The main language spoken in Taiwan is Mandarin Chinese, which uses traditional Chinese characters. You may also hear Taiwanese Hokkien, Hakka, and Indigenous Taiwanese languages. When walking through Taipei, you might hear people switching between Mandarin and Taiwanese.
Taiwan uses the New Taiwan dollar, also known as NT$ or TWD. You can see various coins and colorful banknotes when paying for food, shopping, or riding public transportation. At Taiwan’s famous night markets, cash is especially useful for buying street foods from vendors.
A bottle of water in Taiwan usually costs around NT$15–30, which is approximately US $0.50–$1.00, depending on the size and where you buy it. You can find bottled water at convenience stores like 7-Eleven and FamilyMart all around the city. Since Taiwan can get very hot and humid, bringing water along is especially important when hiking or spending the day exploring.
The best meal I had this week was a plate of gyoza (pan fried dumplings) from a restaurant near my college. I tried three different flavors: vegetable, shrimp and chicken. Each type had its own delicious flavor, and the fillings tasted fresh and flavorful.
