Living as an expat, sometimes you get crazy what-a-small-world experiences. Like when Josh’s high school teacher happened to walk through their B&B door in Costa Rica. Or when I discovered that a girl from my small hometown in Montana – who I’d babysat in high school – was in Taiwan studying abroad!  I insisted she spend a weekend with me touring Taipei. But as Murphey’s Law would have it, after months of delightfully mild weather, this weekend the temperature dropped and the rain came with it.

Still I was determined to give a great impression of Taipei. Staying indoors and watching movies all weekend was not an option. So Josh and I started brainstorming. In the end we came up with more things to do then we could fit into one weekend. So if you too are looking for ways to enjoy Taipei in the rain, here are a few ideas to get you started!

(Green links go to google maps. Blue links go to other blog posts)

1. Hit the Hot springs!

There are lots of hot springs to chose from but our top two favorites (especially for a rainy day) are Beitou & Jiaoxi. Beitou is easily accessible by the Red Line MRT, while Jiaoxi is just an hour bus ride from Taipei City Hall Station (check out our blog about Jiaoxi here). We chose Beitou this weekend because we hadn’t fully explored that area. It turned out to be the perfect place for a rainy day, and not just because you can soak shoulder to shoulder with the locals in outdoor rock pools under the falling rain. From the boiling valley to the Japanese bathhouse museum, Beitou is made for a rainy day.  There’s even a large wooden library tucked next to a lily pond. In other words, basically a large cozy cabin inviting you in out of the rain, filled with books, work nooks and large sloping windowpanes!  (The building itself is a tourist draw for those interested in sustainable green design.)

2. Snap pictures of Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall at dusk

Again, some things are better with a little rain – or in this case, with a few puddles! Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall is at its most picturesque when you can capture it’s beautifully lighted architecture reflected in the cobblestones. Granted if its pouring rain, that won’t do. But if there’s a break in the rain or if it lets up to a drizzle, consider taking you & you camera out to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

3. Have a bowl of hot pot, beef noodles or a steaming plate of dumplings

My favorite Taiwan cuisine – mango shaved ice –  may not be the thing today. But that’s OK! Many of Taiwan’s signature dishes are perfect for a cold rainy day. So pull up a chair and see what comfort food tastes like in Taiwan! (P.S. if you DO go to Chiang Kai-shek there’s a great dumpling place just a few blocks away. It has food for both vegetarians and meat eaters alike. And they even have English menus with pictures! 🙂 )

4. Tour Some of Taipei’s Many Museums

Taipei has great museums! If you are even the slightest bit interested in Chinese history you need to make visiting the Palace Museum a priority during your time in Taipei. There’s also a couple of great art museums in Taipei. The MOCA is my favorite – it’s housed in a great old building with tall ceilings and big arched windows. You never know what kind of art you might find here, but the curators always celebrate the space in the way they display the art.

Another favorite of ours is the National Taiwan Museum. One ticket (for $1 US) gets you into two different buildings that feel like two whole separate museums. In one, there’s an old bank vault you can walk through and a huge hall filled with fossils and dinosaur bones.. Then across the street there’s a whole different museum, in a beautiful old building, which on the day we went had a fascinating geology exhibit.

5. Explore the underground shopping at Taipei Main Station

Going to the mall is a common rainy day activity – so why not do that with a Taipei twist. Hit the MRT and get off at Taipei Main Station, Beiman or any number of other stations. Just look for the signs pointing you not up to an exit but down into a maze of underground shopping. Taipei main actually has two underground mall systems to chose from. Taipei City Mall or Station Front Metro Mall. You may stumble upon teens practice their dance acts, individuals playing the recorder, violin or saxaphone (with varying degrees of skill), halls of art, along with a mix of restaurants, clothing stores and who knows what else. You might want to combine this with going to the MOCA as one of Taipei City Malls’ exits (R1) deposits you back to street level just half a block away from the Museum’s doors.

6. Sing the blues away with friends at KTV

KTV is sooo different then the karaoke we know back in the states. If you don’t know already, KTV is basically a private karaoke party for you and your friends. As a group you rent a couch-filled room with a big flat screen TV, a bunch of microphones (including one rockstar-ready standing mic on a mini stage) and a book of song options. Cost of the room also usually includes a voucher for food from the menu or access to a buffet.

Laugh at the hilarious “music videos” (random models paid to just walk around or pose on boats while the lyrics scroll by). Ado your best to sing every English song available, which should be a random smattering of songs such “I want it that way” or “Hopelessly devoted to you” all the way up to current pop hits like  “Taylor Swift’s Love Story (No seriously, don’t expect any English songs past 2010). Of course, this is an especially great activity if you have friends here in Taiwan who they can teach you how to select the songs on the screen and while also introducing you to Chinese langauge songs that are popular here.

7. Bring your takeout meal to the movies or go bowling

Of course you can go to a movie theater or bowling alley almost anywhere. But that’s the charm here. It’s the same but different. For example, can you bring in whatever food you want to your local movie theater? Here that’s totally cool (well, so long as its not stinky tofu). The first time my friend bought us street food outside the movie theater, I hid it in my bag as we walked in.  She laughed at me. Turns out my craftiness was completely unnecessary. We now have another friend who always brings instant popcorn packets on movie days. He finds the nearest 7-11, pops his popcorn in the 7-11 microwave and then brings it in to the theater to share. Its great. Same principal works for Yuanshan’s Retro Bowling Alley (and also we hear, for the 24-7 Bowling Alley & Arcade E7)

8. Get a massage or hair wash

When past expat friends return to Taipei, a massage and trip to the hair salon are often on the list of little life luxuries to enjoy before leaving. Both are significantly cheaper here than in the states. For massages you may choose anything from a foot massage to a full body massage. Hair washes, by the way, usually include a head massage with the price of a wash!

Of course, if you’re feeling very adventurous or are curious about more unique Chinese spa treatments, there’s always cupping or or scraping Yeah. Scraping. It doesn’t look any more pleasant then it sounds. In fact, neither one looks particularly appealing to me. But, hey! Its an option. You can find massage places or salons on almost every street and if it looks like a good place, don’t feel scared to just walk in and give it a try (some salons or salon employees will speak English, others won’t so just try and if no one can help you  try another one!)

9. Ascend Taipei 101

It’s the icon of Taipei, its design revolutionized super tall sky scraper construction around the world, and at one point not only was it the tallest building in the world, but also held the Guinness book record for the world’s fastest elevator. If its pouring buckets, you might not get that great of a view from the upper deck. Then again, maybe that would be extra cool to see – especially if there was a little lightning! It IS designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes. 😛

Also, fun fact – the tallest Starbucks in the world is housed in Taipei 101! Its up on the 35th floor. But in order to go you have to call and make a reservation (you might need a Chinese speaking friend to help with that)  Still, if the forecast shows rain for a few days, then you might want to make that call!

Taipei 101 also houses this strange quasi museum-slash-boutique that displays and sells coral gem carvings. As an exhibit, I thought it was fascinating and beautiful. Again worth enjoying on a rainy day! But it also felt a little bit like they were trying to sell me a line about how sustainable and totally OK it was to buy coral gem products. Which, in the end, I’ve decided I’m not comfortable doing. I don’t want to encourage further harvesting of that not-so renewable resource by buying coral gem earrings, etc.  But I am truly wowed by the old intricately carved pieces of coral exhibited there!

10. Check out a Theme Restaurant or Café

When in Asia…. embrace kitschy. Fall down the rabbit hole and go to an Alice in Wonderland themed restaurant or a Hello Kitty Cafe? No, too girly? No worries! How about a toilet themed restaurant? Oh! And have you seen the cartoon egg everyone loves here, called Gudetama?  He’s got his own themed restaurant too.  Then again, how about enjoying the company of some actual animals? Cat cafes are definitely a thing here. And if you’re up for a drive there’s even a Alpaca llama cafe!  You’re also welcome to while away the rainy hours putting together a puzzles as you drink a cup of something hot at Taipei’s Galette Puzzle café.

**Bonus #11. Escape Rooms

OK, we had to add an extra one to this list, after discovering that Taipei offers some AMAZING Escape rooms! What better way to get out of the inclement weather then to escape into a whole other world – whether whimsical or grisly! It’s a great activity for multiple ages and rooms are available for groups of 10 down to as small as just 2 people! Read more about that in our blog posts here & here. And we might have to add a few more bonuses to the list if we ever get around to checking out the VR arcades or laser tag here. Seriously, we never run out of things to do in Taipei, even on rainy days!

All this being said,  if there’s a serious typhoon warning in place please do not go running about the city!! But if its just another rainy day – there’s plenty of ways to enjoy the city despite the rain… in fact you might find that Taipei was made for the rain!