March 9-18, 2024 Following the trade show, check out Made in Taiwan – Part 1, Tomo and Cola continued my indoctrination to Taiwan. I consider myself to be extremely fortunate to have them as my guides. When Tomo asked me what I wanted to experience in Taiwan, I gave him the quick and flippant answer, FOOD! And Taiwan delivers! But I wanted to visit his business partners in the design and manufacturing of Clever Standard tools and accessories. I enjoy watching people going about their daily lives, so markets, stores, and restaurants of all sorts were game. I enjoy getting around by public transportation. I like visiting monuments, parks, and museums. I am always down for a bike ride. And Tomo and Cola packed my days with every bit of this. We did so much that I have to rely on the photos I took as well as the ones Cola took to remind me of the day to day activities. Tomo’s friends were also gracious hosts, welcoming me to Taiwan, and proudly sharing what their country has to offer. Rather than a day-by-day account of my travels along the west coast of Taiwan from Taipei – Taichung – Changhua – Tainan – Kending let me hit some highlights. There is no way I can do this portion of my visit to Taiwan justice here. You will have to visit Taiwan for yourself.

Night Markets “You can always find a night market in Taiwan,” Tomo told me. And we did. I could imagine a great visit to Taiwan where we only visited night markets. There are a wide variety of food vendors. There are games to play. I never thought I could get into “ring toss”. There are all sorts of household supplies, clothing, and other essentials. Pet vendors (not food), and the list goes on. I don’t think we ever visited a market when it was “most crowded” but we were still elbow-to-elbow and were in line at the busiest street food stalls. We visited large regional night markets as well as medium to small local or neighborhood markets. With bright lights, sights and smells of delicious things to try, and welcoming vendors I felt very safe at all times. It is time to say, “yes, I’ll try that!” And you won’t be disappointed.

Day Markets Not to be outdone by their night-time cousins the day markets offer that strolling market where you will find not only all the street food vendors but also the produce and grocery items. I will include the Xingda Harbor Fish Market (open 10-6, til 7 on weekends) though fish markets could be their own special tour in my interests. This market sells the amazing biodiversity of the sea and is ringed by extraordinary fresh fish restaurants.

Museums and Parks In my mind I had a fuzzy and incomplete history of Taiwan. I made my own Google searches in the evening trying to catch-up and fill in some of the gaps. Should I have arrived in Taipei with a more complete historical timeline? I don’t think so. Even now, how do I summarize a country’s history of indigenous peoples, European colonialism, Chinese colonialism and annexation, Japanese colonialism, annexation and occupation, and the currently disputed China and Taiwan’s complete re-unification, despite Taiwan’s flourishing democracy. Well, I wont, but I let this article in the Economist do its job, A short History of Taiwan and China, in Maps. I visited Zongshan Park with the National Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall,  the National Art Museum, Giant Bicycle’s Museum of Cycling Culture, the Sichongxi Hot Springs Park, the High Heel Church, and Kenting National Park.

Food! I wish I had recorded everything I consumed during my travels. My introduction to Taiwanese food was from Reno’s 101 Taiwanese Cuisine. To the uninitiated I describe it as Chinese dishes you recognize but with a unique flavor you will love. While I have visited the restaurant on several occasions, a favorite time was with Tomo and Cola when they visited Reno for the last InterBike Trade Show in 2018. Cola, being a native Taiwanese, gave us an in with the restaurant’s owner and ordered a meal not available on the menu. In Part 1 I talked about a few food favorites such as Dan Bing, Milk Tea, and the fast food restaurant Mos Burger. Over the next 10 days it is impossible to list all the foods we ate. There were Japanese inspired dishes such as sushi and takoyaki. I mentioned I liked steamed buns so we went to a special bakery for those. But there was also this steamed coconut dessert and Ox Tongue pastry (name inspired by the shape, not the ingredients). We had plenty of fish including salt crust baked tilapia, all the grilled oysters we could cook and eat, and a birthday dinner, post mountain bike ride, with over 16 dishes shared in the group. I patiently watched how my new friends tackled each dish and did my best to follow their lead. And soups! I asked about noodles and hot pot soups and all of my requests came true. I ate the famous Black Rooster at the Black Rooster Restaurant in Huatan. Tomo and company made sure every experience was special. After chatting with Tomo’s friends about travel and food I believe Taiwanese people know their food!

Nightlife While I am sure Taiwan has a vibrant bar/club scene that wasn’t our scene. Beyond the night markets and restaurants we visited there were a few other standouts. In Part 1 I mentioned the crane-game arcades. They are everywhere, no exaggeration! We visited all the iterations. Then there was “shrimp fishing”. This was a restaurant with a pool in the middle. In the pool were fresh water prawns. You then rented time to fish. I also rented the gear and bought bait to catch the prawns. You then got to grill and eat your catch. It was super fun! Then there was getting massages or just soaking your feet in a personal hot tub while looking out over the trees to the city lights. The Taiwanese are hard working people who value their relaxation and self-care. I learned a valuable lesson, never pass up a foot massage.

Bike Riding I got to ride in two places in Taiwan. First was the Xterra course in Kending National Park. We rode with a crew from Fox Taiwan on a challenging course. Now I have a new group of STRAVA friends halfway around the world to follow. Then I rode in an urban park not far from Ethirteen’s Taiwan corporate office in Taichung. Super fun singletrack loops. There I met Jean Christophe Charrier of Goblin Bikes, light, fast, beautiful steel frames. Give them a look. While Taiwan builds the World’s bicycles they still have a fledgling bicycle culture. Great road, mountain bike, and gravel bike riding opportunities exist, right now I am planning a Taiwan bike tour around the 2025 Taipei Bike Show.

Clever Standard Tools I went with Tomo to visit his machinist, injection molder (?), and anodizer. I had to be careful of what I photographed or shared as to not give away any secrets, Tomo’s, his partners, or any of their other customers. But I found the process fascinating and I love watching experts work their trade. I went to meetings at Ciclovation, KMC, bag making factories and trading companies that were interested in working with Tomo. Again these were giants in the bike industry and I was a guest at their table.

My overall impression, Taiwan is a wonderful country to visit. A feast for your senses and imagination. I am planning on returning in 2025, what do I hope to add to my experience? Definitely more of each category. I popped into a fishing store and looked at everything. The shrimp fishing section was big! I didn’t bring home any fishing tackle but a deeper dive into local fishing techniques is intriguing. Cola told me about taking a boat to some snorkeling destinations, that would be fantastic! I am told there are great opportunities for gravel riding on the less developed forested eastern half of the island. Let’s see what 2025 brings.

These are a selection of photos shared with me from Cola Chang. I can’t thank you enough for these memories!