Visiting the Tiny Island With 24 Million People

I've made it to the one Island that is smaller than Switzerland but it has as many residents as Australia can you guess where I am [Music] [Applause] [Music] Taiwan Taiwan [Music] this is my sixth time visiting Taiwan and all I can say is that it's a very special place and an island of contrasts for a nation so small that it takes just two hours to cross entirely by High-Speed Rail there are 24 million people living here thank you very much over the next four days Deanna and I are gonna take you on a wild adventure all around Taiwan to meet the people try the food and understand its culture from the indigenous tribes to the bustling cities as you can see it gets pretty crowded here my guess is that you know about Taiwan from its technology and Innovation per capita Taiwan has one of the strongest economies in the world and they are the proud inventors of your cell phone microchip and your USB flash drive so how did all this happen how did the small island of Taiwan become so populated and have such a large impact on our Global Society here's a quick history lesson the first records of human settlement on Taiwan date back 20 000 years ago and to this day there are 16 indigenous tribes who live mostly in the South and the east in the 16th century Spanish and Dutch colonizers invaded and stayed for the natural resources like gold soon after the Qing Dynasty swept in and established ethnic Chinese control over the island after World War II the Japanese took control of Taiwan until the little island broke away as a semi-independent a de facto state that I do consider a country and I included it in my quest to visit all 197 countries in the world they have their own flag their own passport their own currency and their own legal system in the 1970s a massive boom of economic growth hit Taiwan and now the nation dominates the world in textile and Tech although the majority of people here speak Mandarin are hokkien the Taiwanese have really developed their own national identity and it's really amazing my guess is that you've only heard about Taipei which by the way is one of the coolest cities in the world but I'm gonna save it for the end of this video there are plenty of other towns and Indigenous tribes to explore in Taiwan and the clock is ticking Deanna and I got in touch with a local named Charlie and our adventure begins in the city of calcium we made it to calcium the city in the South and there's fireworks in front of me there's activity everywhere there's a Temple right there we're gonna learn all about this place is the second largest city in Taiwan and is virtually unknown to the outside world it's my first time down here and I am just In Awe by how massive it is I mean the buildings never stop and it's famous for its temples which we are about to explore somewhat upon this huge ceremony for martial arts mixed with Chinese art in front of the temple here it's pretty cool Mommy [Music] [Music] so behind us is a beautiful Temple loads of Temple in Taiwan you know they're all for different reasons and they're Buddhists the Buddhists ultimately you know the Buddha Buddha yeah Buddha entering this Temple is special and it makes me realize why I love Taiwan so much I am constantly Amazed by the decorations and the respect that the people give to their faith Deanna and I wanted to participate in the Traditions so we followed Charlie's Direction here this is ours so you just put it together like this like this [Music] this is the fire pit just outside of the temple where you put your offerings and pay your respects to the Gods spread it out don't uh wow there's a lot going on in this thing there's a lot of details what I love about Taiwanese people is that they're very spiritual and they have these certain beliefs it's really cool so they do everything for a reason and they pray a certain way it's very special we made our way onwards to another Temple which might be my favorite in all of East Asia so with my friend Phoebe here and she's gonna explain what we're looking at behind us what is that okay this is Pagoda it's one of the most religious landmark in Gaucho so do people come here to pray yeah they come here to pray and you can see there's tiger there's like a dragon you have to enter from the dragon and come out from the tiger if you do the other way it's Batman Okay so let's have good luck we are entering the dragon's mouth and these are all the stories from the old time and then some is talking about like after life you're going to hell what's going to happen there now we are going through the tiger Phoebe's gonna lead the way this side they're more of like the gods a different gods because taiwan's religion is like taoism so there are many many gods you can pray to it's not Buddhism no it's taoism It's a combination of Buddhism and a bit localized so it becomes like Dao so you burn the paper money but Buddhism they don't burn paper money no I always thought Buddhism was the main religion here so this is not a Buddhist temple it's a Dao Temple whoa [Music] the bad luck is gone taiwan's Temple certainly impressed but you will be even more excited when you hear about the amazing food I'm not sure how else to put this but Taiwan is a top 5 best food destination in the world we are going straight for my favorite dish soup dumplings uh uh two [Music] I give up Mandarin is hard these four ladies behind me are working so hard they're not even speaking to each other and it looks so so delicious look at this she's making each xiaolong Bao by hand she's just hand rolling them out in the dough and then they're gonna cook it and put soup inside of it and meat [Music] with the ginger look at that steam coming off of these dumplings gotta get it get it all in there by a little bit very good he's right yo the dumplings feel so homemade and what do you think on a chilly day nothing is better than some warm soup dumplings also I must add an entire box here is less than three dollars last one belly's full it's time to head to the countryside to discover some of taiwan's unique indigenous communities we are hopping in a van and driving two hours Eastbound and the journey to the tribe begins [Music] just pulled over on the side of the road and holy crap look at these views love holy holy schnitzel what I love about Taiwan is everything's nice like we stopped in this little village God knows where and there's like all these cool little fancy shops on the side of all the roads here that have these patterns these tribal marks it's really awesome they're all over here just when I was starting to get antsy we arrived in a small village to meet the rukai tribe out of all my trips to Taiwan I've never spent time in the countryside and this is going to be really exciting we are going trekking through the village yeah we're gonna see some beautiful nature and maybe some Wildlife look he's got his uh his knife ready he's the bestie just in case how many people live up here about 10. 10 yeah 10 people yeah there's more than 10 houses uh because years ago about 2009 there's a huge typhoon Detroit destroyed this area we proceeded to head into the jungle to learn some survival techniques of this tribe I don't want to show your head behind the mountain in the hunting area when I finish my hunting I will oh to let people know I'm I'm back yeah oh boy yeah no my daughter has a feedback can you see that that is a massive freaking spider it's like three inches long we use lease to take water but now we have a PVC a pipe so we don't use this now but before the people in the past we use this it's pretty cool to learn about the lifestyle of the rukai tribe and even though Taiwan is so modernized and advanced they are still holding on to their roots and their way of life isn't it really boring here because there's no people no no no no boy no there's no people here it feels everything every day you have a lot of job to work like the road the Shell Shell Road if I fail it's broken I have to fix it yeah this is my everyday every business so you like being here with no people I lived in Taipei for a year oh let's do so many people I don't like it part of Taipei is don't think I'm indigenous people you think people can come from Indonesia to Philippine or Thailand but oh you speak Chinese very well of course I'm Taiwan it's not ironic that some people might think he's Southeast Asian because the indigenous Taiwanese are scientifically proven to be one of the original settlers of the Philippines from over 5 000 years ago in fact the two territories were so connected through trade routes beautiful nature and Indigenous culture that it was hard to tell the difference it's really a crazy connection that I wasn't expecting to learn about and it's special to share this moment with Deanna we also have this in the Philippines but they have a different design and it's also in the northern part in Baguio which is clothes were here but the indigenous of Taiwan is quickly fading away as we are noticing in this Village they just invited us for a local meal here we gotta wash our hands first it's a holy place in this area so we need to become be quiet and take off your shoes [Applause] [Music] everything in here is so traditional and peaceful and beautiful the stones on the walls are all like perfectly placed look at this [Music] build this house his name is the second generation his name is and the third generation is the fourth generation is is already ruled by Japanese my grandmother that's the fifth generation and the sixth it's my yeah Mom and Dad m97. this is this is number seven right here yes he's alive generation [Music] there's a lot of guns on the wall here what's going on with the guns uh we Honda useless machine weapon yeah weapon oh that's a knife we don't use gum we don't use gun to hunt on foot you just run on the foot no no you look this is a tiny one step into that yeah that we don't use this yeah his daughter and wife have been cooking us local food this entire time and it's a pleasure to share a table with them inside of their ancestral house they will pray for us using their own language please please [Music] so could you tell me a little bit about the culture like what makes it unique here when Japanese acts every indigenous people to move out from their own tribes from their own home but uh but this tribe decides to stay here and they didn't give up their tribes so they stayed here that's why the leaders say here is the oldest tribe in this area [Music] yeah okay what is in the bottom of that smells like vinegar could be sour oh how good say trip thank you what'd you think about the experience it just makes me realize that they're think already you know they're the generations doesn't want to embrace the culture yeah and that's a bad thing right oh it's a good and bad thing I cannot say it's a bad thing but there's a good thing in there when people think of Taiwan they think about Taipei but man this is just such a great escape and it's such a beautiful peaceful Fresh Life out here and this video is not over yet we actually just got invited to visit another tribe that is two hours away and they said we can crash there and hang out with them I don't know what to expect we're gonna head there right now and the journey continues foreign [Music] we're here we just arrived somewhere in complete darkness in a village and there's a fire burning behind me and there's people around and I don't know what's going on your guess is as good as mine it's like a boundary you use the fire to Lego wash our body the dirty things like bad spirits any bad thought [Music] we need to do the fire thing again because we have to go grab all of our bags because we're sleeping here and we gotta get the demons away from all of our belongings so going back to the car rying all of our bags down like a million stairs right now wow whoa this is cool oh my gosh foreign boat I think we're all crashing in the same room nice little bed option here a little map wooden ceiling as we started to get ready for bed I walked outside our room to the sound of a flute little did I know that she was playing from her nose [Music] wow that was awesome the nose field is only for the men so why is she doing it because there's no man who knows to use this instrument so the woman needs to do it to let the Legacy to live long all right we are getting ready for bed gonna brush our teeth and hit the hay we're pretty exhausted it's been a great day I like working outside just as we were about to fall asleep our guide told us about a very strange sleeping Superstition your feet goes goes to the world why when your hat go through the wall that that kind of Batman use dead man yeah only the tenant use that style too oh yeah on the corpse when you lay down the bed use your head must be outside the back so the whole body should be inside yeah [Music] good night bro take it easy [Music] about 5 30 a.m and I just rolled out of bed to a crazy weather look at this [Music] is good I like to sleep man everybody was drinking it's like riding your motorcycle around is it like smog yeah it is fun this is the first time I've seen this in the daylight because we arrived at night these two lovely people are cooking on some traditional breakfast ah this is hot water too hot I never had just hot water without tea is that a Chinese thing it's just hot water he's a little chilly out here so hot water is good breakfast is served we have sausages barbecue pork with vegetables guava and bean soup what do you think beautiful I thought it was you me yeah thank you you know he's almost this I think we had a choke on it you know there was also one it was so cute [Music] it tastes like sweet pork hot dog interesting you can teach me a word in your language [Laughter] soon so it's actually the main is um how are you but the real meaning and the language means are you breathing so what if you say no then you're dead can you tell me about life out here it seems to be really peaceful just like you said he said it's very peaceful whenever she comes back up here in the mountains she feels very relaxed it's like all the stress in the city is all gone beautiful flower crown we're heading down to the main Stone House here all the smoke leaves out of this hole in the roof it's so cool well it was just basically the smoke is to make the all this plate the wood to be dried to not like get too too much moisture and one of the key factors about having these slabs is that when you put the smoke the smoke goes out from all direction through the hole through the slabs yeah and you still feel warm inside but at the same time you don't feel stuffy foreign the beautiful countryside of Taiwan has been an absolute pleasure to experience for the very first time it is so chill out here and the people are so welcoming and kind which further solidifies my theory that the Taiwanese are some of the nicest in the world everyone wants to welcome Us in make sure we are not hungry and honestly do anything they can to make our stay a pleasant one the hospitality combined with the fact that Taiwan is the safest place in the world are a few reasons why this nation is one of the best we are on our way to Taipei which is going to be a world of difference from the last 24 hours spent with the tribes if you ask me it's really incredible how you can have so many different fields and experiences on the same small island [Music] thank you Charlie what do you think about this train station it's like I'm right here right now the 200 miles per hour it's like so fast and so clean are excited for Taipei I'm so tired I'm so excited man right now look look look for the record is making fun of me the way I Vlog look no hey I'm excited to be with you man oh come on this place is awesome just like it's perfectly clean I can eat off of the floor here it's crowded with people but you still have space it's open these are like massive windows Taiwan baby let's go to Taipei getting on the train no mode of transportation is more impressive to me than bullet trains and they are so much fun to ride this is so awesome it's literally like what you see in Japan it looks like a bullet I mean we are literally moving one-third the speed of an airplane dude we are flying and it does feel like you are floating over the countryside after a quick one and a half hour ride we made it to Taipei and let me tell you this place is a world of difference and the countryside that we slept in last night there's two things you need to know about Taipei the first thing is that it's the cheapest big city in all of East Asia you can get any good meal for under five bucks and the second thing is it has one of the quirkiest cultures in the world [Music] let me show you what I mean by quirky penis cakes smart street signs fine fine that is so cool the sprinting crosswalker guy they walk slowly and then he's gonna walk faster the toilet Cafe poop waffles poop ice cream funky hairstyles [Music] knife massages whoa how good are you at chopping up vegetables funny dog strollers he's a fluffy boy London [Music] wacky vending machines you can literally win garlic but of course there are plenty of incredible things to do and see in Taipei walking around Freedom Square in Taipei and it's pretty iconic beautiful outside oh man I love this place it's a really beautiful part of the city just to kind of come hang out and just sit here and enjoy and you can see in the distance just peeking through the trees is the Taipei 101 Tower we're about to witness the changing of the guards here in front of the men's statue [Music] we met up with a friend of a friend named Bella who was a native of Taipei and is going to take us to all the fun spots around town so she mundane the area for like all the oldest now hanging around sometimes they have a string performance and a lot of shop and food behind me you can see a rainbow road and that is because Taiwan was the first nation in all of Asia to legalize same-sex marriage pretty cool and now we are running around to go to the night market and to get some beer at 7-Eleven because Bella has told me so brother you've never been to 7-Eleven in Taiwan or Japan or Thailand before then you are in for a real treat it's like a grocery store meets convenience store meets hangout spot meets home goods store in other words you can literally do everything here behind me is 7-Eleven which is found everywhere in Taipei but this one specifically serves draft beer whoa it's like a bar holy crap there's a full-on travel agency inside of 7-Eleven you can pay for your your credit cards electricity bill whatnot I'm about to get a beer instead of 7-Eleven a draft beer what do you guys think about draft beer at 7-Eleven this is the coolest thing I've ever seen yeah cheers come by really really amazing let me take it bro you're a vlogger no I I'm your servant it's night time in Taipei and my favorite thing about the city are the night markets we are heading to my favorite one which dates back to 1899. we are on our way to Chile Night Market Julie Julie Julie cheers we've made it this is the best night market in the whole world it's our International Night Market you you don't have a barrier here speaking English you can find food you can find games you can find entertainment fashion cheap things you can find culture the temple and find crowds that's the most important behind me is the famous hot star Fried Chicken literally it's the best thing in the world I've stood exactly on this corner like five times but not in the last five years and I'm so happy to be here how do they make it so good there's definitely sugar in there it's bigger than your face if you just dip into the size trees here you find temples and lanterns and it's like super traditional [Music] as you can see it gets pretty crowded here there's a lot of people people queue forever in Taiwan when you cue that means it's good good you have to come I have I have no patience more than a 10 seconds right Deanna if it's more than 10 seconds in line I'm not into it it's cool that you have like old school retro apartment buildings like right over this Market I mean if you live there you must be going nuts with the sound every day the last time I was at this night market about four years ago I remember all the bizarre street foods that I tried like chicken feet duck head and the century egg it is a black egg with a green yolk but if there's one bizarre dish that this place is known for it is stinky tofu the legendary Andrew Zimmern who is the host of Bizarre Foods said that this was the only dish in the entire world that he could not stomach I can't do it Phoebe and I are on a mission to try some right now you can already smell it you smell it I know like when you're when you're in like you know when you're walking near durian oh yeah you smell it yeah did you just bar you like the smells don't don't act don't pretend you like the smell I don't like I don't like you but I like to eat it though the tofu is soaked in a broth of fermented milk and vegetables and it takes months and months to prepare the overwhelming smell is often compared to rotting garbage or wet dirty socks oh my God this is proper proper stinky tofu here we go it basically tastes how it smells yes blood type what what animal blood is this duck blood look at that steam coming off of it a fine piece of congealed duck blood [Music] she's a pro she's eating like a pro yeah I'm gonna do the two together so I do it one time yeah it's not that bad it's good I like it I like really smell because it's fermented for like days weeks probably months I don't know what does that mean it means 44 Rock lion like that all I heard was sushi that's actually good good right all of a sudden you just have to turn it to me because you're funny what the hell you should be a stand-up comedian I was I actually did stand up yeah I went to Atlanta he performed in the U.S yeah it says longest prize in the world wow that's one fry yeah that's your dream I cannot leave the Shilling Night Market without trying one more dish the Taiwanese hot dog it's a small pork sausage placed in a bed of sticky rice and then grilled to Perfection you open it oh tweets the bottom it will just squeeze up it's only the sausage no you have to do this you practice that a lot oh no you don't have to twist it hey guys look I'm right now with this with this oh sausage oh we have to choose with this oh my God you guys all got different flavors black pepper Taiwanese sausage really good it's kind of sweet they put a lot of black pepper on it that's really tasty no that's the flavor that we chose sticky rice is the bun and the sausage is pork delicious there's a lot to say when we talk about Taiwan but after partaking in the traditions of the indigenous tribes followed by Street tours of its most bustling cities my takeaway is that I am amazed how is it possible to have such a contrast between urban and rural life on such a small island remember 24 million people are living here and that's mostly in the settlements on the west coast over the last four days I learned that the cities of Taipei and Kaohsiung are Innovative electric and they take efficiency to the next level as for the rural areas and small villages listen I've shared many meals with tribes in a variety of countries but here in Taiwan I'm very impressed by the rugai and the paiwan's attachment to their identity in the face of so much change these tribes are remarkable to still exist into the 21st century and I'm so grateful to share their stories with you in this video whether you're a city lover or a friend of nature the culture of Taiwan is absolutely thriving and I hope that now you can see why it's one of my favorite nations in the world on that note I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments about Taiwan down below and if you have any specific questions about visiting I will hop in and respond thanks again for watching and I'll see you guys in the next video [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Drew Binsky

Views: 663,275

Keywords: drew binsky, drew binsky vlog, drew binsky travel, travel, small Island, taiwan travel, taiwan history, taiwan economy, taiwan culture, Kaohsiung, taiwan, taiwan temple, taiwan temple culture, soup dumplings taiwan, Taiwan community, Taiwan population, Taiwan lifestyle, Taiwan village, Taiwan, taiwan traditions, taiwan tribes, taiwan traditional food, daily life in taiwan, taiwanese people, taiwan taipei, Taipei, taipei culture, taipei travel, ximending, tourist in taiwan

Id: 8u-_AUHQJh8

Length: 32min 45sec (1965 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 14 2023