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ready for take off...
Our trip to Taipei was super fast, since we only had 30 hours on the ground to explore (and walk 40,000 steps, yes literally). It was amazing trip filled with lots of delicious food and fun people (including my mini Mike, who came along for the journey since real Mike could not join).
One of the best parts of the trip was staying in the Meeting Place Hostel, where every night was like a sleepover! Confession time; I have never stayed in a hostel before, and I was very anxious to do so, however, this place was great and I would 100% recommend it!
The first adventure of the day was an MRT ride to the elephant hike. The MRT is very similar to the Hong Kong MTR, but many more seats and fun songs played when the trains would come!
The hike wasn't so much a hike as it was just a lot steps, and I literally thought it might kill me...but the view from the top was totally all worth it in the end.
As I said before, we didn't have much time so we continued on our journey to the National Theater and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
Lunch was one of my favorite parts of Taiwan. We went to Modern Toilet which was a bathroom themed restaurant. The bathroom at this place also had a very high tech toliet, which I may or may not have had issues trying to figure out how to turn off and resulted in spraying lots of water all over the wall (oops!).
These toilets weren't the only interesting ones in Taiwan. The toilets in Taiwan for the most part were the mainland style, where you have to figure out which way to stand but they have these cool signs that tell you when the stalls are open or not.
Since it was the day after Chinese New Year had ended, we headed to Mengjia Longshan Temple. There were people singing and we found ourselves sitting and listening in almost a hypnotic state. It was really relaxing (and the first time we had got to sit in a while).
One of the girls in our group really wanted to have her fortune told by a famous bird at Longshan Temple Underground, who told her she was going to have a summer baby boy and she would continue to move around to different countries.
Giving our feet yet another rest, we decided to get massages from those visually impaired, also in Longshan Temple Underground.This was one of the most unqiue things I experienced on this trip. To see how they used other senses besides sight to perform this task and make a living was inspirational.
The rest of the night was thee best part, FOOD! The night market was full of so many kinds of foods to try and it was incredible. We went to Shilin Night Market and Raohe Night Market. If you find yourself in Taipei, go to every night market you have time for!
I was obviously eating too much to take many pictures because I didn't take many, but here's the list of the delicious-ness that ensued that night...try not to drool too much....
That night we crawled back to the hostel and slept like babies.
The next morning we expected to have a nice little breakfast together and then go to the hot springs for a relaxing day, however, that did not happen at all. We ended up in a nice little 7/11-bakery mix for breakfast instead, which is a very usual Hong Kong morning for most of us anyways.
As we looked for the Hot Springs, it became apparent it was not going to be easy to find. We did find the Beitou Thermal Valley, which once you get over the sulfer smell, is a must see here in Taipei!
The absolute best part of my trip and one of the main reasons I went, was to see one of my old co-workers, Ting and her baby, Woody! Ting was a dancer in Golden Mickeys with me the last time I was in Hong Kong, and when I left, she had just found out she was pregnant, so it was so great to finally meet her little guy.
Unfortunately when we did end up finding the hot springs, they were closed because a pipe had suddenly burst and they were closed fixing it. As an alternative, we headed to check out the Hot Springs Museum where we coulnd't read much of anything since it was all in Chinese characters, but they made us to wear these fun slippers!
Heading back to the airport, we were all exhausted and so ready to be back to Home Kong.
Taipei is probably one of my new favorite places, mostly because when I travel, I like to follow the food. Taiwan is such a foodie place that I am sure I will be back just so I can try more!
One of the best parts of the trip was staying in the Meeting Place Hostel, where every night was like a sleepover! Confession time; I have never stayed in a hostel before, and I was very anxious to do so, however, this place was great and I would 100% recommend it!
The first adventure of the day was an MRT ride to the elephant hike. The MRT is very similar to the Hong Kong MTR, but many more seats and fun songs played when the trains would come!
The hike wasn't so much a hike as it was just a lot steps, and I literally thought it might kill me...but the view from the top was totally all worth it in the end.
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| the tall building is the famous Taipei 101 |
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| hating my life because all these stairs |
As I said before, we didn't have much time so we continued on our journey to the National Theater and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial.
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| Vicki clearly thrilled to see Elsa |
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| Cinderella anyone? |
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| thee most delicious deep fried chicken stuffed with ham and cheese |
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| chocolate ice cream |
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| poo shaped meatballs and mashed potatoes |
These toilets weren't the only interesting ones in Taiwan. The toilets in Taiwan for the most part were the mainland style, where you have to figure out which way to stand but they have these cool signs that tell you when the stalls are open or not.
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One of the girls in our group really wanted to have her fortune told by a famous bird at Longshan Temple Underground, who told her she was going to have a summer baby boy and she would continue to move around to different countries.
Giving our feet yet another rest, we decided to get massages from those visually impaired, also in Longshan Temple Underground.This was one of the most unqiue things I experienced on this trip. To see how they used other senses besides sight to perform this task and make a living was inspirational.
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| My favorite thing I ate the whole time, yes it was a corn dog.. |
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| bubble tea! |
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| Taiwan's famous beef noodle soup |
I was obviously eating too much to take many pictures because I didn't take many, but here's the list of the delicious-ness that ensued that night...try not to drool too much....
Deep fried plum chicken
Chicken skewers
BBQ corn (covered in a kind of spicy and sesame sauce)
Pepper bun (bun filled with pork, sauce, and green onion)
Lime mushrooms
Beef noodle soup (with five spice sauce)(a must try!)
Cheesy potato with corn
Chocolate covered marshmallow
Glazed fruit on a stick
Taiwan sausage
Corn dog with Taiwan sausage inside
Glutinous rice ball
Ginger tea
Cranberry lime juice
Oyster with cheese
Fried squid
Fries and sweet chili sauce
Lots and lots of gummies and candy
Bubble tea (pineapple and green tea)
Peanut covered glutinous rice ball
Taro bread stick
That night we crawled back to the hostel and slept like babies.
As we looked for the Hot Springs, it became apparent it was not going to be easy to find. We did find the Beitou Thermal Valley, which once you get over the sulfer smell, is a must see here in Taipei!
The absolute best part of my trip and one of the main reasons I went, was to see one of my old co-workers, Ting and her baby, Woody! Ting was a dancer in Golden Mickeys with me the last time I was in Hong Kong, and when I left, she had just found out she was pregnant, so it was so great to finally meet her little guy.
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| He is so sweet and instantly captured my heart (and I couldn't tell you the last time I held a baby) |
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| pretending this was the tub actually filled with hot springs water.... |
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| drinking out of fancy cups on the airplane |
Taipei is probably one of my new favorite places, mostly because when I travel, I like to follow the food. Taiwan is such a foodie place that I am sure I will be back just so I can try more!
1 comment
Yay!!!
Let me know when you get to NYC. I'd love to catch up.
xoxo
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