110 of 110 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very good, some room for improvement, July 15, 2007
This review is from: The Rough Guide to Taiwan 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)
UPDATED for 2011 Edition, August 5, 2011
I first wrote this review for the 2007 edition. I just borrowed Rough Guide (RG) Taiwan 2011 from the library, reviewed and updated what I wrote before, and I discuss how the 2011 edition changed compared to 2007. I am pleased to see that two problems I mentioned before have been addressed; neither were major.
For the RG 2007 review, I had the Lonely Planet (LP) Taiwan 2004 guide as a point of comparison. At that time, that was the latest LP edition. I normally prefer LP guides because I have many and they have a consistent design, making it easy for me to find what I need even for a new country. I found LP Taiwan 2004 rather poor compared to RG Taiwan 2007. LP has since released 2007 and 2011 editions. I will review the LP 2011 edition shortly and update this review with my current thinking.
RG Taiwan 2011 is a very good guidebook with room for improvement (see CONS). However, the page count is 25% less than the 2007 guide, suggesting the elimination of some information (see CONTENTS/ORGANIZATION below). This is not altogether a bad thing, because the book is smaller and lighter, and if the information they removed was of lesser interest, you should be able to find what you want more easily. Most likely they have added some new topics as well, though I have not found an example yet.
Taiwan is a fascinating but underrated set of islands, with friendly and helpful people, many of whom speak at least a little English or Japanese. The Chinese culture here is fascinating, but I had no idea before I came here the first time that there were people other than those descended from the Chinese. The indigineous Austranesian peoples add ethnic cultures, arts, and cuisines to get to know.
The diversity of natural beauty on this island is staggering - mountains, rugged coastline, waterfalls, and unique wonders like Toroko Gorge. You can see it all easily because of the new high-speed bullet trains that can take you from Taipei to the south in just over 2 hours. (Buses from the train to inland areas are not as fast, of course.)
Even if you have to stay in Taipei, there are many day trips to enjoy; Wulai is easy and worthwhile, and you could even take a train to see a little of the south, yet return the same day.
PROS
Excellent coverage of Taipei and (separately) each of the major regions, including one for the islands. An excellent overview in the first 24 pages, with color photos to give you a very quick introduction to the highlights, which will help you decide whether you want to visit Taiwan. Sections for Basics, and for Contexts (history, indigineous people, religion, culture) make it complete.
CONS
RG Taiwan 2007 has 584 pages; RG Taiwan 2011 has 448. The page and font size is the same, as the layout and use of white space. This means they must have dropped almost a quarter of the material found in the older guide.
No maps section for quick reference, like Lonely Planet's, means you will have to search for the maps within the section for the map. They are not as detailed as I would like (for example, not all streets and alleys are marked, and the Chinese markings are not given), and use two colors. Get a local map while you're here, perhaps free at your hotel, use google maps, or make do with these maps for shorter visits. The maps are marked with Roman characters. More than one translation of Chinese characters to Roman characters is used in Taipei; see OTHER COMMENTS for how to deal with this.
When I visited in 2007, I had troubles taking the bus to Wulaim because RG said to go to Xindian station then take the Wulai bus. Though most buses have destinations shown in Chinese and English, in 2007 the Wulai bus had Chinese only, and the guide failed to mention that, and several Wulai buses went by until I asked for help, and learned what to look for. The 2011 guide has moved the "how to get to Wulai" text to a highlighted box. It now says that the bus IS marked in English. Since I have not gone to Wulai since 2007, I cannot confirm that the bus label includes English, but since the guide has improved their directions, it probably has. If in doubt, it never hurts to have your hotel write down the Chinese characters you would look for.
The Language section is for Mandarin Chinese, which it says is the most common dialect used here. It discusses the basic differences between Chinese and Taiwanese (a dialect with some differences), but in the 2007 edition it did not actually say which was presented; in the 2011 guide it explicitly says it is Mandarin.. It would be nice if they had at least some basic greetings in Taiwanese and a few of the most common indigineous languages, as greeting people in their preferred language always brings good will, and this was not added for 2011.
In describing oolong tea, they say it is semi-fermented, unlike green or black tea. This is incorrect. Oolong tea is available lightly fermented (and light/medium green), medium fermented (light brown or brownish green), and fully fermented (dark brown to black). The tastes are quite distinct: light can have a floral or vegetable taste; medium (Oriental Beauty) can be almost fruity or tangy; and fully fermented has a unique dark tea taste. I like all of them, and oolong is my preferred source of caffeine for most of the year.
CONTENTS/ORGANIZATION
The organization of the 2011 edition is identical to that of the 2007 edition, but almost all sections have fewer pages. The number in parenthesis at the end is the change in number of pages (minus means fewer). The font size and layout style / amount of white space appears to be the same, so fewer pages means they edited down the text, probably dropping some topics present in the 2007 edition.
Color Section (where/when to go, highlights), 16 pages (-8)
Basics, 36 pages (-16)
Taipei and vicinity, 70 pages (-10)
North Taiwan, 48 pages (-10)
Central Taiwan, 62 pages (-18)
South Taiwan, 44 pages (-26)
East Coast, 48 pages (-12)
Taiwan Strait Islands, 47 pages (-15)
Contexts (history, indigineous people, religion, culture), 38 pages (-3)
Language, 15 pages (0)
Plus: two 4-page color sections on festivals and national parks (0)
OTHER COMMENTS
While many Taiwanese speak at least some English, and many younger or more-educated people can speak it reasonably well, you will at times need to look at the Chinese characters to find things (like the bus I mentioned in Cons). Unfortunately there are three different English spelling schemes used for Chinese words, so you will need fuzzy thinking using sounds in your head to work it out. Example: Xindian (the MRT spelling) is spelled Sindian on the buses. A road like Zhongshan might be spelled Jhongshian or Song Shan, but Songjiang is a different road in the same area. BTW, I have found that many Taiwanese can also speak some Japanese.
LONELY PLANET vs ROUGH GUIDE for Taiwan
I have LP Taiwan 2011 and I will edit this review to offer my comparison between that and RG Taiwan 2011 after I have reviewed it.
WHO, ME?
I have spent a lot of time all over Asia and have visited Taiwan about five times from 2001-2010, mostly Taipei for business, but I have taken some time to visit other parts. If you find this review (or any review) useful, please click the YES button below, thanks.
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23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Finally, RG does Taiwan, June 1, 2007
This review is from: The Rough Guide to Taiwan 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)
Rough Guide and Lonely Planet are the two guidebook series of choice for independent travelers, though where I've compared both I've consistently preferred RG for its greater depth and better writing. The LP Taiwan is okay, but this first edition of RG is clearly better in most ways.
First, it's a lot more current, published in April 2007, compared to the LP, the most recent edition of which was published in November 2004. Even in a reasonably developed place like Taiwan, things change quickly enough that a three-year guidebook is often out of date, although LP is coming out with its next edition later this year.
Perhaps more importantly, the RG is substantially more detailed. The page count alone gives an indication: about 580 pages for the RG, 367 for the LP. Add to that the LP's finer print (still readable though), and you're looking at quite a bit more text for any given attraction, and quite a few that the LP does not cover at all. Quantity isn't everything of course, and the RG -- like others in the series -- is much better written than the LP. The tone is sober, without the element of camp that sometimes creeps into the LP.
The RG is also better laid out, with accommodation information immediately following the introduction rather than coming at the end of the section on any given location, as LP has it. The "Highlights" section is both more extensive and better chosen than in the LP. The LP does feature quite a bit more full-color photography, but there are better books for that.
Overall, a pretty clear first choice for a guidebook on Taiwan, and likely to remain so even when the next edition of the LP comes out.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Taiwan guidebook, June 10, 2007
This review is from: The Rough Guide to Taiwan 1 (Rough Guide Travel Guides) (Paperback)
The Rough Guide (RG) is divided into four main sections. The full color pages at the front of the book give a basic introduction to Taiwan followed by "30 things not to miss". The next section, "Basics", gives general information about transport, accommodation, food, festivals and outdoor activities. Next comes the main section of the guide which covers all the places in Taiwan. The final section is about history, religion, aboriginal tribes, arts and language.
I like the layout and design of the book. It reads almost like a book, not just a guidebook, but it is still easy to locate specific information. I think this is typical of the style of Rough Guides which I have used in several other countries. The maps are easy to read and many of the places on the map are clearly labelled avoiding the need to constantly refer to the key.
Information about accommodation is generally listed in the text for smaller places with more detailed listings for the larger cities. Rather than giving prices for each hotel or hostel Rough Guides uses numbers to indicate the price range. The authors seem to have chosen a good range of accommodation.
All the places that one would expect to be covered in a guidebook are included. There are also a few smaller and less well-known places that are covered. Of course there are many places that are still not mentioned. However, I think overall the choices are well considered.
One important thing that is key to the on-the-ground usability of any guidebook in Taiwan is its use of Chinese characters and romanisation. The RG includes tables through the text with place names in Chinese characters, Hanyu Pinyin with tone marks and the mix of English and romanisation that is commonly used on signs in Taiwan. I think this works well as it leaves the main text uncluttered and easy to read while all the key information is grouped together in one place for easy reference.
The RG has several features that make it stand out. These include the detailed list of festivals with dates and information about all of Taiwan's major aboriginal tribes. The section on religion in Taiwan is well written noting its syncretic nature and idiosyncrasies. It includes descriptions of all the major dieties one might encounter in Taiwan. Some pictures would have been nice here though.
The detailed coverage of how to climb Yushan and Xueshan is excellent. Everything you need to know from accessing the National Parks to obtaining permits and descriptions of the climbs is included.
Overall I highly recommend the Rough Guide as a great practical guide for anyone visiting Taiwan.
(originally posted at David on Formosa)
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