Hello everyone! In the following post, you will hear all the details about our 3-week roundtrip through Taiwan. Including 4 stops, lots of culture, hiking, good food, laugher and most importantly our 4-months old sweet little son.
But hey... why do Europeans go to Taiwan with their baby?
- Save, clean, stable, good medical care, European standards in many aspects
- ... but still, it feels exotic. The culture is very different
- Very child-friendly, not to mention their great support for breastfeeding
- Temperatures in January are moderate with a good chance for sun and little rain
- No Malaria, Dengue or any other disease to worry about
- Good food!
- Have an itineray for 3 weeks that is baby-friendly, but still getting around the island
- Most people speak English
- Cheap flights via Amsterdam and Xiamen
(Roundtrip in Taiwan map)
How we got to Taipei: We flew with Xiamen Air via Amsterdam and Xiamen overnight. New, comfortable Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The flight attendants on the long flight from Amsterdam to Xiamen were very thoughtful and rearranged passengers, so that we had an extra seat for our son – for free. Unfortunately, their English skills were only moderate.
Stop #1 Taipei
Where we stayed: A simple, small, furnished apartment, which we found via Airbnb, located next to the Daan Forest Park and the metro station.
What we did: Walking, metro, walking. Yes, we walked a lot through the whole city to see many exciting sights. Among others: Visiting the zoo, drinking tee on the Maokong and shopping at Taipei 101. We have seen the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, several temples, Dihua street and we did a day trip to Tamsui. We saw several markets, tried new fruits and ordered dishes, we had never seen before (and some of them we never want to try agaiin..). A highlight was the Christmas present I made to my boyfriend (now husband): a private market and cooking class. One of us was cooking, one was taking care of our baby – Ivy was a fabulous host and cooking teacher; the lunch was delicous.
(Market tour with Ivy)
Baby: Our go-to point for breastfeeding were public buildings, such as museums, and shopping centres – these places usually offer clean, calm breastfeeding rooms. It is indeed very impressive with how much love to detail some of them were designed. I recommend visiting the one in the Taipei 101! Having said this, I also felt comfortable breastfeeding in open public places, such as in the Daan Forest Park. I would say we planned our days as if we were discovering the city just the two of us, but now including much more breaks.
We have not had a pram or stroller with us, instead, we carried him all day in the Bondolino child carrier. He was sleeping a lot, and when he was awake we stopped at a café, a breastfeeding room, or another public place to change diapers, play and for some milk. He was a really happy baby during the day, but after getting so many new impressions (seeing, hearing, smelling…) our son was often a little fussy in the early evening before going to sleep, which we considered as a normal reaction. Against all expectations, he had not any problems with the more humid and warm weather (remember we had snow at home in Denmark…).
(View from Maokong)
(The streets of Teipei)
Stop #2 Taroko Gorge
How we got there: From Taipei, we took a regional trail. Our son was lovely but quite active on this train trip and a number of people were watching us, but in the end we all arrived safely at Hualien.
Where we stayed: We chose to stay in a private room at the Hualien WOW hostel. Very clean, nice people, inspiring paintings on the wall and a common kitchen area. Big plus for the hostel room was the huge bathtub – our son enjoyed having a bath in the evening. Our son was probably the only child at this place, but he was very welcome. It was the perfect location for day trips to the national park Taroko Gorge.
(Baby hiding in the sling under the rain coat)
What we did: Every day, after a relaxing breakfast at the hostel, we walked to the bus station and took a tourist bus to the national park. Based on a tourist map, which provided information about the different trails, we chose to walk some easy, shorter ones. Some trails even had wooden footbridges and were easy accessible. This was important, as we did not want to risk walking on slippery ground with a baby in the carrier.
The nature is stunning, the air is pure and the sounds of the woods are beautiful – we simply loved it there. We kept our day trips short and returned to our accommodation around 4-5pm.
(A little fog, but a lot of fresh air in Taroko Gorge)
Baby: Having a baby in your arms while being in a train or bus is not always easy as space on the seat is quite limited and it is not possible to just walk around to snooze your little one. I tried to give my baby a big portion of milk beforehand, so that it was likely that we was sleeping though the daily bus ride. Again, our sweet little one was sleeping a lot while we were walking the trails and he did not mind having diapers changed or getting breastfed in the jungle. And I didn't mind either. The weather was humid, with both rain and sun. Most of the time our baby was wrapped in a wool overall and protected by our rain jackets.
(Impressive statue at Taroko Gorge)
(Temple - perfect for a break)
Stop #3 East Coast of Taiwan
How we got there: We rented a car in Hualien including a baby car seat. The car seat was old and not according to European standards, which made me worry a lot. Honestly, driving like this was the most terrifying situation for me during the whole holiday, but there was nothing we could do about it. Reminder to myself: Always check the details of the baby car seat with your rental car provider in advance to be on the safe(!) side.
Driving as such was easy; ok roads, little traffic, baby asleep.
(My favorite picture from the beach at the Dragon Bridge)
Where we stayed: We chose this place because we found a fantastic accommodation in the middle of the woods, close to the sea. This was a hidden gem, where we found ourselves so close to nature. Showering under the open sky, apes in the trees above our balcony, and lovely, kind hosts that served delicious breakfast and dinner. We simply loved it and can strongly recommend staying there.
(beautiful terrace at our accommodation)
What we did: Relaxing. Walking. Eating fresh fruits. Our home was close to the Dongtaiwanshejiaobainian (omg – hope I spelled it correctly) Memorial Park, the impressive Dragon Bridge and the Islands of the Three Immortals, which we visited. We also spent quite some time on our beautiful terrace.
(Enjoying the view on the Island of the Three Immortals)
Baby: It was quite sunny and warm, so our son wore a sunhat and a long sleeve sun protection shirt most of the time. Important items on the packing list!
(Dragon Bridge on the East coast of Taiwan)
#4 Kaoshiung & Tainan
How we got there: We still had our rental car and drove South to Kaoshiung. We accounted for a long journey with many stops to take pictures from the surroundings and keep our son happy. The roads were not in their best condition and fast busses passed our car, so the trip actually took longer than expected. At times it was stressful for us as parents. There is this moment when you realize that your baby is hungry (and he can actually switch from not hungry to screaming hungry in less than 2 seconds), but you do not find a parking bay within the next 2km.
As we got closer to Kaoshiung the traffic increased significatly - it was nerve-racking. We were clearly not used to traffic jams from home, where we only use our bikes to get around the city.
Where we stayed: We stayed at a private room with breakfast at the Art House Café, which we found via Airbnb. Great location, big room and a friendly host, who allowed us to taste many different local specialities for breakfast - jammy!
(View from our room at the Art House Café)
What we did: First, we visited a few attractions in Kaoshiung, such as the railway museum, the old British Consulate at Takow, the Pier-2 Art Center, the Zoo and had a picknick at the Cijin Beach with local seafood. The Famosa Boulevard Station seemed to be a special highlight for our son when we showed our son this beautiful play of colours and light at the ceiling. We generally felt very welcome with our son in Kaoshiung. Then, we also made a day trip to Tainan. There, we were mainly following the lonely planet walking tour based on our guidebook, which worked our pretty well. There is so much history and culture to see in Tainan that we could have easily stayed another day. During our stay in Kaoshiung, the temperatures dropped down to 10 degrees and it rained heavily. So, we had to realize that we haven’t had packed enough warm clothes – next time we will be better prepared!
(Lights at Famosa Boulevard Station in Kaoshiung)
Baby: That the temperature drop during the last days of our trip was quite a challenge, as our room had no radiator. We had to wrap our baby into several layers at night and he slept with us under the big duvet so that we could keep him warm. While Kaoshiung had not so many public breastfeeding rooms as Taipei, no one seemed to bother that I was nursing in cafés or in public.
When we were visiting the British Consulate at Takow, we ran into a big group of Asian tourists. They spotted our son in the baby carrier and unexpectely, they started to talk to him and touched him. Did they want to take a pictures of him? Hold him? Yes, he is indeed the sweetest little boy on earth (which mother wouldn't say that?) with shiny blond hair, ice clystal blue eyes and a winning smile, but still they crossed a border and I had to kindly reject them.
(Temple in Tainan)
From Kaoshiung Xin Zuoying Station we took the high speed train back to Taipei Main Station, which travels at amazing 250km/h and takes less than 2 hours. Faster than we thought we were back at the airport and on our way home to Europe.
I hope this travel post inspires you to plan your next holiday. If you have any specific questions or want to share your own experiences - let me know and leave a comment or contact me.
