I'm planning on going to Taiwan for the first time next month and will be flying in and out of TPE. How much time is a good amount to spend in the country? Is 5 days enough to see more than Taiwan or is that pushing it?

Do you want to see Taiwan, or just Taipei?

Hong Kong is a short flight away, and your best bet if you want to explore somewhere else.

I want to see Taiwan (not Hong Kong!) but don't have a sense of how much time I need to do that. Any suggestions?

I've got a trip with my family in a couple of weeks for 5 days to TPE. This is my wife/daughter's first trip, but I've been there plenty of times. 5 days will pretty much restrict me to Taipei and the immediate vicinity. If you want to see all of Taiwan, you'll need at least 2 weeks.

Of course this is all going to depend on budget, what your interests are and how comfortable you are in areas where English might not be widely spoken.

Thanks, I think I will probably stick to Taipei because I only have 6 days.

In terms of English-speaking, is Taiwan worse than China? When I was there I learned how to play charades pretty well.

Although I speak Mandarin (and have been made fun of lightly for sounding like someone from the Mainland), it was my impression that the level of English, particularly amongst younger people in Taipei was far better than that of mainland China.

Definitely take my thoughts with a grain of salt though.

I can't compare because I don't know the mainland well. But compared with many other Asian destinations there are not many foreigners in Taiwan. You will always find young enthusiasts in Starbucks, but elsewhere even if young people know some English they are often very shy to try which is a pity. Generally shopkeepers, taxi drivers etc won't speak English at all. But there are always unpredictable exceptions - an ancient dishevelled chap accosted me at a junction in Taichung once and was keen to say hello. He claimed to have been "an English teacher under the Japanese".

As you have Mandarin you'll be fine. (Some older people aren't too hot at that though!)

If I find people speaking English I always try and heap encouragement on them. It is a bit different to, say, Vietnam where I've found people never shy to "have a go" even if they are hopeless.

Older people often speak some Japanese.

If you have time make a day trip to Jiufan, a mountainside town of old colonial Japanese characters. We enjoyed our day trip there very much.

I will be in Taiwan in August too. My Taiwanese friends here are feeling sorry for me already...in terms of language barrier.

I am Asian, so it sucks even more, because I blend in. If I was white or black, at least they would know I am a foreigner. And maybe assume I am English speaking and the ones who wants to practice their English would help me, if for example, I look lost and looking at a map - I know a lot of my friends have had this experience first hand. It's the same when I am in Japan, but at least I know a lot more Japanese than Mandarin and I can get by. I can only speak Cantonese.

When I was in Spain, I went to a Chinese restaurant, of course, ran by Mandarin speaking Chinese...I had to speak Spanish to them!! That was bad.. I think I should learn some Mandarin..

Taiwan is famous for its Night market. The biggest one being Shihlin market. Just go there, walk around and try anything and everything..

Oh forgot to mention, aside from eating, the North side of Taiwan is generally where you want to go for scenery and sightseeing. It's not far from Taipei as the city is in the northern part.

Then you'll be fine. I don't think it's worse. I think most people would expect that it would be better than China, given the long US/Taiwan relationship.

It's definitely better than a couple of decades ago, when I spent some summers there as a kid. It didn't seem like anyone spoke English.

Outside of Taipei, language would be more problematic. In Taipei, you shouldn't have major problems.

I once had a student from Singapore taking Japanese with me, and when he went home for winter break, he stopped off in Tokyo for a few days.

He reported that people addressed him in Japanese...until he answered them in Cantonese. Then they tried English.

We spent about a week in Taiwan last summer- travelling from Taipei to Taichung visiting friends. Enjoyed dinner at several night markets there where I decided I am not a fan of stinky tofu although I have no problems having natto for breakfast. Took the train to Hualien & hired a private driver to Tarako Gorge (highlight of our trip), dolphin & whale watching. Enjoyed the hospitality of great Japanese speaking hosts in Hualien. Back to Taipei where we had a great time shopping at Shinlin Market & great eats at Taipei 101's Food Court.
Enjoyed looking at your Food Blog. Bookmarking it for our planned trip to Vietnam. We frequent Manila & noted you like Sago at Gulaman. Taipei's Boba Tea now tops my list !

Thanks for all of the foodie tips, and I'm glad you like the blog. I'm getting behind in it, haven't covered 3 weeks in Malaysia yet! I'm really looking forward to Taipei because I hear it's food heaven.