7 to 17 April, 2019 - Taipei, Jiufen, Hualien, Taroko, Tainan - (Taiwan)
There was not a particular call or reason for us to choose Taiwan for my 50th birthday. It seemed like a good 2 week destination, we could get here using frequent flyer points, and we have not been here before. Case closed.
Our first few days were spent in relative luxury. We wanted to be somewhere a bit special, and eat somewhere fancy, for the actual day. Being somewhere special was planned in advance, and we had a beautiful room with all the bells and whistles, boasting many more stars than we are used to seeing out our accommodations. Upon the realisation that it was my birthday, the delightful lady at the front desk exclaimed "We've got waffles!" The hotel presented me with said plate of waffles and fruit, and overall, we were made to feel like VIPs.
Dinner was a bit more last minute, in organisation. I stumbled across a recommendation for a restaurant on the 85th floor of Taiwan's 101 building, once the tallest building in the world. I contacted Shin Yeh dining in the morning, and we ate there that evening. It was a top notch day to celebrate 50 years.
The View from our Table
50th birthday dinner on the 85th floor of Taipei's 101 building.
Jo and an Appetizer Plate
Various delicacies to start the meal, Shin Yeh 101.
Double-boiled Abalone, Pork Spare Rib, and Wolfberry
The hot appetizer for my 50th. There were 7 courses, some which had 3 or 4 different items. All in all, I think we had about 15 or so items to dine on. A bottle of red, and a couple of glasses of not-at-all-bad Japanese sparkling wine.
Fried Sea Bass with Sweet and Sour Sauce Adorned with Gold Foil
Fried fish - sounds like it will be the most boring of the items for dinner. Nah-ah. It was incredibly done, magnificently flavoured, and probably felt the most decadent because of the addition of gold.
101 Building Taipei
Where we ate dinner the previous evening. For some years, this was the tallest building in the world.
The first days were in Taipei. Some temples and other popular sights were strung together on a long-ish walk. The changing of the guard was a lot more interesting than we had anticipated - we almost gave it a miss when the timing was a bit out. Glad we didn't.
Temple Roof in Taipei
Qingshan Temple.
Gateway
Main approach to the Chian Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Changing of the Guard
During the changing of the guard inside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Some pomp, lots of ceremony, and more choreography than you would expect from the average soldier.
Reflection of the Hall Interior
I suspect these soldiers lose merit points if their helmets are not shiny enough.
Real immersion in to Taiwan took place on the 2nd day. Firstly, the building swayed a bit while we were sitting up in bed in the morning. It was an earth tremor, which is quite common in Taiwan, apparently. And our second immersion moment was partaking of bubble tea. Milk tea with gelatinous balls. There seem to be quite a number of ways to have this, but we soon found that our preference strays even more from the basic bubble tea - we are kind-of hooked on bubble ice coffee...
One of Jo's students mentioned that Jiufen, east of Taipei, was her favourite place in Taiwan. We would probably have found it and gone in any case, but her recommendation really put it on our radar. Although, my greatest draw, I'm sure, was not hers. While Jiufen itself sounded worth a visit, and the nearby gold museum had a bar of gold I wanted to feel, I was intrigued by the remains of the 13 levels. This post-apocalyptic scene is an abandoned copper smelting plant, perched on a steep slope, stepping down to the sea. The dystopian landscape is quite photogenic.
We had not even looked for public transport options to get from Jiufen to the waterfall and ruins. We walked down, and then discovered that buses might have been an option. Facing a stiff uphill hike, we considered taking a bus back up, but with no timetable and little indication of frequency, we decided to do the right thing and leg ourselves back up. I think we got 80% of the way before the heavens opened. We arrived at the top, at the gold museum, looking like a pair of drowned rats. "You might like to buy an umbrella", a helpful person prompted.
Jiufen itself has some picturesque spots, a helping of atmosphere, and lots of food that is generally consumed in small bits and pieces. It is, unfortunately, touristy. To take a breath and gather our thoughts, we took a step out of the stream of people in the old street, to the side. In front of a shop selling tea and cakes, Jo was standing on the first stair, very wide stairs I might add, the full width of the shop. An assistant came out and smiled. "Can I help you?" she enquired. Jo replied, "Oh, no thank you, maybe something later." "Oh, could you please move on, then" came the very rude response - I think she even gestured in a shoo-ing kind of way.
We combined Jiufen with nearby Houtong, making a name for itself as Taiwan's cat village. We couldn't be this close and not stop by.
Remains of the 13 Levels
Left behind after copper smelting stopped. Near Jiufen, Taiwan.
220.3 kg of Gold
Reputedly the largest bar of gold in the world.
Jiufen
The very photographed Jiufen Teahouse.
Old Street, Jiufen
Early in the Old Street of Jiufen, before the hordes flow in.
A Resident of Taiwan's Cat Village, Houtong
In recent years, the village of Houtong has reinvented itself somewhat. It has many spoilt cats, that are generally not owned by anyone but the village as a whole. As one sign said, this is where cats rule. There is all manner of cat themed merchandise available, and cat artwork. A cute stop in the northern part of Taiwan.
On the east coast, the Taroko National Park is one of the most visited places in Taiwan, after Taipei. Well marked trails and regular public transport make it easy to visit and easy to appreciate. There are many tour buses, so some thought to timing is useful.
Lunch Break
Swallow Grotto
Looking in to Swallow Grotto, part of Taroko Gorge.
Beware of Rockfalls
I would have thought that only 2, or maybe 3, pictograms would be needed to say "Beware of Rockfalls". 18? Are they saying "Beware of Rockfalls" in a very convoluted way?
High Above Lüshui
Looking down from the Lüshui-Wenshan Trail.
Beginning of the Baiyang Trail
The trail to the Baiyang waterfall passes through 7 or 8 tunnels. The first one is the longest, at almost 400 metres.
The River Below
Taroko National Park, along the Baiyang trail.
Suspension Bridge Near Baiyang Waterfall
Water Curtain Cave
In the water curtain cave, we did, predictably, encounter a curtain of water. It gushes in through a fissure in the tunnel ceiling, like a ruptured pipe.
Back to Taipei, then high speed rail Tainan.
Hayashi Department Store
Inside the beautifully restored Art Deco department store, Hayashi, in Tainan.
Tainan Street Food
Wonderful cabbage buns. When I first walked past, there were a dozen or so people queued and hot buns piled up. I thought, "this looks like something we should try". When I walked past again, 5 minutes later, there was no food, but lots of people milling - they were waiting for the next round. When we finally decided it was time to try, we came back to the corner. Our timing was great - a round of buns was due to come out, and the 15 or so people waiting were not going to take them all. We were allocated 2, given a number, and we only had a short wait. Yes, we could see why people queued for these.
South Gate
One of Tainan's old gates.
Taiwan High Speed Rail
Our transport from Tainan to Taipei.
And finally, back to Taipei. A couple of days to just take things at a relaxed pace before leaving Taiwan.
Wish we had Found This Place Sooner
Mala Hot Pot. Cash only. All you can eat. Top ingredients just flowed. Seafood including scallops, 2 types of squid, oysters, clams, 2 types of prawns, mussels. High quality thin slices of amazing meats including lamb, beef, bacon, pork. We added a bit of balance with mushrooms (6 types), corn, pumpkin, and a couple of other vegetables. We had a few dumplings and meat balls. We didn't have to resort to anything unidentifiable or anything offal. There was a table of dipping ingredients, and I made my own special mix which I was very proud of. Spring onions, chillies, garlic, Chinese soy sauce, sesame oil, and ground peanuts. We skipped the soup and curry, but had a few different cakes for dessert, and multiple scoops from the free flowing Häagen-Dazs.
I lost track of the number of glasses of red I drank, so lucky we didn't have to go far. The best thing about this place - it's in the basement of the building where our hotel is. Jo made me walk back up to the 7th floor.
Bronze Pouring Vessel
National Palace Museum, Taipei. A bronze water vessel with animal handle and human figure feet. From around 1000-1200 years ago.
Bao'an Temple
This temple was a calming and relaxing place to visit. Beautifully presented, and nicely laid out. Every few minutes, a plane would fly overhead, bound for nearby Songshan International Airport.
Millenium Hot Springs
The Millenium Hot Springs are the public sprints of Xinbeitou. Entry is around 2 dollars Australian, and gives you anywhere up to 2 hours in the springs (it closes multiple times during the day for a half hour for cleaning). They are a good balance between rustic and developed. Not so basic that you have mud squealching as you walk around, but no so much concrete that you feel like you're at the Keilor (or Strathmore) Baths.
We pretty much stuck to the cooler pool - 35-40 degrees. I ventured for a very small time in the hottest (42-45) but I didn't find it at all pleasant. The day was a bit cooler, and we had a few moments of very light drizzle. This actually made the day perfect. Much hotter, and I think our time in the baths would have dropped to less than 30 minutes. We spent a bit over an hour, there, and although there were a handful of foreigners, it felt basically like a locals experience.
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