Bui Tieu Mai is an exchange student majoring in Toxicology - Applied Science at the Faculty of Chemistry - Tam Giang University. The female student currently lives and works in the New Taipei area. Mai has only been in Taipei for 2 months, but she has already interacted with and deeply felt the people and culture here.
"I feel that Taiwanese people are mostly friendly and cute, and quite humorous too," Mai said.
Responding to Travellive, Tieu Mai shared that she traveled all over Taipei using only the MRT train, the bus system and even bicycles. For natural attractions, Mai traveled to Yangmingshan, Salun Beach, Jiufen Ancient Village, Daan Forest Park, Guanyin Mountain,...
A cafe in Guting, Taipei.
A resident's home garden in New Taipei.
People participating in traffic in Taipei.
According to her observation, Taiwanese people know how to preserve nature while combining tourism very harmoniously. For example, in Yangmingshan, Taiwanese people will reserve trekking paths for those who like to explore nature. This area, although wild, has been inspected and guaranteed to be safe.
On the other hand, there are also artificial tourist attractions here that are reserved for other groups of tourists. Most of the natural places here have many volunteer groups that will organize clean-up trips every week. Tieu Mai also joined one such group called Tsu Ching.
"I feel that Taiwanese people have a sense of protecting nature, because even though in Taipei, you will still see hills with lots of trees and often encounter wild birds, like in Daan Park I once encountered hawks and parrots," said Tieu Mai.
In Taipei, most of Mai's tourist destinations are connected by the MRT and bus systems. Places like Guting and Taipei Main Station are train stations themselves but are also famous tourist destinations. Taipei Central Station is both a train station and a large underground shopping area. Therefore, Mai considers traveling between train stations to be a special travel experience.
Tamsui Station Area, New Taipei City.
Taiwanese people on MRT trains.
Using YoYo cards purchased at convenience stores, visitors can experience many public services.
According to Dam Giang University student, tourists who want to experience traveling to Taipei by public transport should buy a transportation card. The card called YoYo Card is sold at many convenience stores such as 7-11 and Family Mart. The first time you buy a card, you will need to top up 100 TWD (about 75,000 VND) to activate the card.
"A bus ride costs 15-20 TWD (about 11,000-20,000 VND). A train ride costs about 50-70 TWD (about 38,000-53,000 VND). I only spend about 30-50 TWD (23,000-38,000 VND) to travel between tourist destinations. So I often use the spare change when shopping to top up my YoYo card," Tieu Mai shared about the cost of travel for each trip.
Next, visitors should download the Bustracker app to view the MRT map and information about the bus you want to take. This app also has information about bicycle rental stations or other public transportation services. Before going to a location, Mai often plans specifically by looking up Google Map and Bustracker to choose the most suitable means of transport. In addition, the hotel staff will also enthusiastically guide you about information about buses and MRT stations.
Tourists in Yangmingshan.
An ancient temple by the roadside.
The Palace Museum is well preserved.
Xiao Mai chose to travel around Taipei by public transport because it helps her save a lot of money. Besides, these means of transport also do not take too much time to travel. Tourists can track themselves on the Bustracker application. Short-distance buses have a trip every 3-5 minutes, the application will announce the specific time for long-distance buses. Meanwhile, the MRT also has a similar transfer time.
"The only difficulty I find annoying is that there are no seats during rush hour. Besides, if there are no buses, you can use a bicycle. Bicycle stations are everywhere," said Tieu Mai.
Not only famous for its natural scenery, Taiwan is also home to many historical relics and ancient temples. After visiting Wuji Tianyuan Temple and Longshan Temple, Tieu Mai was surprised because these places are 100-200 years old but they still maintain their original appearance. From drawings, statues, to paint colors, this shows that Taiwanese people do a very good job of preserving heritage. Even if these relics are renovated, they will not lose their old features.
"My favorite places are Yangmingshan and Longshan Temple. As for travel experiences, I was lucky to meet a Taiwanese friend who used a motorbike to take me on a trip from Keelung to Tamsui by the coastal road," said Tieu Mai.
Stroll around Taipei night market.
Walking the dog in Taipei park.
A traditional restaurant in Taipei.
Tieu Mai said that since coming to Taiwan, she has never experienced culture shock, because Taiwanese people are friendly and gentle, which helped her integrate easily. The female student had to get used to sorting trash every day, but according to Mai's observations, there are few public trash cans on the street. Taiwanese people often line up in front of garbage trucks every night to throw away sorted trash.
"Taiwanese food is delicious and the prices vary by region. I just can't eat a noodle dish with a lot of red pepper, but Taiwanese people eat it every day," Mai shared.
In the near future, Tieu Mai plans to continue to go to more trekking spots in Yangmingshan, then plan to visit Hualien and Kaohsiung. She wants to visit some universities with beautiful architecture and scenery such as National Sun Yat-sen University....
