Taiwan and Laos

[steventravel]

Anyone been to Taiwan or Laos?


Lindsay and I are taking a trip to Taiwan next week and wondering if we can get some trip advice.


How many days? Where in Taiwan. We are flying into Taipei. Then thinking about doing a side trip somewhere before we fly back from Hong Kong. Maybe Laos?

We have two weeks to work with. We enjoy hoping around. Although 5th night Free SPG Four Points enticed me in Taipei as I will be arriving to Taipei two days earlier than her.


Thanks for any help.

 

[AlaskanTraveler]

Obviously Taipei 101, skyscraper. You can't miss it Shinlin market. Check out the food scene.

As for where else, depends or your interests. Have you seen Angkor Watt in Cambodia? That is amazing. Have you already been to Thailand? I've been to Laos twice. Luang Prabang in Northern Laos is a quaint, romantic, cultural town. Skip Vientiane. What about Vietnam. I found central Vietnam to be may favorite. Da Nang has good points options and is in close proximity to Hue and Hoi Ann. Both great places to visit.

 

[knick1959]

I can't answer with direct ideas, except that I am planning a trip to the same region for Jan 2019 and there is a ton of great information in a thread I started, here:

https://saverocity.com/forum/threads/early-high-level-planning-asia.663264/

Based on the discussion there, my rough plan currently includes Luang Prabang in Laos, as @AlaskanTraveler just mentioned. Angkor Watt was my primary target for this trip already. There are some great ideas provided there!

 

[mec]

I spent 2 months in Taiwan, as a younger man, more than 25 years ago. Sadly I kind of winged it and cant remember a lot of names of places. I had a place to stay in Taipei, in Taishan, where I spend about 30 days studying Chinese and doing some limited sight seeing around Taipei. Then I was driven to Chiayi from whence I rode a bicycle Back to Taipei. Some days later I rode around the island, along the Pacific coast, until I got back to Chiayi. I have lots of fond memories of that trip. Mostly of the food and the markets, the Temples and just immersing myself in a different way of life. Also getting out into the natural landscape was a big part of what I remember about Taiwan... Baiyang trail through the marble gorge. Sanxiantai Bridge to San Hsien-T'ai island... and a few other places who's names escape me.

If I were you I would scour the blogs and google maps to find a range of things that appeal to your senses. Once you have a list of things try to plan your stay around the ones that are most important to you and make reservations or do extra research on your top activities. Use the others as substitutes and fillers where things don't go as planned or opportunities present themselves. I'm sure you will have a great time with a little study as Taiwan is a fantastic place with lots of fun people.

Additionally I would recommend Taiwan Beer (produced by the Taiwan Alcohol Monopoly in the 90's ...when I was there). Good stuff.

 

[steventravel]

Obviously Taipei 101, skyscraper. You can't miss it Shinlin market. Check out the food scene.

As for where else, depends or your interests. Have you seen Angkor Watt in Cambodia? That is amazing. Have you already been to Thailand? I've been to Laos twice. Luang Prabang in Northern Laos is a quaint, romantic, cultural town. Skip Vientiane. What about Vietnam. I found central Vietnam to be may favorite. Da Nang has good points options and is in close proximity to Hue and Hoi Ann. Both great places to visit.

Loved Vietnam and Cambodia. Thanks for the tips on Laos. Sounds like you and I are on the same page in the way of traveling. So thanks so much!

 

[steventravel]

I can't answer with direct ideas, except that I am planning a trip to the same region for Jan 2019 and there is a ton of great information in a thread I started, here:

https://saverocity.com/forum/threads/early-high-level-planning-asia.663264/

Based on the discussion there, my rough plan currently includes Luang Prabang in Laos, as @AlaskanTraveler just mentioned. Angkor Watt was my primary target for this trip already. There are some great ideas provided there!

I think its worth going to Phnom Penh in Cambodia sorry if the spelling is off. and doing the killing fields for the historical point of view, just expect to be sad that day and learn alot.