Taipei

​Before we got to Taiwan, we had been watching the weather and saw that it looked like there could be rainy days and storms. After we landed, most people we encountered said something about the approaching typhoon. It was at the car rental place that we became even more anxious. Apparently Taiwanese insurance for car rental doesn’t cover damage done by a natural disasters. On our first evening in Taiwan, we spent a lot of time considering our options. We had two nights in the mountains with great weather, but after that, the weather looked very unstable. Typhoon Bavi was set to hit just off Taipei late Friday night (our third night in Taiwan). Our stay in the coastal town of Xiulin where we were supposed to go hiking in the national park did not seem like the best idea. So, heartbreakingly, we canceled our stay at the Crossing the Rainbow Bridge B&B (who did not charge us because of the typhoon even though we were canceling within 48 hours!). We changed our hotel in Taipei as the one we were supposed to have for our last two nights in Taiwan couldn’t accommodate us for two additional nights. We ended up at San Want Residences, deciding to go a step higher than we usually do considering we may be in the room for a while. It was a lovely hotel, and we felt very spoiled!

We returned the car early, glad to return it before the torrential rains and strong winds set in, and they even partially refunded our rental fee, too! Arriving in Taipei by noon meant we could not check in yet, but also that there was a clear sky with time to wander, so wander we did!

In Japan, we had fallen in love with Mofusand. There are so many adorable animated characters in this part of the world, that it was bound to happen that we would find one we loved. Mofusand is a Japanese animation of adorable kittens, usually dressed up, and most often dressed as a shark. Ridiculous? Sure. Adorable? 100%. Now, on the final leg of our journey, we felt the freedom to shop more. We didn’t have to lug it around any more (aside from getting home) and well, money on vacation is just different, right? The internet had told us that Mofusand was all over Taiwan, and so we ended up wandering more of Taipei than a grown woman should admit in search of this adorable cat. Our very first stop in Taipei was a 7-11 a thirty minute walk from our hotel. Rebecca, why would you walk a half hour across town when you could be at ten different 7-11s within a five minute walk? Well, this one, you see, was a Mofusand themed 7-11. It was adorable. He was present on any open wall space despite the fact that unfortunately, there were very few treasures with him on them. (There were more adventures to find him and more souvenirs bought after Bavi!) 

On our wander back to the hotel we joined a line at a food stand knowing that that was usually a good sign of the quality of what we were going to eat. While in line we watched a crew of people that operated like a well oiled machine, first getting a portion of meat, rolling it in green onions then covering it in dough. Before baking, it was “painted” with some sort of oil and sesame seeds before being placed in a hot oven. Later, we learned these were a special in Taiwan, pepper buns, and they were delicious! 

The rain came and went on our walk so we decided to stop at a mall only to find that it was already closed for the typhoon. It made more sense then as to all of the metal doors closed tightly on our wander. Most places were already closed in preparation for the storm. So, with rain already picking up and most things closed, we made a big 7-11 run of food, drinks, and snacks before settling in.

The next thirty-six hours or so were, thankfully, not very eventful. Our comfortable little room had great television options, so we enjoyed several movies. I knitted, we played gin. Our luxurious room even had an odd square “hot tub,” so we donned our bathing suits and added 7-11 Frozen themed bath bombs. We enjoyed a leisurely buffet breakfast and even got on the treadmill for a bit. Upon check-in, we noticed that the hotel offered afternoon tea, which is truly one of our favorite traditions. And so, as Bavi wreaked havoc outside, we sipped tea inside and ate our way through four layers of food. Bavi, thankfully, took a bit of a turn northward and weakened just a bit before hitting, as the eye passed more north than expected, Taiwan was spared the worst of it. It did rain hard for twenty four hours and the winds were quite strong, but when we finally left the confinements of our hotel on Sunday morning, aside from tiny branches and extra leaves on the sidewalks, you would have never known there had been a typhoon. We did learn later that the government reacted strongly and prepared for Bavi, quite possibly because the government had been criticized lately for their lack of actions during recent flooding. 

With the weather behind us, we had a bonus day in Taipei! It was hot! While the temperature was in the 80s, the humidity increased the “feels like” to triple digits. But the best way to see a city is to walk it, so we did just that! (We also took the metro several times, and it was great!) 

Our first stop was Chiang Kai-Shek’s Memorial. I know incredibly little about Taiwan’s history, but what I learned (and I believe I understand correctly), is that this was the man who, under a century ago, helped Taiwan to become independent. The huge park had giant archways and beautifully landscaped gardens along with winding paths and small ponds. Inside the complex was also a concert hall and a theater. Around the park, people were participating in exercise classes like tai-chi and even hip hop dance. We went up the stairs of the memorial hall into a huge open area, and much like Lincoln looming over the visitors, a giant, seated Chiang Kai-Shek sat smiling over us all. 

We were thrilled to see that there were exhibits in the air conditioned space below the memorial and enjoyed art as well as more history of Taiwan. I still have lots to learn, but I loved the exhibit about the last one hundred years. It was set up acknowledging the struggles in the fight for democracy around the world, but also comparing them to a flower. Flowers need to be not only planted but cultivated, watered, and supported to bloom continually. Exhibits honored mostly peaceful revolutions for democracy around the world in the last century. Taiwan, after WWII was under military rule of China for nearly half a century. This meant that the citizens not only were left with little voice, but were highly regulated in what was written and performed. Songs could only be chipper rather than reminding people of hardships. People who spoke up about the unfair rules disappeared. And yet now, the Taiwanese people at least appeared freer than our other two Asian destinations this year. We saw more people in shorts, more with tattoos, more gender-neutral bathrooms, and even more acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.

We enjoyed a lot of shopping (although now having to carry it all on our backs, “enjoy” does not appear to be the right word!). The Ximending Shopping District was a lively area with some name brand stores along with cheesy tourist shops. The Red House, Song Shan Cultural Park, and Huashan 1914 Creative Park were all unique places to shop. Each was an old factory building of some sort that had been remade into a place where small booths could be set up. I will say, if you are going, you don’t need to go to all three. They ended up having a fair amount of similar things, so I think I’d suggest Song Shan as my favorite!

Taiwan is known for their night markets with food stalls galore. So, for dinner, we decided to venture to one on our own. We went to Raohe Night Market and wow! It was jam packed with people. Like a sea of fish, we moved slowly along in a single direction, only getting out of line when we saw something that tempted us. The sweet potato balls with lemon pepper salt were fabulous! I had already experienced some sweet potato balls in our breakfast buffet, and I couldn’t wait to get more! What is it? Well, balls of sweet potato that seem to be deep fried. Imagine fries, but even better! Next up, we got one piece of fried chicken that we didn’t finish between the two of us. It was crispy and we watched him cook it to perfection right in front of us. Next up was some crispy fried dumplings, and to attempt to balance it all out an avocado and coconut smoothie. For dessert, we got two tiny pancakes with peanut butter in between them. 

It was a delicious adventure, but I must also give a word of caution. At many points throughout the market, we were overwhelmed by an overpoweringly pungent smell. It was not at all times, but frequently we would come upon places where we had to hold our breath while we passed. Was it the infamous durian fruit we saw? We didn’t think it was that familiar odor. Was it the fishy things we saw? We had eaten at a fish market in Tokyo and had encountered unpleasant smells, but they weren’t strong enough to cover my tastebuds like this one. Was it just trash? If so, we didn’t see that much, and why wasn’t it all over the market? Research later taught us that it was “stinky tofu.” It was fermented in vegetable and meat brine, and well, I can only tell you that Jessica had nightmares about the smell that night.

We had not planned to go up the Taipei 101 building, but with a bonus day, we decided we might as well. It was inexpensive, air-conditioned, and not crowded at all. It provided for beautiful views of the city and entertaining decor of animated characters as well. We even got to learn a little bit more about how the building is stabilized for earthquakes and strong winds. I’m so thankful there are smart engineers out there! 

Our next night (and our last in Taiwan), we had signed up for a food tour. The description said “street food,” “night market” and even “tofu.” We got very nervous with this combination of words, although keep in mind I’ve eaten more tofu on this trip than I ever have before and it had been delicious. Thankfully, we had nothing to fear.

We met Julie and our four other companions for the food tour at a metro stop. Julie grew up in Southern California which meant we could understand every word she spoke easily. Her parents are both Taiwanese and decided to retire in Taiwan a few years ago and she decided to join them. She had great background knowledge, but was also easy to talk to and ask questions to as she, too, was a bit of an outsider. We also had a teacher from California, a teacher from Denmark, and a couple from Dubai on our tour. They were a fun group who added to the enjoyment of our evening. 

We started with pork-filled bao or steamed bun. (Why other cultures do so many forms of meat pies/dumplings and yet the South hadn’t fully embraced this is beyond my comprehension.) 

Next we learned about skewers. It sounds silly, I know, as of course we eat with skewers a lot at home, too, but it’s done differently here. At lots of restaurants, you pick up a small basket and fill it with your assortment of the skewers they offer from meat to veggies to fish to tofu. At the first “skewers” restaurant we had crispy tofu (not stinky tofu) as well as beef wrapped around tomatoes. Both were full of flavor and utterly mouth watering. At the next skewer stop, we had fish cakes which were fried pieces of fish a little larger than French fries and tasting mostly like the garlic powder sprinkled on top. There was also some fried chicken (not the skewer of chicken butt that was an option). But the best one was taro. It’s a root vegetable, but here it was in some sort of gelatin and then fried. I wish I had more information that I could understand, but it was delicious! 

Our next course was something exclusive to Taiwan: Aiyu jelly. Aiyu is a fruit grown in high altitudes of Taiwan. When harvested, the seeds are soaked in a cloth, massaged, left in the refridgerator, drained, and what is left behind is a natural sort of gelatin. It is not all that sweet, but that’s why it is then mixed with fruit to be served as a chilly “soup” meant to be gulped out of the bowl more than spooned. I chose pineapple, and while it was a truly unique experience, I am not sure I’d say I loved it. The fruit of Taiwan though is truly delicious. As a tropical climate, almost all of the fruit they eat is grown right here on the island. Julie said that because of the hot weather, fruits have to work extra hard to protect themselves which means they grow more sugars and become even tastier. 

Boba is a type of tea invented in Taiwan. It is usually a milk tea with “bubbles” of tapioca in it. I had assumed that boba was some sort of name for bubbles. It is not at all. Julie said it meant “champion of breasts.” There was apparently a famous actress from Hong Kong who was well-endowed and it was sort of invented in her honor and as such, there is now a little pun in all the boba teas out there! The one we had was a roasted wheat one. I didn’t love it, but that was mostly because the toasted flavor was reminiscent of coffee to me, a flavor I despise. Jess had ordered a brown sugar one the day before and let me take a sip of it. It was delicious, as were the steamed buns I ordered with brown sugar bobas inside! So, it’s not the boba tea I dislike, it is just particular flavors. 

At our next restaurant, we had three dishes. The simple pork and rice meal she said was a nod to the days when Taiwanese people lived in greater poverty. As there wasn’t a lot of money, meat was hard to come by, so a tiny bit of pork was served with a heaping bowl of rice. We also ate Taiwanese meatballs with shrimp in them and some sort of savory rice pudding. 

A Taiwanese pancake with scallions was next. The term, as Julie acknowledged was a bit misleading. The dough wasn’t sweet at all, but rather more similar to naan bread. Ours was served with egg and basil, making it a savory bread that was easy to pick at and enjoy. 

For dessert, we went to a bakery known for making traditional Taiwanese pastries. There were samples of about ten different ones for us to try. The pineapple cakes are what they are known for. Picture a square cake a couple inches cubed with a breading somewhere between a cake and a cookie surrounding a thick pineapple jam. They were scrumptious! We also got to try ones with banana, mango, and taro inside. 

Julie said it is hard to truly pinpoint Taiwanese food as the country has been colonized by so many countries. Portugal, Denmark, Japan, and China all laid claim over this island at some point. Today, the people of Taiwan are so intertwined with the global economy, and they have such an appreciation for food, that much of what is eaten is really more fusion. It is unique and flavorful for sure, and I’m so glad we got to go on this tour to try so many things and learn so much about the food of Taiwan!

When planning my trip to Taiwan, I wanted to see the beauty of the country. That’s where we planned to spend the majority of our time. Mother Nature had other plans for us, though. I’d like to say that I’ll be back to Taiwan to see more of the incredible scenery that awaits me as it certainly didn’t get a fair shot of showing off this trip. “Yet knowing how way leads on to way,” I’m not sure I’ll return here. But for now, I leave with a full stomach, a smile on my face, bags heavier than intended, and memories of welcoming people and intriguing places. 

Mountains of Taiwan

​Before we fly back across the ocean, we decided that we should add one more country to our list. Taiwan was only a two hour flight from Jeju, and we know that there are political changes possible in this country, and we were eager to see it before any of those took place.

Taiwan has incredible scenery, and we wanted to make sure that we saw it, not just the big cities. We landed at the international airport and got a rental car. Thankfully, Jessica was brave enough to volunteer to drive here knowing that these would be mountain roads of which she is much more accustomed to driving than I am. I am so thankful that she would drive us!

The spine of Taiwan is all mountains. In fact, to get from one side of the island to the other, you really have to go around them. While our original plan had been to go all the way around the island in just a few days, we decided that would actually mean that we wouldn’t get to see any place very well and would only be driving. So instead, we opted for two nights in the mountains in the north eastern part of Taiwan, not too far from Taipei, although it feels like another world altogether.

It didn’t take long for us to leave the busy city streets behind and begin climbing on rural mountain roads. On our way there, a road under construction meant we ended up sort of going down a long one-lane, two-way road. Jess handled it like a champ and realizing that it seemed to end at some sort of cafe, we decided that could be a destination. So, at the dead end of this tiny road, we found a restaurant in a truly beautiful setting. We had a delicious late lunch as our first meal in Taiwan. I got some sort of pork belly stack with a syrup sauce. Mostly, we enjoyed watching the view and the huge butterflies that flew past! 

While sitting on this expansive veranda, looking at the map, I realized that just across the river was our hotel. It was only about a half a mile away and we could get there by walking across the suspension bridge. To drive there, however, it was about 6 miles away because we had to go back up the tiny road and find a bridge that the car could pass not just the footbridge below. On our way to the hotel, we stopped by the 7-Eleven. One of many stops at these convenience stores we have made on our Asian adventures. We were thrilled to see that even up in this tiny mountain village, the 7-Eleven was one of the nicest ones we had been to. It made us excited to see the other ones in Taiwan. While searching for snacks we may need for the evening, we overheard three giggly, Taiwanese children, probably about the same age as our students, saying, “Six-seven.” If you have no idea what this phrase is about, I know you aren’t around young children, but also please consider yourself lucky. Before we left, Jess turned around and did the hand signal to match the phrase, and the kids cackled and even followed us out to the car, saying it over and over again. What a joy to find a simple interaction we could share with these children, even though we couldn’t share many other words.

We arrived at our hotel, Kilar Mountain Villa, where the patio had a lovely view, and our room was spacious. Not wanting to tackle the roads again in the evening, we laid low and worked on making some changes in our upcoming plans due to some weather disruptions. 

Our only full day in the mountains, we decided to take on, full force. The scenery truly is stunning and reminds me of the mountains of Uganda and of Peru. They are lush and green as they peak and dip into valleys below. 

Our first stop was at Xiaowulai, a scenic area that has made the most of the beauty around them and created a tourist attraction as such. It was a little more crowded than we like, as there were enough things in short distance from the parking lot that even some large buses of tourists could visit. We enjoyed seeing the waterfalls, walking out on the short skywalk and across the suspension bridge. Then, we took a trail that led us a bit off the beaten path and away from the rest of the tourists. It was a lot of down and then a lot of up, lovely scenery, and very loud bugs, but aside from lizards, we didn’t see much wildlife. 

After rewarding ourselves with some delicious ice cream bars from the 7-Eleven and, letting the sweat dry in the air conditioner in the car, we decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and go on one more stop. 

When planning the trip, one of the reasons I had chosen the location that I had was because of the Dongyanshan National Forest. Through my initial research, it looked like a beautiful place to be with some great hiking trails. However, when reading up about those trails and the location the day before, I couldn’t find a lot of information, and I became a little bit anxious. When Siri turned us onto a one lane but two way incredibly steep mountain road, with five miles left to go until we reached the area, I became even more nervous. The road was barely wide enough for one car, and we were incredibly lucky in the fact that we never came upon a car that was headed in the opposite direction. Again, Jessica handled it beautifully! After about a mile and a half on this road, we turned onto a beautiful wide, two lane road. This road let us to a very nice national forest recreation center with a visitor center, nice bathrooms, well maintain trails with lots of English information in them, and even a gift shop! This was when we learned our lesson that if we didn’t like the road, Siri was taking us on, we could just ignore his instructions and we could stay on the larger routes. On our way down the mountain, we ignored his instructions a few times to turn onto these one lane roads, and we made it home in only four minutes longer then planned, and we were on two lane roads the whole time!

We picked up a map at the recreation center and decided to try the “self-guided trail” that included the Dongyanshan Peak. The man at the gate had told us it was hard, but all we had to do was keep walking. He was right. It just involved a lot of uphill, as we were climbing to the peak of a Taiwanese mountain. But the trail was very nice, incredibly well maintained, and mostly stairs. Along the way, there were signs in both Chinese and English explaining the plants and animals that live in the area. We encountered a few people along the way, mostly what we believe are Taiwanese people who were a couple decades older than us. As such, they greeted us with warm smiles and welcoming simple phrases. We really didn’t see any wildlife, but man we heard it! There were a couple of birds along the way, but it was mostly the frogs and insects that were deafening in the forest. Behind the visitor center, there was a small pond where the frogs seemed to be competing for volume prizes. Throughout the forest, it often sounded like chainsaws were going. We are quite certain that it was some sort of cicadas making these sounds. The backdrop was beautiful, but it also would’ve made a fine setting for a horror film with the loud chainsaws starting and stopping constantly. At the top of the peak, we were rewarded with a beautiful vista with sites of Taipei in the distance. It was well worth the sore calves, and the dripping sweat.

Being in a country where the alphabet isn’t even similar, and life is very different, it is often hard to tell what is a restaurant. There were dozens of fruit stands along the windy mountain roads and even tents set up with small grills where lots of locals seem to be gathering and enjoying their food. I used Google to find a place, and it has lots of rave reviews that thankfully had been translated to English. We took screenshots of pictures of food that looked good to us from the restaurant, and were prepared to walk into this tiny hole in the wall and show them photos to order what we want. We walked in to this small, somewhat questionable restaurant in this mountain village in Taiwan and were greeted by a man who asked if we spoke Chinese. When we said no, he explained much of his menu in English and gave us some choices. He asked us where we were from. When we told him, he said he really hoped to make it to America sometime soon to watch LeBron James play, but right now he had a small child and thought that she would cry on the long plane ride. The food that he prepared in the makeshift kitchen was delicious. I had a sort of beef ramen bowl while Jess had fried rice. He even brought us fresh passion fruits he had picked. When I travel, it always makes me feel more ignorant when so many people can speak my language, and I can barely say thank you in theirs. I am so impressed with how much the rest of the world prioritizes teaching languages. 

Our little hotel in the mountains seemed to also be some sort of a conference center. Both nights we were there, there was a large group of people. They all ate together and sometimes we’re in the meeting room. We seemed to be the only ones not a part of the group. But we were given breakfast right alongside them. Each of us were served on our own trays with a wide variety of foods. It was not my favorite breakfast food, but that is simply because as Americans, our minds seem to be programmed into what constitutes a breakfast food and what does not. I love salad, but it’s not the way that I’m used to starting my day. Broccoli and carrots are great, but I much prefer a smoothie. The chicken wings were full of flavor, but again not exactly the food that I normally anticipate first thing in the morning. We were also given a large bowl of what I believe was rice pudding of some sort. It could’ve been grits or porridge, and as such, it had zero flavor. We couldn’t find any salt, but adding butter and sugar made it better, just like it does for everything! 

On our way down the mountain to return the car, thankfully, we were mostly on larger roadways. Driving rules are really very similar, however, drivers here are not afraid to honk if they believe you are not doing what you should be doing. They were quick to tell Jess if they felt like she didn’t really need to stop at the red light even though we feel like those rules are pretty much the same anywhere.

There was one large attraction on the side of the road, possibly a temple, where we were stopped by about seven people in vests standing in the middle of the road with those light up batons to direct traffic. They seem to just be there to help buses reenter the two-lane road. Thankfully, Jessica noticed that one of these smiling vested men was lighting firecrackers, because loud booms went off right next the car. Had we not seen that, we would have been hiding from gunshots. We’re still not sure what was going on, but it seemed these buses, with all the waving and fanfare were being sent off with quite the “bang.”

After mountain roads and some major highways, we were thankful to return the car relying now on Uber, public transportation and our own two feet. I have so much more of Taiwan that I want to explore, but I’m thrilled we got this opportunity to see the beauty!