Taipei, Taiwan: Exploring Ximending and Getting Oriented, Taipei, Taiwan

People often ask me how much advanced planning I do for my travels. The honest answer is, I try not to go too in depth with planning because, for me, the magic of travel is to discover my own hidden gems and experiences. That being said, I do like to do a little up front research on “must see” locations, or experiences.

For Taiwan, I found two excellent resources I highly recommend if you decide to go to this wonderful country. First, the Taiwanderers website, run by Caroline and Neil, a British couple who have years of experience in Taiwan. Second, I love their Facebook group, Taiwan Travel Tips. I used both their resources for preliminary information and creating a hit list of places I wanted to go and things to do. One of the reasons I don’t over-research a place is that I’ve come to realize my taste is very different than other people’s. Whenever I’ve tried to follow someone else’s itinerary or suggestions 100%, I’ve often end up feeling disappointed.

Thinking about it now, I wouldn’t be surprised if my way of traveling is an extension of my need to live non-traditionally. I felt like I was living someone else’s life back when I was working in corporate and married, and like I needed to break free. So, perhaps, I feel the same way about my travels, and need to make them my own, rather than following someone else’s path. I try to balance that need with knowing that other people have more experience than I do in certain places, and information is always helpful. So, I typically inform myself about what’s available to see, choose a few places that I add to my “I Gotta Go Here!” list, and then wing the rest of my time. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).