Part I: Excursions in and outside Taipei
Exercising in Xianghan Park
I asked a local Taiwanese man to take my picture and he insisted I do something with my hands
We truly enjoyed our daily life in Taipei over the last few months. Every so often we chose to get out and go to a park or book a tour somewhere interesting.
One day while Gitty was in her Chinese language class, I hopped on the red line MRT train to the end at Xianghan station. A short walk led to a popular hiking destination, Elephant mountain. A 600 ft (180 m) climb, mostly stairs and paths, the views of Taipei City from its peaks were breathtaking! I had to climb all of the 650 steps from the trailhead to the top, but it served me well to get some fresh air and exercise.
On another sunny day, I took the red line to the other end at Tamsui station, a trip of about an hour. The famous Tamsui Old Street bordered a lovely park along the Tamsui River, just a few minutes walk from the end station. I savored strolling along the river and glimpsing people doing everyday activities such as meditating, feeding the birds, or eating ice cream with a date. And on that particular day, the sun shined brightly - just savoring one of those happy moments in life.
One fine Sunday, we booked a group tour with Klook, a popular travel app, to the city of Taichung farther south on the west coast of Taiwan. It would be our first real excursion outside of Taipei since arriving which excited us. Designed during the Japanese colonial period, Taichung is Taiwan's first planned city and the second largest city on the island. It continues to be the pulsating heart of central Taiwan's economic and cultural life.
The entry price to the Flower Market was increased by $1 because of tulip season (January to March).
We boarded a bus filled with Asian tourists for the two hour journey south where we arrived at a flower market. With so many colorful displays of flowers, there were photo opportunities in every corner.
Very surprising in the Flower Market’s Garden Center was a covered restaurant area, which looked at first like a corporate outing lunch pavillion. Only by observing for a while did we realize that groups of families and friends came here to cook together at big picnic tables adorned with gas stoves and coal-fueled counter-top grills. It was an outdoor restaurant!
You would select proteins (chicken, bacon, fish, etc) by marking up a paper menu, bringing it to the counter, and waiting for the selections to be delivered to the table. Then you barbecued the protein at table using the gas stove or grill; nearby, huge pots of prepared side dishes like noodles and bok choy were offered free for the diners. It was Saturday, so families met and cooked together which was really interesting and unusual.
Inside Miyahara, the decorations have elements of the whimsical
The second stop to the department store, Miyahara, was promoted as a Harry Potter experience. The store was famous for its architecture and for their ice-cream shoppe.
We also visited Rainbow village, which was hyped in the tour guides as a selfie haven, but it was originally housing for military families during the war. A former soldier, Huang Yung-Fu, started painting the houses to keep them from being demolished, and he never stopped until every surface was covered.
Shocking, I say. Absolutely shocking!
Now tourists flock here to marvel at the colorful depictions of birds, animals, and people. We both were fascinated by the cultural aspects of the paintings - totally worth it, photo op and all!
Our final destination was the hook that convinced me to book the tour: Gaomei Wildlife Sanctuary. We arrived shortly before sunset and walked along a path bordering the marshes and enjoying the local wildlife.
A moment of peace and tranquility
Gitty spotted a local birdwatcher so she approached him with caution in case he was skittish. He turned out super friendly and we chatted for a while. He pointed us to some other birding havens on Taiwan to check out. Walking along the boardwalk as the sun set was serene and the best ending we could hope for.
Our first hotel in Taipei was modest meaning it drove us to get out more and explore the city. The Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall was only a ten minute walk away and we chose another sunny day to visit the park within the walls of the complex. Inside the memorial was an exhibition by Zhou Cheng, a famous Chinese landscape painter, that we enjoyed perusing, dissecting, and analyzing. The long scrolls of scenic drawings in faded hues of green with hints of pink and red spanned the exhibition hall and just absolutely amazed us. There was so much skill on display in the images with columns of Chinese characters describing the mind of the painter.
Sunsets over Taipei can be magnificent
I found the Changing of the Guard quite fascinating. Perhaps because we were in the center chamber of the memorial hall as it began and four guards nearly marched through me. A docent cleared the path for them, so I scurried out of the way in time for them to pass. Then I followed as they marched to the front of the memorial. At the same time, another group of guards followed a similar, yet opposite path to the front of the memorial. Both groups merged and displayed exacting skill in their synchronization surrounded by a waiting crowd of visitors. It was way more interesting than I expected.
The cream of the crop, the best for last, the trip that really excited us both was four days in Kaohsiung. But for the rest of the story, you’ll have to wait only a few short days…
