Out of all the places I've traveled to on my own, Taiwan was by far the best solo experience. Granted, I spent evenings with Jumi (fellow Grinnell grad) in Kaohsiung and with David (fellow former Nanjing University employee) in Taipei, but I was almost happier doing certain sites alone.
I spent the first half of my trip in Kaohsiung, where Jumi works as an English teacher. Kaohsiung is neat little* coastal city, popular with bicyclists and tourists interested in seeing the south. Locals were helpful and often confused by my presence, though I met plenty of expats through Jumi during my time there. On one side of the city are verdant mountains, on the other side are beaches and shipping ports.
Together, Jumi and I...
... hiked Monkey Mountain - not just a cool metaphorical name! There are actual wild monkeys that inhabit this jungle-y area. They can be a bit dangerous, but if you keep quiet and calm (and don't bring food) they will saunter right up to you and just park. At the top of the mountain, Jumi and I had freshly brewed plum tea with all the Taiwanese grannies and gramps and watched the monkeys appear and disappear in the vines.
... experienced the night market - Taiwan is known for its night markets, where you can buy
everything you need and lots of things you really don't need. I was in food heaven, I ate a sweet duck sandwich in what I can only describe as a Chinese pita, spicy crab legs, and a mango smoothie.
... ferried over to Cijin Island - a beach right off of Kaohsiung, Cijin Island is the most tourist-filled part of the city. Jumi and I went to her friend's quaint cafe and had some killer crepes and brownie cake.
... went to Chinese class - Jumi, like me, is studying Chinese while living abroad. We were actually studying similar subjects, and it was interesting to try a lesson from another teacher. However, I had a lot of trouble reading, since
Taiwan uses traditional characters as its written language and mainland China uses simplified characters.
... classed it up at a jazz bar - fancy-ass drinks and fun people!
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| Jumi and me |
On my own, I...
... wandered the city - temples, dried goods market, alleyways and lots of bubble tea.
... spent the afternoon on Cijin Island - after Jumi left, I headed solo to the beaches. They were surprisingly black and cold; no one was swimming. I finished
The Goldfinch (sue me: I read on my vacations. It's my party and I'll read if I want to!) and wandered the island's markets. Even though I was plenty full, I couldn't help trying these unsurprisingly awesome fried dumplings.
... entered the dragon at Lotus pond - in a bid for tourism, the city of Kaohsiung built colorful structures on the pond. There were a few spots to visit: a dragon and tiger pair each with their own pagoda, a winding dragon you had to walk through to get to the viewing site, a temple-ish building, and a huge Buddha.
The second part of my trip was spent in Taiwan's capital city, Taipei. I couldn't help but notice how much cleaner the roads were, how much more polite the citizens were, and how much easier the city is to get around than Nanjing. And even though Nanjing will always hold a special place in my heart, I could see why David chose to move from Nanjing to Taipei.
When David wasn't in class, he and I...
... visited a local park and flower market - it smelled amazing!
... saw the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall - David is the tallest person I've ever met, so I have a feeling he saw the memorial's famous changing of the guards with little difficulty. However, I watched it through someone's iPad in front of me.
... did a "temple run" - we managed to get through most of Taipei's famous temples all in one day. I'm a bit "temple-d" out, two years of touring Asia is two years of visiting lots of rebuilt temples, but I always appreciate the quiet time and the gardens that Asian temples often provide.
... gorged at the Shilin night market - We had
amazing food, I mean seriously. Grilled spicy squid, sea snails, and crispy crab legs. Taiwan is seafood heaven. Also, I had a planter of dirt for desert. Delicious.
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| Just kidding! It's ice cream! |
Sans David, I...
... bathed in the famous Xinbeitou hot springs - I went to the public hot springs early in the morning, and save for a nice American guy in his thirties whom I helped with the hot springs schedule (it's only open for four hours at a time, I'm not sure why; and he didn't speak any Chinese) it was just me and the Taiwanese grandparents. I had fun answering questions in Chinese about myself and my time in mainland China. Taiwan is known for its hot springs, and dayumn those springs were HOT! Everyone was drinking tea and water to stay hydrated; one older man actually
fainted right in front of me he was so overheated. It was actually really scary and I was the only person who saw it happen. It was an inconvenient time to forget the Chinese word for "HELP!" but luckily I made enough of a non-verbal fuss that he received help right away.
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| pink cheeks = hot springs done right |
... hit the bars - cause you know me, always ~~~~hItTiN' dEm cLuBzzz~~~
... visited the National Museum - I am not a fan of Asian museums, but the National museum is one of the best museums I've seen
ever. It was well-organized and I loved the audio tour (I also usually hate audio tours.) The museum took me hours and I could have spent more time there if I wasn't so exhausted. I did the museum backward in the hopes of avoiding lines, but I still had to wait to see the world-renowned "
meat shaped stone" and "
jadeite cabbage." Those are real things, guys. Also, I recognized a painting I had written a paper about in Art History 101 at Grinnell, which made me do a little happy dance, much to the confusion of the Japanese tour guide next to me.
... went to the top of the Taipei 101 - a stunning view of the city, plus I got to the ride the
tallest, fastest elevator ever!
... wandered Tamsui - a quaint ocean-y area with streets for wandering and a view of the water. More food for eating. Noticing a trend?
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Famous (enormous) ice cream from Tamsui
No, I did not eat the whole thing! |
Taiwan was such a wonderful mix of urban glossiness and natural beauty, alone time and social time, traditional culture and modern spectacle. I wish I had more nights in Taiwan, because that night market food was beyond-words-incredible. But it was the perfect little ten-day getaway from my busy Nanjing life!
Also, public service announcement: Hello Kitty, while originally a Japanese entity, it pervasive in Taiwan. Even my
airport gate was overloaded with Hello Kitty and all her colorful, demonic friends.
*Any city not in mainland China is now deemed "little" in my book.
