Introduction

In 2024 I went to Taiwan for the first time : 5 nights in Taipei and I loved it. Wanting to go back and explore the island a bit more, I booked a trip for early January 2026, a late Christmas vacation of sort as my job usually means I work during the Christmas-New Year period. I had a great plan :
- Flight FRA-MUC-TPE with Eva in business (I liked them a lot when I used them in 2023), award ticket with Aegean Miles and Bonus
- 4 nights in Taipei 3 nights in Tainan
- TPE-BKK, revenue ticket on Starlux in Premium Eco to test the boutique airline
- 4 nights in Bangkok of R&R (Relax and repas)
- Flight BKK-CDG-FRA with AF J, award ticket paid mostly by Amex MR points

The departure day approached, I tied all loose ends at work before leaving for 2 weeks and then, 36 hours before departure .... sick.
And not just a little bit of the sniffles, I had the work : fever, sore muscles, headache. A test later and I am confirmed COVID positive. Well great.
Award availability (and with 2 programs) being what it is, I can not just reschedule the flights easily. I had to cancel, same with the hotels. So the entire bookings goes to the bin (most were refundable, a few were not and this is where the travel insurance will prove handy). A short sick leave later, work agrees that I just shift my vacation days by 2 weeks and take my holidays when I am feeling better.
So I rebook everything, trying to find a pleasant J itinerary that does not cost a huge amount of money and hotels. Since I am not bound by award availability, I skip Bangkok entirely.
5000 EUR later to book flights, hotels and train and now I have:
- FRA-AMS-TPE with KL in J
- 5 nights in Taipei at the Tango Inn hotel
- 5 nights in Tainan at the Ji Shih Life Style Hotel
- TPE-HKG (CI) // HKG-CDG-FRA (AF) in J

At least the research for restaurants, night markets, museums, day trips I made for the initial trip is not wasted. I will do a somewhat typical trip report for the flights section and my time in Taipei. However for Tainan I will probably do something different, since all my days were very similar and the city vibe is more about chilling, I will probably sort my activities by section (food, temples, etc ...) rather than by days.

So let's go.

Not snowgeddon but still some delays, FRA to TPE with KLM in J

This was the weak point of my entire itinerary, right at the start. Because snowgeddon was still fresh in everyone minds and the forecast for my departure were snow and fog both in Frankfurt and Amsterdam, and also because KL J soft product does not have the most stellar reputation.

Early morning I make my way to Frankfurt airport and noticed that it does snow indeed. I look at the METAR for AMS and see the weather is less snowy but foggier than in Germany. That does not bode well. I am not stressed by a possible delay, I have 8 hours of connection time at Schiphol (not my choice, but due to reduced frequency between FRA and AMS this is the shortest possible connection for this itinerary). So even a 4 hour delay would not bother me (except that I need to wait at FRA T2, not the most pleasant terminal). But a cancellation would be a problem.
Our incoming plane leave AMS with 2 hours delay eventually, and we add one more hour at FRA due to the deicing.






Service on this flight is typical of what KL currently offer in J : a carbohydrate delivery system in a box, filled with cheap items. The crew is pleasant though and make a couple of drink round, offering me a coffee after the meal. 50 minutes passed quick enough and we are under the cloud cover looking at the snow covered Netherlands. I made my way to Lounge 52 where I have a pleasant surprise : it is a nice and very pleasant lounge, large, well decorated and it is easy to find quiet corner. I expected much worse. The staff is very nice, helping me print the Taiwan Arrival Card. The food offering, on the other hand, is really poor : carbs, salt and stew. I tried to get some proteins in one of the shop near the lounge, but 7 euros for a protein bar is not something I support. Price gouging by captive customers is starting to go too far. I managed to get a shower cabin easily so I can refresh before the long jump to Taiwan.






The connection time passed quickly. I make my way to the gate to find our Boeing 777-200 being prepped. After boarding I find my suite. The first impression is positive : the seat is spacious, the foot cubicle not too small, the IFE screen large. First negative point : no feature to connect my headset to the IFE via bluetooth. Second : the suite door is flimsy and does not fully lock, quite different than AF. It looks more of a gimmick on those seats. But otherwise I am comfy. Crew come to distribute PDB and menu and take orders. I quickly notice the attendant working my aisle is really not great. She does not fully understand English (a first with a KL crew), mix orders (she confirms twice to me she put me down for the vegetarian although I ordered the fish). The food comes relatively quickly and this is very variable : the beef starter was good and tasty, slighly moist. However the main was bland, the fish more skin than flesh, there was no spices.
I manage to sleep a few hours, wake up and asked for a tea and spend some time reading before breakfast is served. Again a bit of joke, I have seen worse but also much better. Even on KL I flew them TATL in 2022 and the breakfast offering was much more substantial.
We arrived in Taipei on time. Just a few people actually go out, most will go to the transfer area to continue with the same plane to Manilla.











This service land mid afternoon. After i recharge my Easycard, take the MRT to Taipei main station and make my way to the Tango Inn Zhongshan branch it is time for an early dinner. Since I am not very hungry and very tired, I find a health box: a small restaurant selling bentos with a lean protein, steamed or boiled seasonal veggies, purple rice and a seasoning. They have popped up and there are now a lot of them in cities. They are still good (the veggies are usually fresh and not frozen, seasonal, the meat sourced locally, the seasoning use the local flavour although you will find thai or japanese seasoning on the menu too) and good way to alternate with street food to get something less greasy and with more protein and fiber. I walk a bit around to get some fresh air and get my circadian clock moving forward, and I am in bed very shortly after 9 PM.

I stayed at that Tango Inn for 7 nights in January, found it quite enjoyable especially with the 7-11 & familymart accross the street plus the balance of being near MRT but not directly on the busy streets. Great value for money too (free upgrade to the room with its own washing machine helped, even if the drying function was 'moody' and only worked once ). Enjoy your trip!

Always glad to see a foreigner enjoy my homeland of Taiwan! I am certainly biased, but it really is one of the more underrated destinations in Asia.

I liked the hotel, it was no thrill but functional, the bed was comfy and the bathroom modern, the breakfast was good and the location very convenient, close to lively streets with food and entertainment. This is not a live trip report, I already came back

I love it, I really felt in love the first time I went in 2023, very underrated but so rich in history, culture, gastronomy, very easy with a great infrastructure and incredibly friendly people.

Hope you enjoyed your trip and good luck with the report!

Any photos of/in the Tango Inn?

Taiwan is incredible. I've been twice now, the food is amazing, the people are nice, and it is clean and orderly. There is also a burgeoning cocktail scene and I had excellent drinks at a few places. Also beautiful natural landscapes, and I've become a Kavalan fanboy.

I enjoyed a lot. You will see as your read the report as it comes. No photos of the hotel actually, sorry I did not think about taking pictures. Not even of the breakfast, I at least usually grab a photo but forgot.

I can share these 2 of my room in January (the room type including a balcony with washing machine, balcony itself is very uninteresting). Really appreciated the size of bath tub as a 195cm tall specimen :




Now back to fransknorge's trip report, looking forward to the follow up posts

Jet lag struck with a vengeance, and I was completely awake at 4 AM. And hungry. One thing left to do : find a 24h open Soy milk. Lao's Jiang House was just a short bus ride away so I went there for a hot sweet soy milk, egg pancake, steamed bun with shrimp tempura and steamed bun with red beans. Not the best soy milk I ever had but still quite good. I was a bit disappointed to find one shrimp only inside the big bun.




The sun slowly comes up after my breakfast and a coffee I get at a 7-11 nearby. Early morning is usually the best time to go visit temples; locals come to pray on their way to work/study and tourists are not awake yet (except if they are jet lagged like me). More chances to see the temples being used as actual workship locations. I had two temples I wanted to visit : Xingtian (Hsing Tien Tong) temple and Jingfu (Ching Fu Kung) temple. Since this is my second visit to Taipei I already visited some of the more obvious tourists locations and will not revisit them this trip.
I first go to Hsing Tien Tong by MRT, to find a large facility very lively at this time of the day. Locals are seating down in a special enclosure with books to recite religious poems, lots of local come to pray and cast divination semi-moon. The prayers, sound of the wooden semi-moon on the stony floor appease me. I get another tea and sit down to relax and meditate a bit among the sound of the temple. From what I gather the temple administration is very active financing several community initiatives in culture, education and medical care (there was a free blood pressure reading in a corner of the courtyard for example).
After this I walk to Ching Fu Kung, a smaller temple but with several floor. There are no worshippers there but several priestess (?) singing and playing instruments. There is less to see in this temple and I walk around a bit before leaving. I notice then that the weather took a turn for the worst, it is now raining and the temperature drop significantly. Apparently I brought winter with me from Germany.







From there I walk to the Lin An Tai Historical Mansion, a house from the 1800s nicely preserved, with gardens. The house is now a small museum (mostly in Mandarin though) which is free of charge, the garden are a nice place to visit and relax. Since I am a flyertalker, my attention is taken by the planes landing at TSA nearby (and gave me an idea for a photo composition which I will execute if the weather gets better). I walk around the neighborhood a bit after and make my way for lunch in Zhongshan, before going to the hotel for a nap.






Mid afternoon I decide to visit the National Taiwan Museum Railway Department Park. Set in a former Japanese administrative building, this museum focuses on the history of the railway in Taiwan. It shows how the history and the geography shape the railway to its current form, the impact of the sugar trade on the railway and list all railway heritage point in Taiwan. Its main piece is a scaled model of the Taipei railway station and its surroundings as it was in 1990, before the tracks become subterranean. They also have exhibition on very geeky aspects, such as the evolution of tickets and ticketing, how font cast were created for tickets, the history of signals, the painting of the various lines in the country and what they represent. The shop has plenty of souvenirs with maps and books that look fascinating. This part here is only half of the museum, there is another branch in the city I will visit another day.







I then moved near Taipei 101 and the 44 South Military village to try to grab the contrast between former military barracks and the modern skyscraper but the light and weather are not good enough so after a bit of roaming I just make my way to what was my original destination for the evening : Linjiang Night market.
There are two stands I definitely want to try : 3 brothers Roujiamo and Yu Pin Yuan Iced and Hot Tangyuan (it rolls right out the tongue). The roujiamo is indeed really good, quite juicy but not better to what I had in Xi'an. The Tangyuan on the other hand is delightful, they have a Michelin Bib I believe. The contrast of the shaved ice with warm Tangyuan is both refreshing and heart warming, an interesting combination. Definitely a place I would be happy to come back to try different flavors (I had peanuts and sesame).









I went back to Zhangshan to explore the alley of North Linsen Road, the Japantown of Taipei where with a little imagination and the rain, one could believe he is in Tokyo for a bit. Until you find again another Taoist temple or a Cantonese restaurant with neon that seems to come straight from Hong Kong. This is one aspect of Taiwan I love : the melting pot of influence and culture.

Next morning I wake up later and had breakfast at the hotel, it was good, even if some produces were not that great (jam, bread). To be fair they were what I would expect of such a business hotel so no complaint.
I made my way to the Martyr's Shrine; a monument to people fallen for the freedom of the ROC, whether on the mainland when the ROC was created or after against the Japanese, one of the major site of the city I did not visit on my first visit. Arriving just at the time of the guard change, I watched the ceremony before visiting the complex. I did not expect the actual shrine to be off limit though. The entire exhibition on the wall behind the shrine on the various battles during the history of the ROC was interesting and educative and the entire complex was aesthetically very well done.







I went then in the Daan area to visit a series of alleys where there was remnant of Japanese architecture. The area was a bit of a let down as most of those houses were closed now for renovations taking a long time. I did not really see much more than just this house there. So I tried to find a spot for lunch. The queue for Ding Tai Fung was too long (as expected) so I went randomly to 東門福餃子, located here : https://maps.app.goo.gl/6CnaW1TavZXzCVZN9
I took the cold tofu sausage as starters and had dumplings filled with pork and cabbage. It was good, the dough just had the right texture, the pork/cabbage filing was well seasoned although I found the ratio to be a bit too much in favor of cabbage. But this is definitely a personal taste, i would still recommend the place for someone looking for a clean environment to eat some handmade dumplings in a no frill place.








The second part of the Taiwan National Railway museum was my second stop. This one is located near Taipei 101. Located in the former Railway Administration building, the central piece is the diesel and electric locomotive workshop, a former maintenance hall that still smells of oil and sweat. It goes deep into the various types of engines and how they works with hands on exhibits. Several cars are also on display showing the evolution of comfort for travelers. It also has several side exhibitions on railway and photography, or the influence of railway on music or graphic medias. It was fascinating and I spend the entire afternoon there (which was just as well as it was raining heavily and really cold now). And yes I did bought the little Temu 1000 brick locomotive.








I had some mango shaved ice cream to pick me up in an old school store (established since 1952 according to the front) before going for a walk around Longshuan temple for a photography session of the people praying and living there. This temple is the most beautiful of Taipei IMHO and I keep coming back there, the area around feels so gritty and old school, a place where time seems to have stalled.
I then went back around my hotel for a quick dinner and a douhua in this location : 芋艿川豆花店 誠品南西 https://maps.app.goo.gl/KupU7js6j9fQs8Nv8
They sell dried fruits (and even give free samples if you ask) but also have one sort of douhua (no choice of toppings) : adzuki beans with Taro balls. Whether with a cold or warm broth it is light, refreshing or heartwarming. I love Douhua, this is my favorite Taiwanese desert and as long as the sugar is well dosed I could eat it all day. Here they are on the lighter side, it is definitely not too sweet, and the tofu is tasty (although I suspect it is not done homemade). Since it is just around the corner of the hotel, I come back a couple of times for a snack before bed.

I have only just recently stumbled upon this forum in FT. I�m used to reading trip reports on another online travel platform. Thanks for posting this TR and its given me some ideas for our upcoming trip to Taiwan in April.

We will be there for 8 nights, and have booked the first 4 nights at Palais de Chine in Taipei
We are then thinking of taking the train down the coast to Hualien and then renting a car and get further down to Kaohsiung for a couple of nights and fly home

Your taste in Taiwanese food is delightfully local and authentic! A lot of the foods you mention are staples for Taiwanese but not typically eaten by tourists.

Thanks. I like the local food, and wait until I wrote the Tainan section, I channeled my inner Anthony Bourdain there.

I had a plan for the next day : a day trip to the former mining country and the coast on the eastern part of New Taipei. The idea was to take the bus in the morning to Jiufen, visit the town before the tour buses arrive, go to lunch in Hutong to pet cats and see the former mining buildings and then go to Keelung mid afternoon to walk along the coast up to the market for dinner.

I woke up before breakfast open to the hotel and went to a favorite of mine : Sihai Soy Milk, I love their xialongbao, the scallion omelet is good and I added a peanut bun and a warm soy milk (which is very good, maybe the best I had). It helped me to get some heartwarming food, the weather is quite cold and a bit rainy. That day was the worse of the cold wave (it snowed in the mountains) and Taipei was getting its fair share of rain and wind. Little did I know what was awaiting me.





I took the bus to Jiufen around 8 AM and arrived there after 9 AM.
Jiufen is a very beautiful village on the side of a steep hill, facing the sea. You come for the view and the atmosphere rather than visit a sight. It was already somewhat popular with locals but its fame exploded when the rumor appeared that this village was the inspiration for Myiazaki's Spirited Away. Miyazaki denied it, saying he never heard of it before. Nevertheless it is sold as "Spirited Away" village and might be the most visited place of Taiwan, it is choked with tour buses and visitors. The best way is too overnight and visit after 9-10 PM or to come early morning (but then there are no lanterns light up). There is no denying the place is charming. But the weather was nasty : wind howling, constant heavy rain and zero visibility. At least there was no other tourists except a few brave (or stupid) souls like me. I walked the street, visited the famous A Mei teahouse where you pay for the view rather than the tea or cake quality. The building is absolutely beautiful at least. After two hours I went to my next destination : Houtong, via bus and train.










Houtong is a bit deeper into the mountain than Jiufen and in a valley, so at least the wind is less bitter-cold. But the rain just as heavy. It is a former mining village that have some remnants of the processing factories and an heritage park around coal mining. But it has another peculiarity which makes it more visited than the coal industry heritage : it is framed as a "Cat village". Somehow around a hundred of stray cats took refuge there, in a village of 2 small streets that has less than 50 buildings. The village embraced it and has decorations and a whole infrastructure around cats. They are very well cared for, even though a few are old and battle worn. Several has taken residency in the train station, cafes and shops around. They even man the barista machine if you need a cat-paw-ccino. The village has strict rules : forbidden to feed the cats, you can not scare them, you can pet a cat only if it comes to you and dogs are forbidden. Some of those animals are still very wary around humans and you are their guest.
You need to love cats a lot to enjoy the place obviously
I have a warm meal with cakes and coffee in one of the nicest place, run by a lovely old couple and with two resident felines, including the fatest I have ever seen. I then walk around the village among the cats, petting the one who want to be pet and just enjoying their company. I was planning then to visit the coal mining heritage park. Most of it is outdoor though and I am starting to feel really annoyed by the weather, my clothes permeability start to crack a bit and I am desperate for some more time indoor. Luckily the first step on the entire attraction is a (free) museum. Just as i was about to enter the staff leave and close the door, telling me to come back in one hour .....
I just gave up, drop visiting the park, drop going to Keelung and took my by now completely wet skeleton back to Taipei via train for an afternoon in a sauna ....

















The weather quiets a lot by dusk so, warm and clean, I go to Xinyi for some urban photography and a light dinner at a market, a Taiwanese sausage and a guava milk. But I feel drained and have no appetite whatsoever, I retreat back to the hotel for a quiet evening and an early sleep.