Hello, Taipei 馃嚬馃嚰
Sharing my experience from my first trip abroad to Taipei
Written on 20/04/2026 路 3 min read
After many years of planning to travel abroad with my best friends, it never happened. This year, however, my old friend Nien invited me to join her on a trip to Taiwan. I didn't hesitate for long. It would be my first time leaving Vietnam, and I was both excited and nervous.
Since I had never traveled abroad before, I felt a bit clueless about applying for a visa, going through immigration, checking in at the airport, and even filling out the arrival card.
A few hours later, we landed at Taoyuan Airport. From the airport, we took the MRT to the city center. It was my first time riding Taiwan's MRT, and I was surprised by how clean, quiet, and efficient it was. We relied on the MRT for most of our trip.
Our first MRT stop in Taipei
The streets of Taiwan had a character of their own. High-rise buildings lined the roads, but many older buildings and shopfronts gave the city a nostalgic, distinctly Chinese feel. It was a fascinating mix of old and new. One thing I noticed was that many building exteriors were covered with ceramic tiles, giving the streets a distinctive look.
Over the next few days, we explored many different parts of Taipei. One of the highlights of my trip was joining a day tour to Yehliu Geopark, Jiufen, and Shifen. The destinations were quite far from Taipei, so joining a guided tour was definitely the right choice.
We also visited Ximending, the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, enjoyed a meal at Din Tai Fung, wandered around Xinyi, and spent countless evenings exploring the city's vibrant night markets. I also noticed that there are many Vietnamese people living and working in Taipei.
Along the way, I noticed the Blue Sky with a White Sun emblem, a symbol closely tied to China's modern revolutionary history in the early 20th century and now an important symbol in Taiwan.
The food was amazing, especially the herbal beef noodle soup. It was slightly sweet, with fragrant Chinese herbs and very tender beef - perfect for my taste. I鈥檓 not a big fan of pineapple cakes, but I really enjoyed the mochi. When I brought the mochi back home, my friends were really excited to try it.
On the last day, Nien took me to meet some of her colleagues in Taipei. I am a bit introverted and not very playful when I speak English, so I didn鈥檛 say much. But they were very warm and welcoming, taking us out to eat and talking with us throughout the evening.
This was my first time traveling abroad, and it left me with a quiet kind of memory. Nothing too dramatic, but enough for me to look back and smile. I think this is just the beginning of many more journeys to come.