So you’re coming to Taiwan! Visiting? Moving here?
Either way, you’re in for a great time! But here’s 10 things you might want to do before you come…
1. Learn a few Basic Chinese words & phrases.
These are the five we suggest. 1. Hello. 2. Thank you. 3. I’m sorry/excuse me (Good news. This is a two for one deal -You can use same phrase for both!). 4. I want this (yes a full sentence but short and sooo usefull). Of course the more Chinese you have at your disposal the better, so if you are up for learning more we have some suggestions on how to get that started before arriving here.
2. Practice your chopstick skills!
It’s true that Asia isn’t quite what the movies or your imagination may lead us envision. In Taipei the streets are no longer filled with rickshaws and water-buffalo, and *spoiler* most women in Japan aren’t walking around in Komonos. But everyone DOES eat with chopsticks here. It’s not a tourist gimmick like fortune cookies. And chopsticks aren’t just for special occasions or certain meals. People here eat most if not all of their meals with chopsticks. And at most local restaurants, soup spoons and chopsticks are your ONLY utensil options. If you need some tips and tricks to help you Chinesepod has a nice youtube video on how to use chopsticks
3. Preorder a SIM card to pick up at the airport
It is remarkably easy to get a prepaid SIM card with great 4G coverage in Taiwan. While it is possible and quick to get one of the major service providers to set you up, the easiest by far is the tourist SIM option. Our first visit to Taiwan was with the underlying goal to check out employment opportunities. So we pre-ordered a 30 day unlimited Chunghwa data plan with a $430 NT (about $13 US) credit for voice calls. Voice and text are extremely cheap, so that was all we needed to get started. It is a bit more expensive than other options in Asia, but extremely cheap compared to pay-as-you-go unlimited plans in the US. We completed the online form here, printed out the confirmation, and when we arrived at the airport, it took about 5 minutes to get us set up
4. Mentally prepare yourself for the bathrooms
Knowing is half the battle. And there are more than a couple things to know – not just the fact that you WILL encounter a squatty potty during your time here. Josh wrote a funny, yetvery informative post on this which I highly suggest you read before
5. Buy some local snacks & other gifts to share
Regardless of what you are coming to Taiwan for there are sure to be people you’ll wish you had a gift for. Food items are the most common gift here, so if you really want to make people happy bring some local edible item to share (not forgetting though that meats and cheese of course won’t make it past customs!) Think packaged cookies, dried fruit, jelly, etc. And of course any other little gift from your part of the world will be appreciated too. Except clocks. And umbrellas. These are considered VERY bad gifts – like wishing death or misfortune on the receiver which is probably not what you’re going for.
6. Start playing Pokemon go
Ok. ok. you don’t have to do this! BUT if you are at all interested in this game I highly suggest you play it while you’re in Taiwan. It’s hugely popular here and makes for all sorts of pleasant interactions with strangers, not to mention fun connections with random coworkers or classmates. And if you start playing before you arrive in the country then you can catch some of the regional Pokemon that are only found in your part of the world. Taiwan Pokemon-go players will be so excited to get onefrom you! It’s like a another “local gift” you can bring (and BONUS these gifts don’t take up any extra room in your luggage)!
7. Go out for Mexican Food!
Ok seriously if your’e coming to Taiwan (or Asia for that matter) for any length of time and you like Mexican food… take advantage of its availability while you’re still in the Western Hemisphere.
8. Download Pleco & Google translate
Of course, as you can see, Google translate isn’t always spot on 😛 But it’s better than nothing!
We can’t say enough about how smartphones and apps have made Taiwan accessible to non-Chinese speakers. This is our first time being functionally illiterate, and it really is an eye-opener. Fortunately, parts of Taiwan have already addressed this for you by having a lot of English signage. However, having a great pocket translator is amazingly useful. Google translate does a pretty good job of character recognition, but it’s important to download the dictionary for offline use. For an app that really has a great amount of depth to it’s dictionary, we suggest downloading Pleco. It’s free, has a good user interface, and the character drawing lookup is pretty forgiving. And of course there are lots of other great apps to help you expand your character recognition.
9. Pack for rain and cold weather
Taiwan straddles the Tropic of Cancer meaning you should expect subtropical weather in the north. If you will be spending your whole time way down in the southern part of the island, yeah you probably won’t experience much cold weather. But you WILL get rain! No matter when you come or where you are going in Taiwan you should be prepared for the possibility of rain. And if you’re going to be up north, like in Taipei, over the winter be prepared for cold.Taipei can be COLD in the winter. And I am saying this as someone who grew up in Montana. It’s a damp cold here that you can’t escape indoors because they don’t have heaters in most apartments, schools or workplaces. So while it’s true you probably wont see snow, you very well may wish you had some wool socks gloves and a stocking hat.
10. Read our Blog!
Haha, very funny, you might think. But besides a shameless plug, we think that poking around on our blog will really help you get the most out of your time here. Taiwan really does have a lot to offer and if you are curious about places to visit, things to do…. we hope that you will find our posts extremely helpful. Taipei is not like Bangkok or New York, in that it’s not a top international tourist destination with lots of areas that make a lot of top ten lists on the web. It also helps to know what’s special and available during different seasons. Taiwan has a lot to offer, and is very forgiving for foreign visitors. But even locals who read our blog tell us that they had no idea that ______ was such a great place to visit in their country!