Taiwan - Part 2: Top 10 of Taipei

I figured it would be good to sort of do a Top of Taipei list.  There might be more than 10, but then I was there for 10 days so it all evens out right?  These aren't in order, but they are all fun things I would recommend.  I do not list the Chinese New Year's festivals because that was last post but any festival you can go to would be a good thing. 

Night Markets

The night markets are a fun atmosphere of people buzzing around selling everything from exotic underwear to cell phone hello kitty covers to fruit.  The fresh mangos and strawberries with sweet and condensed milk is really tasty.  If you have been to China however, they are not quite as shocking or unique.  The stinky tofu smell still permeates but there aren't as many unique body parts for sale.  That being said its still always a bit adventurous to eat at least one thing from a vendor!  And I still question why Asians, both male and female, like pink Hello Kitty.

Din Tai Fung

Pretty amazing that I'm actually talking about food that I like - it is a drastic departure from the duck feet, pigeon head and frog fallopian tubes I've had to down in the past in Asia.  On this trip I was blessed to eat "regular - American food" most of the time as I stayed with my cousin (thanks Erin).  Din Tai Fung is named one of the best restaurants in the world!  Yes, the world!  I really like dumplings or xiaolongbao and that's Din Tai Fung's specialty.  There is always a wait but it is just yummy.  All the Asian's were looking at us as we ate 4 or 5 dumplings each where most Asians eat 1 or 2 a piece.  At the same time I'm at least twice as big as any Asian so it all works out right?   While waiting you can also watch them making the dumplings.  I couldn't believe how fast they were.  I've made these sort of things before (thanks Akemi) and I am no where near as proficient!  This is definitely a must do.

Watching them make the dumplings - they were WAY fast!

Foot Massage

When my cousin, Jason, talked about foot massages I had envisioned some night market small backdoor sort of thing as he described such a torturous event.  Oh no, this involved going to a local spa in Taipei where you got to put on little robes and sit and watch TV while sipping on your beverage of choice while #26 (they won't give you their name) first gives you a shoulder massage for a few minutes and then a foot/calf massage.  I thought it was great...but not as great as the next cool thing to do:

Hair Shampoo

Ya, you heard me right.  Go to a saloon and get your hair shampooed.  Why we don't do this in the US I'll never know.  You first start with a 10 minute shoulder and head massage.  Then you go to get your hair washed.  In the basin is a soft pad for you to rest your head (hello, US - my neck is always craned when washing there and the edge of the sink is cold!)  The washing then goes for maybe 10-15 minutes.  My hair has never been so clean!  Then, another 10 minutes for conditioner.  These ladies fingers and hands are seriously strong - I would never want to get into a thumb war with any of them.  Finally, you get your hair blown dry and styled.  This was a nice way to relax!

The soft pad your head rests on.

Calla Lily Field

I was fortunate enough to be in Taiwan when the calla lily fields were in bloom, along with many of the plum and cherry trees which dotted the mountain sides.  The intense green on the hillsides with dotted cherry and plum blossoms was spectacular.  Add in a huge field of white calla lily and it created a great photo opportunity.  It was also neat to see the workers harvesting and working in the fields.  You can get a huge bunch for only 100 NT (or about 3$ US) at nearby stands. 

 

She's short - and they are tall!

Amazing Race Confucius Temple

There are many temples throughout Taipei and each have their unique designs and alters.  This one has special meaning for me only because I'm an Amazing Race fanatic and get a lot of my trip ideas from Amazing Race.  This temple was in the Amazing Race (remember when they had to memorize the prayer and repeat it verbatim into the telephone?).  It was fun to be there and replay that episode in my head.  Across the street is another temple worth seeing as well. 

Replaying the Amazing Race

Confucius Temple

Fisherman's Wharf

Fisherman's Wharf is a fun area to explore as part of a day trip to Danshui.  Next to the wharf you can head to the beach.  they actually have a decent beach with easy access.  There were a ton of dead blowfish on the day we went which was interesting.

The wharf itself is accessed after a walk across Lover's Bridge.  I'm not sure why they call it that but they sure play it up.  The bridge has a nice sweeping arch with a pair of tweezers over it!  There are a few restaurants along the backside.

Bridge - see the tweezers?

Danshui has a fun old street which again contains a market with hello kitty cell phone covers and a lot of people (we were there on a holiday).  Its fun.

The many people!

Wulai Falls

There are lots of falls you can hike too.  These falls are just outside of town and you can drive to them (careful with parking) or easily walk along the rail line to them.  In town there is a museum about the aboriginal people who live in that area  - the Atayal tribe people - which was very interesting (who doesn't find cannibalism at least a bit interesting) and free to boot!  Their background was very reminiscent of the New Zealand Maori.

Local Hot Springs

The hot springs was a real treat.  These weren't just go pay 200NT for a warm pool.  Oh, no, these were the hidden local hot springs where you had to go through a few fences (with warning signs) and fjord a raging river (um, apparently there 'used to be' a bridge??) before finding the hidden oasis by the waterfall.  There are pools of varying heat which really equates to pools for the "real" locals which are hot and the cool pools for the crackers or white folk.  Locals will bring fixings for tea and lunch and I thought I saw one guy camping out even.  You can also put the mud from the bottom of the pools on your skin and give yourself a facial (my skin felt great for several days thereafter) and you can also do polar plunges in the nearby river. 



Lunchtime for the locals - no, we aren't related

No, I'm not related to this person either but what a stylish hat!

Jiufen

This a beautiful little city with an old market street on a hill overlooking the ocean.  There are lot of fun tourist things to buy and try.  I ate a tortilla with peanut brittle and ice cream (for lack of other descriptive words) which was actually pretty good.   It was a warm day so maybe the coolness of it was better than the taste. 

One of the neater things however was that my favorite temple was here.  Sadly, I don't even know the name of it but just outside of town on the hill (you can't miss it) is a great big temple.  The initial floor and entry way are pretty barren and quite ordinary but as you go up each flight of stairs things become more ornate and interesting.  One can look straight out at the rooftop and see the intricately colored statues within a few feet.  The stone carvings in the walls and columns were amazing and definitely worth some studying in detail. 

My favorite temple near Jiufen

Chinese Culture University Lookout

This was just a few minutes from where my cousin lived so it was fun to quickly pop over to this location to checkout the view of the valley.  You'll notice that Taipei 101 is not on my list. It isn't because it wasn't cool but rather the fact that it was hazy the whole time I was there so I never went to the top.  Erin and I stopped one last time to try to see the whole valley.  What we didn't expect was that the storm which was coming was much worse on the top of the hill.  We literally had to hold onto each other as we were blown down the mountain to the viewpoint.  Trying to walk back up was even harder - I actually lifted off the ground for a bit I think!  It didn't help that we were laughing hard.  I'm just glad that I didn't see one of the sausage vendors with their sausages hanging from the racks in the open air - they would have been flying everywhere!

Remember to check out the latest Taiwan Pictures