I took a cheap flight from Manila to Taipei. The actual flight was only $11 (!!!!!), but the fees and taxes were high. The total flight cost was around $60 I think, but it meant that I arrived at 2:00 AM. I took a taxi (that costs half as much as my flight) for the long drive into Taipei. The taxi driver called the tourist helpline for translation purposes, which worked quite well. I’d been riding in old beat up vehicles, but this taxi was a brand new Ford Fusion decked out with all kinds of features. I stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton, and by the time I got to sleep it was around 4:00 AM. I decided to take a day off and slept through the next day. From the hotel, I caught up on real life and some blog writing as well. Late afternoon I walked around the area and tried to get a SIM card (which proved expensive and not worth it). I got a lot of looks walking around because there were no tourists in the area, and very little English was spoken (at least with my encounters). It sucked I didn’t have a SIM card because I couldn’t use Google Translate either, but I find a smile generally (not always) works. I was excited to come to Taiwan because my husband’s cousin (and now I consider him my cousin) is from Keelung City.

I woke up early the next day and walked a lot. I took a taxi to Taipei Main Station, a giant hub for the old school rail, metro, and high-speed rail. A half a million people go through the station daily. I walked around the city and saw Longshan Temple, National Concert Hall, National Theater, National Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, Presidential Office, and The Red House. I had a lunch of dumplings and a giant glass of honey tea. Taiwan is a prime-tea growing area, and they have so many different kinds and flavors. I believe bubble tea was also invented here. Taiwan also has over 100 hot springs, but I didn’t get a chance to see them.

I took a taxi to Taipei 101. This skyscraper was the tallest building in the world from 2004 to 2010. From there, I headed to the National Palace Museum which has just under 700,000 pieces of ancient Chinese artifacts. It was a nice day, and I enjoyed most everything I saw. The city seemed pleasant, not too much traffic (especially after Manila), and everything seemed clean. That night I went to Shillin Night Market and had some very tasty treats.

During my time in Taiwan, I wanted to get outside of Taipei, so I headed southeast. Per some recommendations from friends and Lonely Planet, I booked a day trip to Taroko National Park/Taroko Gorge (Taroko = Beautiful, Magnificent in Truku). The area has an abundant supply of marble-walled gorges in the area which gives the nickname “The Marble Gorge”. Jade is also found here as well. We took a short flight from Sungshan Airport to Hualien. The ride gave me a chance to see some of the country. We mostly flew over green mountains and tropical forests. Within the day, we saw Taroko Gorge Gateway, Eternal Spring Shrine, Swallow Grotto, Tunnel of Nine Turns, Tienhsiang, Marble Factory, Chihsingtan Beach, and Hualien Stone Sculptural Park. The gorge in itself was spectacular, and it was so large it made me feel very small. Notice in some of the pictures how small the people look, so that you have proper perspective. We took the 3 hour rail back to Taipei, and I waved to Keelung City as we passed. I enjoyed my time in Taiwan, and I am glad I made the stop.