Layovers – love ’em or hate ’em? When travelling home from Thailand, I purposely booked flights that had us stop in Taipei, Taiwan for a full day. Life is about the journey right?! Another new city and country to explore with virtually no added cost? Yes please! And when the final destination is home, sleep can wait. I will squeeze in every last minute of adventure I can get.
Our journey home to Toronto from Thailand started at 8pm with a flight from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, following a full day tour at Doi Suthep and Inthanon National Park. After a 4 hour, middle of the night layover in Bangkok, we were on our next flight to Taipei, arriving at 7am. With our final flight home scheduled that evening and our bags checked straight through, we had a perfect opportunity for a full day of exploration! Keep reading for ideas on how to make the most of a single day in Taipei.
Maokong
If you’ve read any number of my posts, you’re awesome, aaaand you also probably know two of my favourite things in life are spectacular city views and tea. So, when planning out our day in Taipei, I totally did a chair dance when I discovered I could have BOTH my loves with a visit to Maokong village. Maokong is a quaint little town, known for it’s locally grown tea. With it’s location on a mountain top, it also offers picture-perfect views of Taipei.
We made it to Maokong from the airport cheaply, and without much hassle using Taipei’s MRT rapid transit subway, all of which was accessible for this journey, (nicely done Taipei!). The stations are large and busy but we found people to be very helpful, and even with the language barrier, they were usually able to point us in the right direction when we looked lost. Much of the subway is actually above ground, so you’ll get to see views of the city while in transit. You will first take the Taoyuan Airport MRT line to Taipei Main station. You will then transfer to the blue line, and then to the brown line, eventually arriving at Taipei Zoo station. Yup, this is the location of the Taipei Zoo, so that’s also something you could check out in this area! (We decided to pass on this, since we often go to the Toronto Zoo at home). From this station you will take a peaceful gondola ride up the mountain to the top of Maokong. The gondola was also accessible; we had the cable car to ourselves, providing us with 20 minutes of relaxing, uninterrupted views of the city as we climbed further up the mountain. Once at the top, we leisurely strolled through the village but were cautious not to wander too far due to our time constraints. The pathways were mostly accessible but it was a bit hilly in some areas. Many of the shops and restaurants did appear to have 1-2 small steps to enter. I was able to enjoy an earthy cup of oolong tea served in the prettiest little teapot, and a matcha ice cream in a cat themed cafe before heading back down the mountain. I got what I came for and more 😉
Taipei 101
Not to be confused with a guidebook or an educational series, Taipei 101 is one of the world’s tallest buildings and is a recognizable landmark in the city. To save time we Ubered here from Maokong, but it could also be reached using the MRT system. How many floors does Taipei 101 have? You guessed it, 101, with 3 observation decks. Tickets can be bought on the 5th floor. The first 5 floors are home to a fancy mall, so if upscale shopping is your thang, Taipei 101 may interest you for this reason as well. Our main goal was simply seeing this iconic building up close and snapping our own awkward selfie, so we opted to not bother going inside. Instead we crossed a few streets to get just far enough away to where we’d be able to get the structure in our background shot. It was still a struggle. Upward selfie angles do me no favours, but it was one of those photos that had to happen.
Eat
I quickly learned that Taiwan is known for quirky, fun, innovative and always delicious food and drink. We Ubered from Taipei 101 over to Ximending district, an eclectic pedestrian shopping neighbourhood, where our choices of restaurants and cuisine were endless. Despite countless options, we ended up getting our food out of a toilet. Wait, what? Completely sanitary of course, at Modern Toilet restaurant in Ximending 😉 The gimmicky giant neon flashing toilet sign drew us in and we enjoyed our last meal in Asia sitting on toilet stools and drinking out of urinals. The food was pretty average but the atmosphere was fun! Unfortunately this place is *not* wheelchair accessible, with about 12-15 stairs to get in. If eating out of a toilet isn’t your jam, or the stairs are a barrier, there is plenty else around, so I’d still recommend taking a stroll through this busy area.
Have you been to Taiwan? Let’s hear about it! What other cities are perfect for a full day layover?
