Good. The KMT has been trying to weaken our defenses by removing our military/civilian airport.

台灣第一名 💪

I've done it twice, and it's a relatively easy climb, just prepare for inclement weather and possible altitude sickness. Both times I have climbed it, it has rained on one of the two days. The first time I stayed in the cabin at the higher elevation, and the most recent time I stayed in Paiyun Lodge. While at Paiyun Lodge, I saw several people who seemed in the early stages of hypothermia (due to the temperature in combination with the rain), and heard about people having altitude sickness and having to descend. I haven't ever taken altitude sickness medication, but know people who have gotten it from a doctor in Taiwan before hiking as a preventative measure. I hope you get to do it! It's pretty awesome!

Awesome. Definitely on my bucket list.

Interesting.

Indigenous Taiwanese, from the area now called Tainan. From what I can tell the name Taiwan comes from the Sirayan language.

Oh, who are the Siraya peoples, please..?

Yeah, cost is one of the issues they discuss. Taiwan is generally pretty affordable, especially for food. But compared to Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, and maybe South Korea, the motels aren't really such a great value. I've stayed in some nice ones in Taiwan, but they can be pricey. I've also stayed in a lot of cheap fleabags. 😁 Another issue they talk about is labor shortages in hospitality. I believe that is also a problem in Japan. The solution is so easy: just let more migrant labor come in to work the hospitality jobs, but both Taiwan and Japan seem a little hesitant to do that. It also talks a bit about medical tourism, and how Taiwan doesn't open their medical system up to this possibility. Although if you need medical attention here, it's pretty affordable even without the state insurance.

Compared to what? Japan? Thh Yen is sooooo low. It's basically a discount to go there. Same for nearby countries.

If I'm not mistaken, the ferries from China only run to Kinmen Island, which I've never been to. I think if you want to get to Taiwan proper, you'd have to fly from there. There is a whole lot to see in Taiwan. I've been coming here for 25 years and lived here for 2 and I still haven't gotten to everything I want to. If you have a short time, there's not much need to stray too far from Taipei. You can catch a train or a bus to lots of great places in new Taipei City like Xifen and Pingxi. If you like the beach, Tamsui is worth a visit. Yangming Mountain is also very scenic and accessible from downtown Taipei.

Yeah, I don't doubt that is depressing current tourism numbers, but this is more about Taiwan's relative under-performance to nearby destinations over the past several decades.

I was thinking of taking a ferry from mainland China to Taiwan, then another to Japan. Is there anything specificly you'd recommend? I've never been to Taiwan.

Honestly, the world are poor right now. They are not coming to visit since the war Trump created has effected every country.

Jesus, man. What a cynical take. Wish I could find more to disagree with, though. 😀 Taiwan's natural resources are absolutely stunning, but we haven't had anything like the investment in hospitality infrastructure that could support visitors in numbers comparable to Vietnam or Thailand.

What did you end up doing? Probably too late but for the benefit of others.

Apparently even a small pallet can cost thousands of dollars. You don't have much and should think about leaving books you can get digitally. Cheapest option might be just to pay the airline for extra baggage, ~$100/suitcase. A reddit post today might have useful info.

https://old.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/1npg7es/i_checked_75_bags_while_flying_out_from_new_yorks/

https://www.pirateship.com/

I have had good experience with this company:
https://www.sevenseasworldwide.com

They do deliver to Taiwan, but I am not sure if they will do exactly what you are asking for. Doesn't hurt to ask them.