Tying up Our Asia Travels in Taiwan!

Friday, May 12, 2023

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport: 臺灣桃園國際機場

After meeting up with our friends Meg & Stego and making the two-hour bus trip to Fukuoka, we finally made it to the airport for our last international trip while stationed in Japan; this will also be our second international trip with Meg & Stego, having explored Singapore and Malaysia with them last June.

After a 2.5-hour flight to Taipei, Taiwan from Fukuoka, we grabbed an Uber (this is the first Asian country we've visited that uses Uber) and made the 45-minute car ride to our hotel downtown. Once we dropped our bags at our hotel, we headed to the nearest subway station to purchase IC cards (cards that can be loaded with money and used for trains, subways, or buses around the city.) Now we are off to grab lunch!

Eslite Spectrum Nanxi: 誠品生活南西

Before grabbing food, Katie and I made a pit stop at a local bookstore! One of the things Katie and I collect on our journeys is Harry Potter books written in different languages; this is the first country we've visited that speaks predominantly Chinese, so we definitely had to grab a new book. After walking away with a new Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and a really cool edition of Magic Tree House: Dinosaurs Before Dark written in both English and Chinese, we met back up with Meg & Stego for a late lunch.

Din Tai Fung Mitsukoshi Nanxi Restaurant: 鼎泰豐 南西店

For lunch, we landed at the world renowned Din Tai Fung for Chinese Soup Dumplings. When we showed up, Meg and Mike had already ordered an assortment of dumplings: pork, chicken, truffle, and pork buns.

After getting a quick lesson from our waiter on how to properly eat dumplings, it was time to dig in! Our favorite (and most expensive) was definitely the truffle dumplings! After finishing our beers and this disgusting wine that Meg ordered for Katie (she was trying to be thoughtful since Katie doesn't like beer, but it tasted like boozy licorice,) it was time to head to our next stop!

Unfortunately, there weren't any subway stops between the restaurant and our next spot, so we had to make a short 15-minute walk over there. But we know how. to make a boring 15-minute walk enjoyable and full of laughter!

Click Here to Watch Bryan Mimic the Sidewalk Crossing Signs!

Along the way, we noticed there were tons of scooters on the road, similar to many of the countries we've visited throughout southeast Asia; the major difference was they were all wearing helmets and they respected traffic laws. We also spotted a girl carrying her pet bird on the back of a scooter. THAT wasn't expected!

Mikkeller Bar Taipei: 米凱樂啤酒吧

Our next stop: Mikkeller Taipei! Ever since Katie and I stumbled upon the Mikkeller Bar last summer in Singapore, we have been obsessed with visiting every location in the continent of Asia. That's right, we have now completed the Mikkeller Asia gauntlet (three in Tokyo, one each in Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok, and Singapore.) Now that Asia is complete, we are excited to visit them in Europe. We probably won't be visiting all of them as there are close to 30 in Copenhagen, Denmark alone, but this Asia accomplishment is one we are proud of!

After spending a few hours enjoying some beer, not enjoying the rainbow shots Katie and Meg surprised us with, and playing cards, we decided it was time to check out a local night market.

真聖堂: Taoist Temple

Along the walk to the nigh market, we stumbled upon this tiny temple right in the middle of a neighborhood!

Ningxia Night Market:寧夏夜市

At the Ningxia Night Market, we were greeted by numerous lively food stalls selling all sorts of sweet and savory foods. We were in sensory overload with all of the sights and smells. We decided to grab some fried sweet potato balls, which honestly weren't very good; they were hollow, overly fried, and not as sweet as we'd have hoped.

After making our way down through the market a bit, we decided to get some salt and cumin-covered steak bites to share. Unfortunately, the steak was very fatty and not the best cut of meat, but the seasoning on the steak was quite good. Watching him cook it with a blow torch was the best part though!

After making our way through the entire market, it was time to head back to the hotel for the evening, but before we did, we made a pit stop at a nearby 7-Eleven. This 7-Eleven was the fanciest one we had ever been in, so much so that it even had it's own bar with beers on tap! Nothing beats a convenient store fresh pour!

Following another subway ride home, we made it back to our hotel to play a few more games of Hearts & Eucher before heading to bed.

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Taipei Bike Works: 維修/保養專門店/單車租借

Our Saturday morning began with a bike tour of downtown Taipei; we took the train over to Taipei Bike Works where we met up with our tour guide, Beatrice, a Taiwanese American who moved to Taipei seven years ago to learn Mandarin and connect with her cultural roots. In our tour group was an Australian man currently residing in Singapore and two Canadian Americans living in Spokane, Washington. The eight of us grabbed our bikes and started making our way around the city.

WWII Water Well: 大稻埕圓環防空蓄水池

Our first stop was just a few blocks away at an old WWII Water Well; Taiwan was a part of the Japanese Empire prior to and during WWII, meaning it was subject to Allied Fire Bombing Raids. This is one of the many large wells used to hold water during the war to help firefighting efforts following bombing runs.

Century Soy Milk King: 世紀豆漿大王

Our next stop was at Century Soy Milk King where we grabbed a traditional Taiwanese Breakfast of soy milk, turnip pancake, scrambled eggs with pickled vegetables, and fried dough sticks (similar to a doughnut, just unsweetened.) While none of it sounds particularly good, the food was surprisingly delicious and it was great to get a taste of authentic Taiwanese breakfast foods.

Wenchang Temple: 台北文昌宮

After breakfast, we walked down the street to visit Wenchang Temple, a shrine dedicated to the Taoist god of culture and literature. This is a hotspot for students in Taipei to make offerings during exam periods, similar to the Shinto temple of literature we visited in Kyoto last April.

Shuanglian Market: 雙連菜市場

After a couple of quick photos at the temple, it was time to walk back to our bikes to continue on with our tour. Our route took us through the Shuanglian Market, where we were able to see what a "day" market was like after having visited a night market yesterday evening.

Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall: 臺北市國父史蹟館(逸仙公園)

Once we jumped back on our bikes, we made our way to the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial House. Dr. Sun Yat-Sen is known for being the founder of the Chinese Nationalist Party and for overthrowing the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty in Chinese history.

Taipei East Gate (JingFu Gate): 臺北府城 東門 (景福門)

Our next stop was the Taipei East Gate which was built in 1884; the original city of Taipei was just 1 square kilometer, so the walls surrounding the city were approximately 5 km in circumference and had five gates.

Presidential Office Building: 中華民國總統府

On our way to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, we rode by the Presidential Office Building which has been the workplace of the Taiwanese President since 1950. The current president is a woman and on her second term, meaning she can't run for reelection any longer. Beatrice told us that the upcoming presidential election in 2024 will be really interesting given the current situation between Taiwan and China.

Liberty Square Arch: 自由廣場牌樓

The best way to describe Liberty Square is to compare it to the National Mall in DC. It's a major site for public gatherings in the national capital surrounded by a memorial for a prominent political leader, the National Theater, and the National Concert Hall.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall: 國立中正紀念堂

Around this time, it began to rain, so we weren't too upset to find cover at the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Chiang Kai-Shek was the leader of the Nationalist Party during the Communist Revolution in China; in 1949, the government of the Republic of China (Nationalist Party) fled to Taiwan while the Communist Party became the ruling authority of mainland China. Chiang Kai-Shek was the leader of the Republic of China until his death in 1975.

The opinions of him in Taiwan are torn because he enacted Martial Law and created an authoritarian dictatorship despite making promises of democracy. The Republic of China (Taiwan) didn't become a true democracy until the mid-1990s, but he is revered for his devotion to separate Taiwan from China's rule.

Happy Mother's Day in Mandarin

While visiting the Memorial Hall, which I think closely resembles the Lincoln Memorial, we got to watch the Changing of the Guard ceremony, similar to that at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. It was really cool to witness this military custom and compare it to our own and other changing of the guard ceremonies we've seen throughout our travels.

Here's a short clip of the ceremony:

On our way back to our bikes, you know Katie had to pause for a few pictures! By this point. we were just happy it had finished raining!

Bopiliao Historical Block: 剝皮寮歷史街區

The next stop on our tour was the Bo-Pi-Liao Historical Block, a well-preserved historical street from the Qing Imperial Dynasty. It reminded Katie and I of Higashiyama Ward in Kyoto in the sense that it feels like you're walking around in the late 1800s. This area is known as a popular Instagram spot for tourists and locals alike.

Longshan Temple: 艋舺龍山寺

Along our bike route we paused at Longshan Temple. At this point in the tour, we realized Taiwan's temples are a lot like Japanese Shrines. Once you have seen one, they all start to look very similar!

Yanping Riverside Park: 延平河濱公園

Our last stop on the bike tour was Yanping Riverside Park where we could take in the views of the Tamsui River which separates Taipei City from New Taipei City just west. The coolest part of this park was the flood walls which close off during typhoons. Beatrice informed us that the government will give a one-hour heads-up to citizens when they plan on closing the floodgates, so if you parked your car on the riverside, you don't have much time to go get it before the tides begin to rise!

八方雲集 台北華亭店: BaFang dumpling TPE HuaTing branch

After the bike tour, it was time for lunch! We made our way to BaFang Dumplings, one of the many dumpling shops our tour guide reccomended in the area, where we got curry-flavored pan-fried dumplings, cabbage & pork pan-fried dumplings, mini pork wontons in chili sauce, & pork soup dumplings. We agreed that the mini pork wontons in chili sauce were some of the best dumplings we had eaten on this trip!

Ximending: 西門町

After lunch, we headed to Ximending, Taipei's version of Shibuya Crossing (the world's busiest crosswalk located in Tokyo!) This is also known as Taipei's "gay district" because back before Taiwan was less LGBTQ-friendly, this was a safe area for the community. Now it's home to numerous stores, street performers, and food stalls (also, peep the picture of a man walking his pet pig below!)

Katie also captured a short stint of these street performers who were videoing their choreography! Who knows, we may have spotted the next BTS of Taiwan!

Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle: 阿宗麵線

While perusing through the stores, we found a long line of people waiting for food at Ay-Chung Flour-Rice Noodle. Due to the long line, we just assumed the food must've been good. As we got to the front of the line, we noticed there were only two choices: a small cup or a large cup of noodles. So we grabbed two small cups and tried it out. The only one impressed was Stego...the noodles tasted fishy and it was filled with jiggly pork fat, or what we thought was pork fat, but it definitely could've been squid for all we knew. Not really our thing.

Chance Cafe & Bar 無心戒酒互助會 - 成都分會

After walking around and looking through shops, we landed at Chance Bar where we enjoyed a few drinks, french fries and a game of Hearts. Much more our style compared to the noodles from earlier.

Taipei Tianhou Temple: 臺北天后宮

Again, another temple. Don't ask me why Katie keeps taking pictures of them. They are pretty but all look the same to me!

嗜鼎川味小吃館（酸辣粉）

For dinner, we wanted to try Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup, so we ordered two different types of soup from the vending machine outside a hoppin' spot. When we were choosing our spice level, we decide on "Small Spice" which was only level 2 out of 4 (the lowest level being "No Spice.") So in we went and when our food came out, we knew we screwed up because the spice burned our nose hairs.

After a few bites, Katie and Meg tapped out saying that it was so spicy, it took away from the flavor of the dish. Stego and I, both liking spicy foods, did our best to power through, but we both agreed it was some of the spiciest food we had ever eaten. We all agreed that they had to have screwed up our order because there's no way that was only "Small Spice;" I just knew this was going to be a problem later on when this meal made it through my bowels.

Snow King Ice Cream: 雪王冰淇淋

Having just consumed magma from the Sun's surface, I just knew I was going to need some dairy to try and counteract the spice. We found ourselves at Snow King Ice Cream where Katie enjoyed a hibiscus ice cream, Stego had basil, Meg had mango, and I had an oolong tea ice cream. The flavors were super unique and I was hopeful the dairy would help me in the long run.

I mean, where else in the world would you ever get Basil icecream and it actually taste good?! We can say, this ice cream shop was definitly worth the stop for all the deliious, unique flavors we tried!

Hao Kung Tao Chin Chi Yuan (Da'an): 好公道金雞園

After ice cream, the girls were still hungry because they hadn't eaten much after refusing the spicy beef noodle soup. We decided to train a little bit out of the way to try a Michelin-rated soup dumpling restaurant. Yes, this is the third time we've had soup dumplings in two days, and no, we were not tired of them at this point. After eating numerous orders of steamed pork soup dumplings and pork buns, we were finally full!

I also find it shocking that we have now ate at multiple Michelin- rated restaurants in Asia, and never paid Michelin-level prices for food. This entire meal was less than $30 for all four of us to eat our fill of dumplings and pork rolls. It doesn't get much better than that!

Antique Bar 1900

Before heading to another night market later in the evening, we made a pit stop at Antique Bar 1900, which had a really cool vibe. After taking turns on the typewriter and exploring the old book collections, we ordered our drinks and played more card games.

Stego and Meg tried the bar's specialty: Absinthe. They brought out this cool contraption that dripped water over a sugar cube to help sweeten and dilute the liquer. Katie and I tried both Meg and Stego's drinks, but neither of us were fans since we don't particularly like the flavor of licorice. The atmosphere was one of the coolest bars we have been to though!

Songshan Ciyou Temple: 松山慈祐宮

Following a great stop at the Antique Bar, we headed to the Raohe Night Market, which starts at the prominent Songshan Ciyou Temple.

Raohe Night Market: 饒河街觀光夜市

Before visiting the night market, Kaite and Meg found a TikTok saying we needed to try the Fuzhou black pepper bun. After waiting in line for our buns, and seeing how they were cooked on the side of a giant hot oil-drum-looking contraption, we decided to walk through a bit more of the market before eating them because they were scalding hot. After making it halfway through the market, we stood off to the side to enjoy our food. This was definitely one of the better things we had eaten on our trip so far.

After venturing through all of the food stalls and small shops selling knick-knacks, we finally made it through the half-mile-long night market. We then caught a bus back to our hotel and called it a night!

Sunday, May 14, 2023

STARBUCKS Songjiang Chang’an Shop: 星巴克 (松江長安門市)

Our morning started around 8:30 am when we ran across the street to Starbucks. Katie and I were able to find a Taiwan travel mug to add to our collection! We also didn't pass up on a cup of Joe to start our morning off right.

Yehliu Geopark: 野柳地質公園

Katie had coordinated a driver to take us to see numerous sites outside of Taipei for the day, so at 9:00 am, I received a WhatsApp message from our driver saying he had arrived. He greeted us outside and we jumped in his huge van to make the one-hour drive to Yehliu Geopark.

Around 10:15 we arrived at the Geopark, where our driver helped us purchase our tickets and told us the picturesque spots to hit. The Yehliu Geopark is also known as “Mushroom Beach” because of the cool rock formations along the water that look like mushrooms. There were a few of these mushrooms with names like Queen or Princess because they looked similar to Egyptian queens from the side. We didn’t get great pictures of these because the lines were incredibly long!

As we were walking back to the car, we ran across this gentleman playing a hacksaw like it was a violin! How cool!

Click Here to See the Saw Musician

We also noticed a lot of fossils as we walked around the stone outcroppings. Katie did her thing and snapped a few pictures as proof of all we saw!

This was a cool first stop of the day. It's crazy how nature makes these amazing creations!

Yinyang Sea: 陰陽海

Our next stop was Yinyang Sea. This little cove is known for its stark difference in color from the open ocean. We didn’t have the best vantage point for photos, but the small cove is a distinct brownish-gray color with a very blatant line where it meets the crystal clear blue open ocean. Apparently, the cove is this color due to all of the sediment runoff from the abandoned mining facility just up the mountain.

水湳洞選煉廠遺址

Just a few hundred feet from the sea lies a former smelter plant & mining facility with multiple tiers running along a hillside. It was eerie to see and the remaining buildings looked like something you would see in Chernobyl as it looked like it was just abandoned overnight.

Golden Waterfall: 黃金瀑布

After a short trip up the mountain, we stopped at the Golden Waterfall which also gets its name for the color from all of the sediment running down the mountain.

Jiufen Old Street: 九份老街

Following our journey to the top of a mountain, and after dealing with a bout of car sickness, we stopped at Jiufen Old Street. This street was beaming with small art shops, restaurants, and numerous stalls selling all sorts of knickknacks.

Jiufen Jie Jiao Traditional Diner: 九份街角傳統小吃

Our first stop was at a small brewery where Katie was able to find a strawberry cider and I tried an oolong tea ale; we also shared a small serving of pork tenderloin and rice!

After our small lunch, we kept trekking down the street. Along the way, we saw a store selling these small handheld ceramic flutes called ocarinas. Stego and Meg bought a couple since Stego recognized the instrument from a video game he played; it was super cool and quaint, especially since the store owner made and painted all of them by hand.

As we neared the end of the street, I noticed a store selling waffle cones with, what I thought, was filled with ice cream. I was so excited, I had to get one. To my disappointment, it was filled with whipped cream and covered in Oreo cookie crumbles; don’t get me wrong, it was still good, just not what I was expecting.

As. we headed back to the car, we spotted these red lanterns pointing out famous cities and our distance from them. Katie and I are proud to say we have visited all except London, Paris and hong Kong (we counted Jakarta since its the capitol of Indonesia and was just one island north of Bali!)

Shifen Waterfall (Yuetaoliao): 十分瀑布(月桃寮)

Our next stop was at Shifen Waterfall! Nothing too impressive, but it did remind Katie and I of Looking Glass Falls and camping in Pisgah National Forest with the Kimbles! After checking out the waterfall, we grabbed some Corona and limes for our walk back to the car. One thing about traveling with the Ballesters: we won't be thirsty!

We were also stoked to find a Taiwan pin that was fittingly soup dumplings! A great addition to our pin board once we move to Spain!

Shifen Old Street: 十分老街

The last stop of the day with our driver was definitely the highlight. We walked down a much shorter street only to be greeted by people writing on and sending lanterns into the sky! Meg, Stego, Katie, and I decided we wanted to partake! Each couple used a side to write about things that were important to us and our dreams for the future, while we used one side to just be funny and playful and then the last side was to wish all of our moms a Happy Mother’s Day (since it was Mother’s Day for us!)

We launched our lantern into the sky just minutes before the train came right through the middle of town! It was crazy that we were just standing on the tracks taking photos of our lantern; you could never have a train track running through a town like that in the States without some sort of barrier...but in Taiwan: no problem!

To say we enjoyed this activity was an understatement! Katie and I were happy to partake in the lantern festivities after missing out during our New Years Eve celebration in Chaing Mai a few months back!

Broccolibeer & Mayur Indian Kitchen restaurant & MIK-6 live hookah shisha bar: 馬友友印度餐廳酒吧+水煙館

As we got back into Taipei, we started to work up an appetite. We tried a few different spots around our hotel with little to no luck; apparently with the Buddha birthday celebration and Mother’s Day, it was difficult to get into any restaurants without a reservation. We ended up at this oddly named restaurant, Broccolibeer. This Korean-style restaurant served no broccoli and had an extremely limited beer menu, so I would like to file a formal complaint for false advertising.

We ended up sharing a plate of cheese fries, Korean-style pork ribs, and a pitcher of what we thought would be a delicious mixed drink, but ended up just being plain ol’ dragon fruit juice…So after that dud, and all of us still being hungry, we decided to make our way down the street to try out what the Taipei Indian food scene was like.

Just up the block, we found Mayur Indian Kitchen; Katie and I each got a butter chicken curry and a cheese naan. This was an even bigger letdown! Katie and I have been spoiled with amazing Indian food in Japan at two restaurants in Sasebo named Shiva & Puja. Shiva is located closer to Hario village, so we frequented it more often. We went there so regularly that we completed at least two of their rewards punch cards.

Anyways, back to our regularly scheduled programming; this Indian food was actually kind of trash. It was basically just a glorified grilled cheese and tomato soup. Made us think we’ll have to get Indian food one more time before we leave Japan in case the Indian food in Spain isn’t up to our standards.

Monday, May 15, 2023

K Hotels Taipei Chang-An: 柯達大飯店 台北長安旗艦店

The following morning came very early for Katie and I as we had to be at the airport two hours before our 6:30 am flight! We booked an Uber driver the night before to pick us up at 3:30 am!

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TPE): 臺灣桃園國際機場

We arrived at the airport at 4:15 am and waited in line for an hour to check into our flight. Apparently, Tiger Air was the only airline flying this early in the morning, because all of the other check-in desks were closed!

After checking in and getting through immigration, we found an airport lounge in the terminal to grab a quick bite to eat before heading to our gate.

Hario Housing Main Gate: ハリオハウジング正門（アメリカ海軍）

We landed around 9:30 am local time, quickly cleared customs and immigration, and made our way to the bus counter to buy tickets. We made it home around 1:00 pm after grabbing our car from Stego and Meg’s apartment, just in time for the housing office to come by and pack out our loaner furniture.

This being our last international trip in the Far East, I just want to reflect back on all of the amazing times Katie and I have had exploring Asia! It’s sad seeing this chapter of our lives come to a close, but I’m excited about the opportunities that lay ahead of us!

Thanks for being our travel companions and I hope you stick with us in the future as Katie and I explore new countries, this time back in the Western Hemisphere!

Yours,

Bryan