Taiwan 2024
TAIWAN
TAIWAN
A ten-day road trip around Taiwan, the island that used to be called Formosa. A Czech-Swedish team is going to check out the local brewing scene and discover the island’s natural wonders. But our beer tour got a little sidetracked when we went to Brunei Darussalam, where the Sultan has outlawed beer. We called it a “rehab/recovery” trip, but it turns out we could smuggle a few cans in. We made it through the halfway point of our recovery without too much trouble, and when we got back to Taiwan, we were all set to finally head out and explore. There was a lot to explore. We saw the huge urban infrastructure on the west coast, the mountains and lakes in the middle, and the smog-free coastline to the east. And of course, there was the stunning Taroko Valley, which was hit by an earthquake in the first half of 2024 and then several typhoons in the second half.
Before we head out on our island adventure, I’ll do my best to outline some of the pros and cons our little expedition group ran into.
CONS
Language
The English level in the services is pretty low. The hotels are okay, but you can’t really have in-depth conversations there. In the smaller restaurants, it’s absolutely zero. It’s fun for a while, but if you’re eager to learn something, you’ll have a hard time.
Driving
The speed limit on all roads is just a painted number that most people don’t obey. The more foreign the car, the more the driver tends to act like a complete asshole (especially BMW, Mercedes, and Bentley). Lanes in cities tend to suddenly disappear behind the intersection, and people overtake from both sides, including expressways. Expect motorbikes on both sides, too.
Waste bins
The trash cans are only in the zoo, gas stations are few and it’s a real pain to throw away a plastic bottle or can on the street. If you want to dispose of something, be prepared to be very patient.
Google Maps
Google maps outside of the city are cluttered with utter uselessness. Every rock, tree or stream has its own tourist spot icon. Even the graves in the cemetery have their own icon here and there. So, you have to wade through the clutter to find what you’re looking for.
PROS
Helpfulness
Even though the language can be tricky, people are always ready to whip out their phones and hit up Google Translate or DeepL. It’s like a game of phone translation, where everyone shows their screen to the other person.
Thoughtfulness
The speed limit is more of a suggestion than a hard and fast rule, especially in cities. When you’re trying to make a quick turn, people are usually pretty good about letting others pass. There’s not a lot of honking, and people are patient with tourists (like us) who might be a bit overwhelmed by the traffic. On the escalators, people go right, just like in Prague, because there are a lot of sprinters.
Cleanness
Even though there aren’t any bins or trash cans, the streets are still clean and almost completely free of litter. Some bus stops in Prague look like ashtrays compared to the clean streets in Taiwan.
Public toilets
There are bathrooms on every corner or in the 7-Eleven convenience stores. They’re usually free and relatively clean. In busier places like malls or rest areas, there are generously sized bathrooms with staff doing the cleaning, which is a big plus.
TL;DR: Some people drive like idiots, most of them don’t speak English, and there are no trash cans, but it’s still clean, people are friendly, and they don’t treat foreigners badly.
Taiwan Road Trip 2024
Taiwan’s transportation infrastructure is pretty good, with railways all around the island. But we decided to stick with our own transport, which gives us more flexibility and comfort in the way of a clearly assigned seating plan along with the possibility of individual mess. We chose a carriage from the Hyundai fleet, the Custin model, which had not one but two panoramic sunroofs, so we could enjoy twice as much view. A weekly rental for a car this spacious was at TWD21,500 (€630) in November 2024, so €160 per person.
The car covered almost 1300 km, there was plenty of space in it, and the 1.5l four-cylinder petrol engine was using around 9l/100km (1l of petrol 95 was for a beautiful 30 TWD / 0.88 €). But the automatic gearbox or its unwillingness to downshift in uphill driving knocks points off. The back seats had plenty of space and holders for various liquids.
Travel Itinerary
We hopped in our chariot right after we got back from the sultanate near Taoyuan International Airport (TPE) and headed south along the west coast. The whole west coast is a huge belt of cities and smog.Taiwan is about the size of Bohemia (excluding Moravia and Silesia = 36,197 km²), where 24 million people must fit. The west of the island is mostly made up of cities and industrial infrastructure, stretching from Taipei in the north to Kaohsiung in the south. Luckily, there’s a relatively high mountain range in the middle of the island (the highest mountain Yushan, is 3 952 m), which also has several lakes. We finish the west coast at the southernmost point of Taiwan and head back to the opposite end to the north.
The eastern coast of Taiwan is less populated, which has a positive effect on more than just the absence of smog. The traffic’s also quieter there (no expressways), and the coast is more rugged, so the smaller roads are more pleasant to travel on.The main attraction of the eastern part is the Taroko Gorge near Hualien. Heading further north, you’ll find the charming village of Jiufen, followed by Taiwan’s northernmost point. Last but not least, you’ll arrive in Taipei, where we’ll bid farewell to our chariot and switch to metro and Uber (no Bolt yet).
Natural disasters in 2024
Taiwan experienced a few natural disasters in 2024 that had a big impact on the island. Because of this, we had to make a few changes to our itinerary. For example, we were given different information, especially about our trip to Taroko Gorge, because of the lack of English-speaking staff. The local highway department said the road through the mountain range in the middle of the island was open, but the locals told us via Google Translate that the whole area was closed. In the end, the truth was somewhere in the middle…
April 3
Earthquake
July 25
Gaemi
October 3
Krathon
Strong winds and torrential rains led to floods and landslides, causing at least two fatalities and leaving one person missing. The cities of Kaohsiung and Pingtung County declared several days off and focused on restoring infrastructure, such as water and electricity supplies.
October 23
Kong-rey
November 18
CZE + SWE Arrival
Compared to previous disasters, this was more of an extraordinary event. However, for us, it meant that some places damaged by the earthquake and numerous typhoons were severely affected. About a month after typhoon Kong-rey, the locals managed to restore most of the infrastructure, and life there (as much as it can be said) returned closer to normal.
We got to try out the local earthquake early warning system. In Tainan City, radios suddenly went silent and all phones started vibrating. This alerted everyone in the area to a recently detected earthquake. Looking at historical records on the same platform shows that residents often experience these events. With these general organizational details out of the way, all that’s left is the content itself.
Let’s hit the road!
TAICHUNG
A solid intro to the transport system was given on the way to our first overnight stop—Taichung, the second largest city in Taiwan (2.85 million people).We parked right in front of the main train station after driving through traffic for about an hour and headed out to explore. It’s just another city, a big city, and compared to the others, there aren’t a lot of eye-catching temples or landmarks that stand out on otherwise crowded Google Maps.We did manage to snap a few photos during our city exploration, but compared to other destinations, it’s nothing to write home about. We therefore operationally switched to plan B (beer) and headed to Taihu Brewing Taichung.
Our place was right in front of the main station, and it had a roof garden where you could chill and look at the view, or stay up late and plan the next leg of your trip. To the east of Taichung, you’ve got the mountains, and that’s where Sun Moon Lake is. So, that’s where we started the next day, heading to Tainan.
SUN MOON LAKE
Taiwan’s biggest lake in the hills is about 8 km2. There’s a temple and pagoda on the south side and tourist resorts on the north. Since it’s at a higher altitude (750m) and there aren’t any industrial towns around, you can finally see the sky. Visitors can take a ride on one of the many tourist boats or explore the surrounding temples. At this point, we also find the first geocaching box and thus light up Taiwan on the map as my 51st country in Geocaching. The narrow roads in the hills are a bit of a journey, and we had to slow down quite a bit to keep up with the cyclists in front of us. Our South Korean gearbox wasn’t quite up to the task, and in some spots, the cyclists even started running away from us. At least we get to enjoy the occasional view in the otherwise lush vegetation along the road.
TAINAN
We hadn’t planned on staying in Tainan, but on the way from Brunei, an adjacent seatmate mentioned the city’s cultural and historical attractions, including its historical role as Taiwan’s capital. It seemed like a worthwhile stop, so we decided to check it out. When we got there, we saw stylish historic alleyways, which were packed with tourists, earthquakes, and a tiny bar in a forgotten alley where we showed our skills and ended up immortalized on the local wall of fame.
Tainan and Kaohsiung seem to be the places with the most smog in Taiwan. The two cities, which have almost two and three million people, are only 50 km apart, so we took it slow off the expressways along the coast. Despite the visible smog blanket, this was the stretch where we saw the most cyclists on the entire trip (weekend + flat land).
Kaohsiung
The metropolis of nearly three million people, with one of the most photographed Taoist temples and a bunch of smog factories, offers a fairly bustling nightlife, whether it’s the traditional night markets or the waterfront, which, according to Google Maps satellite imagery, promised two large inflated glowing ducks.We conceived of our day in Kaohsiung as an urban zeitgeist tour of local landmarks coupled with a taprooms tour. Everything went as planned, except for the ducks. They were either blown away or deflated, probably because of the recent typhoons.
Zuoying Lotus Pond, the Kaohsiung Music Center, and Formosa Boulevard Station are some of the main landmarks. The Sanfong Temple is another one, and it’s known for its many lanterns. We were pretty busy, and we were really thirsty…
Repeatedly wandering around big cities for a few days is really nice, but it’s only until the streets start to look similar and it all blends into one big urban mass.Yes, it can be argued that as a foreigner and photographer you can endlessly explore the streets and look for inspiration even in the backstreets, but we decided we wanted to see more green and ideally some of that proverbial sky blue. So, we’re bailing on the big cities and heading for the countryside.
South of Taiwan
We were so close to this place that we couldn’t avoid it, even if it meant spending more time on the road. The expressways disappear to the south, and the rest of the route is on lower-class roads. We found an interesting place called the 恆春3000啤酒博物館 / Hengchun 3000 Brewseum, which beer production we all rated as more than below average. At least the brewery interiors were interesting (a Mona Lisa of beer labels and a wall full of pints). As we headed south, the smog faded and we could see blue skies again after a few days.
On the winding roads in the hills, we were delighted to spot a monkey running across our path every now and then. Despite the presence of warning signs, we just couldn’t capture the action in a photo (the creatures are quite fast!). The trip through the southernmost point of Taiwan took a while. Since it was autumn, the daylight was shortened to about 6 p.m. We just wanted to reach Taitung and spend the night there, and do what we know best
TAITUNG
The city is a medium-sized place (100,000 people) with a street of banks where you can exchange foreign paper money for local currency.At the bank, you’ll need to copy your passport details and sign a form about the handling of personal information (GDPR leaflet) as an EU citizen. Basically, you have to sign everything they give you (in duplicate) if you want to exchange money, and it’s a pretty lengthy and bureaucratic process.
From Taitung, we head north, snaking between the coast and the inland.Along the way, we spot a bridge to nowhere, the Sanxiantai Arch Bridge, which connects the “mainland” to a small island with a bunch of useless points on Google Maps. Heading a bit further north, you’ll spot that familiar dashed line in the sky, marking the Tropic of Cancer, to which a monument is dedicated, giving the flat earth theory another heavy blow (chemtrails are real though! ).
HUALIEN
We arrive in Hualien in the evening and plan to spend the next two nights there. We’re determined to check out the pubs and find out from the locals what’s going on with the Taroko Gorge. The hotel staff told us the road is closed, but maybe, just maybe, we might be able to make it to the edge into the first village. At the pubs, we’re first laughed at for even trying to go there, as the locals say it’s completely closed, then we’re laughed at for the overpriced beers (thankfully) from local breweries.So, we still know sh*t, but after a few beers, we don’t mind too much. In the morning, we watch the sunrise from the hotel rooftop, and after breakfast (noodles), we head into the gorge.
TAROKO
The early info on road clearance was a bit vague, to say the least, given the folk wisdom at the time (official sources continued to speak of partial clearance within three fixed time windows). The entrance to the gorge is a tunnel, which we entered alone. It’s pretty poorly lit, and there wasn’t another car in sight. Just beyond the tunnel, the gorge itself opens up. The gorge was pretty beat up in 2024 (earthquake + typhoons), and even though the locals worked hard to clean it up, it’s hard to imagine what it looked like right after the earthquake.
We slowly made our way to the barrier at the abandoned village of Tianxiang, where there was a gatekeeper. You could get past the barrier at any time, but you could only go back at certain hours to control the movement of vehicles inland (the road climbs up to about 2500m). At this point, we decided to turn around and head back, taking it easy. All the places marked as tourist hotspots were either closed for security reasons or badly damaged, the villages were abandoned, and all the shops were closed. Locals estimate a repair time of at least seven years! During the whole time we were there, we only saw one motorbike and three cars. Even the locals don’t go there much because what was there is unfortunately no longer there.
We celebrated the expedition’s relative success that evening by sampling all the liquied purchases we’d made earlier on the road and at a nearby 7-Eleven. I told half of the SWE team in advance that I was volunteering to give up driving tomorrow, and with the other half of the SWE team, we started clearing out supplies and kicking off a cultural program (Kung Fury and an endless Top Gear playlist). After the few days on the road, it was nice to have a day off.The next day, we continued further north to the town of Jiufen.
JIUFEN
They say this city was the inspiration for Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s famous Spirited Away, and even though he never confirmed it himself, it doesn’t matter. The story took on a life of its own without his assistance, and the town has the permanent label “Spirited Away Township.”The side streets are a maze of unlit paths leading past houses through other people’s gardens. So, getting anywhere is kind of like a game show, where you never know what you’re going to find.I’ve got a pretty solid sense of direction, but here the otherwise near-flawless navigation had problems and so I made my way to the pub via someone’s private potato patch (the important thing is not to lose face, everything can be named as a shortcut).
North of Taiwan
After conquering the south, we set our sights on the north. At the northern tip of the island, there’s a lighthouse and a beach where part of the SWE team finally dipped his toes in the East China Sea after waiting for quite some time. They didn’t stay for more than five minutes. When we arrived in Taipei from the north, we wrapped up our road trip counterclockwise at 2 p.m., returned the car, and paid the extra 371 TWD (about 11 €) for the toll roads . Speedometer showed 1245.9 km (we couldn’t find the right reset button until the first stop at about 20 km), which we considered a success and went to celebrate the great success.
TAIPEI
When we got to the capital, the weather was perfect and the forecast for the next few days was also good (sunny with no clouds). We took advantage of the situation and went to watch the sunset from the Taipei 101, which used to be the tallest building in the world. Visitors are taken by one of the fastest elevators on the planet (it goes to the 89th floor in 37 seconds, which is about 60 km/h). It’s an impressive building, even from a nearby viewpoint. It’s like a candle on a cake, peeking out over the city. In the bowels on the 87th floor, there’s a device called the Tuned Mass Damper. It’s a sphere that weighs over 650 tons. It helps the skyscraper deal with earthquakes. There’s a cool video about it on YouTube. From 500 meters up, you can see not only the sunset, but the entire city below.
Aside from the 101, there are several other landmarks that shouldn’t be missed, like squares, temples, and streets that’ll make your Instagram feed. You’ll know you’re in the right place by the increased number of influencers with selfie sticks.So, we filled our time in Taipei with wandering and, last but not least, responsible booze tourism. Zdenek found a Czech student, Lucie, on Instagram. She was studying in the south in Kaohsiung, but she was in Taipei for a short time, so she joined our afternoon hike to nearby Elephant Mountain, where you can see the Taipei skyline.In the evening, she exemplary represented the Czech Republic in a tour de beer with our international team through the streets of Taipei.
Taipei ZOO
We spent our last day at the ZOO, where I finally got to use my 180-600mm lens on the local fauna while half of the SWE team dealt with a morning hangover.The zoo has a variety of wildlife, but the main attraction is the panda. Our original plan was just to kill time before flying home, but we ended up staying at Taipei Zoo for almost five hours because it’s actually a pretty well-designed and very nice ZOO. One interesting feature of the ZOO is the largest concentration of trash bins in all of Taiwan. While you hardly see them on the streets, in the ZOO, they are literally on every corner.
The End
Our trip ends with Panda, we went back to get our luggage, refill some beers at the hotel bar, and head to the airport. At the airport, we replenish lost liquids China Airlines Lounge, find our spots on board (always aisle), three episodes of Top Gear, swollow two magic pills, and say goodnight to Vietnam and good morning to Constantinople.
A comprehensive evaluation of the expedition was conducted in multiple Prague breweries, and it was concluded that none of us has a particular favorite “TOP” place. The whole Taiwan expedition, together with the rehab in Brunei, was just a fantastic road trip.
With a clear conscience we can definitely recommend Taiwan as a destination for travel and exploration.
I would like to express my gratitude for your attention and wish you all the best.
Our Team
Pavel
🇨🇿
Zdeněk
🇨🇿
Thomas
🇸🇪
Emil
🇸🇪
Taiwan road trip in numbers
No. of days
Drove
Photos taken
Pics size
Geocaches found
New beers
Brunei Darussalam
We’ve got some photos from Brunei in our gallery, but to be honest, it’s not much to write home about. It’s a bit of a hick town, so if you’re not into mosques, shopping malls, half-empty streets, or oil wells, you might want to look elsewhere for your entertainment. A two-day trip is more than enough to see the best of this conservative, abstinence-only world with its progressive Sharia law system.
