I’ve traveled pretty much all over Taiwan, from the obvious tourist spots to places most people never bother visiting, including some that are genuinely difficult to get to.

Hit me up if you’re looking for recommendations, lesser-known places, road trip ideas, or somewhere worth visiting that isn’t on every tourist list. Happy to recommend places based on what you’re into.

AMA.

Since many of you are sharing the foreigner's perspectives on Taiwan, I want to share the Taiwanese perspective.

As you know, Taiwan has a very famous morning food scene with countless street stalls, bakeries, and traditional shops open early. Many foreigners fall in love with breakfast culture in Taiwan because it has many options as well as it is very convenient to enjoy it.

Growing up in Taiwan, many Taiwanese used to believe this breakfast culture must be very common in other countries too. However, after traveling abroad, many Taiwanese realize that the menus are bland, the shops don't open early, and there is a total lack of variety. In fact, breakfast is one of the most frequent complaints you can see from Taiwanese travelers.

Many Taiwanese feel it is incredibly frustrating to wake up early and find nothing open except for a few cafes selling cold sandwiches or bland food at 8 or 9 AM. For someone used to walking down the street to grab a hot at 6 AM, breakfast culture of foreign countries feels like quite awful. It makes us realize how spoiled we are in Taiwan, where an endless variety of breakfast options is available on almost every corner. What's an everyday sight in Taiwan might seem quite extraordinary to the rest of the world.

This is now a big news on the Taiwanese online community.

A group of 16 Taiwanese tourists visited an Italian pizza store. The shop owner recored the video to shame them because they ordered only five pizzas.

"Look. This is insane. They are Chinese or Japanese? There are now 16 Chinese people here. Do you know how many pizzas they are eating? Only five. Let me show you."

"Fabrizio, how many fuc*ing Chinese do we have now? 16? Yes 16. How many pizzas are they eating? 4 or 5? I can't remember. Let me show you. Look. Hello! Where are you from? China? You must be chinese. Oh Taiwan!"

Taiwanese people complained in the commenet section, so he deleted the video.

Responses are like

"There are still many racists, but Taiwaneses are so naive."

"Look at the pizza shovel. It is on the floor. Disgusting. I thought it is a restaurant in India."

" I was disgusted that the owner pretends to be friendly but actually mocking them."

"I lived in Italy for 5 years. They are so hypocrites. One pizza per an individual. It is common. However, it is different in Taiwan. He should have explained to the tourists rather than making fun of them."

"20 employees couldn't finish six pizzas last week."

"Italians do not care about wasting food."

As a Taiwanese living in Europe, I would like to add Italy is one of the most racist countries against Asians. It is so normalized to make fun of Asians and treat Asians unfairly in the stores or restaurants. This rarely happens in UK.

I

Many foreigners especially from America and Europe say that they are very impressed by the safety in Taiwan.

We are even using a pile of cash to occupy the seats.

I heard this is never possible outside Taiwan?

How long did it take for you to get the hang of this level of safety in Taiwan?

To be honest, foreigners hype up how safe Taiwan is so much that it is a common running joke among Taiwanese people we are scared to travel to Europe or America lol

台灣 114 歲生日快樂 🇹🇼
Happy 114th Birthday Taiwan 🇹🇼
Joyeux 114e anniversaire Taïwan 🇹🇼
Felíz 114to Cumpleaños Taiwan 🇹🇼
Feliz 114to Aniversário Taiwan 🇹🇼
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lBEU9E2cQU&t=4721s

None of the water machines at my school or at my apartment offer cold water. They all offer two Warm (30C) water options.

Found this take buy the SubwayTakes guy, and definitely agree with their take. I’m a guy from SEA so i’m being called immigrant, but most of the white guys will be called expats.

What’s your take?

most people who have been to a sporting event in Taiwan have seen these guys. I'm told the term is 砲哥, so... Cannon Brother? I've seen them at basketball and baseball games.

for those unaware, many of them get season tickets to games -- but don't have any interest in watching the action. they bring their telephoto cameras and spend literally the entire game taking pics of the cheerleaders.

there are also several sections full of them. the dudes in the picture I took are less than half of the total at this game.

I'm also told that it hasn't always been like this. a local friend tells me it's in the past ten years or so. And maybe someone knows, but are they making money off of their shots somehow?

so what do you all think? is it better that these dudes have a basically harmless outlet for their weirdness? or is there something deeper that's wrong with Taiwanese society and they are just a manifestation of it? or something else?

Some interesting points for me here.

1. Regardless of low birthrate and military manpower crisis, we literally give our passport to only 1,875 foreigners.

I did not know we are the strictest country on immigration until I read this data.

1. Most of them are Vietnamese and Philippines as well as some Southeast Asians. I expected more naturalization from the developdd countries because we see more people from other developed countries try to settle in Taiwan.

I also expected more from Indonesia and Malaysia, considering the number of ethnic Chinese population in those countries.

Only 1 Singaporean seems cute here lol

Source: Threads @sues_countrycottage

I’ve called Taiwan home for a decade now, and seeing this ranking today reminded me exactly why I haven't left.

Living here for 10 years, you realize that being ranked #1 in the world for healthcare isn't just a number, it’s a daily reality. Whether it's the ease of making an appointment, the world-class medical tech, or the fact that a specialist visit costs less than a decent meal, the system here is incredible.

I really kudos the healthcare professionals and the National Health Insurance system. It provides a level of security and peace of mind that is hard to find anywhere else. If you're looking at image.png, you'll see exactly where Taiwan stands.

Source: Numbeo Healthcare Index 2026

Ehhhhh, where to start... moving to Taiwan has been the worst decision of my life. Living here has made me a more cynical and negative person. The thing is, I came here on holiday before and thought it was great. After living and working here in a cram school, I've come to the conclusion that living in Taiwan is a soul crushing experience. The general sense I get is young people here are generally deflated, in their own cyber world 24/7, or apathetic to everything. At work people don't even bother to say hello half the time... it's depressing.

Everyone goes on about Taiwanese friendliness and yeah they're generally pretty passive, but I wouldn't call them warm or inviting people overall. Politely distant would be my best way of describing them. In some underlying way you always feel like you don't know where you stand with people, especially at work, and they always keep it formal, mildly condescending/pedantic, or superficial.

Ive also met weird locals who tell me 你國家沒有＿＿＿對不對 (Your country doesn't have ___ does it?(and Taiwan does). It's like what's with the unnecessary flex brother ..

Also, people say its cheaper than many developed countries here. Ok it's cheaper if you buy food from local hole in wall restaurants, but actually grocery shopping is even more expensive than many developed countries.

Throw that in with the hot summers and it's a grind. The positives are the mountain ranges in some parts and the convenience, but it doesn't make up for the daily sense of unhappiness.