Country #46: Taiwan

I am in Taiwan.

I just spent the holiday weekend (it's Labor day in China) walking through the streets of Taiwan, but mostly thinking I was in Korea. That's because I've been listening to an audiobook called The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defectors Story. It's fitting since the North and South Korean leaders just had their historic summit, but it's confusing because of that 'I keep thinking I'm in Korea' thing. I was walking the streets of Seoul just a couple of weeks ago, but I. am. in. Taiwan. now.That is what I had to keep telling my self. It was a bit disorientating.

Taipei.

Taipei is filled with Chinese people, but it feels very different from China. It has a smaller population than I though. It has less than 3 million residents. Xiamen is a small city in China, with nearly 4 million. Taipei has a great public transportation system and an unbelievable amount of high quality Western restaurants. The people seem to be open and friendly, yet quiet and orderly.

Similarities.

Xiamen and Taipei are 220 miles apart, but both use Mandarin and I found the Mandarin spoken in Taiwan to be very clear and easy to understand. I should include, so you don't misunderstand me, that though I can understand lots of words I can rarely comprehend complete sentences nor form my own comprehensible sentences. My kind tutor would say she disagrees, but my language acquisition is slow and my pronunciation is horrible. Still, it's nice to be in a place that is so foreign, but still uses the language I'm studying. Also, both locations are experiencing recent bad air quality and they share the same climate. Both are hot and humid right now, and currently at 9 pm, both cities have a temperature of 79 degrees Fahrenheit.

Follow the Plan.

Blame it on weather or on feeling slightly under the weather, but I didn't do most of the things I planned. To be honest, I went to Taiwan without a plan, but when I arrived I made one. Upon arrival, I had decided to take 2 day trips, one to see Taroko gorge, in the South, and another to go to Yangming mountain and Yehliu geopark, but then changed my mind at the last minute. I'll need to go back to do those things another time. As well, I'll need to check out the view from Taipei 101 another time. I went to where you buy tickets for the viewing deck, but I decided I just didn't care enough to wait in line. So what did I do? Mainly I used public transportation and walked around the city. I shopped a little and visited different cafes.

So I got this from 7-11. 
Twice. Korean bibimbap. 
Now that I think about it, 
maybe this added to my disorientated feeling.

Nutella and banana panini.
It came with crushed nuts, too. Really good.

My only Taiwanese food. Beef noodles.
Oddly, I had the choice of Australian or American beef. 

The Aussie Burger.
It was really good, even though it came
with pineapple, beets and that truly over-easy egg. 

I did go to the National Palace Museum and Creative Park. I sought out a small international church, connected to Hillsong church, on Sunday morning. I also went to Xiangshan park, to the foot of Elephant hill, but I decided to not climb it since I wasn't dressed for the weather or for hiking. The promised city view with Taipei 101, wouldn't have been good with the poor the air quality anyway.

The only photo I took in the museum.
I liked these paintings, but I wasn't there very long.

Creative park. They are suppose to have an upside down house I wanted to see, but I didn't find it. Creative park is not a park. It's actually a group of expensive gift shops and cafes. 

I saw several small parades as I wandered around the city.

I'm not sure why, but I definitely liked Taipei more than Hong Kong. I'm in the minority when I admit I'm not HK's biggest fan. Next time I go to Taiwan, I will search out more of its natural beauty, but far as big cities go Taipei is a good one!