Taipei, Taiwan 🇹🇼 – July 17-20th, 2017
Taiwan was my second stop in Asia. I chose Taipei because it made sense geographically (I had three nights between my time in Seoul and the group tour I had planned in Bali) and I'd heard great things! My friend Sonia is Taiwanese, so before I left she suggested that I talk to her mom about connecting with any friends in Taiwan she may know. It worked out great because her friend's son, Chris, is living in Taipei with his grandparents this summer. We had been talking via Facebook messenger the few days prior, and I was definitely thankful to have a built in travel buddy to ease my transition into solo travel in Asia.
July 17th, 2017
I took a taxi to my hostel from the airport and made another friend in the lobby before my room was ready! I met Penny in the common area when I was waiting to meet up with Chris. She had a few hours before meeting up with some other friends so she joined us for lunch! We went to Ximending a popular shopping/food area of Taiwan. I had beef rice noodles from this authentic small restaurant and had a bubble tea afterwards (bubble tea was everywhere in Taipei!).
We then met up with some of Penny's friends to go to the Miniature Life Exhibition inside one of the buildings in Liberty Square, a gorgeous area of town. The exhibition was so incredibly cute!! It had pictures and displays of pretty much any scene you than think of as a miniature display.
We went back to the hostel afterwards to relax before visiting the famous Shilin Night Market for dinner. Taiwan is known for it's food, but unfortunately, they had very limited gluten free options as most of the food is breaded and fried (probably what makes it taste so good haha). I did find some fresh beef that was cooked right in front of me on a grill with a blow torch! My friend Penny got pigs blood cake, a Taiwanese delicacy, and I was brave enough to try a bite! It was definitely different and I can't necessarily say I liked it, but I think part of the reason is that I knew what it was prior to trying a bite. We ended the night with some famous mango (and coffee!) shaved ice that we shared as a group.
Pig's blood cake on a stick, dipped in peanuts
July 18th, 2017
The following morning, Chris and I planned to hike Elephant Mountain to get a great view of Taipei 101, the famous sky-rise building in Taiwan's capital city. The famous mountain gets its name because from afar people think that it looks like an elephant with its trunk. The hike was much harder than I was expecting due to the unbearable heat and humidity. I had so much water that day and barely needed to go to the bathroom because I was sweating so much in the heat! On our hike, we met David, a local who likes to spend time on the trail to meet foreigners and share his belief in pressure points to relieve pain. He showed us several spots to relieve aches and pains in the muscles using simply your fingers or by rolling a baseball he always carries with him. It was very interesting and I'm happy he approached us!
Crazy big spider on the trail!!
Following our hike, we walked to the Taipei 101 building for lunch. There is a huge food court inside and we ate sushi at a Japanese restaurant. We walked to Ice Monster after lunch because they are known for having the best Mango shaved ice, and they didn't disappoint! The mango in Asia is amazing and this yummy shaved ice was something I could thankfully eat with my gluten free diet.
I wanted to see everything I could in my short couple of days in Taipei, so Chris and I took the metro to the Beitou Hot Springs. It was a little bit out of the way relative to where we were in the city, but I'm glad we made the trip! We went to the biggest hot spring that is much too hot to go in, but there were also several private baths that you're able to relax in. Locals even boil eggs in the scalding hot springs! We stopped by the Beitou Hot Springs museum on our way back to the metro to learn about the history and see one of the oldest baths in the area.
Chris and I wanted to make it to Tamsui in New Taipei City by sunset, and we succeeded! It was a gorgeous view — no filter needed on the pictures! The pier was fun as well, carnival like with the variety of games and activities, but some shopping and various restaurants as well.
We definitely had a full day and it was nice to finally relax with a fancy cocktail at Alchemy Bar, the speak easy style bar recommended by my friend Jen Wang. It had a great atmosphere and was very close to Taipei 101, so we got to see the building lit up at night.
July 19th, 2017
My last full day in Taiwan was spent with Chris and his friend Raphaella. She is from Taiwan so it was great to be exploring the city with a local! She took us to Dadaocheng, a very cool shopping area of Taipei. We took the green line on the MRT (subway) to Belman stop where we walked around and stopped at a few local places. It wasn't a very touristy area, and all the stores were really cute! There were also plenty of markets with local items for sale. We had actual rice cakes with a date filling from Hoshing, and a sweet tofu with sauce and almonds to hold us over until making our way to the famous restaurant Din Tai Fung. They have locations all throughout Asia but the orginal started in Taiwan. They're known for their dumplings, which unfortunately aren't gluten free, so I ordered the fried rice and it was great!
Afterwards, we went to the Taipei Zoo. We took a gondola ride with a glass bottom to the top! Raphaella is afraid of heights, so she didn't like the glass bottom but I thought it was really cool!
At the zoo we saw lots of different animals from all over the world, but my favorite was the Panda Bear because I've only ever seen pandas at the San Diego Zoo years ago.
Chris, Raphaella, and I parted ways after the zoo. I found a local restaurant near my hostel where I was able to find gluten free options and packed for my early flight the next morning!
I enjoyed my time in Taiwan and I loved the friends I made. I'd love to visit the rest of the country outside of Taipei if I'm ever back in the future. Next stop: Bali, Indonesia!