DID: Up and out and away to Taipei. This is one place that never in my life did I ever imagine I’d be (and frankly could not identify on a map prior to this trip). With a very healthy percentage of stuff in my house bearing the label ‘made in Taiwan’, wonder how much evidence we’ll see of the industrial machine.
Slight issue at airport security – they nabbed the small bottle of soy sauce from my purse. Guess liquids are a no-no here too.
Arrived late afternoon. From the air the city setting is gorgeous, spreading its fingers through a series of valleys and foothills of deep green mountains. Black sand beaches on the South China Sea within 40 minutes by train.
Taxis are luxurious compared to China – clean, spacious, new, slightly more expensive. Room at B&B not ready, so wandered the neighborhood in search of lunch and a playground. Instead discovered the piece of Asia I’ve been expecting all along - steamy weather, pungent smells (some good, some not), broken sidewalks (if there at all), motorcycles zipping between crazy traffic, lots of face masks and umbrellas. Also a piece I wasn’t expecting – very friendly people who speak English really well. Anytime Jason and I stopped to check the map, someone would inevitably come up to us and ask if we could use some help. Beautiful on the outside as well as in, they seem to have blended the best features of the Japanese (delicate) and Chinese (roundness of the face/eyes).
As we were walking, a guy on a vespa pulled over and ran up to Jason to ask him how long we were going to be in Taipei. Turns out he was some sort of modeling agent and was interested in representing GnR – gave us his card for the next time we’re in town. Next trip…funded.
Back to the hotel to settle in the room and arm ourselves with a better map. Headed to Chiang Kai Shek Memorial park, because it looked like the largest green space on the map. Had trouble communicating this to the taxi driver, but fortunately he did recognize the Din Tai Fung restaurant (soup dumpling mecca) which was just down the street. Didn’t eat there but did stop for a few photos in front of the big dumplings. Big queue out the door – wonder if it’s even possible that the original location could be better than Shanghai or Sydney.
Wandered around the park – no playground but loads of room to run around and various curbs and other structures to balance on/jump off of. Was also a nice place to catch the sunset – and a mix of old and new with the traditional buildings on the park and Taipei 101 towering in the background.
A walk around the neighborhood just outside the walls of the park seemed to put us in the wedding dress district. We seem to frequently find ourselves in wedding dress districts no matter where we go. Maybe people like to combine visits to historic sites with shopping for dresses? I don’t know. But I can definitely report that none of the designers in Asia are even remotely trying to emulate Kate Middleton’s style. Nor have I seen any kind of kimono-style gowns. Lots of ruffles, lots of sequins, big full skirts, strapless, and usually some color.
ATE: Breakfast – forgot to put out the breakfast order again, oops. Pastries from nearby bakery not so good (surprising considering we are in the French district!) but vegetable buns from the dumpling shop were excellent. Lunch – tiny crowded soup shop near hotel in Taipei. Soup with dumplings and beef-y rice. All pretty good, if a bit greasy. Dinner – one of two restaurants in the wedding dress district. They were next door to each other, one was filled with the pre-newlyweds and their friends, the other was filled with the moms and aunties. We went with the younger crowd. Menu was completely in Chinese and no pictures. Owner spoke English though and was happy to recommend a few dishes. One was a local specialty called ‘green tea egg’ – egg that is hardboiled in green tea and then stir-fried in a very spicy sauce. Yum. Also an omelet with leek, green onion, shrimp and chicken, fried rice with the same, and chicken noodle soup. All very tasty.
Post-prandial dumplings (or “dumpins” as Rhys says) at small street vendor (looked too good to pass up). Only meant to eat one but managed to stuff in two or three!
SLEPT: Mudon House in the Datong district of Taipei. Very charming B&B in a crazy neighborhood. A paradise of street food, auto mechanics and elementary schools (there are three within a five minute walk). Room is approximately the same size as our bathroom in Shanghai, but it’s really cute and the proprietors could not be nicer. Bed looks like it’s a full size (or maybe even a wide twin) – wonder where Jason is going to sleep?
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