For May Holiday, we took Devien to visit Taipei, Taiwan. It is a nice 1 hour and 20 minute flight from Shenzhen so this made it very attractive to us. Since many of our students are from this island, we also thought it might be a good idea to see what they’re always talking about.
Day One
We arrived in Taiwan on a Wednesday at mid-day. Mijo slept for almost the entire trip over. We are very blessed. He must just have the world traveler in him! Once we reached the Taoyuan International Airport, we needed to do some maneuvering for inexpensive transportation to Taipei City since it was over 40 kilometers away. We started by taking a commuter bus to the high speed rail (HSR) station about 20 minutes away for 30 Taiwan dollars ($1 USD) each. From here we took the HSR train from Taoyuan to Tapei. This trip was 160 Taiwan dollars ($5.40) and took another 20 minutes. The train was very modern and comfortable. It reminded us a lot of the train system in Japan.
We arrived in Taiwan on a Wednesday at mid-day. Mijo slept for almost the entire trip over. We are very blessed. He must just have the world traveler in him! Once we reached the Taoyuan International Airport, we needed to do some maneuvering for inexpensive transportation to Taipei City since it was over 40 kilometers away. We started by taking a commuter bus to the high speed rail (HSR) station about 20 minutes away for 30 Taiwan dollars ($1 USD) each. From here we took the HSR train from Taoyuan to Tapei. This trip was 160 Taiwan dollars ($5.40) and took another 20 minutes. The train was very modern and comfortable. It reminded us a lot of the train system in Japan.
So after 40 minutes of travel we reached Taipei Main Station
and at a cost of almost $13 dollars.
They say that a taxi direct from the airport runs about 1300TD (almost
$44 bucks)! We selected a hotel very
close to the station so we hopped on the metro line for another 20TD and
reached our stop of Shuanglian 5
minutes. We booked the Yomi Hotel and it was just what it
advertised. A budget hotel with nice
extra perks. Free snacks awaited us in
our rooms like Doritos chips, instant noodles, and nice fresh fruit. Buffet breakfasts were above average. They
even have free washers, dryers, and detergent soap. A peculiar thing about the hotel was it was
very popular with Japanese as they made up at least 75% of the other guests during our stay.
After settling in, we went outside to explore around our
hotel's neighborhood. It was nothing too
special with lots of small shops, a police station, and a large hospital. The highlight of the outing was visiting the Ningxia Night Market just three blocks
away. Taiwan is famous for street food
so we prepared ourselves for having at least a few market experiences. This particular location was very cramped. Vendors lined up not just both sides of the
street, but in the middle as well. This made it very hard to browse, especially
with Devien. Pazi was not interested in
eating any of the strange foods, but Adan decided to try the notorious chou dou fu or Stinky Tofu. This fried pungent snack is a brine of
fermented items such as milk, vegetables, meat, and even seafood. Adan’s impression of the tofu was that it
smelled horrible, but was tolerable to eat (especially when accompanied by
chile).
Day Two
Our second day started at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei. This memorial dedicated to the revolutionist and first president is a nice area to take pictures with the famous skyscraper Taipei 101. Devien really liked the park area nearby and the bird that feed here. Considering this area is just blocks away from the massive tower and even closer to the City Hall, the paths and sidewalks were so calm. It was refreshing for us coming from China’s hustle and bustle.
Our second day started at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in downtown Taipei. This memorial dedicated to the revolutionist and first president is a nice area to take pictures with the famous skyscraper Taipei 101. Devien really liked the park area nearby and the bird that feed here. Considering this area is just blocks away from the massive tower and even closer to the City Hall, the paths and sidewalks were so calm. It was refreshing for us coming from China’s hustle and bustle.
At Taipei 101 we
were impressed with how well organized the layout of the area is. After our awful experience at the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, this
was heaven. The mall that adjoins is
very nice with lots of designer shops and restaurants. On the 89th and 91st
floors are observation decks and for 500 TD ($16.80USD) a person you can go up
and view the amazing sights of the city.
Another interesting fact about the tower is that it has the world’s
fastest elevator traveling 60km (37 mi) per hour! It is so fast that there is almost no time to
have your ears pop.
As night approached, we decided to head out to another
market. This time we took the metro to
the Shilin Night Market. Often considered the largest of all night
markets in Taipei, this market goes beyond food selling clothes, souvenirs, and
toys. It stretches at least four blocks
and in some parts connects to other night markets. Additionally, there is very popular temple in
the center of the crowded market. This
night Pazi was in more of a mood to try foods so we got plenty. We had excellent baozi (steamed bun) filled
with pork and vegetables. Another
interesting item was spring rolls with peanuts and barbecued pork. We also tried delicious wheel pies made of
waffle batter and filled with cream and banana fillings. And of course we had famous Taiwan milk teas
with pearls, jelly, and puddings.
Day Three
We took it easy for our third day in Taipei and took the metro and shuttle bus to the famous National Palace Museum. It is said to have nearly 700,000 unique pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts, but not nearly that much is available to the one-time visitor. They say the exhibits are on a rotating basis so that the museum is always changing. This is great for locals, but not the long-distance traveler. Also, no cameras allowed so Adan without his camera was strange. Our stay lasted about two hours, but after two amazing days for Mijito it was time for him to be fussy. He struggled being confined to the stroller and they would not let him take his bibi in for feeding.
We took it easy for our third day in Taipei and took the metro and shuttle bus to the famous National Palace Museum. It is said to have nearly 700,000 unique pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts, but not nearly that much is available to the one-time visitor. They say the exhibits are on a rotating basis so that the museum is always changing. This is great for locals, but not the long-distance traveler. Also, no cameras allowed so Adan without his camera was strange. Our stay lasted about two hours, but after two amazing days for Mijito it was time for him to be fussy. He struggled being confined to the stroller and they would not let him take his bibi in for feeding.
Even though we felt the museum was lacking, the price tag of
160TD (just over $5 dollars) showed us again how inexpensive it is to tour
around Taipei. Many of the sites could
easily charge double the entrance fees and be in line with other tourist
cities. After we thought about this, we
forgot all about our marginal experience at the museum.
Later, we traveled by subway to the Mengjia Longshan Temple.
This is a famous temple of mixed worship for Buddhists and Taoists. It was quite busy this particular night and
Adan was able to get a few good shots of the buildings and locals worshiping. We also came here because the tourist maps
stated several night markets converge in this one area, as well as underground
mall. Unfortunately, we walked around
for two hours and found the markets and mall to be identical to the other
venues we had seen from previous nights. As we entered the metro station to head back to the hotel, we noticed a shop selling bags. Devien really likes bags and zippers so we bought him his very own backpack! It cost us 200TD ($6.75) and was worth every cent to see Mijo's face when we gave it to him. We ended our night by
ordering a large pizza and milk teas!
Day Four
Our last day in Taipei was dedicated to the neighborhoods around the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. This landmark is actually a square with the National Theater and Concert Hall (on opposite sides of the memorial). The location is spacious and has a very inviting feel as tai chi classes, kung fu lessons, band practices, and even hip hop dance groups all were using the grounds during our visit. We even were able to watch the changing of the guards at the memorial hall for the influential leader of Taiwan during the 20th century.
Our last day in Taipei was dedicated to the neighborhoods around the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. This landmark is actually a square with the National Theater and Concert Hall (on opposite sides of the memorial). The location is spacious and has a very inviting feel as tai chi classes, kung fu lessons, band practices, and even hip hop dance groups all were using the grounds during our visit. We even were able to watch the changing of the guards at the memorial hall for the influential leader of Taiwan during the 20th century.
Some other highlights of things we did:
*Viewed the Presidential Office Building that was built by the Japanese during their rule of Taiwan beginning in the 1890s.
*Visited local food joints that reminded us of how the locals in Hong Kong dine. We ate at a quaint shop well-known for their handmade noodles. They were excellent by the way.
*Stopped by the Taiwan Handicrafts Market and bought a few souvenirs.
*Visited the botanical gardens and met a nice Taiwanese girl who wanted to practice her English.
*Viewed the Presidential Office Building that was built by the Japanese during their rule of Taiwan beginning in the 1890s.
*Visited local food joints that reminded us of how the locals in Hong Kong dine. We ate at a quaint shop well-known for their handmade noodles. They were excellent by the way.
*Stopped by the Taiwan Handicrafts Market and bought a few souvenirs.
*Visited the botanical gardens and met a nice Taiwanese girl who wanted to practice her English.
Overall, Taipei was a good experience for us. The location is great for short flights, the
cost of living is much lower than other travel options in Asia, and
transportation options are abundant.
Update #3: Devien’s still growing big and strong--he weighs 11.3kg (25lbs) and is 84cm
(33in) tall!
