First Thing's First - Taiwan

Chicken pie, hot springs, pearl tea, Mandarin, green, and bustling. These are some of the things that come to mind thinking about Taiwan. Before heading to India, I decided to take a small detour in Taiwan for about six days. I had never been there before, but had heard lots of great things and figured this was as good as time as any to make a quick stop in Taipei. Of course, many think of Taiwan as a mix between the urban centers of China and Hong Kong, but Taiwan is really different from any of those larger cities.

After bathing in my own sweat and getting a ride from a random person I met asking for directions, I made my way into a nice little hostel in Taipei. I spent quite some time in Taipei wandering around, and made the visit to our office in Taipei 101 (arguably the tallest inhabited building in the world to date). Other stops in the city included the Shilin night market, in all its splendor. We're talking lanes and alleys filled with different shops, from puppy and pet stalls to carnival-like games, ear candle stations, and everything in between. Thanks to a very modern (and super cheap) metro system, I was able to cover a lot of ground and get into some very interesting neighborhoods. Ximen, a modern commercial neighborhood similar to Mong Kok in Hong Kong, was one of my favorites. Just the sheer buzz and total commercialism in the place made for lots to do, and of course eat.

I knew that I wanted to relax and get some time to clear my mind before heading to India, so I set out on a little journey southward to Tainan, the oldest city in Taiwan. A great pedestrian city, but also a great jumping off point to some great places including the Southern Island Highway, and one of Taiwan's most scenic and quiet hot springs. It's a long story, but getting to that hot springs ended up being close to impossible so I took in the city and made my way back to Taipei the next evening.

I managed to be center stage at the Beitou hot springs, which are accessible by the metro system in Taipei, by being yelled at over a loud speaker in front of about 100 people. Apparently there are some very strict rules about using hot springs, such as no wading - it's either completely in down to your chest or completely out. After realizing that all eyes were on me, I put two and two together and got out of the pool. I also didn't realize that the seven or so pools were organized based on temperature (the highest one on the hill was closest to the source and as a result the hottest and least crowded, so foolishly I tried to enter this one first and cried like a little baby).

I was able to use this knowledge heading to Jiaosi the next day, which is a beautiful two-hour train ride from Taipei on the east side of the island. We're talking some great hot springs here, that supposedly had just been visited by Taiwan's highest and most important political figures. I spent several hours in the public hot springs, probably the best $2 I spent in Taiwan. It was great...so relaxing, and I even found a hotel for the night that pulled their water from the hot spring as well.

Taiwan is an amazing mix of urban jungle and lush green countryside with something always going on. Floating in for a few days and seeing a lot of the comforts I'm used to (aka the Patagonia store in downtown Taipei), is something that I'll hopefully be able to grow on in the near future. I also realized that I really need to sit down some day and learn some more Mandarin. Sometimes I feel like a chicken with my head chopped off.

Here's a link to my photos of Taiwan in Google Photos/Picasa Web Albums (also links from slide show below).