Taiwan
I took my second and final trip outside of Korea towards the end of May. Taiwan is a country that I previously studied abroad in and have wanted to return to ever since. The flight tickets were about $240 total both ways to and from Seoul, so definitely a little pricey. I shared an Airbnb with a friend in the Ximen district for about $33/night. Ximending is essentially the Myeongdong of Taipei, with lots of shopping, dining, and entertainment, so it’s a very convenient location to stay for tourists.
Taiwan is probably my favorite country in Asia. Heat, humidity, and vicious mosquitoes aside, it’s such a great place to travel around and has so much to offer. Once again, like Hong Kong, I got to practice my Chinese skills, which I realize have become extremely rusty. I resolve to practice more once I come back to Hawaii. The food is also amazing and very cheap. This trip, I visited Ningxia and Shilin Night Markets. My favorites are oyster omelet, oysters vermicelli noodles, papaya milk, wintermelon lemonade, grilled king oyster mushrooms, wintermelon lemonade, fish ball soup, black pepper pork buns, and stinky tofu. I also enjoyed youtiao and soy milk (traditional Taiwanese breakfast), beef noodle soup, scallion pancake, peanut cilantro ice cream, delicious soup dumplings, and moderately priced all-you-can-eat hotpot.
Some activities included a visit to Taipei 101, once the tallest building in the world; creating a personalized stamp with my Chinese name; visiting Jiufen, the famous village resembling Spirited Away; petting cats at Houtong Cat Village; and biking around National Taiwan University. Despite my short time there, this trip to Taiwan was packed with activities and truly a memorable experience.
Additional things to note:
No need adapters! Taiwan uses the same outlets as the U.S.
Make sure to withdraw enough cash! Taiwan is much more cash-based than Korea, and even some modern-looking restaurants won’t accept credit card and only take cash
Brush up on your Chinese. While it’s definitely possible to get around without knowing any Chinese, Taiwan is much less English-friendly than Korea and you may need to whip out your Google translate app.
Beware of mosquitoes! Taiwan mosquitoes are truly on another level. They have a special species called 小黑蚊 (basically little black mosquito). The bites can last weeks and scar even if you don’t scratch at all. Bring bug repellant everywhere.
Jeju
The weekend after I went to Taiwan, I took another trip to Jeju Island. Honestly, I would only recommend going to Jeju if you or someone you know has an international driver’s license and is 21+ (international age). Public transportation is Jeju is much less frequent than Seoul and you will likely end up taking taxis to many places (going with four people would be most ideal for this since you can split the taxi costs).
We visited many popular spots such as Hamdeok Beach, Osulloc Tea House, Cheongjeyeon Waterfalls, Snoopy Garden and Yonghwasa Temple. We also tried a few cute brunch spots, tangerines, tangerine soft serve, matcha soft serve, and Jeju’s famous black pork. The scenery of Jeju reminded me so much of Hawaii and made me miss home a lot. I guess it’s known as the “Hawaii of Korea” for a good reason.
In Jeju especially, it’s good to make a solid plan of places and attractions you want to visit. The island is pretty big and you don’t want to spend all day driving if you can visit each different area of the island day by day. So do your research!
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