Taiwan, or officially The Republic of Taiwan, is in addition recognized historically as Formosa, from your Portuguese words “Ilha Formosa” – Pleasurable Tropical isle, the very first words that said to have come out on the otherwise speechless Portuguese navigators upon laying their thinking about sights within the isle. Taiwan may be small in geographical size but there is a wide range of things to do and see while vacationing there. In this article you will discover some of the top places to visit in Taiwan.

Taipei: The Cosmopolitan Capital of Taiwan

Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, is a “must stop” destination for all who travel there. Long ago, the “Taipei Basin” was inhabited by an Aboriginal tribe called the Ketagelan. Later, Taipei became an important port for the trading of tea under the occupation of the Han Chinese. Finally, the city became the island’s capital.

No one can visit the Taiwan’s capital without a visit to Taipei 101. According to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat, Taipei 101 is the world’s tallest skyscraper. The building has a total of 106 floors, five being underground and 101 above ground. Thus, the name Taipei 101. Since Taiwan is located in an area that is subject to typhoons and earthquakes, the skyscraper was designed to withstand both of them.

The Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall is another popular attraction in Taipei. It is also known as the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall although there has been controversy over the renaming. This great monument to China’s former president Chiang Kai-Shek is located near the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness. The main structure has white walls with an octagonal roof of blue tiles that rises up to 70 meters above the ground. The Memorial Hall contains a library and museum. It is surrounded by a park where a beautiful pond is located..

Sun Moon Lake

Sun Moon Lake is Taiwan’s largest lake with a surface area of nearly 8 km squared. It is the home of the Aboriginal tribe called the Thao. In the middle of the lake is an island that is considered to be sacred by the tribe. Because of this, the Aboriginal Cultural Village has been constructed near the lake. At the cultural village, visitors can learn about the history and development of the Thao tribe as well as enjoy the scenic beauty.

Forget about peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack. Forget about pretzels and potato chips. Here in Taiwan, from the toothy reddish grins to scarlet splashes of spit on the ground, Taiwanese chewing gum (“binlang”) is the national craze. Betel nuts are the island’s second largest cash-crop after rice, worth about four billion dollars a year. Betel nut users absorb a heavy dose of arecoline, a stimulant in the binlang that causes a buzz and is equal to about six cups of coffee. It alleviates boredom and keeps drivers alert without blowing smoke in anyone’s face. Users look like Asian vampires, with sanguine saliva dripping from blood red teeth and dripping down their chins.

Of course, the attraction of buying betelnuts is not just in the quality and taste and sheer addictive nature of the nuts themselves. Much of the attraction is the prospect of buying your nuts from one of Taiwan’s many beautiful “Betel Nut Girls”. These girls, some as young as fifteen years old, sit in small glass booths at a raised counter in full view of the traffic, always available to run out to a vehicle and provide “roadside service” for betel nuts and drinks. They provide a highly desired product for truck drivers, car chauffeurs, taxi businessmen, blue collar workers, and scooter pilots alike.

Interestingly, as the number of betel nuts stands increases, the greater the competition for driver attention, and therefore the sexy salesladies wear fewer and more revealing clothes. However, though they dress like Harlem hookers, they are not selling sex. There is no “adult entertainment” in Taiwan — no strip bars, no red-light districts. These scantily-clad sexy girls may be sitting in their bra and panty and garterbelt underwear in the window across from a MacDonald’s restaurant, in full view of children’s playlands, but the Taiwanese don’t care – it’s part of the local landscape.