My Rainy Weekend in Taipei or: How I went to the top of the tallest building in the world!

This weekend, I took a trip to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. I went with a group of 4 people and we left early Thursday and got back late on Sunday. It rained almost the whole time we were there. I only saw blue sky the afternoon we arrived and the morning we left. Otherwise, rain or drizzle the whole time. Thankfully, I stayed dry with my raincoat, but my umbrella got lost somewhere in transit.

Anyway, I'm done with my complaints about the weather. It seemed all the exchange students at HKUST were going to Taiwan this weekend. We ran into 4 different groups at some point on the trip and we knew of others who were there too. We stayed in a hostel, which was actually quite nice. The 4 of us had our own private room and bathroom which was extremely convenient, secure and comfortable. The hostel had a good location, too, close to the train and one of Taipei's many night markets.

The afternoon we got there, we explored some of the sights near the hostel. We saw the Taipei botanical gardens, the Chiang Kai Shek memorial and the presidential office. The memorial also included the buildings for the national theater and concert hall. The whole area of the memorial was quite grandiose with a large square in the middle. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see good ole Chiang, as the doors to the memorial hall closed soon after we got there.

The next day, it was raining (of course), but we still stuck it out and saw things...mostly temples. We saw the larger ones: Longshan, Confusian, and Paoan. The cool thing in Taipei is that you might be walking down a street that has different shops and all of a sudden, an ornate temple is right next to you, just as if it were another store front! Compared to temples I have seen in Hong Kong and other parts of China, Taipei temples seem to be the most elaborate, especially with intricate carvings of dragons on the roofs and other animals on the roofs. We also saw the Sun Yet Sen memorial hall. We arrived just in time to see the elaborate ceremony for the changing of the guards. Here's a video of part of it:

On saturday we made our way over to the weekend jade market, which was convieniently situated underneath an overpass, so it was nice and dry. There were jade vendors as far as you could see. Once you finished with the jade market, accross the street was the weekend flower market. So many different kinds of flowers, plants and trees. There were beautiful orchids and bonzai trees. I wish I could take some home with me!

Later on Saturday, we made our way up to Danshui, the city on the mouth of the river. The city had an old vibe to it, with lots of street vendors, old buildings and temples. There was a boardwalk right along the river front that had carnival games and food. There were squids on a stick that were probably only caught a few hours before. Had the weather been better, I'm sure it would have been bustling with people and fishermen selling their catch. On the way back we went to the Shilin Night market. This is the biggest and most vibrant of all the night markets in Taipei. There is a large section for food stands and winding streets full of of trendy clothing shops. I didn't buy much (except for food, which I will talk about at the end!)

On Sunday morning, it finally was clear. We took the train and then the bus to the Yongmingshan National Park, Taipei's "backyard" as its advertised. We did a short hike to a open area on mountain where we were in the clouds! We kept walking down trecherous stairs made even more dangerous by the mist toward a visitor center and hot spring. Taiwan has interesting geological characteristics where there are many mountains, gorges, hot springs and even volcanoes! Sadly, the hot spring was closed for cleaning from 1-2:30 and we arrived just after 1. So I brough my bathing suit for nothing...so sad. It was nice to get out of the city for a while, however.

Following lunch back in the downtown area, we went over to Taipei 101: the tallest completed building in the world! One other person and I went up to the top (the other two didn't go, since it was too expensive...400 TWD (a little more than $10 usd, which couldn't get you into the sears tower or most museums in the US). But it is basically the symbol of Taiwan...its picture is on all their advertisements. Anyway, in addition to being the tallest building right now, it also has the fastest elevators in the world. It only took about 35 seconds to go up to the 89th floor , traveling at about 40 mph! It is actually quite an architectural marvel given that Taipei must endure cyclones and earthquakes! It really stands out since there are only a total of 2 skyscrapers in all of Taipei. To read more about Taipei 101, its accolades and interesting symbolism, visit wikipedia.
After our trip to the top of the man made world, we headed back to the hostel and then on to the airport to head back to Hong Kong.

Now to the most important part of our trip: the food! Actually, the majority of the trip was built upon the restaurants and night markets we wanted to go to. The Shilin Night market had all sorts of local treats. I had fresh donuts, sweet sesame pancakes, barbecue, pork and veggie dumplings, fresh fruit (some of which I had never seen or tasted before), bubble tea (it was invented in Taipei and actually has real fruit in it), a scallion bun, and the local favorite, chicken pounded thin and tender, fried and sprinkled with spices. Soo good. There isn't such a street food culture here in Hong Kong, or at least I haven't found it yet.

We also ate at real restaurants, usually for lunch. We had great hot pot (kind of like fondue, but with broth instead of oil) at a restaurant where the stove top was built right into the table. We also went to an all you can eat buffet. The food was decent, but the main attraction were the desserts. I had a great cream puff pastry, some sort of Taiwanese fruit custard, and really good chocolate cake.

Taipei also had lots of bakeries too. There were usually a couple on every block. They had some traditional western baked goods, but also had traditional chinese pastries. My favorite was a rice ball filled with peanut butter (Nou Mi Zi...wikipedia it).

Overall, despite the weather, it was a good trip. I think if I were to go back to Taiwan, I definitely want to explore the southern region of the country, where there are really neat nature sites. But my traveling might be done until spring break in japan...school is getting in the way.

Keep an eye out for more pictures!