Kitesoul Magazine #4 English Edition

44TRIPMade in TaiwanTAIWANFASTFACTSAll along my trip, I have not met a single other kitesurferapart from Tony and his team and JasonTsai. There are hundreds of miles of kiting-potentialaround the country completely untouchedand very worth exploring. Particularly in the north,cliffs and rock beaches make a rather largeproportion of the coast un-kitable as launchingand landing would be too dangerous. To come toTaiwan in a group and to explore this truly specialplace would be an adventure of a lifetime forany kiter. With a good bi-lingual road-map andgiven the welcoming and really helpful nature ofthe Taiwanese, one might face a few difficultieswith directions and the language barrier at timesthat surely can be overcome easily and mighteven make it a bigger adventure. You should gofor it guys!TRAVEL TO AND ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Directflights from Europe and most mayor airports toTaipei. With valid passport for 6-months: Durationof stay without visa for 30 days.COMMUNICATION & GETTING AROUND: TheTaiwanese are very obliging and helpful towardsEuropeans and travellers of all nations in general.It is not unusual to get some special attentionon the streets. The national language isChinese (Mandarin). Most of the younger peoplespeak English. At touristic places normally onegets around with English, in rural areas it mightget a bit tricky. However, with sign language, gesturesand a smile most problems can be solved.The coach and train network is very well developed.For taxi rides it is advisable to write downthe address also in Chinese characters to avoidlacks of clarity.LOCAL CUISINE: Most small restaurants onlyhave Chinese menus, however, the majority offersalso pictures of the dishes that can be orderedunmistakably by pointing out what one wants.There are a lot of coffee and sandwich shopsin the streets. Gastronomically there is quite a lotto discover and who loves Sushi will love Taipei!Very popular and a must to try is the “Bubbletea”,tea with pearls of tapioca, available on everystreet corner, the “Papayamilk” and the “StinkyTofu”, one of Taiwans most famous specialities(love it or hate it but definitely try it !!).SAFETY: Taipei and Taiwan in general have a verylow crime rate, one feels extremely safe here. Nodoubt, it’s always recommendable not to behavetoo frivolously with money. In particular at the nightmarkets one should be a bit more cautious.HEALTH & VACCINATIONS: Taiwan posses a