Taipei Taiwan

It’s been three years since I last visited Taiwan, so it may take me a little time to re-familiarize myself with the place. In previous trips, I’ve spent the majority of my time in the city of Taipei itself, because that is where the COMPUTEX trade show is hosted. This trip will be mostly the same, but I am spending the first couple of days out in Taoyuan by the main international airport.

This is because we have been invited on a factory tour with InWin, a computer company that mostly specializes in creating some rather unique computer cases. You might remember seeing the glass computer cases on display when we were at the BCIT Spring LAN and at GottaCon. Now, I’ll be able to get more of an insider’s look into the manufacturing process. The kind people at InWin are also taking us on a brief sightseeing tour in the northern part of Taiwan, visiting landmarks like Chuifen Village and the Beitou District.

I’m still working out some of details for how I’m going to stay connected while there, but I have signed up for the Taipei Free WiFi service in the meantime and I might pick up a prepaid SIM card too.

Apogee Girl and Up's Russell

After Taoyuan, we’ll head into city of Taipei itself to cover COMPUTEX 2014. It’s a massive trade show and exhibition that covers an assortment of computer and computer-related products. There are some consumer electronics, but the focus isn’t nearly as broad as what you’d find at CES. Some of the companies on our itinerary include be quiet!, ADATA, GIGABYTE, Kingston and Rosewill.

Just as I did when we stayed at the Forte Orange, Agora Garden, and Westin Taipei, I intend on shooting a couple of brief hotel room video tours for where we are staying in Taoyuan and Taipei too. Stay tuned for those.

Grilled Duck Hearts?

Of course, no trip to Taiwan would be complete without indulging in some of the amazing food. We already have plans to gorge ourselves on xiaolongbao at the legendary Din Tai Fung and I’m sure we’ll have opportunities to eat all sorts of other great stuff too. I love me some grilled duck offal. And grilled squid. And bubble tea.

Grilled Squid and Lamb on a Hot Skillet

We’re staying in the Zhongxiao Dunhua area and will be commuting back and forth to both the Xinyi District (Taipei 101) and the convention center at Nangang. If you have any suggestions or advice for what to see or where to eat, I’m all ears. It’d be awesome if we could have a “fixer” like how Eddie Huang and Anthony Bourdain get. 🙂