Touring Around Taiwan
Taiwan is one of my favourite places on earth. The natural beauty paired with big city vibes, distinct culture, and the BEST FOOD EVER? What could compare?! If I were to do it again, I'd probably allow for a bit more time to explore Taipei itself, since we used it as a jumping off point for a bunch of other spots.
Accommodations make quite a difference while traveling. We had a nice Airbnb in Da'an, which was pretty centrally located. It was a private room though, so we constantly felt like we had to be quiet around our 30-something-year-old host. AT ANY RATE, the first thing we did after dropping off our bags was go for some classic Taiwanese beef noodle soup near the Airbnb. It was pretty good, but also tasted pretty... standard? Once again, I've come to realize how lucky we are to have so many authentic food options in Mississauga.
Then we went straight to the Beitou Hot Springs (well... bubble tea in tow). I think there were some sprawling outdoor bathhouses that we missed out on. To be honest, it was kinda rainy so we found a private indoor option that still didn't cost too much. I'm actually glad we were able to rent a private bathing room so that we could wear our swimsuits instead of experiencing naked Asian sauna culture (also prevalent in Japan and Korea). While I usually prefer lukewarm showers, it was a nice experience to soak in the really REALLY hot water. Besides, IT'S GOOD FOR YOU!!
That evening, we met up with Jenny's exchange friend, Bailey! They had become friends in Shanghai. Hearing about Bailey's escapades made me realize that Taiwanese culture is not any less modern than North America. The three of us walked around Shilin night market, which is known as the biggest night market in Taipei. We went for some Hot Star chicken (which... we technically have in Toronto too, but I'm not complaining) and Bailey's preferred local version (which was sweeter and truly did taste better too). We also grabbed some small pieces of barbecue beef before settling in a small shop for classic soupy desserts. Up to this point, I had associated these kinds of desserts with Hong Kong, but I guess it's all the same?? I had a mix of almond tofu, grass jelly, and almond milk. Over dessert, we talked about language quite a bit. According to Bailey, Hokkien is only really spoken by the grandparents' generation these days, so she doesn't know how to speak it. Also, confirmed: Taiwanese youths these days love to say "true or false" all the time (真的假的啊 — "zhen de jia de ah")!!
Hualien
I went a bit crazy with the ambitious travel planning over these four days in Taiwan. If I were to do it again, I'd spend a bit more time in Taipei and each of the other cities. Honestly, Taiwan is so pretty and the food is so good, I could've easily spent 7-10 days here. As for Hualien, I would DEFINITELY recommend making your way here. It was a bit rainy and we had an ambitious 7 am start to the day, but it was SO BEAUTIFUL. There were these looming green mountains everywhere! And we didn't even make our way to the Taroko Gorge, which is probably the most famous landmark in Hualien!
As soon as we disembarked from the train station, we found someone willing to rent out a motorbike to us despite not having an international driver's license. This bike turned out to be KEY for the day—it was a must-have in Hualien, and I'm glad we got comfortable with them in Vietnam!
I had found this blog post detailing how to get to the Mukumugi Gorge. We started to follow the directions to the tee, only to discover that the Gorge had been closed since October due to a landslide! The police station didn't have any permits to give us.
We decided to keep driving towards the gorge anyway, and we were rewarded with some good news at an ice cream stand: someone had made a new path towards the gorge, albeit a little bumpier. We were officially going off the beaten path now! As a bonus, the ice cream stand also had some cool, sweet floral popsicles. :)
We ended up driving 11km beyond the gorge pools, but it was more about the journey than the destination. The drive was super scenic with lengthy tunnels and archways carved into the side of the mountains. We saw barely a single soul the whole time! Along the way, we found some really pretty marble that we could touch and step on... dare I say it was more prominent than the marble mountains on the Hai Van Pass? Naturally, I felt like I was ~ one ~ with NATURE.
Exploring around the gorge wasn't exactly the safest though. I definitely felt a sense of impending doom since there was no cell reception. Moreover, knowing that the original path had been buried by landslide meant that I, too, could be buried at any moment! Besides, what if we lost control of the bike and fell into the ravine or something? THERE WASN'T A SINGLE SOUL AROUND!! And what was with these steps that didn't lead anywhere (see image on the right)? I mean, they technically led to a disappointing view. Again, I suppose it's more about the journey...?
Eventually, we backtracked, asked for directions, and found the promised water pools. They were secluded, super blue, and beautifully crystal clear! We waded in amongst the fish. Jenny even made her way to a waterfall, although I never ventured that far. On our way out, we accidentally crashed a local family's picnic and almost splatted all over the rocks. But we made it out alive!
We also left at a good time, because it started raining as soon as we left the water pools! Jenny drove the motorbike back like a mad woman, and we sought refuge from the rain in a little dumpling shop. These unassuming pork and corn dumplings were the best ones I've had in my entire life. So crispy and juicy!
That evening, we met up with Bailey again — this time with her local friends! I became acutely aware of my subpar Mandarin skills. But hey, I guess not being able to understand anyone at dinner was kind of like subjecting Jenny to meet my case competition friends every day in Singapore...? The "overly competitive, overly keen yuppie circuit" practically has a language of its own.
Taichung
Next on the docket was a day trip to Taichung! I was super excited for this day because of the Taichung Rainbow Village. Jenny was sold on the prospect of seeing some big rocks kinda like Zhangjiajie, except... it turns out that those rock formations were another hour and a half inland from Taichung. Marred by a monsoon (aka some terrible weather), we kinda just... stayed put in Taichung.
We grabbed some lunch at a random saucy-rice place, plus some ponchos and umbrellas at a 7-11. Then we stumbled upon Miyahara ice cream, which had a ridiculously long line (especially for such a rainy day!). Honestly, it was a bit expensive and overhyped. I tried a bunch of their chocolate flavours but found them to be too bitter. Instead, I opted for a combo of honeydew and citrus white chocolate with cheesecake and shortbread toppings. It was too decadent, despite the refreshing flavours!
The dark underbelly of the rainbow village.
At this point, we made our way to my personal highlight of Taiwan... the Rainbow Village! This little village was going to be redeveloped into something else, until a passionate old man decided to Be the Change™ by painting the whole village with rainbow patterns. It became a tourist attraction, so his plan to thwart the redevelopment worked! Now, apparently, he STILL spends his nights touching up the village to make sure it looks vibrant and tourist-ready.
Rather than relying on self-timer above, we also stumbled upon a super jovial photographer who offered to take the artsiest photos of us possible! He fussed all over us in a quest to get us to pose well. ...Photo-dump incoming!
Aftewards, we made our way to the Taichung Cultural and Creative Industrial Park. I love these kinds of artsy and cool areas. Think of the Distillery District in Toronto or Frau Gerolds Garten in Zurich. It even had an umbrella walkway! Unfortunately, by the time we got there, all the shops and galleries were closing.
Jenny isn't as big on ~ART~ as I am, so she was a little disappointed by the sightseeing of the day (in comparison to all the high-octane activities in Vietnam and in Hualien the day before). Thankfully, upon reflection, she found that the people of Taichung "saved" the day for her. Alongside our Rainbow Village friend, she also struck up an engaging conversation with our cab driver on the way to the high-speed rail back to Taipei.
That evening, we headed to Raohe night market (the #1 fav of my middle school friend Tina, who grew up spending her summers in Taiwan). IT LIVED UP TO THE HYPE. We gobbled on stinky tofu, popcorn chicken, bubble tea (lemon and oreo), and THE most incredible black pepper pork buns. I didn't take a picture of them, but they were cooked along the sides of this giant stone pot (it kinda looked like a well?). You can find them right at the entrance of the market. You can't miss it — it's the stall with a ton of people lining up in front of it. :)
Jiufen
The next day, Jenny was feeling a bit under the weather, so we got going a little later in the day. Luckily, today's destination (Jiufen) shines the most at night! You might recognize Jiufen from the movie Spirited Away. I personally didn't, since to that point, I had never watched a Ghibli movie. I'm not sure if you can accurately say that I've seen one at this point either, because I fell asleep while trying to watch Spirited Away in Vancouver in December 2021 with Richard, Henry, and his family. Oops. The girl ate a marble...?
Day and night in Jiufen.
At Jiufen, we ate some delicious Chinese food and then walked around the cute alleyways. The Old Street was a lot smaller than expected, but certainly aesthetic. We stumbled upon some "cute" stationery (har har), got squid and taro balls from street vendors, and bought some wooden ear scoops (random, I know). Unfortunately, pretty much everything closed by 8 pm!
Back in Taipei, we attempted to walk around the Taipei Main Station area and Taipei 101. Both of these places were surprisingly DESERTED by 10 pm! Monday night problems...? It was nothing like the lively restobars and night markets of the previous three nights, although those admittedly fell on a weekend. And that concluded our four days in Taiwan!
Thanks Taiwan, love u lots!