Eliska's essey

TAIWAN

 

Twenty-two million people live on the island of Taiwan, a stone's throw from mainland China.  At 8 on a March morning, it feels like most of them are with me on the Taipei subway train between Yuan Shan and Taipei City Hall.   Despite this, the Taiwanese bow courteously, help complete strangers on and off with bags, and young and old look very much at peace with their lives, demure and sprightly with marble-white skin and the ladies carrying pink or white umbrellas to protect against the sun.  I can't imagine encountering these bon viands on the London Underground or Paris Metro.

Taipei, capital of Taiwan, is home to the world's tallest building (509 metres), the Taipei 101 (entrance: NT$350), served by the world's fastest elevator – travelling at an ear-popping 35 mph, taking only 48 seconds to reach the top.  The view is of high-rises, the chocolate-coloured Keelung River, the palatial Grand Hotel and misty jungles. 

 

Xiamen district is full of designer clothing shops and swanky shopping malls thronged with youths with dyed black and purple hair and pierced lips.  One minute away is an alley packed with meats, root vegetables, herbs that look like human hair, tiny white edible golf balls sweets, a greasy pharmacy window selling remedies such as 'stomach cleanser' and 'purple throat scoured', and battered mopeds, with whole families riding one Vespa, the child at the back holding a cage of chickens, the rider dodging the racks on wheels stacked with pink candy.

At the town of Puzih, the grey-stoned Peitian Temple is fascinating for its interior.  Built in 1687, a disciple was carrying a stone effigy of a God called Mazu, but it became too heavy and was dropped at the current site of the temple.  Beneath the cherry blossom, locals throw ritual money into a furnace and there are prayer tiles. The temple interior is an acrid, topsy-turvy Dom of walls with motifs of snakes and mythical creatures, vermillion and gold, lit by bare red bulbs, with locals chanting before an altar, figurines and flowers and fat Buddha’s, Chinese lanterns donated by the Qing emperor, huge dolls with streamers in their hair and a room with three bowls of marshmallows in water and gold tortoises.  There is a Healing Tree, where you rub a diseased part of your body and will be cured, and I find 20 glass pillars with 300 small triangular glass drawers and inside each drawer, a yellow bulb and a piece of card with someone's name on it. 

An hour away, at the small town of Yanshuei, I witness more bonkers fun: the Beehive Rockets Festival. This eccentric annual festival is an audience-participation fireworks event beginning on the 15th day of the first lunar month and attracts 50,000 visitors.

A procession carrying religious effigies makes its way through the streets followed by a number of “beehives” – cages housing dozens of racks of firecrackers, facing outwards – and visitors, protected by motorcycle helmets, scarves, gloves and anything else they can find to cover every inch of skin - then crowd around as the firecrackers are lit. 

Kaohsiung is Taiwan's second city, in the south, and a 2-day tour reveals a Confucian temple, replete with urinals-with-a-view.  The most interesting spot is the Tiger and Dragon Pagoda: the dragon's throat is the entrance and the lion's mouth is the exit. Entering a dragon's throat and coming out a lion's mouth symbolises turning bad luck to good fortune. Inside, paintings depict China's 24 most obedient sons as well as scenes of heaven and hell to inspire people to do good deeds during their lifetime, and to provide threatening examples of retribution for wrongdoing. In the guts of the dragon, there is a sacred shrine with a statue of a princess and water gushes from the wall. People pray here, burn incense, fill a cup of water, wave it above the incense, drink it, and take a laminated card from the shrine with a picture of a God. 

I visit the National Science and Technology Museum where I go moon-walking and stand inside a house which simulates an earthquake of 7.3 on the Richter scale (Taiwan's last earthquake). I learn that Taiwan only came into existence in 1949, but has one of the world's most successful economies (producing more than a quarter of the world's desktop computers).   

That evening, I'm tempted by one of Kaohsiung's alternative restaurants, The Herb Teacher (at No 3 Minchung Road, tell 07963 9576). Very rustic with lime-green sofas and lamps made of glass beads, the menu starts with a hotpot which I cook, containing sweet potato and ice cream, and I throw in pungent herbs, mushrooms, meats, vegetables and fruits.  A raw egg, with a purple yolk is placed on the table. 

Taiwan might not be everyone's idea of a holiday, but the bustling cities contrast perfectly with the ethereal beauty of Sun Moon Lake. 

I was told that the best beaches – and hot weather year round - were in the Kenting National Park, or on the virginal eastern coast, but I didn't have the time to go.

But I've already booked my air ticket in August and will head down to the glorious beaches of Kenting, for sun, sea, sand and a dose of quirkiness.

 

FACT FILE

Full Name: Republic of China

Location: The island of Taiwan is found 100 miles across the Taiwan straits from mainland China and is, practically speaking, an independent island which China regards as part of its territory that must be re-united with the mainland.

Getting there: EVA Air www.evaair.com flies to Taipei via Bangkok

Major languages: Mandarin Chinese (official), Min Nan Chinese (Taiwanese)

Capital city: Taipei

More Information: www.taiwan.net.tw; www.sunmoonlake.gov.tw

Time Zone: GMT/UTC +8

Religion: Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christian

Currency: New Taiwan Dollar (NT$)

Electricity: 110V 60HzHz

Country Dialling Code: +886

Best time to go: Autumn months (October/November) when the weather is mild and cool 19°C (66°F). In the South January/February are great as it is still warm enough 24°C (75°F to get a tan. Summer months are hot 33°C (91°F), sticky and prone to rain.

Visa: Citizens from some western European countries, the UK, Australasia, Canada and the USA can stay in Taiwan for 30 days without a visa. Everyone else needs a visa. Single entry visas are easy to get, but if you want a multiple entry visa, get it before you go. Because the Republic of China (Taiwan) is not recognised by most countries, you'll have to get your visa from a Taiwanese 'pseudo embassy'. Many countries do not allow even the word 'Taiwan' in the name of Taiwan's overseas legations.

Find out if you need a visa: www.thevisacompany.com
The Visa Company are offering The Travel Magazine readers 10% discount on the arrangement fee.