Ice Machine

Heading back to Taiwan for 2 weeks end of June. Will be spending most of my time at the in-laws and spending time with my daughter who spent the school year in Taiwan and I haven't seen since February. I would still like to get out a few times and as I've done most of the typical activities looking for some suggestions on non-mainstream activities. One thing I'm thinking about doing is visiting the Kavalan distillery which I haven't done yet and see if there might be another good day trip or two outside of Taipei.

ProleOnParole

Not sure which "typical" activities you've already done. Kavalan distillery lets you walk through many of their buildings and see the different stages of manufacturing. There is also an exhibition with some background on whisky, free tasting area and a well-stocked shop selling all varieties of what they make. No advance appointment is necessary. It's more like half a day trip by itself, although you can combine it with visits to other places in Yilan as well. It's best visited on weekdays to avoid traffic jams on Fwy 5 to and from Taipei (on the weekend it's still doable but you might want to plan ahead to avoid certain hours).

prister

Quite unanswerable....

what type of activity are you looking for? Active or non-active, indoor or outdoor, artsy/nature/sporty...what is your interest?

there are a lot of things to do in Taiwan despite going to those tourism places

OB one

Was there last week and rented a U bike and rode it from Yuanshan MRT along the Keelung River and then Guandu and its very nice temple and on to Damsui. Also rented electric bikes in Fulong Beach and rode it through a tunnel then along the coast. Both very enjoyable but as prister says this is quite unanswerable unless we know what consider typical. Hiking Yangminshan - Jiofen - Taroko - diving in Kenting - eating beef noodle soup?

Ice Machine

This really sucks, spent half an hour typing up a bunch of things/place I've been do and done that I've liked and enjoyed and went to post and it disappeared. I'll try to come up with it again on the weekend but quick summary below. Note I had meant for the post to be opened ended as I was interested in folks' personal favourite activities that they consider atypical. Whether it worked for me may work for others. I enjoy pretty much everything.

- Favourite outdoor activities were hiking Alishan and swimming in Xiao Liuqiu. Good short hikes off MRT that are not Elephant Mountain?
- Love the food, especially street food and night markets. Favourite night markets and locations for traditional Taiwanese food? I only have two favourites for guotia and shaved ice both in Beitou.
- Have done most the museums and sites in Taipei. What is your favourite, maybe lesser known one?
- Outside Taipei - Been to most places except Kinmen. Did a couple places in east last year would likely be to west coast if we head out for more than a day trip. Favourite city outside Taipei?
- Shopping - this I enjoy the least, just like the morning and night markets

BuildingMyBento

To be blunt, whenever I'm in Taiwan, I'd rather be in China.

That said, Kinmen was laid-back, and had a good mix of natural/ugly Taiwanese downtown/historical sites peppered about.

OB one

For me, getting outside on weekends is key. And going from city into the parks/mountains/coast/green spaces can bring the temperature down several degrees. For many years, a couple friends and I just pick a mountain park or out of the way scenic area on the coast and head there for a day of hiking/walking followed by a nice meal. Keelung Mountain near Jiufen is one example http://www.slightlyastray.com/keelun...ike-in-jiufen/

Note that this is not Alishan style hiking. These hikes are doable in several hours of strenuous exertion but many of the times We see very few other people. Certainly it is not like hiking Yangmishan where I have run into countless people I know climbing up and down the mountain.

Bitou is one of my favorites https://bikehiketaipei.wordpress.com...-cape/?wref=tp On the coast with nice views, some nice resting places, and near a couple of great seafood restaurants where everything on the menu can be selected from the tanks outside.

Want something more challenging, try Teapot Mountain. https://bikehiketaipei.wordpress.com/teapot-mt/

As said above, last week we rented motorized bikes and rode along Fulong Beach after going through the tunnel under the mountain. https://bikehiketaipei.wordpress.com/fulong-loop/

The same day we visited Hutong cat village and supposedly there are some nice hiking trails in the old mines but it was raining so we didn't stop.

Not sure exactly what is on this site (and it is a bot old) but it is called Taiwan off the beaten path so should give you some ideas. http://www.taiwanoffthebeatentrack.c...ober-22nd23rd/

Note that mostly I do day trips from Taipei leaving early in the morning and coming home well into the evening usually full after a banquet accompanied by more than a few shots of Kaoliang or whiskey, but I have access to a car and don't always depend on public transportation. And with your daughter, the second part is probably not recommended.

But if you can get away, you can go diving in Kenting but I have never done that and have friends that have dived around the world and say that it was okay but certainly not world class.

And for a nice two or three hour diversion, walking around Lotus Pond http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2013/...uthern-taiwan/ or Cijin Island in Kaohsiung is nice. https://trip101.com/article/day-trip...s-in-kaohsiung

CrazyInteg

Do you shower and change clothes before going for a nice meal? Just curious how that works.

OB one

Over the years, the practice has changed. Back in the mid 90's when I was a lot younger, we started hiking at 8 am and stopped for a short lunch at noon then 4-5 more hours of hiking followed by a bowl of beef noodle soup and a couple of beers on the way home where we just collapsed.

Maybe 10 years ago, the hiking started a bit later like 9 am for several hours with a small lunch then off to a nearby hot springs (and showers and soaks) for several hours followed by a very nice dinner.

But yes, I always bring a change of clothes. We find showers at hot springs and local high schools or a pretty good wash up and change of clothes in the restaurant lav works.

But everyone in Taiwan sweats. If a group of us hike, we are all in similar conditions and everyone cools/dries off in AC. And we are going to restaurants like https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaura...t-Keelung.html not places that have a dress code.

ProleOnParole

Some great suggestions from OB one above.

Two questions for the OP:
Will you have access to a car?
Are you planning to do your trips mid-week or over the weekend only?

These two things change the calculus a lot.

Ice Machine

Building My Bento, I'm the opposite, I vastly prefer Taiwan over my couple visits to China.

OB One, excellent suggestions, most of those I haven't done, I'll need to look through those links in more detail. I haven't been to Jiefun in many years, I think it is worth a return visit. The hiking I'm likely to do will be shorter and less intense than yours.

My trip changed a bit, I'll now be there for 3 weeks instead of 2 so more opportunities. I also just found out my SiL and her boyfriend who both live in Switzerland will also be visiting for part of the same time as me. We may join them on a 2-3 day trip to Kaohsiung and Kenting during the week. I haven't met him before and believe he's only been once or twice to Taiwan so may do some typical touring with him.

I'll have semi-access to a car. I won't be the one driving and its usually with my in-laws so I just go with the flow. Trips I make on my own or only with a couple others will be using public transport and mid-week. Weekend trips will likely be larger group and further out. Not 100% completely set in stone, may be possible to get my BiL to take the day off and just 2 or 3 of us drive somewhere mid-week.

We will be doing at least one mid-week trip outside of Taipei for a couple days (that will include wife and kids ages 7 to 13) whether or not we go to Kaohsiung and Kenting.

Sent the wife and kids off yesterday, now about 1.5 weeks of bachelorhood before I join them.

nydave11

I would recommend getting a hair cut. I hear the barbershops are wonderful. look for a barber pole outside and you won't go wrong.

Skyman65

Excellent suggestion. Getting your hair cut here IS a unique experience. Go to a full service salon where they'll wash, cut, and style your hair, then give you a head/neck/shoulder massage. I don't know what the prices are like up in Taipei, but down south, a full service wash/cut/massage will run you about NT$300-600.

They also have the budget places where you walk in and feed a NT$100 note into a machine, and it spits out a numbered ticket. When your number comes up, you give the ticket to your barber, and they give you a basic haircut (no wash/massage).

30 years ago, you had to be careful about going into barbershops, since many of them back then offered...um..."other" services. You learned quickly to avoid the ones with flashy lights and darkened windows. But those types of places are long gone.

dsquared37

That sounds like the brothels signed as guesthouses in Phnom Penh that would turn on a pink light at night. Most of them disappeared about 3-4 years ago but there are still some lingering around.

Skyman65

Yeah, the shady "barbershops" used to be everywhere back in the 80s. The government started cracking down on them in the 90s, and they are all gone now. Of course, that doesn't mean there aren't underground brothels anymore. They're just not disguised as barbershops these days.