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Taiwan

July 17-20, 2018

By Danica Eliana Ferino

August 1^st, 2018

Day 1

Ever since I watched the anime Spirited Away, it has been one of my goals to visit Taiwan someday. Previously, I only knew that the movie was based on the old street of Jiufen and that was the only place I wanted to visit. But after researching a bit more, I learned that there is more to see in Taiwan.

We were experiencing torrential rain when we left the country. Our flight got delayed several times due to the storm and it made us worry that our trip might be ruined. Well, we arrived in Taipei and it was the exact opposite of the weather in the Philippines at that time.

My friends and I were a bit apprehensive at first because the main language there is Taiwanese Mandarin. That's why we decided to join a group tour through KKday for our first two days so we won't have any difficulty with the language barrier. Our first day was spent in Taichung.

National Taichung Theater

After a 2-hour drive from Taipei, we arrived at our first location - the National Taichung Theater. Honestly, when we were there, there wasn't much to see except the view from the top floor and the exhibits on some floors showing quirky decorations and wooden music boxes. I love the Snoopy wooden pieces.

After the short tour at the theater, our tour guide brought us to a shopping mall to eat lunch. After that, it's free time until our visit to the next location.

We saw the Taichung Old Station from afar. We didn't enter the building. It was so hot that day and walking under the sun is too much for our sleep-deprived selves. The heat and lack of sleep due to our delayed flight made us lethargic so we didn't explore much. We also saw the Miyahara ice cream store. The line outside the shop is outrageously long so we opted not to try it.

Rainbow Village (彩虹眷村)

Rainbow Village is such a curious little place. This, by far, is the biggest one-man art installation I've seen. It's not technically a village, really. You can visit the whole place in just a few minutes. But each house is brightly colored and creatively drawn, I doubt one will get bored fast.

Gaomei Wetlands (高美濕地)

Our last stop is Gaomei Wetlands. There's a long boardwalk stretching across the horizon where the land meets the sea. We saw a bunch of crabs and some other curious creatures. We were supposed to see the sunset here but our tour bus left early.

Day 2

Day 2 is for our Northern Taipei tour also with KKday. The weather was still hot. I won't visit Taiwan again during the summer.

Yehliu Geopark (野柳地質公園)

Our first stop is Yehliu Geopark. Our tour guide encouraged us to take photos at the Queen's Head. Apparently, scientists forecast that the queen's neck might break sometime during the next 10 years due to erosion.

Shifen Old Street and Waterfall (十分老街)

Next one is Shifen Old Street.

The food here is really good. There's a shop here that sells grilled chicken leg with the bones removed and rice stuffed inside. There's also the peanut ice cream roll which is just perfect for the hot weather. Those two are my top picks for the food in Shifen Old Street. THEY ARE GOOD!

By the way, the old train station is still functional. You might even see the train pass through so better be careful while walking along the tracks.

There's a waterfall a short drive away from the old street.

JiuFen Old Street (九份老街)

Ah, my favorite part of this Taiwan trip - Jiufen Old Street!

It really is beautiful! That flight of stairs is no joke either!

There are so many curious things to see here. I feel like the time allotted for this part of the tour is not sufficient. We didn't even get to enter the A Mei Teahouse.

Have I mentioned that there are so many cat stores in Taiwan? They don't sell cats but there are many cat shirts, decors, and trinkets all around. My inner cat spirit is happy.

There's a cat (and a dog) lounging right smack in the middle of the stairs. They don't care about the tourists at all.

I imagine the red lanterns would be beautiful at night. Too bad we have to leave earlier since we're in a group. Next time I'll go here, I won't join a tour group.

Ximending Youth Shopping District (西門町)

A trip to Taiwan wouldn't be complete without visiting the night markets. We were only able to go to two night markets and the first is Ximending. I find it really amusing that there's so much scattered anime in Taipei. Even buses have ads of anime shows. My easycard also has an anime design.

Day 3

Longshan Temple (龍山寺)

For our third and last day, we did our own itinerary. We were supposed to visit the National Palace Museum in Shilin District. But the extreme heat is very discouraging so we just visited the touristy places near the Taipei Main Station. We went to Longshan Temple first.

Despite being one of the oldest temples in Taiwan, Longshan Temple looks surprisingly sturdy. And the details! The pillars, the roof and even the small waterfalls outside are exquisitely decorated.

BoPiLiao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區)

I'm not sure why, but the Bopiliao old street looks empty. We may have arrived a little to early to see any event here.

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall (中正紀念堂)

Unfortunately, when we arrived here, the upper level of the hall is closed so we weren't able to see the statue of Chang Kai-Shek. The museum below is open so there's still that and the National Concert Hall and Theater.

Taipei 101 (台北101)

After a quick lunch at Hangzhou Xiao Long Bao just outside the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, we rode a bus to Taipei 101.

Our scheduled entry time is at 3PM but we were allowed earlier access. The elevator only took 45 seconds to reach the 89th floor from the 5th floor. It's a bit painful in the ears because of the pressure. There are three floors that are accessible to the public aside from the 5th floor where you can buy ticket and food. The 88th floor is the jewelry and wind damper exhibit. The 89th and 90th floors are the indoor and outdoor observatories respectively.

Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall (國父紀念館)

We were supposed to hike the Elephant Mountain after Taipei 101 but decided against it. The heat outside is no joke even during the afternoon. Since we still got some time before our next scheduled itinerary, we visited the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall. We were able to watch the changing of the guards there.

Raohe Night Market (饒河夜市)

Our last night market before we left Taipei is at Raohe. I enjoyed this night market better than Ximending. I love the traditional feel to it. It may be smaller than the other night markets but the number of food stalls here is a bit overwhelming. Everything looks tasty! I find it interesting that amid the Taiwanese cuisine, there's also a Japanese food stall (Fukushima Yaki) selling okonomiyaki.

Everything we ate here is tasty.

The bacon-wrapped fried quail eggs and the mochi from Ma Shu Bao Bao are the best!

There's so much I wasn't able to see and do and eat in Taiwan so I really want to come visit it again someday. The next time definitely won't be summertime.