Lonely Planet Taiwan (Paperback)

~ Robert Storey (Author) "With the results of radiocarbon dating of primitive utensils it has been estimated that people have inhabited Taiwan for at least 10,000 years..." (more)
Key Phrases: twins cost, foreign affairs police, pany station, Chiang Kaishek, Green Island, Shan Zhuang (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Taiwan - a fascinating island that balances Chinese tradition with new-world technology. Whitewater raft through spectacular mountain scenery, explore old underground military bases, or wander through the world’s finest Chinese art museum - this guide has it all.

• over 80 maps featuring Chinese script with English place names, for easier orientation
• dos and don’ts, protocols and tips on etiquette for the business and cultural traveller
• dozens of detailed and informative listings for the temple aficionado
• advice on visiting the island of the Taiwan Strait - blue skies, turquoise seas, great seafood and no mosquitoes

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Lonely Planet Publications; 5 edition (August 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1864502118
• ISBN-13: 978-1864502114
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #456,787 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Do you like McDonalds?, February 22, 2003

By	T. Hooper "thdizzy" (Osaka, Japan) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I couldn't help but feel disapppointed in this book. It really seems to miss the point of foreign travel. For example, in the section on Taipei there are 23 listings for Western restaurants and only 13 for Chinese restaurants. Taipei is one of the best cities in the world for Chinese food, and the writer could only manage 13. This seems terribly unbalanced to me. To make it worse, some of the western restaurants introduced are Planet Hollywood (yeah, I went to Taipei to get the Hollywood experience), TGI Friday's, McDonald's and Subway (which in the author's own words, "needs no introduction" -- my point exactly). I went to Taiwan for the food, so this was a big shortcoming in my point of view. Another point , he only lists two teahouses and both are in (or near) a museum. He gives the excuse that teahouses are always closing all the time (of course that didn't stop him from listing a lot of nightclubs). It just seems like he wasn't interested in researching teahouses. He just couldn't be bothered. Also, he writes very little about the excellent night markets. In fact he devotes an equal amount of space to tell us about food courts. Come on!
It's sad, really. I've used a lot of Lonely Planet guides with good results before, which is why I bought this one without looking at it. However, I can't recommend this one unless your idea of a good vacation in Taipei is eating at TGI Friday's, having coffee at Starbucks, and going to a club (why are you going to Taipei? You can do that at home.) Well, to explain why I gave it two stars instead of one, the transportation and hotel information is useful, so I couldn't bring myself to trash it completely.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars best guide by default only, December 7, 2001

By	David Reid (Earth) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Lonely Planet Taiwan (Paperback)

LP Taiwan is the best guidebook available for Taiwan but this reflects the lack of books published about Taiwan rather than this guide being particularly brilliant.

If you don't read or speak Chinese then this book is essential for travelling in Taiwan. It includes place names in Chinese characters. This is important as most people in Taiwan cannot read Chinese in romanised form. However, if you know Chinese you can quite easily get around without it.

One annoying thing about the book is that the author is often critical of places because they lack "Western style" amenities or food. Surely the reason for travelling is to experience another culture. If you want to eat Western food stay in the West!!! Taiwan offers an extraordinary array of Chinese and Taiwanese food to satisfy anyone.

Taiwan is a wonderful place and off the radar of many travellers (as a result of the great shadow cast by its belligerent and much larger neighbour). If you can see through the crowded cities and pollution you will discover some amazingly friendly people who cannot do enough to help you. Some of the coastal and mountain scenery is the equal of anywhere in the world.

14 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Guide!, November 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lonely Planet Taiwan (Paperback)

I've read and used many Lonely Planet Guides and this one ranks as one of the best. My mother happens to be Taiwanese and I've been to Taiwan twice. The book's cultural insights are very true and very helpful. Definitely recommended.