My hometown is a small town in Montana. And the odds that someone, who not only went to my hometown and my local church, but also used to babysit me as a kid, would be living in the same small country of Taiwan are very slim. What a sweet coincidence! So, this previous weekend I went and explored with her and her husband in Taipei, Taiwan. (Which they are totally famous here for teaching English on TV! Pretty cool, right?)
Taipei is located on the northern part of the island, about a two hour bus ride from the city of Taichung, which I reside. The best way I have found to describe it is like the "New York City" of Taiwan, complete with skyscrapers, a lovely metro system, many city parks, and many more foreigners. It's like the business city: people in suits and very posh boutique shops. Taichung on the other hand, is more... well, regular! No metro, only one airport, smaller ratio of foreigners, and is a quaint, yet still very charming big city. It still has skyscrapers, has slightly more smog, and has less rain. Nonetheless, I can see the draw of Taipei to the majority of travelers. It is absolutely beautiful, with so much to see and do.
I hopped on a bus with some friends, who were also going to Taipei that weekend, and we headed for the northern part of the island. The bus was very elegant, smooth riding, everyone had manners, the air conditioning was great, chargers for your phone, TV's, and it was so clean. We hopped on this bus for roughly 7 U.S. Dollar (USD) per person. 😱I was super impressed; that isn't something you necessarily get in the U.S. Another mode of transportation on the island is the high speed rail, which sounds so cool. I would like to try that at least once, and when I do you all will be the first to know how it goes!
We arrived in the main bustling terminal of Taipei, and made our way outside. After dropping off our excess things at the hotel we were staying at for the night, we proceeded to explore the local area on foot. While walking through this beautiful lush park, called the 228 Peace Memorial Park, admiring the beautiful craftsmanship of the gardeners and maintainers, we noticed a large building with people going in and out and wondered what it was. We weren't going to go in, but in all spontaneity (which is such a great thing to have while traveling), we decided to see what it was all about. What another sweet surprise - it was a museum (I wish I could remember its name)! Equivalent to $1 USD, we explored the many different scientific, historical, and natural exhibits, and were able to use the same ticket for another museum a block away. This one was called the Land Bank Museum, which was a historical bank for the city and had a humongous dinosaur exhibit too!
We then rested, and headed out for food in the evening. Of all the places that popped up on Google as recommendations, we found Nala's, a Mexican food place. As soon as I read that, I realized how much I really enjoyed a good burrito and that I really wouldn't be seeing any of that in Taiwan. One friend, who is also from the U.S., shared the same feeling. We began to drool. Mexican food it was, and it was delicious. Though while walking there, sweet serendipity found us, and we stumbled upon the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. A very large gate sat across a large temple over an even larger courtyard, surrounded by two large exquisite buildings. It was definitely worth the stop.
The next day my friends and I had our first temple experience at Longshan Temple. Observing another belief system and religion has its own mystical beauty. Incense was heavy in the air, quite prayers humming about, colorful fruit baskets and flower bouquets lined tables in offering, all mixed with the constant scuffle of feet as people moved in to say their words to the idol of their god. No detail was left out in the creation of the temple; every wall, nook, and crevice was filled with carvings and symbols. Really, so beautiful.
I departed from my school friends, and headed to meet my hometown friends. As I stated before, Taipei has a metro system. Of all the metro systems I have been on, I would say this one is the cleanest and smoothest running of them all. And everyone is so kind if you are lost or don't know which way to go. So, in the nature of winging it, I hopped on for a ride. > One of the best things about the island of Taiwan is that there is a universal payment card called an "easy card" which allows you to pay for lots of things, and it works anywhere in Taiwan. Buses, convenient stores, metro, and so much more. < Meeting up with them was such a sweet reunion! And we were off! We explored Dahu Park, which consisted of beautifully maintained shrubs and a gorgeous bridge which is pretty famous. Never had I been on a bridge with steps up all the way up and down it, pretty cool. Then we went swimming. What a different experience! The public pool was made up of a large lap pool, a hot pool, a cold pool, and a jet pool. When I say jet, these just aren't any ordinary jets like in hot tub. There were at least eight different jet sections, and each produced a different kind of bubbles in different areas. Also, water spouts with intense flows added to the massaging capabilities. It was great - kind of like a kiddie-pool back in the states, but for adults! The swimming attire is also different here. Suits need to be much more conservative, for girls shorts, and a tank (made of spandex-like swim fabric of course), and for guys tight swim shorts that hug the leg, and both have to wear swim caps (which can be the same fabric as the suits). We went to two places to swim that weekend, and both had slightly different rules, and another group of students went to the beach and bikinis were fine there. So, I recommend if you are going swimming, just ask the attendant what is appropriate, or just observe what the other swimmers are doing.
After resting a while we headed to the lantern festival downtown Taipei. The Lantern Festival is the end of the celebration of Chinese New Year, which is a long celebration welcoming in the lunar new year. There is a main Lantern Festival which marks the end, but each city has festival activities throughout the weeks to showcase some truly amazing lanterns and for people to enjoy food and art. Each year the animal changes, and there are twelve animal cycles. Back home we have one small Chinese restaurant, and from the place mats on the table, I knew the year I was born was the year of the pig. And, what another sweet chance that this year is also the year of the pig!🐷 I truly didn't know what to expect. Not only was there hundreds of cute pig themed lanterns made by schools and professionals, but there was art exhibitions, light shows, live music, and great food all throughout the evening.
It's funny, Pokemon Go is a huge game all over the world, and especially here in Asia. When it first came out (I think in 2016) I played it quite regularly but ended up deleting the app from my phone. It was a sweet connection that my friend also played it, and after re-downloading it again, we were able to have fun running after different Pokemon and enjoying it together.
The next day we went out and looked at a boiling lake and soaked in a more traditional hot springs pool at a place called Beitou. It was magical. Fun fact, the hot water comes from a thermal valley heated by a volcano, and the rocks there are actually slightly radioactive with the element Radium! This is one of two places in the world where these rocks, called hokutolites, are found -crazy! The cool rain was coming down and hitting the hot water, creating a thick layer of steam which made an other-worldly feel to the very peaceful area. Down the stream from there was a local hot springs pool made to soak, with three different temperature hot pools, and a cold pool. This is meant for alteration, switching from cold to hot, moving the blood around in your body. After this sweet soak, we toured an old Japanese style bath house which is now a museum. It was a beautiful place. You know how you see in the old Japanese movies people sitting on their knees on mats made of fine grass? I always thought those looked so hard to sit on and without cushion. But to my surprise, they were much more comfortable and padded then I thought!
After saying goodbye to my lovely friends, I headed on the bus home, which concluded a very sweet long weekend.
Next time hopefully I'll have some Chinese language tips to share!
Adventure awaits,
Ayla
