Difference between revisions of "Taiwan"

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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.
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'''Taiwan''' is an island off the coast of [[China]], and one of the easiest places in the world hit hitchhike.
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The UN considers Taiwan part of China, but its government is completely separate from the Mainland, and almost all Taiwanese people proudly consider it an independent country.  
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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.
  
 
==Attitudes Toward Hitchhiking==
 
==Attitudes Toward Hitchhiking==
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==Language==
 
==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.  
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Taiwan's official language is Mandarin Chinese, and everyone under about 70 speaks it fluently (Taiwanese, a related language, is widespread but declining in use among young people, especially in the north and major cities). English is mandatory in schools, and most Taiwanese people under 40 will know some, but only a minority of them speak it confidently and well.
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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 others are unable or reluctant to try speaking it , so knowing some Mandarin helps a lot.
 +
 
 +
Very often people will make an effort to communicate with the few English 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.  
  
 
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.
 
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.
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Taiwanese people sometimes don't believe hitchhiking will work for longer distances (or they are maybe not familiar with the concept), so they might try to drive you to a train- or bus-station.  
 
Taiwanese people sometimes don't believe hitchhiking will work for longer distances (or they are maybe not familiar with the concept), so they might try to drive you to a train- or bus-station.  

Revision as of 09:21, 7 June 2016

Applications-office.png This article is a stub. This means that the information available to us is obviously insufficient. In these places little information is available or the description is severely outdated. If you have been there, whether hitchhiking, for travel or as part of an organized tour − be sure to extend this article!


Flag of Taiwan Taiwan
Information
Language: Chinese
Capital: Taipei
Population: 22,830,000
Currency: New Taiwan Dollar
Hitchability: <rating country='tw' />
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots
<map lat='24' lng='121' zoom='6' view='0' float='right' />

Taiwan is an island off the coast of China, and one of the easiest places in the world hit hitchhike.

The UN considers Taiwan 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.

Attitudes Toward Hitchhiking

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

Taiwan's official language is Mandarin Chinese, and everyone under about 70 speaks it fluently (Taiwanese, a related language, is widespread but declining in use among young people, especially in the north and major cities). English is mandatory in schools, and most Taiwanese people under 40 will know some, but only a minority of them speak it confidently and well.

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 others are unable or reluctant to try speaking it , so knowing some Mandarin helps a lot.

Very often people will make an effort to communicate with the few English 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.

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.


Taiwanese people sometimes don't believe hitchhiking will work for longer distances (or they are maybe not familiar with the concept), so they might try to drive you to a train- or bus-station.

Couchsurfing is also highly recommended. You will find possibilities in all provinces.

It might be useful to have a motorcycle helmet with you, when hitchhiking, as it is possible get lifts from motorcyclists.

Cities

Public transport

For e.g., Taipei to Taichung the lowest bus fares are about NT$250, and about NT$450 to Kaohsiung depending on the time of week. The Highspeed train (HSR) finishes its 350km track from Taipei to Kaohsiung in only 2 hours. Fare is about NT$1600. Slow trains are sometimes cheaper than buses but don't travel long distances. In the East, trains may be the only form of intercity public transportation.

Taipei offers a 30-minute for free bike at almost every station (get the app!). Every 30 minutes after the first 30 minutes cost you NT$10. Get the smart card for the metro and bikes to save money. You will pay a hundred for it, but get 80 back when handing in again.

General costs

Taiwan is quite a developed country compared to much of Southeast Asia, as you will see when first entering Taipei. Unless you couchsurf and hitchhike it might get quite expensive. From one author's experience you can stay in Taiwan for a month for about 300€ and see almost everything. Food is generally cheap everywhere (NT$40 to NT$100), hostels cost 400 to 600 NT$, transportation is mentioned above. Save some money in Taipei by oftenly using the Ubikes.

Experiences