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It is a very easy place to hitchhike. ==Attitudes Toward Hitchhiking is not a common way for locals to travel except when returning to town from the mountains, but there's almost zero fear of hitchhikers, and many locals are happy to help. There is a common perception that hitchhiking is only easy for women and "foreigners" (White people), but it appears not to be true.==
Waiting times to hitch are short and people often don't mind driving a bit further than the place where they needed to be. Very often, the drivers will also offer you a drink or even food. No matter how deep into the countryside you are, hitching is possible absolutely everywhere! You might find Taiwan to be the easiest place to hitch in the world.
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'''Taiwan''' is an island off the coast of [[China]]. The UN considers it part of China, but its government is completely separate from the Mainland, and almost all Taiwanese people proudly consider it an independent country. People are fond of calling Taiwan a "small island", but don't be fooled into thinking distances are shorter than they are. It takes about 8 hours to drive from one end to the other, and that's assuming you stay on the densely populated plain.
Taiwan is a very easy place to hitchhike. Hitchhiking is not a common way for locals to travel except when returning to town from the mountains, but there's almost zero fear of hitchhikers, and many locals are happy to help. There is a common perception that hitchhiking is only easy for women and "foreigners" (White people), but it appears not to be true. Taiwanese people are very friendly and usually very honest. Waiting times to hitch are short and people often don't mind driving a bit further than the place where they needed to be. Very often, the drivers will also offer you a drink or even food. No matter how deep into the countryside you are, hitching is possible absolutely everywhere! You might find Taiwan to be the easiest place to hitch in the world. ==Language==If you are an English speaker you will find that many people are eager to practice while they drive you around. On the other hand, many locals are embarrassed to use their broken English (young people) or don't speak English at all (people over about 40), so knowing some Mandarin helps a lot.
The next best thing is to have a smartphone on you to translate whatever you search into chinese characters and for the use of google maps. You can buy a SIM card (fareastone e.g.) for NT$350 giving you a credit of 150 for calling plus 1GB of mobile internet. The whole country offers excellent wifi services (restaurants, 7-11, Metro and bus stations). Free registration is often required. Search help for that.
Not so many Taiwanese people speak English, but very often they make an effort to communicate with the few words they know or even call an English-speaking friend to talk with you on the phone. Nonetheless, it's a good idea learn some basic Chinese or ask a Chinese-speaking friend to create a [[hitchhiking letter]] for you. This is a tremendously good method.
