Taipei

Taipei is located in the Taipei basin the northern part of Taiwan. It has grown to a multicultural city and has a population of about 2,619,000 people which does not include Taipei County. Taipei is not only Taiwan's governmental center but also the countries center of culture and commerce. Once you visit the city you'll find many cultural activities here ranging from live theatre performances, art galleries, modern technology museum and traditional Taiwanese art museums to modern nightlife. There are many nightclubs Taipei nightlife has to offer that play progressive western music. As it is for Taipei's citizens so it is for their industry, the mainstream industry in Taipei Taiwan is based on the electronic and computer industry. It's very modern and advanced. Just to get a glimpse of that visit Pa-Te road. Here you can get all imaginary computer equipment.

Taipei's people are generally very friendly, helpful and outgoing. The streets are safe and incidences of violence and crime are compared to the USA and Europe very rare.

The transportation system is based mainly on busses, cars, scooters and recently the MRT (Mass Rapid Transit). There is an equal mixture of scooters, cars and busses on Taipei's streets which cause a great deal of air pollution. If you intend to drive around by car, I'll personally recommend you doing this in a taxi. There are simply too many scooters on the streets waiting to get hit by a car and it is happening. Just to stay out of trouble take the bus, MRT or take a taxi if it has to be faster. Many distances in Taipei can be accomplished on foot as well. For example it takes you 45 minutes on foot from Taipei 101 to Kung Kuan MRT station. That is from the center to the southern outer part. A free of charge Taipei map is available at the tourist info at Taipei train station.

The standard of living in Taipei is relatively high. All households meet modern standards even though windows and house walls are not proper isolated against the environments which is probable due to the anyway warm climate, but costs a lot of air-conditioning during the hot and humid summer months. Thermo windows are not common and pretty unknown here. The monthly rent varies from 500nt$ to 1000NT$ per three square meters. A 33 square meter apartment will cost about 8000-14000 NT$. As a basic rule in the city center a complete household is gone cost you ca 8000-14000 NT$ which means your own door, mailbox, bathroom bedroom and kitchen + laundry area. Single rooms in shared apartments are much cheaper and available starting at 4500 NT$. When it comes to Taipei and hostels, out of my own experiences it's a word that stands by itself Taipei hostel. There are many hostels in Taipei but the problem is simple, many of them do not come close to your expectations of hygiene. The hostel I stayed at Taipei strain station didn't even offer fresh washed sheets. I stayed there for three nights and then moved into an expensive hotel 45000NT$ per month. After looking around at all the other hostels I gave up and chose my own bed room with bath in the first affordable hotel I could find. Since this was more than seven years ago things have changed and there are recommendable hostels in Taipei now. Taiwan-taipei.com is recommending affordable hostels on the Taipei hostel page and we'll look for some cheaper hotels also.

The typical diet in Taipei is traditional Taiwanese and Chinese food. People here like to eat Tofu, Rice, Noodles, Pork, Beef, Duck and chicken etc. If you are a vegetarian you can go to one of the Buddhist restaurant and you'll be amazed what vegetarian food can

If you have any suggestions regarding this review than please contact us and let us know. We are very grateful for more useful content to be added