Saturday

It's about time I finish blogging about Taiwan, right? I apologize for the almost month-long delay - the holidays and work got in the way. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Stay turned as I finish up sharing my last couple days in Taipei, starting with Saturday, 12/21.
I woke up around 9am to blog a bit and grab something to eat. I skipped the hotel buffet and opted for another breakfast sandwich from Tyler's favorite street stand in Noodle Alley, complete with a 7/11 iced coffee. I guess now I'm hooked too.

Noodle Alley

My first plan for the day was to ride the MRT to YuanShan Station, and walk to the Confucius and Dalongdong temples. Right outside the station, there seemed to be a lot of activity going on. I followed the noise and music to Taipei Expo Park, where I found a farmer's market and a stage with people playing none other than...Christmas music! I browsed through the market, and received a lot of strange looks and stares. I'm really noticing that white people are not common in Taipei, and especially not white females. After grabbing a fresh sample of jasmine tea from one of the vendors, I was on my way out. Right outside of the market, I saw a group of 5 women taking pictures of each other. I walked over to them, and using hand motions and a lot of pointing, offered to take a picture of all of them together. This turned into a 10-minute ordeal. I stood there snapping continuous photos as they changed poses at least five different times. And after that, they all wanted pictures with me, and then of me individually.  Too funny.
I eventually broke away from the paparazzi and reached my first destination, the Taipei Confucius Temple, which is modeled after the original Confucius temple in mainland China. As I'm sure many of you know, Confucius is one if the most influential Chinese philosophers in history. He advocated for education, strong family values, and simplicity, and the design of the temple reflected his teachings. Unlike the intricacy of the Longshan temple, the Confucius temple was modest and did not include any statues of gods or deities. I learned as lot as I read about Confucius's life, peaked in a room full of schoolchildren reciting his poetry, and listened to a small concert band practicing ritual hymns. There was also a handful of people scattered around the temple with sketchbooks, working on beautiful drawings of the temple. A girl who spoke a little English told me that they were a group of university students taking an elective in art. I could use a lesson or two in drawing...



Adjacent to the Confucius temple was the Dalongdong Bao-an temple. Yes, Dalongdong (I found this pretty funny). The temple was established in 1742, and is usually visited by people praying for good health or recovery from illness. Both the Confucius and Dalongdong temples were very peaceful and quiet, and seemed to be seldom visited by tourists. They were a nice break from the other more populous attractions in Taipei.

Next up was the National Palace Museum, one of the most famous museums in the world. Long story short, most of the museum's artifacts were taken from Beijing right after WWII. During a civil war between the Chinese communists and Chinese nationalists, the nationalist government, who was about to lose, retreated to Taiwan. With them they brought many precious artifacts, so that they wouldn't fall into the hands of the Communists.

This museum was a pain to get to because it required a MRT and bus ride, not to mention is was extremely crowded! There were bus loads of visitors, many from mainland China. I spent the next few hours exploring the museum's exhibitions, which stretched from 6,000 BC to the post-war period. The museum contains 655,000 pieces (only about 1,700 on display at a time), making it the world's largest collection of Chinese art and artifacts. There were three floors packed with jade, pottery, bronze, paintings, rare books, and more. Unfortunately, no photography was allowed. The most famous artifact, which I waited in a long line to see, was the Jadeite Cabbage, a piece of jade carved to look like a vegetable. It symbolized purity and fertility in one of the emperor's wives. I recommend this museum to anyone who is interested in history and technology. There were many exhibits with impressive multimedia, interactive technology. After finishing up, I stopped by the neighboring Zhishan Garden, which was free with my National Palace Museum admission ticket, and then headed back to the hotel to freshen up.

Tyler and I got all dressed up and headed to the National Concert Hall (remember my visit earlier in the week), where we had tickets to "A Cozy Christmas Eve" - a Finnish fiddling concert. It was a sold-out show, and we thoroughly enjoyed listening to JPP (Jarvelan Pikkupelimannit), comprised of four fiddlers, a harmonium player, and a double bassist. The well-known group travels regularly across the world and has produced 10 albums. The music was wonderful, and it was fun hearing holiday music from Santa's hometown in Finland. :)

We were starving after the show, which ended at about 9:30. We hailed a cab back to our hotel's district, and walked to a restaurant/lounge that was recommended to Tyler by one of his coworkers. I walked into PATINA lounge and almost turned around and walked right out. It was not what I was expecting - dim lights, smoky air, and leopard print couches. Honestly it kind of grossed me out. But what the heck...we sat at the bar and ordered the bartender's (who spoke English!) recommendation. A sliced steak with fried garlic and a gigantic seasoned prawn, both beautifully prepared, were cooked on a small grill behind the bar. Wow! I guess you really can't judge a book by its cover.

Friday

My alarm went off at 4:45am. Ouch. It was for a good reason though. Tyler set me up to go on a tour of one of our company's new plants that is wrapping up construction. There was no way I was missing this tour, as my steel-toed boots I packed for it put me right at the 50.0lb baggage limit, so I was definitely getting use out of them.

Since I was up so early, I had the privilege of trying Tyler's favorite breakfast spot - a tiny store front with a roll-up door a short walk away. His favorite was a spicy chicken sandwich with egg and cheese, and a hash brown as a side. It was cheap and delicious! This was also the reason that Tyler moved hotels a few weeks ago. The other hotel was too far away from the breakfast sandwich. Hilarious!

I took a taxi to a nearby hotel, where I met up with my guide for the day. We hopped on a van and took a ~1 hour ride up the Taiwan coast to the plant. The ride was breathtaking (I wasn't allowed to bring my camera...). The road ran alongside a huge mountain that overlooked the water. It was picturesque- dark clouds, rough waves crashing up against rocks, and a few golden sand beaches scattered about. Fulong Beach is right near the plant, and is a popular spot for a day trip to the ocean. Taiwan is cool, you can get to just about any climate and geography within an 8-hour drive.

I geared up with a hard hat and safety glasses and enjoyed a very informative tour. I won't bore you with the details. Afterwards, I took a train back into the city. It was a long trip between the train ride and the couple MRT transfers after that. At this point, my back, which has been hurting all week, was reaching my pain threshold, so I walked around the block near the hotel to find a massage parlor. It was either that or find a bar...

A 60-minute body massage was 1000 NT, not bad. This was the craziest massage I've ever had. The lady cracked my body in places I didn't know could be cracked! She was also doing what I would call a mix between yoga and acrobatics. From standing on my back, to twisting my arms in weird positions, it was very interesting. As great as the massage felt, I swear it put me in more pain. I laid down to rest for an hour and could hardly get up after. Alcohol it is, haha!

Tyler and I then headed to the Taipei 101 with every intention of buying tickets to go to the top for Sunday night. It's better to buy in advance, and Sunday is supposed to have the best weather for viewing. Funny enough, we completely forgot about the tickets. There was so much to see! We walked around the base of the 101, which is a multiple story high-end mall. Upscale, luxury stores like BVLGARI, Dior, Cartier, and Hermes. As well as an excess of Christmas decorations, of course. We did a little window shopping, I had a delicious (but expensive..100NT?!) strawberry cream cheese macaron, and then we sat down for dinner at Karen Teppanyaki. Both of us had a combination meal containing prawns, fish fillet, rice, bean sprouts and fried cabbage, and our favorite - a thin-sliced Ribeye wrapped in a green bean and served with fried garlic. The picture looks kind of gross, but I promise it was awesome! It was a laid back and relaxed restaurant with meals ranging from 200-650 NT. Much better than the 3000+ NT dinners at most of the other Taipei 101 restaurants.




Shortly after, I was ready for bed. Need to rest my back so I can be up and running tomorrow.

Oh The Weather Outside Is...Rainy.

Let it stop! Let it stop! Let it stop!

It's more rainy than usual, and to top it off, it's frigid! Okay, actually it's probably in the 50s, but still, I'm not digging it.

As I previously mentioned, I forgot to set an alarm and slept way too long today. This was particularly unfortunate because I had a full list activities planned. I was still going to make every effort to see everything.

I hopped on the MRT and took the brown line all the way to the Taipei Zoo exit, which took about 25 minutes. I know what you're thinking, why are you going to a zoo? Well, I love seeing animals, and they have some pretty cool ones here. Like penguins. And hippos. And pandas. The main reason was for the pandas. The zoo was huge! And cheap. My ticket was only 60 NT. I brought along my long-range lens and got some awesome shots of the animals. All animals except...the pandas. The baby was too little to be outside, and the mother only came out from behind a bush for a few seconds. So, I did see her, I just didn't get to document it. Bummer.

Still bitter about the pandas

The Taipei Zoo Station is the last stop of the MRT brown line. To go any further, you can walk down the street and catch the Maokong Gondola. The gondola is an extension of the MRT. For just 50 NT, you can ride over 4km outside of the city and above the Taiwan countryside. I did a similar gondola ride back in 2011 at Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro. I couldn't wait for my next.






As you wait to board the gondolas, there are two lines. The first line, which is faster moving, is for a normal gondola with glass walls and a metal floor. The second line, which typically has a longer wait, is for a Crystal Cabin, or an all-glass gondola that even has a glass floor. The crappy weather meant that lines were short, so I was able to grab a spot in a Crystal Cabin with no wait. The ride was gorgeous! My pictures do not do it justice, as the windows were wet and foggy and it was difficult to get a good shot. I loved seeing the mountains and escaping the busy city.







 
I had two planned stops on the gondola. First stop was going to be about halfway up, at the Zhinan Station, so I could visit the beautiful Chi Nan Temple. The next stop was going to be Maokong Station, which was also the final stop of the gondolas. Maokong is a famous place for drinking tea. I got off at Zhinan Station and I swear the temperature had dropped 20 degrees. It was also getting dark. I kicked myself for waking up so late, and decided to just head back to the hotel, with plans to make the trip another day (probably Sunday).

Bummed out, I got back and waited to meet up with Tyler. We headed to Malibu West for dinner, a nearby Westernized bar/restaurant where many of the outage workers hang out. We had come here my first night in town. I had a Carlsberg beer and shrimp fried rice, with red Habanero peppers scattered throughout (I need to be careful when asking for spicy over here).

After Malibu, we took the MRT to the Shilin Night Market, the largest night market in Taiwan. This night market is one of the must-see destinations in Taipei, and I could definitely see why. Think of NYC's Chinatown and multiply that by a LOT and you get Shilin. They had all the street food you could imagine, games, clothes, shoes upon shoes (most for only 380 NT!), accessories, etc etc. It was also an excellent opportunity to people watch and get a real feel for the culture in Taiwan. My gloomy day turned right around once I bought a jacket (that the woman let me try on!) and some gifts. I had read online that the night market had puppies on display, so of course we looked for them, but without success. Tyler and I both had a great time at Shilin, but it was getting late, so we'll have to come back another night.

OMG. Shoes.

Day 2: Part 2

I'm backlogged on my blog. Let me pick up where I left off.

The Coffee Alley waffles set me into a bit of a food coma. Tempted to go back to my hotel to sleep, I mustered up enough energy to continue on. I took the MRT to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall to look around.The memorial hall was built in 1972 to commemorate the founding father of the Republic of China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen. He is known as the "Father of the Nation" and helped overthrow the Qing dynasty and imperialism in China. He was also a mentor to Chiang Kai-shek. The inside of the building was very similar to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall- large statue of Yat-sen with two men standing guard. There was also a museum inside commemorating his life. Due to the waffle binge, I had trouble engaging in the exhibits. What was more appealing to me was the outside of the building, which was grand and beautiful and surrounded by many flowers. Usually there is a fountain show in front of the building, but unfortunately it wasn't functioning while I was there.


What was most impressive was the view of the Taipei 101 in the distance. Formally called the Taipei World Financial Center, this landmark skyscraper is the second tallest building in the world. No worries, I will make it to the 101 before I leave and will be sure tell you all about it.

Map of Wufenpu

My last stop before the hotel was Wufenpu, Taipei's wholesale shopping district. My sugar crash was immediately overcome with shopper's euphoria. I have never seen anything like this place! It was absolutely huge and jam-packed (yet so organized!) with shops and boutiques selling clothes, shoes, and accessories. There was so much to take in. All of these shops open around 1-2pm everyday, and are stocked with the latest fashion trends. They sell their merchandise to other stores, who then brand the items. Stuff at Wufenpu is cheap, but still high-quality. I was walking around like most other girls, foaming at the mouth and drooling over all the possibilities. The only downfall, most places won't let you try anything on. It was getting late and I needed to go get ready for dinner. Thankfully, I got my fix after I bought a cute leather purse. I'll be back for you, Wufenpu.



Two hours later, Tyler and I were off to Din Tai Fung for dinner. Holy mother of dumplings. This place was amazing. Din Tai Fung is a Michelin-starred, world-renowned dumpling house that originated in Taiwan. It is a must-try when visiting. The restaurant started in 1958 as a cooking oil shop, and changed to a dumpling house in 1972. Their specialty is Xiao Long Bao, or steamed soup dumplings.

The place was packed, and we waited about an hour to be seated. The meal was family style. We shared many (and I mean many) small plates. We ordered spicy pickled cucumber, braised beef noodle soup, shrimp fried rice, shrimp and pork potstickers, sliced chicken with white wine, and beef and vegetable won tons, all of which were delicious. Then came the traditional pork Xiao Long Bao. OMG! They were amazing little bundles of dough filled with pork and then folded and steamed to perfection.




There is a very specific method to eating Xiao Long Bao:

1. Combine 1 part soy sauce and 3 parts vinegar into your small dish that already contains ginger.
2. Take the dumpling and dip it in the sauce. (But be sure to enjoy one plain at some point!)
3. Place the dumpling in your soup spoon and poke a small hole in the bottom of it with your chopsticks. This will release broth into the spoon.
4. Add some ginger if you like, and enjoy!

Tyler and I had a wonderful meal at Din Tai Fung and I recommend it to anyone who may come across one of their worldwide locations.  Sorry for the crappy pictures - forgot my camera :(



After dinner, Tyler was really tired but I dragged him to Wufenpu, just so he could experience its magic (Who I really needed was my mom!). He was definitely in awe, but not the same kind as I was...more like, "This is awe-ful!" We walked around for about an hour, but after passing a stinky tofu cart, we decided it was time to go.