Time in Taiwan is almost up!

Nimen hao!!

Currently I am in my dorm room and today is my last day in Taipei!

I have seen quite a lot of Taipei as I decided to stay here because I didn’t feel like moving around too much with all my luggage. The weather here is too humid and hot for that… I feel like taking a shower after 30 seconds of walking and that’s not even a joke!

I discovered that Taiwan was a great place for me to start my Asia trip! A lot of the signs are in English and quite some locals are able to speak English. Whenever people don’t speak English I will just try to tell them what I am after with the rusty Mandarin that I speak. Good thing the Taiwanese are so patient. However, I am somewhat surprised that the tourists who come here are mainly Asian.

Taipei feels very safe, even late at night. The people here are so kind… They are friendly and really make an effort to help you whether they can speak English or not. I feel some of them are very interested in my cultural background and my home country and love to have chat.

I stayed at a hostel near Taipei main station for the first 4 days. Most of the guests were Asian. They weren’t very social towards someone who didn’t speak their own language. For example: Koreans would stick with Koreans and the Chinese would just hang out with the Chinese… but fortunately, I met two very nice girls whom I’ve had with both of them, so lovely. Eating at night markets in Taipei is so much better when you are together because you get to try more different things and of course meeting new people is always good!

The second place had a mixture of Western and Asian travelers. There was a laid back vibe going on :). It was a nice group of random travelers (mostly solo travelers like me) who had met each other during the passed few days. I hung out with the group for two nights and it was so much fun.

I am starting to get used to my freedom here and the random encounters with people from all over the world. It is so unusual for me to have dinner/lunch with different people, then go our seperate ways. With most of them, no contact details were exchanged just a simple goodbye and some well wishes to one another. Everything goes, just enjoy each other’s company for a while, have a good time and move on.

I will tell you about a few things I did here:
• I went shrimping: a very typical Taiwanese activity. The shrimp pools are open 24 hours a day and it is simple: You go to the place, get a rod and sit there until you have had enough of it. When you have had your fun, you hand in the rod and settle the bill (pay for the time you used the rod). Then comes the best part, you get to prepare your own shrimps and order some additional dishes if you wish!
• Long Shan temple: When I got out of the metro station it felt like I stepped back in time. The vibe there was so different, it looked as if time had stopped a while ago, no modern buildings, food stalls every where and then there was Longshan temple. The smell of incense, all the colorful sculptures and the surrounding were all part of this splendid happening.
• Night markets: Aaah… of course, we should not forget what Taiwan is famous for! I visited 3 different night markets and I love them! So many different vendors whipping up snacks… Because of the small size you can try multiple things :). There are also a lot of stalls and little shops with clothes. Anyone who knows me that I have an undying love for both of them! <3
• Climbing the Elephant mountain: A short but very intensive hike or should I say climb because it was nothing but 20 minutes of stairs, took me to a stunning, bright and shiny night view of the city!
• Wisteria Tea House: I love tea houses, I visited to one in Maokong before but this one is also noteworthy because the lady took her time to teach us about how to prepare the teas we (me and a girl I met at the hostel) ordered and what we should pay attention to. It is not just pouring hot water in a tea pot. With every tea there came a different story and a different way of preparing it. It was so pleasant to see, smell and taste it!
• Museums: Visited two museums during my visit. It was interesting to get to know more about the history and culture but honestly, the countless number of tour groups from China kinda ruined it for me. They were loud and probably blind because they kept bumping into me while I was admiring some items… Obnoxiuous people in big groups, no thanks! The funny thing is that there were people in the museum standing with a sign saying “Do not speak loudly”, that didn’t really help!
• Went to a karaoke bar, I am in Asia and I am Asian, I don’t think I need to explain myself ;)

Ok I think I covered quite some of things I did and it is time form my last night market fix!

If I were to think back of Taipei I would think of: Night markets, tea houses and racing scooters. They are all over the place. When I cross, it's not the cars I worry about, it's the reckless scooter drivers!

Next time I will write to you from…. Thailand. I am very excited about going to Thailand, four days of Bangkok and then off to Koh Pangan for a slow paced life on the beach for 2 months. Time to really unwind and focus on yoga :)!

Hope you are doing well!

Love,
Angela