Hello friends! I'm back home now after a lovely 6 day trip to Taiwan. We had a great time and found that our money really went a long way, it was possible to really live it up and still have money left over at the end of the trip. Other than the flight, I think we only spent about 70, 000¥ for the two of us.
One of my favourite things about travelling in Taiwan was the food. Compared to veggie life in Japan, Taiwan was quite easy, as everyone understands the meaning of vegetarian. According to Wikipedia, about 10% of the Taiwanese population is vegetarian at least some of the time. Coupled with the Taiwanese culture of dining out, that means that you can find a vegetarian restaurant pretty much anywhere! The trick, of course, is finding one of these places, particularly if you can't speak or read Mandarin. While there is quite a lot of English spoken in Taiwan, particularly by younger people and those who work in tourism, most vegetarian restaurants don't get a lot of foreign customers, and are unlikely to have English signage. To help you identify vegetarian places, I recommend you remember these characters: 素食 (sùshí) can be found as part of the restaurant name or otherwise prominently displayed out front, or as a heading for a veggie section of an omnivorous menu. My guide book said that looking for a savastika (卍 Buddhist symbol that looks like a backwards swastika) is a good way to identify vegetarian restaurants, but I didn't notice any of these symbols in sight at many of the places we visited.
Did you spot the characters for sùshí?
This sign was on the inside of the same restaurant. So no savastika outside, but here it is on the menu of the vegetarian options.
You will find a lot of vegetarian buffets in Taiwan. I found that even after stuffing myself silly, I generally felt pretty good and that "too full" feeling didn't stick around to haunt me.
Yummy fresh juice will only set you back around NT$25- around 100¥ or a bit more than $1 Canadian or US.
So if you're considering countries in Asia for a vacation, Taiwan is a great choice. You'll find a good amount of English signage (at least in Taipei and near Taroko National Park), clean and convenient public transport options, warm and friendly people, and great shopping (the night markets are fun and cheap if you can handle the crowds). I hear there are also beautiful beaches and great hiking if you venture out of the cities. The delicious, cheap, veggie friendly food is sure to please vegetarian and vegan travelers, and if you are a tea lover, you are in for a treat! I heart Taiwan. Seriously.
So glad you visited my home country! :)
ReplyDeletexxx from Vienna
www.veganmiam.com
Hi Rika! I'm so glad I got a chance to go there! What a great country to be vegetarian (or vegan).
ReplyDeleteLovely blog by the way. Your photography is gorgeous.