New Year in Taipei: The Best New Year I’ve Ever Had

Hello Hoomans! 👋

I landed in Taipei on December 31st, with absolutely no idea that I was about to experience one of the best New Year’s celebrations of my life.

We had just arrived, rented a car for the trip, grabbed some food from a convenience store and headed back to our hostel. After freshening up and talking with a few people there, we decided to head straight out for the countdown.

What started as a simple plan to watch the Taipei 101 fireworks turned into a night of crowded streets, dancing with complete strangers, unexpected friendships and one of the most memorable nights I’ve had while travelling.

And somehow, it didn’t finish until around 5 AM.

This is how I experienced New Year’s Eve in Taipei.

From the Hostel to the Countdown

We left the hostel and drove towards the countdown area.

It was only around a 20-minute drive, but finding somewhere to park was a completely different story.

Taipei was absolutely packed.

We drove around looking for a parking spot, but almost everywhere was full. After quite a bit of searching, we finally found a place tucked away in an alley.

It wasn’t exactly close.

But at that point, we didn’t really have a choice.

We parked the car and walked for another 15 minutes towards the countdown area, following the flow of people heading in the same direction.

And the closer we got, the more crowded it became.

Finding a Spot Before Midnight

Once we entered the main crowd, we had another problem.

Where are we actually going to watch the countdown from?

Everyone was trying to find a good position with a view.

We moved around for a while, squeezing through the crowd and looking for somewhere we could actually see what was happening.

And then, somehow, just two minutes before midnight, we managed to find a pretty good spot.

Perfect timing.

Thousands of people were around us.

People we had never met.

People from completely different places and completely different lives.

And then the countdown started.

10… 9… 8…

Everyone started shouting.

And when the clock finally hit midnight, Taipei exploded with energy.

The Taipei 101 fireworks lit up the sky, and for those few moments, the entire crowd seemed to become one.

We were wishing strangers around us a Happy New Year.

They were wishing us the same.

People were cheering, laughing, taking photographs and hugging each other.

I remember looking around and thinking how strange and beautiful the whole thing was.

We didn’t know these people.

But for a few minutes, none of that mattered.

We were simply celebrating the beginning of another year together.

But We Weren’t Ready to Go Home Yet

After the fireworks, we could have simply gone back to the hostel.

But it was New Year’s Eve.

And we weren’t done.

We decided to look for some clubs or parties where we could continue the night.

We found a few open bars and ended up dancing with complete strangers.

The funny part?

We didn’t even know the music. 😂

It didn’t really matter.

We just went with the flow.

The entire city seemed to be full of people, but what surprised me most was how many of them were actually locals.

I expected to see huge numbers of tourists around such a famous New Year’s celebration.

But from what I experienced, the overwhelming majority of the people around us were Taiwanese.

And they welcomed us so naturally.

No awkwardness.

No feeling that we were outsiders.

Just people enjoying the night together.

Three People From Different Worlds

At some point, the three of us realised how strange the whole situation actually was.

Three people travelling together, thousands of kilometres away from home, surrounded by people we had never met.

And yet, somehow, we were all having the same night.

Eventually, we moved away from the open bars and found ourselves at an open street party.

And this was where things became completely chaotic.

The music was loud.

People were everywhere.

Everyone was moving with the music.

But there was something missing.

Nobody was really dancing.

They were moving their bodies, enjoying the music and vibing with the crowd, but there wasn’t much actual dancing going on.

So we decided to change that.

And Then We Started Dancing

My brother started dancing.

I joined him.

Then my friend joined.

We didn’t know the songs.

We didn’t know anyone around us.

Honestly, we didn’t even care.

We just wanted to let ourselves go.

And something funny happened.

People around us started joining in.

They danced with us.

They cheered for us.

Some even started competing with us.

For a few minutes, it felt like the entire group had become one big dance floor.

And then things got even better.

More professional dancers started joining the group.

That’s when we realised…

We had absolutely no chance. 😂

These guys were incredible.

Their movements were on another level.

Different steps, different styles and body movements that I had honestly never seen performed live before.

It reminded me of those dance scenes from movies like Step Up.

Except this wasn’t a movie.

I was standing right there watching it happen.

We couldn’t compete with them.

But that didn’t matter.

We enjoyed every single second of it.

Until 5 AM

Eventually, the energy started to calm down.

And when we finally looked at the time, it was already around 5 in the morning.

Five hours had somehow disappeared.

We decided it was finally time to call it a day.

We started walking back towards the car, still surrounded by people celebrating and enjoying the last part of the night.

Even on the way back, we were still stopping, talking and dancing with whoever was around us.

By the time we reached the car, we were completely exhausted.

But it was the kind of tiredness you actually enjoy.

My First Night in Taiwan

This was my first experience in Taiwan.

And honestly, I don’t think Taiwan could have welcomed me any better.

I went there expecting to see Taipei 101 fireworks.

Instead, I ended up spending the night dancing with strangers, meeting people I will probably never see again and celebrating the New Year with thousands of people who had no reason to know me at all.

But for that one night, none of that mattered.

We were all just there to enjoy ourselves.

If someone asks me now:

“Where is the best place to celebrate New Year’s?”

My answer would be simple.

Taipei.

Not just because of the incredible Taipei 101 fireworks.

Not just because the city comes alive.

But because of the people.

People didn’t judge us.

Nobody cared where we came from or whether we knew the music.

We were strangers when the night started.

But somewhere between the countdown, the fireworks and the dancing, we all became part of the same celebration.

Back to Our Bunk Beds

Eventually, we made it back to the hostel.

We climbed into our bunk beds completely exhausted.

Tired? Absolutely.

But somehow, I couldn’t sleep immediately.

The way Taiwan had welcomed us kept playing in my head.

The fireworks.

The crowd.

The music.

The dancing.

The strangers who became friends for a few minutes.

Everything.

I was already thinking about the next few days of the trip.

And that’s probably the best way I could have started my first trip to Taiwan.

I came to Taipei expecting a New Year’s celebration.

I left that night with a memory I’ll probably carry for the rest of my life.

Happy New Year, Taipei. 🇹🇼❤️