Taiwan?

[fedssocr]

I am thinking about plans for travel late this year. I see plenty of premium frequent flier seats on Cathay Pacific available so the plans is to first head to Hong Kong for a week or so. The question is what to do after that. And now I'm thinking about maybe Taiwan. Indications I see online are that it's a pretty progressive place in terms of gays. And there seem to be a lot of massage places full of cute guys.

So, anyone been to Taiwan? Tips on things to do and see?

[bao-bao]

Can't say much from personal experience about the rest of the country, but Taipei itself has a lot to offer: surrounded by lush green hills, modern, and very clean. If you're at all interested in incredible artwork save at least a day to see the exhibits and grounds at the National Museum, easily reached by their light rail system.

The night market was entertaining over two evenings for me, and I didn't see all of it even then. Snake Alley may be the massage area you're referring to, but although I saw dozens of places off of the main covered "alley" I don't do the online sites so I didn't know where to go and didn't visit there myself. Actually, I didn't even research where the gay areas were, but someone here will know. Snake Alley was primarily restaurants and shops, but the side streets were more - ahem - colorful.

The street food was wonderful, the people charming, and the gay folks I met - while very low-key about being gay (at least where I visited) were most certainly around. If it isn't cloudy the view from the observation deck at the top of 101 Tower is also amazing.

Most everything is easy to get to via public transportation, and the signage includes a lot of English.

By the way, check out the Star Beauty Hotel via Agoda. Nice place, very accommodating and an easy walk to the night market and the light rail.

[fedssocr]

Thanks for the tips. I discovered that Taipei hosts a pride parade at the end of October (usually) which is around the time I was thinking about going. There are lots of HOT pictures of Taipei Pride out there which makes me definitely want to go.

Utopia and Sticky Rice have long lists of massage places

[fountainhall]

I visit Taipei quite frequently and post some experiences on gaythailand.com. Instead of pasting quite long posts, you might like to look at the first post here –

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic ... ay-taipei/

The Taipei Gay Parade is a fantastic experience with an attendance of more than 30,000. The date has now been fixed as the last Saturday in October each year, so Saturday 27 October 2012 is the week-end you want. I recommend it most highly. I outlined my own experience last year (Post #4 onwards) and included dozens of photos on this thread (although I think you have to be a member of gaythailand.com to see them). I have reposted a few below.

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic ... de-a-blog/







(Note: In case you miss it, in one post I say the hot springs (which I did find "hot" ) are to the east of the city. That is corrected in a later post to "west of the city".)

And for a little more background, there is an older thread which may still be accessible.

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic ... entry34967

I agree entirely with bao-bao. The National Palace Museum is one of the great museums in the world - an absolute must see. There's also an interesting (yes, it really is interesting, partly for its fascinating layout) Museum of World Religions. The official site is rather boring, but if you flip through the sub-list under 'Permanent Exhibitions', you get a better visual idea of what it is like. It also has a good transport map.

http://www.mwr.org.tw/content_en/exhibi ... ub_07.aspx

Plus, for sightseeing, there are a number of interesting temples, some of them very small and located where you’d least expect them.

[Gaybutton]

Dibs on the boy wearing the wings . . .

[fountainhall]

. . .sorry, I got there first!

[fedssocr]

Great. Thanks for the info.

[fedssocr]

So, fountainhall, since you are such an expert on China....how much time do you think a first-timer should devote to Hong Kong and Taiwan? I expect I would want to get out of Taipei a little bit for some landscape photography. I've been spending 4-5 weeks in SE Asia the last few years but that felt a little too long last year so I expect to pare a week or so off this year. I think I would probably head back to Thailand as part of this trip too in order to visit old favorite places and maybe some new ones.

[fountainhall]

I am certainly no expert on China in general! But I lived in Hong Kong for 20 years and still return regularly. In Taiwan, my knowledge is restricted almost exclusively to Taipei as that’s where my business took me. I had once planned a trip across the centre of the island which has some very beautiful scenery, but never made it. With the high-speed train linking Taipei and Kaohsiung in the south, getting to the centre should now be pretty fast.

Hong Kong has so much more to offer than the 2 – 3 days most visitors allot it. Many seem to think that Hong Kong is just one built-up ocean of skyscrapers, whereas in fact 60% of the territory is made up of country parks. It also includes more than 200 islands, so if you want landscape photography, you can spend days more or less out of sight of skyscrapers!



Since there is so much to do, let me just give you some general thoughts first. You can then check these out with on-line guides etc.

First, though, it seems you are considering a side trip ex-BKK rather than a stop-over en-route. In that case, you may find it cheaper to do this in two hops – one to HKG and the other to TPE. There are cheap flights ex-BKK between both cities, but if you take Cathay Pacific or China Airlines, I have not yet found a cheaper fare by doing a round trip with a stop-over. Thoughts. Air Asia flies to HKG. If you want a more expensive full service carrier, Emirates has a cheapish fare on its daily A380 superjumbo. KLM has an inexpensive daily round trip BKK/TPE.

I’d go to HKG first. I would suggest 4 nights here. If you arrive late pm on Emirates, get to your hotel, dump your bags, and then go to the Star Ferry which crosses between Hong Kong and Kowloon. Everyone should take the ride twice, once in the nighttime towards Hong Kong when the island is lit up like a jewel, and once in the daytime going in the same direction. With its steep peaks and narrow shoreline, the island is an almost unique sight. It also has some impressive architecture.

Things to see. HK Island. Wander through various districts. Central district gives you a flavour of new and old, though mostly new! Then hop on the tram which runs east/west across the top of the island. Best probably to go westwards. You will soon leave the hustle and bustle of the CBD and see a part of Hong Kong that is slowly vanishing – the spice shops, shops open to the street, tea shops, Chinese medicine shops etc.



Back in Central, take a quick look at the few old colonial buildings – e.g., the Supreme Court (now the legislative council chambers) and Flagstaff House (now the Museum of Teaware – worth a quick look inside).





Also find the Peak Tram terminus on Garden Road (it’s well signposted). This is another “must-do”, the 120+ year old cable railway that takes you almost to the top of the Peak. But it’s very touristy up there. Once you get to the top, walk further up a little. Turn right as you exit and you will quickly see a small road going up at quite a steep angle. I believe this is Mt. Austin Road. Climb up around 150 meters or so, past the sharp right turn and then past a small playground. As you come to a gentle left turn, opening up there on your right is the full panorama of Hong Kong minus most of the tourists! You can also continue walking up Mt. Austin Road until you get to the top. There you will have great views over to the south and west of Hong Kong.



Back-tracking a bit, on a first day, I always think it is worthwhile taking a short harbour cruise, ideally one that will take you around the west and the south of the island. This really helps orientate you. It is especially peasant as the sun sets.

Hong Kong Island also has a number of interesting walks. From the Peak you can link a couple of these and walk down across the island (trails are on many maps and are well marked) and going through the Tai Tam Country Park. Taxi a taxi or a bus (plenty of buses depart from the main bus station close to the Airport Express City Terminal in Central) across the island to Stanley. Here there is a famous market (rather tacky now and not many bargains), plus some nice little restaurants. You can swim here, too, if you wish (late October is still pretty hot). But for beaches, you may prefer the gay beach at Middle Bay, a little bay located between the famous Repulse Bay (where the British first arrived) and South Bay. Directions and descriptions on this site -

http://www.urban-outdoors.com/gay-beaches-in-hong-kong/

If money is no object, then lunch or dinner at the Verandah overlooking Repulse Bay is lovely on a pleasant day.

If antiques are your thing, Hollywood Road is the place to go. About a kilometer along is the famous Man Mo Temple sandwiched between the skyscrapers. This is one of the oldest and best-known of Hong Kong’s old temples and one of the few on the island.

There are two Museums worth a visit on the island. The small Hong Kong University Museum and Art Gallery is a relatively unknown gem. Further east, there is the rather dryly named Museum of Coastal Defense which is quite interesting.

Crossing over to Kowloon, and staying with Museums, forget the Museum of Art. It’s a waste of time unless it has a special touring exhibition of interest. The Museum of History in Tsim Sha Tsui is worth a visit for an hour or so. On this side of the harbour, just walking around is interesting and will give you tons of photographic material. There are also specialty street markets, including the Yuen Po Street bird market, a goldfish market and the flower market. Of these, the bird market is fascinating.

Venture further afield on the MTR subway to Wong Tai Sin station. This is very close to the most famous temple of the same name and will provide lots of photo ops. One stop further on at Diamond Hill is the splendidly renovated Chi Lin Nunnery

For more country walks, venture into what used to be called the New Territories – that part of Hong Kong that was ceded to the British until June 30 1997. Get a minibus out to Sai Kung (Lots of waterfront eateries here) and use that as a base to explore the Sai Kung country Park. You may see an occasional small snake, but they are generally harmless and will wriggle away when they hear your footsteps.

Also consider at least half a day on an island. Cheung Chau is the most popular, but also the most visited and most developed. The Smaller Lamma Island is quite trendy – if you don’t mind a power station in the back yard, and it also has a nice walk over the top. If you want just a sleepy little island, go to Peng Chau and have lunch at one of the seafood restaurants.

Last note on Kowloon. Get to the waterfront at 8:00 pm one evening when there is a spectacular light show from the buildings along the Hong Kong waterfront Worth seeing.

Note on transport. Hong Kong is easy to get around. The subway system is extensive and easy to use. Buses are also comfortable, air-conditioned and will get you to most other places. And whilst the Star Ferry plies between Kowloon and Hong Kong, it also has other routes that may be useful to you.




Eating. You must have at least one dim sum meal when you are there. Since lunch starts early around 12:00 and all dim sum restaurants tend to get packed quickly, I’d wait till evening and book a table at a restaurant appropriately named Dim Sum in Sing Woo Road in Happy Valley. Here’s my thread on gaythailand.com –

http://www.gaythailand.com/forums/topic ... hong-kong/

Lan Kwai Fong and SoHo districts – both on the island and close to Central district – are packed with restaurants, cafes and bars, the former now more pricey. So I’d suggest you go for a drink and then a meal in one of SoHo’s many eateries.

That is far more than enough to get you started. I’ll think about Taiwan and make another much shorter post again in a day or so.

[Gaybutton]

I am certainly no expert on China in general! But I lived in Hong Kong for 20 years and still return regularly. In Taiwan, my knowledge is restricted almost exclusively to Taipei as that’s where my business took me.

That makes you expert enough for me! Thank you for the post and those terrific photos.