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10 Issues about Taiwan
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Taiwan’s Climate |
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Taiwan's climate is influenced by monsoons, thus in general, temperature is around 18-25°C. Spring is from March to May; mid-May to early June is the humid “plum rain” season; from June to August is the hot summer, usually 28-35? so be protected against the sun; autumn is from September to November; and from December to February is winter coldest around 10°C. |
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Currency and Prices |
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Unit of currency in Taiwan is New Taiwan Dollar (NT$), currently there are coins of NT$ 50, 20, 10, 5 and 1, and paper bills of NT$ 2000, 1000, 500, 200 and 100. According to survey by UBS on Feb 28, 2007, Taiwan ranks 36 th among world's 71 major cities in consumer prices, not too high compared to other Asian cities (Tokyo ranks 3 rd , Hong Kong 15 th ). Comparing Taiwan and Hong Kong via foreign exchange rate of June 2007, HK$1=NT$4.29, a lunch box in Taiwan is NT$60 but BBQ rice in Hong Kong costs NT$77-107. |
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Local Public Security |
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Taiwan has good public security, but there are always pickpockets in big cities, so pay attention to personal belongings in public places and crowds. At night, watch your surroundings and avoid sparsely populated places such as parks and MRT stations. |
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Foreign Exchange |
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Arriving Taiwan, exchange for NT$ at bank tellers at the airport or at service counters of large hotels. Or avoid worries about fees and exchange rate by making exchanges before departure. |
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How to Make Phone Calls |
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 Dial directly to make local calls in Taiwan, but for out-of-city calls, area code is required, for example, Taipei area is 02, Taoyuan is 03. For international calls, dial 002 (Taiwan's international code) + country code + telephone number (delete the first 0 of area code); to call Taiwan from overseas, dial international code + Taiwan country code (886)+ telephone number. |
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Taiwan’s Diet Habit |
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Taiwan offers Chinese and Western style breakfast. Choices for dinner are various, every cuisine from Taiwanese, Japanese and Italian are available. Lunch boxes and noodles are also tasty. At night, local specialty night market xiaochi (snacks) are not to be missed, try oyster pancake, stinking tofu, salted fried chicken, shaved ice and pearl milk tea. |
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Store Hours |
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Shops in Taiwan usually operate from 9am~11pm, and most department stores and supermarkets open from 11am~9:30pm. Night markets begin business from 6pm until 1am. Bars, pubs and KTV open really late, while convenient stores are open 24 hours. |
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Bring Adaptors |
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Power supply in Taiwan is 110V, and plug most commonly used is the two flat pin plugs, so bring adaptors and plug converters as necessary. |
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Is Local Transportation Convenient? |
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Taiwan's public transportation system is convenient with airplanes, railways and highways. The Taiwan High Speed Rail was inaugurated in 2007, connecting the major cities from north to south taking only 1 1/2 hours from Taipei to Kaohsiung. In Taipei considering buying an “Easycard” that can be used on MRT, city buses, short distance bus lines and even taxis. |
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Leisure Entertainments |
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 There's a wide variety of leisure entertainments in the cities and countryside worth trying. In the city, weekends are packed with people going shopping, clubbing, singing at KTV, and night markets are so popular. “Leisure farms” are in vogue as they offer orchards, gardens and pastures to get close to nature, with nice restaurants, B & B and scenic coffee shops that are not to be missed. |
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