It was time to go to Taipei!  We had to leave at 5:30 am and since we didn’t order a taxi in advance, we had to make a few trips with the scooter. Thom took Maverick and I to the train station, while we waited,  he went to get Nicole, Mason and Dorian,  along with the rest of the luggage (2 scooters….Nicole rode the other one).  We then rushed to the platform to catch the train to Taipei.

To my surprise, the train was empty. But after a few stops, it quickly filled up and there were people standing in the isle between the seats…commuters on their way to work and all of them busy with their smart phones.

After a few hours, we were in Taipei.  We changed to the metro at the main station and rode to our airbnb host. After wandering around in the heat for what seemed to be 2 hours (reality: 30 minutes), we finally contacted the host and she met up with us in front of 7-11 (surprised?  You shouldn’t be…I’ve already mentioned that there is at least 2 on every corner) and she escorted us to our “place” around the corner. We dropped off our stuff and headed to our first destination: the Maokong Gando

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There are 2 separate lines and prices. One for the glass bottom and one for those who are afraid of heights or want to save money. We opted for the glass bottom gondola. The wait for this is much longer because both gondolas run on the same line and only about every 6th gondola has a glass bottom. If you asme, skip the glass bottom gondola, it was not worth the the wait. The only thing you see below you are trees and grass. Nothing too spectacular but if you are into it, go for it.

And if you are lucky, like me, then you get to ride all the way up with a girl and her selfie stick. I like to take pictures,  too, but I also like to enjoy the ride and scenery.  Speaking of scenery,  the view of the city and surrounding mountains is spectacular…but no need for the glass bottom for that. Back to selfie stick girl, for the length of the ride, she only took pictures of herself in the gondola. From every angle. With a peace sign.  Pursed lips. A smile. Duck face. Sunglasses. Hat. More duck face. Without hat. To the left. To the right. Click click click!  It drove me up the wall. I couldn’t even enjoy the ride because I couldn’t look away. I have never seen anyone take so many pictures of themselves in the span of about 25 minutes.  

We finally reached the top and went to one of the many restautant to have a late lunch. This area is known for the the tea, and therefore offers a selection of teahouses, apparently all really great, but we didn’t try any, not because of the prices (rather high), we just didn’t.

After lunch, we walked around a bit, visited a temple, and then headed back to the gondola.

Then it was time to go the famed Taipei 101 skyscraper.

Once the tallest building In the world, now the Burj  Khalifa in Dubai holds the title, Taipei 101 towers over the city and the view from the observatory is pretty amazing.

Although they no longer hold the title of the tallest building, they still hold a Guinness World Record for the fastest elevator in the world. From level 5 to 89 in just 40

second

s. 

Taipei 101 also has a so called damper at the top of the building.  The damper is designed to withstand typhoons and earthquakes

Here is a youtube damper video of the damper in action.  Taiwan has quite a few earthquakes. Just about as many as Hamburg has rain. It’s just a normal day in Taiwan. No one runs for cover. Apparently,  there were quite a few earthquakes, or at least strong tremors, while I was in Taiwan, but I didn’t feel anything. So I guess it’s a normal day for me, too.

The next day, we went to the National Palace Museum which by the way holds the most imperial artwork and treasures from China and encompasses over 10,000 years of work!

 

It’s so huge that they change the exhibits on a regularly basis. Bring a snack if you go, there is not much to eat in the area and th museum’s cafe was out of food when we went. But there is a 7-11 close by. The most famous exhibit n the museum has a line that snaked around the museum,  looked like a wait of at least 30 minutes. We decided to skip the jade vase.  Click here if you are interested in seeing what we missed. It is the left one.

In the evening, we went to the famed Lungshan Temple with a great night market next to it. The temple was/is really beautiful, with lots of intricate carvings.

After lingering for maybe 1 hour, we headed to the market and stood in line for a pancake type of food.  Super delicious, worth the wait and the money (about 25 NT $)! We walked around a bit and the treated ourselves to a foot/leg massage for one hour and 300 NT $.
Afterwards,  we were ready for another round of walking and shopping and eating. We tried stinky tofu. The smell is rather unpleasant…and it taste just like it smelled.

We were headed back home to Yuanlin the next day, but not before stopping at the Beitou Hot Springs. The springsare situated on a dormant volcano, but still produces natural thermal springs.  Entry is only 40 NT $ and entry is allowed every 2 hours and only if the springs are not full. We had to wait a few minutes to get in. The springs are super hot, 40° C and up, plus 2 pools to cool off. Going to the springs at 33°C weather is not exactly relaxing,  but the springs have healing properties and it is worth taking a dip or 2. Plus, you get used to it after a few minutes.

Because the boys speak Chinese,  they have the honor of translating for us and the Taiwanese are always beside themselves that these cute little boys can speak their language. Sometimes the locals get so engaged in speaking with little blonde boys who speak Mandarin that they miss their stops (on the metro) or the boys receive gifts. Saying “No, thank you. This really isn’t necessary” doesn’t help much. The best thing is to accept and just be gracious.  🙂 but I didn’t get anything…just the boys and Nicole.  Haha, I must not be blonde enough. 😉 but seriously, the Taiwanese are super friendly and they always have a smile and return your smile with a smile. While we were having our massages though, they were talking about us “Westerners” and as soon as they realised that the boys understood, they stopped talking. 🙂