Visiting Taiwan, Taipei to Keelung

Upon arriving at TPE International Airport in Taiwan, I took the MRT subway train to Taipei City Main Station. My hotel was about a 15 minute walk from the station and although it was 10:30pm and I was pulling luggage, I decided to walk. I had read in advance that Taiwan is ranked high on the list of safest places for women to travel to alone. I found this to be true. A woman out jogging alone stopped to ask if I needed directions and confirmed I was going the correct way to my hotel. Other than her, no one approached me as a walked down the sidewalks. The streets were clean and well lit. Many people of all ages were out and about in Taipei, walking and having a good time, even at 11pm. I woke up early the next morning to make my way to Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall in time for sunrise and to start my self-guided walking tour of the city. At 6am there were very few people out and many of the businesses were still closed. By 7:30am, the streets were packed with vehicles, thousands of scooters and people walking to work, school and to start their day. I walked about 5 miles through the city, in addition to purchasing a 1-day MRT visitor pass to help cut the time in traveling to farther destinations within the city. The subways and trains are exceptionally clean, safe, and easy to navigate. (Remember to tap your card going in and out of each substation turn-style or you may experience issues with it letting you back in through the turn-style for your next use.) In going from Taipei to Keelung City on the east coast, a regional train ticket is needed. These trains are similar, they just require a different ticket. Overall, I found Taiwan to be very nice, with a great mix of edgy modern and historic traditional. The people were respectful and friendly, and many people speak English as a second language. I would go back to Taiwan again, as there is much more to see and explore.