December 2008 Trip: Day 7- Center for Traditional Arts → Taipei

On day 7, we visited the Center for Traditional Arts- the Center is only about 5-10 minutes ride from the downtown area, and personally I would recommend that you take the bus if you don’t have a car. We took a taxi as we had just missed the bus, but they charged a fixed rate, and based on the time it took to get there, it didn’t seem worth it. Although the bus takes longer to get there, if you are not in hurry, you can save some money and have more time to enjoy the scenery :).

The whole center is designed in a traditional Taiwanese style of architecture, and is built entirely of brick. There were a lot of exhibitions and performances at the Center, and there were many goods (mostly made by local artisans) for sale in each of the little artistic shops (selling everything from handmade soap to ceramics). In the glassmaking shop, I bought a few little souvenirs for friends back in Vancouver. I should mention that a few little kids on a fieldtrip ran up to me and practiced saying hello in English, too!

For lunch, Jason and I headed to the food court. Jason and I thought the food there was great; there were many different local food options, and for a reasonable price, we had more than we could eat (and knowing us, that’s saying something!). All the food was delicious, but I particularly liked the deep fried lean meat, a specialty of the area.

All in all, if you go to Luodong, the Center for Traditional Arts is definitely somewhere you should visit!

In the evening, we headed back to our hotel to get our bags before taking the bus to our final destination, Taipei. Interestingly, I found out that the hotel manager could speak Mandarin and French. French is my second language, so he and I were able to have a conversation in our non-native language. It was so exciting!

December 2008 Trip: Day 8- Taipei 101 + Shin-Yi Planning Area (信義商圈)

The first attraction that we headed to in Taipei was the famous Taipei 101 tower. I was a little uneasy at first to take an elevator all the way to the top, but it went quickly and we were there before we knew it (I should mention that it is the fastest elevator in the world). We saw a wonderful view of Taipei from the observatory on the 88th floor. We also saw the heaviest ball on Earth that helps stabilize Taipei 101 so it can better resist wind and earthquakes. There were shops at the top of the tower, and I bought a Taiwanese coral necklace for my mom. The mall inside Taipei 101 has a lot of luxury stores where you can shop and purchase famous brand-name clothing, but for us, it was good enough just to look! We had lunch in the tower’s food court, and chose to have Korean food for a change. I also insisted that we buy some pastries from the French style bakery :)

Yummy~~~

Right outside of Taipei city hall there was a parade featuring different mascots, statues, costumes and performances. The parade was entertaining, although I am still not sure why it was held.

After the parade finished, we went to Eslite (誠品)Bookstore (which resembled a department store in and of itself) in the Shin-Yi Planning Area. There were not only books, but also contemporary arts and crafts and stationery. There were probably 4 levels where you could find books in any category and in many different languages. Jason bought me a Taiwanese cuisine cooking book, written both in Chinese and English, with the agreement that I would try and cook him something from it (such as my favorite rice noodles). I still have to honor my side of the agreement…!

December 2008 Trip: Day 9 – Tamsui (淡水)

Another famous tourist attraction in Taipei is Tamsui, and there were tons of people there when we visited it. Everywhere you go in Taipei, you find street vendors, and Tamsui was no different! We had BBQ squid, squid sausage, and Tamsui’s famous fish ball soup and rice noodles. We walked along Tamsui’s harbor and discovered a popular Turkish-run meat and ice cream shop, much to my surprise.

Jason's favorite- BBQ squid

After exploring Tamsui, we took the bus to the fishermen’s market. At the market, there is a “Valentine bridge” to walk across, which is lit up beautifully. Every couple that comes to Taipei ought to visit it!

December 2008 Trip: Day 10- Taipei Zoo → Taichung

On Day 10, we visited Taipei Zoo with a friend of Jason’s who also studies in Vancouver. We saw many animals, including adorable Taiwanese monkeys and baby chimps having piggyback rides on their parents. However, it was sad to see that some larger animals only had small spaces to live in; some seemed to unnaturally repeat movements over and over again, and it was very depressing.

We bought lunch in the zoo from a concession stand (I had BBQ pork on rice, which was very good). We finished exploring the zoo, and because we missed the last shuttle bus back to the entrance, we had quite a long walk to the exit. Jason, his friend and I headed back downtown and had dinner at a Japanese restaurant before taking the train back to Taichung where we spent the rest of our trip staying with his parents. It was hard to believe that our 10 day trip had come to an end! Time to go home :(

Overall impressions of the trip

Jason and I had an amazing trip. We experienced many different types of scenery, different modes of transportation, different types of food, country life and city life. Everywhere we went, we had a good time; we had delicious food, the people were friendly, and we always had something to do. Now that I have been all over Taiwan and have also met Jason’s relatives, I feel like I understand Jason better. Although Taiwan is very different from Vancouver, I also learned that in many ways, it is much the same. I am looking forward to going back to Taiwan and exploring more of what it has to offer. Of course, I am especially looking forward to the food!