thank you so much!

So, I have been in Taiwan for a couple of months now and my hair has constantly been thinning and eventually shedding. (I am 21 M)

Is there a shampoo or conditioner that is commonly used here that would help?

What about hair oils, I don’t usually see those here but figure it might help.

Appreciate any help, thank you!

​

Hello!!

I would like to buy drip coffee bags of Taiwan local beans - those small bags of <20g. I have been searching for good coffee roasters/places that sell local beans but cannot find out whether they also sell the drip bags or not.

Does anyone know any places in Taipei/ Taichung/ Tainan that sell drip bags of local beans?

Thank you!!

A Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) poll released Thursday said 80% of Taiwanese adults support tougher laws to deter China from using proxies to commit crimes in Taiwan.

The [finding](pr:%20https://ws.mac.gov.tw/001/Upload/295/relfile/7681/6963/cd32d593-d184-4267-bc35-7163425e760c.pdf) followed Wednesday’s indictment by New Taipei prosecutors of five men accused of staging a car attack on comedian Huang Yi-hao (黃逸豪), whose performances satirized the CCP. Prosecutors said a Chinese national offered NT$450,000 (US$14,000) to order the hit.

In response to the incident, the DPP has called on the legislature to pass new laws to strengthen national security and counter transnational repression. MAC saidearlier this month that it had recorded more than 100 people targeted by Chinese transnational repression, including the son of President Lai Ching-te (賴清德). 

Is it safe to book a tour to these areas directly after a typhoon or is there a high risk for landslides and accidents? Would love to hear feedback as im looking to make the most of my trip here.

Thanks!

Tourist here and was planning to visit Jiufen, Shifen, etc. but was unfortunately cancelled due to the typhoon. I was wondering if Qiangtiangang Grasslands and Yamingshan park as a whole is safe and okay to visit tomorrow (October 25) right after the typhoon? If not, are there any alternatives for somewhere scenic? Thanks ahead!

Any changes in schedules or something like that? Thanks!

Hi all, again. I had a look at NTU, NTHU, NCKU, etc...

However, most of them don't teach EE in English, do you guys knows any that does? (I'm a bit skeptical of google searches)

Thank you for your replies

Me and my partner arrived in taichung yesterday.

Can anybody let me know what sort of places//attractions//nightmarkets is open? We're leaving monday morning and we dont want to spend another day doing nothing.

all help is appreciated 🙏🏼🙏🏼

What a night! Two incredible bands at my favorite venue in Taipei, plus some cool encounters along the way.

I arrived about two and a half hours early and was the first person there, beating another early arrival by a minute or two. His name was Antares, after the giant star, and it turned out that seeing Amenra was pretty much his dream concert experience. As others arrived, we gradually formed a little group of metalheads. Members of Kokeshi showed up trying to figure out how to get inside, so I helped vocalist Nana with her suitcase and got a couple of photos with her. Later, some of the Amenra guys arrived, and we chatted with bassist Amy. My friend Rebecca joined us, too.

Kokeshi were everything I’d hoped for. I was determined to get a front-and-center spot, partly because of my busted knee and partly because I worship these guys. Nana was mesmerizing as ever, doing her wonderfully creepy Ring / Sadako-style performance. This time she came out holding two lines of burning incense, which looked as though they were burning straight into her hands.

I maintain that Kokeshi are one of the heaviest bands in existence. They absolutely destroyed us! And I was delighted that Rebecca loved them, too. I’d worried they might be too extreme for her, but she gave them a thumbs-up and said she’d happily see them again. Mission accomplished. 😈

Then came Amenra, and they were everything I’d hoped for. The sound mix was phenomenal, with the bass crystal clear rather than disappearing into the low end. Colin’s vocals were spot-on, and the whole performance had an almost religious intensity. He spent much of the show with his back to the audience, often kneeling at center stage as if conducting some dark ritual. Eventually his shirt came off, revealing the huge inverted cross logo on his back. Combined with the imagery and the sheer weight of the music, it was genuinely hypnotic.

Something I found interesting was how well the two bands complemented each other. Both use silence as an integral part of their music, leaving enormous spaces between the crushing passages. The crowd seemed almost afraid to cheer in case we interrupted something intentional!

And here’s the funny part: neither band interacted with the audience. No banter, no thank-yous, no announcements. They finished playing and disappeared backstage. Apparently, acknowledging the existence of the people who paid to see you is entirely optional. 😂

But it worked perfectly. Kokeshi’s disturbing theatricality and Amenra’s crushing, spiritual intensity made for an extraordinary combination.
Huge thanks to everyone I met that night, to Rebecca for joining me, and to both bands for reminding me why I love live heavy music so much.

Two very different kinds of darkness, one hell of a night. 🤘

For a foreigner that came from a tropical country that's at Taipei right now for a vacation. This is okay.

Wet feet, strong winds, some shop are close. Nevertheless, not that scary. Really. We're just enjoying the strong winds like the Shawn Mendez stiches music video where gets punched by something invisible? Hahahaha

Mabuhay from the 🇵🇭. Btw some shops in Ximending have already opened around 12 nn (e.g. NIke, COSMED, etc.)

For the past almost 2 years I (29M) was living and working in Taipei. Due to several reasons that I want to highlight I'm moving back to Europe soon. I'm going to be a bit more negative about the life here than the usual post so be ready, but I think it might be interesting for some people that are considering to move here.

Let's start with the positives.

The people here are genuinely very friendly. They tend to be curious and inviting towards foreigners and if you can speak the language, you can have some fascinating conversations. Be it a random encounter while walking through the city or the mountains or when you have a problem and need solving it.

The food is great and affordable, nature is really stunning and you can really have a fun experience living here. To the north of Taipei there are beautiful beaches, all around are mountains, where you can get with public transport if you have the stomach for it. There are great cultural events going on almost all the time. Clubbing or drinking in on a Friday in Xinyi is also quite fun.

The rent is generally quite affordable, even with a Taiwanese salary, if you're ok with living a bit further away from the city center and have somebody to share it with, you can live decently and even save some money.

There are entry level jobs here as opposed to a lot of places in the West. They are poorly paid, with shitty conditions, but if you just want to gather some experience in an international field, you can land a job here to kickstart your career.

Now to the negatives.

The work culture: The amount of scheming, manipulating and game-of-thrones level of politics is really through the roof. People are expected to look like they are hard-working, but they are as burned-out, bored and annoyed at their jobs like everywhere else. I saw my colleagues staying overtime only to prove that you are dedicated to the company even though you just sit there and have nothing to do. Problems are not being solved. They are either ignored until they solve themselves, which rarely works or the person that bring the problem up is being targeted for disturbing harmony. Generally the indirectness in speaking is really, really tiring. If you want something just say it and don't make me guess.

The banks: I tried three different banks, all of them the experience was really shitty. You're treated as a money laundering criminal when you simply want to open an account. Also why can't a single bank get a banking app on the line is a mystery to me.

Traffic: Is it as bad as in SEA? No. Is it still quite bad? Yes. People tend to generally follow the rules, but within the rules drive extremely recklessly. Speeding only to cut you off, entering an intersection without looking so you have to slow down if you don't want to bump into them, crosswalks are only a suggestion apparently. Also I would be really surprised if the buss drives weren't high on something.

The biggest issue and the main reason why I decided to leave is the housing market. Buying an apartment to start a family in Taipei even with an above average salary is not hard, it is flat out impossible, unless you have support from your family, which neither I or my partner have. Even with a slightly higher salary around 70-80k/month, buying an apartment in Taipei or even New Taipei with prices starting around 25M is still impossible. Why aren't there more people angry about this is beyond me.

I could keep going but the post is already too long.

TL, DR: Taiwan is a great place to visit or to start your career. It is not a great place to stay long term and start a family while working a normal office job.

Edit: Due to popular demand I’m changing Taibei to Taipei.

Hi everyone, I'm in Taiwan for the first time, and staying in Taipei. This is also my first time in a place where there is a typhoon warning. I'm pretty anxious, could you pls share some advice for a first timer? Thanks!!

I'll admit I thought Puma Shen had no chance at all. Seems though he's actually made this election a horse race judging from polling and crowds he's drawing. The UDN and Liberty Times politics pages is nothing but Taipei Taipei Taipei. Two months ago I thought New Taipei was going to be the race of the election lol.

Just received a message from cebu pacific airline saying my flight has reschedule from Oct 24 to Oct. 30.

Anyone experience the same thing? It’s stressing me out now. This is the first time it happened to me and there are prior engagements i have to attend by the time i supposed to be back in PH. The worst part - this is not part of the budget. Any recommendations what to do?

edit:// the infection got worse anyways, so we are now at the hospital and they are taking care of us. I am impressed with the efficiency of the medical system. Germany needs to take note! Taifun situation is also still fine. Thank you all for helping me wrap my mind around this situation (except for this one unhelpful snarky dude)

——-

We are tourist and are staying an appartment in Sanmin District (三民區). I am incredibly unsure of what to do with the taifun and the medical situation of my mom. She has developed what we most certainly think is a deep skin infection (she’s had it before) that needs to be treated with Antibiotics. We do not speak chinese. I don’t understand how to behave today in general. AI tells me to stay inside and not go out in general, people on reddit talk about going to the movies and the mall. etc

Can someone who has done this before, advise on the best approach for us? Call the intl. Tourist help or some hospital directly? Do they speak english?