Last weekend, I had the pleasure of venturing outside of the greater Taipei area and down Taiwan’s west coast. Remarkably, it took me just over two hours to travel the 115 miles from my Taipei apartment to a café in Taichung where I met a friend.

READ: Last week's "Taiwan Today" - A Foodie's Feeding Frenzy 

The convenience and efficiency of Taiwan’s mass transit system made the spur-of-the-moment traveling easier. I hopped on Taipei’s underground MRT subway line and arrived at the Taipei main station hub in less than 15 minutes. From there, I bought a ticket for the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) — a high-tech, speedy rail line that opened in 2007. The rail line runs south from Taipei down Taiwan’s west coast to the southern city of Kaohsiung. Passengers can easily travel the full length of the island in two hours.  Though it is a pricier option than a regular train or a bus, the $40 ticket is well worth the quick, smooth ride through Taiwan’s various mountains and agricultural communities. 

Upon arriving in Taichung, I was immediately surprised at how modern and suburban the city felt. The pace of life was noticeably slower than Taipei’s, the streets less crowded and the parks more abundant. I was in the city for less than 24 hours, but I made the most of my limited time through my interaction with some new local buddies that my friend had met through her host family. We checked out an artsy neighborhood of cafés and shops, walked past a public art exhibition of large, painted blocks and ended up at an upscale mall complete with a Starbucks and several other popular American shops. 

In traveling around the city, I noticed Taichung seemed less tourist-friendly. There were no bilingual bus schedules or convenient subway system. If I didn’t have guides to show me around, I would’ve dropped a lot more money on cab fare trying to navigate the streets that seemed to only accommodate a Mandarin-speaking population.

One of the locals named Janet volunteered to show me around Taichung for the rest of my time there. Watching crowds of people go about their daily lives is one thing, but actually engaging in an honest dialogue with one brings a new perspective that’s hard to come by when traveling in a foreign country. Thus, when I was not zooming around the city on the back of her motorized scooter or trying new foods from the city’s many vendors, we simply talked. 

My talks with Janet, a 28-year-old artist, helped provide a perspective of Taiwan through the eyes of a local. As an outsider, I haven’t been exposed to them firsthand. Having lived in Taiwan her whole life, Janet has. And, though she was still very proud of her country and her heritage, she was eager to share her criticisms. 

Janet explained that Taichung was her favorite city in Taiwan because it was the perfect balance of a modernized, yet peaceful city. Having studied at a Taipei university, she said Taipei life was exhausting because there was so much information and activity coming from so many different directions. Other small cities throughout the country did not have enough opportunities due to a lack of resources and a stagnant traditional culture. She criticized the country’s narrow-minded education system, which she says rarely offers opportunities for academic exploration through study-abroad programs or art-based curriculum. She explained how corruption among local businesses led to vendors ignoring city laws. Lookouts would warn businesses when police were coming. She added, some Taiwanese hold an underlying resentment toward Taipei because they feel the capital city is overcrowded, overconfident and not an accurate representation of the country as a whole. 

Janet’s observations made me realize though Taiwan is an exciting area of the world for me to explore, it is also a very real place – with real people and real problems. 

After an early morning breakfast at a delicious local dumpling joint with Janet, I headed further south to explore Tainan, the capital of Taiwan during the Qing dynasty. Tainan is a town still very proud of its storied history. Throughout this mellow port city on Taiwan’s southwestern coast, there are a variety of museums, well-preserved historical buildings and religious sites scattered among local businesses and residences. It also was a Dutch trading post during European colonialism, so there is a charming European-style harbor complete with tree-covered warehouses and plenty of street food to feed the many people that visit each day. 

These well-preserved sights draw in a good amount of tourism to the city, but the majority of the visitors that I saw seemed to be from Taiwan. Unlike Taichung, there was a free tour bus system that made traveling across the city very convenient, even for those who don’t speak Mandarin.

In the evening, I decided to attend a baseball game at the nearby Tainan Municipal Baseball Stadium. Coming in with high expectations from what I had heard about the baseball craze in Taiwan, I was at first underwhelmed by the size of the stadium. It was only about half full when the first inning started, and it looked more suited for the Little League World Series than a professional baseball game. But then the game started, and I soon felt the energy that I had heard so much about. 

Whereas most Americans use baseball games as an excuse to socialize with friends and family, the crowd here — composed mostly of families and groups of teenagers — genuinely seemed engaged in the game. They "ooh"-ed and "ah"-ed at foul balls, cheered when a player got on base and rhythmically chanted songs led by one of the announcers over the loudspeaker. I could only stay for four innings, but I could not be happier that I got to see this side of Taiwanese culture.

The weekend was a crazy 36 hours of great conversations and sightseeing, and I am glad that I capitalized on the chance to explore elsewhere in the country. It was an interesting challenge to try to pick up the nuances of each of their own personalities. I wish I had more time to experience these other places in Taiwan, but I will take the opportunities I can get in between my busy work-weeks in Taipei. 

Stay tuned for more adventures to come!

Reach columnist Perry Nunes here.