OK...let's just say that I'm embarrassed by how long it took me to finish this post. I started it shortly after our trip in OCTOBER, and now it's January. But better late than never, right? Many apologies, and bear with me! I've been busy. :)
If you ask a native Hong Konger what their favorite Asian destination is, more often than not you'll hear the answer, "Taiwan!" It's close, it's not super expensive, the food is really good, and the people are friendly. Joseph had a conference there over a year ago that kept him occupied practically every minute, so he didn't get to see much. This time, he was reading a paper at a conference in Taipei that had a little more wiggle room in the schedule, so Evangeline and I decided to tag along. We were very glad that we did.
If we had been there longer, it would have been nice to get into the countryside, which is supposed to be gorgeous and very culturally rich. For a trip of just just three nights, we had to stick to Taipei, which was still great. It struck me as a sort of American-friendly China. In fact, I had to tone down my own Hong Kong pushiness on the subway--it gave me a start to see people forming orderly lines far from the escalator, the way you would see in the West. Faces were friendlier, and there was much less "fashion" than you see in Hong Kong.
And the food was great! Looking through the camera, I saw that I didn't take any pictures of our food (bad Asian tourist!), but we stuffed ourselves silly. Not only was the Taiwanese food delicious, but there was a lot of
good Western food as well. We had lunch at a burrito place that almost brought tears to our eyes--or maybe that was their fabulous homemade jalapeno poppers.
My favorite outing was to Maokong, a suburb of Taipei in the misty mountains. It used to be the biggest tea growing area of Taipei, but now is more of a place to experience Taiwanese tea culture. And to make it even more fun, you can take a gondola directly up to the tea area.
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| Evangeline enjoying the glass bottom of our gondola |
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| The city becoming more distant |
When the gondola ends, there are many roads and paths with literally hundreds of teahouses. Unfortunately, Joseph pretty much had to turn right around and go back to his conference, but Evangeline and I enjoyed wandering around. We randomly chose our teahouse based on the view and really enjoyed the quiet balcony.
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| Evangeline by a tea field |
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| The vista from where we sat |
Once you pick which tea you want, they bring out all the equipment so you can make it yourself. I thought I knew what I was doing, having some experience with Chinese tea in Hong Kong, but very quickly the proprietor came back over and stopped me, showing me how to do it his way. Oh well!
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| Obviously, she loved pouring out the tea for both of us |
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| She liked drinking it, too! |
When you're done, they seal up whatever tea leaves you didn't drink and send it home with you, a nice little souvenir. On our walk back to the gondola, I let Evangeline take over the camera.
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| This dog took quite a fancy to us and followed us for a while |
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| The vendors by the gondola were more than happy to pose for a small girl with a camera |
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| She almost got a free sausage on a stick out of this guy |
For the rest of the afternoon, we went to a children's park, which was a very odd mix of a carnival and some educational and cultural displays. It was a big hit with Evangeline, though.
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| All smiles on the carousel |
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| A very difficult traditional toy--even I couldn't do it! |
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| We did much better with the drums |
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| Hula hoops! |
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| Striking a fierce pose by her zodiac sign, the ox |
We made sure to hit up the National Palace Museum, which is known for having what some consider to be the finest collection of Chinese art in the world. They have centuries of paintings, jade, ceramics, and calligraphy, among other treasures. I was definitely made aware of my ignorance of Chinese art going through the exhibits, as I couldn't really tell the difference between many of the items. But it was still amazing to see and great to know that this art has a worthy home.
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| Outside one of the levels of the museum |
Here are some pictures from the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall area, a public square-type place with surrounding gardens. Chiang Kai-Shek was an important 20th century political and military leader in China who did not get along with the Communists, and accordingly had to retreat to Taiwan, where he was the leader for a long time. I know very little about the whole situation, but it struck me as strange to have such a big display for a figure who seems quite controversial.
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| The man himself. There is a changing of the guard around the statue every hour |
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| The view from the memorial. The National Theater and Concert Hall are on either side |
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| The Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness |
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| Evangeline and a friendly lion |
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| Another gem from Evangeline the Photographer! This girl's expression kills me |
No visit to Taipei with a small child would be complete without a visit to the Taipei Zoo. Evangeline and I went while Joseph was busy and had a lot of fun. I've never been to a zoo that had a more community feel. It really seemed like it is intended to be a place where people can go all the time, not just as a special treat. For example, the entrance fees--Evangeline was free, and I was somewhere in the neighborhood of $2 USD! The price didn't affect the quality of the habitats, though. The zoo was very spacious and the animals didn't seem to be stressed or depressed (at least, considering they were in a zoo).
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| Also, I've never seen a zoo with a McDonalds inside! |
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| Evangeline by one of her favorite habitats, the elephants |
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| And they have pandas! Even a baby, although she wasn't public yet when we were there |
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| Fun times |
We ended our day at a famous local place for Taiwanese-style desserts. We went with the shaved ice, which is a Taipei must. Our order was a classic, mango with milk and pudding. The pudding was a lot tangier than I expected, quite a contrast to the milk and mangoes.
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| I guess I was wrong, we did get one food picture! |
Thanks for your patience waiting for this post, and I'll keep working on catching up!
