The Island Claimed by China

It's another long weekend (I'm really enjoying these frequent holidays) so this time David and I decided to venture out of Korea for the first time since I've been here, and the cheapest flights we could find was to Taiwan, so why not?!
I would have never thought for a second before coming to Asia that I would make the effort to visit Taiwan; the only information I know of it is that practically anything produced of cheap labour originates from Taiwan causing me to make the judgment that Taiwan was a poor country. After living in Asia for a few months, my Western perspectives have changed tremendously. Our definitions of rich and poor and standard of living vary greatly based on East and West origin. So this trip to Taiwan was definetly worth it, one that I am really glad I did because it made me open my eyes and see things from out of the judgmental light.

The flight to Taipei was extremely pleasant. We flew Eva Airways (Taiwanese airlines) and it was only 2.5 hours to get there. We were staying in a hostel in downtown Taipei and it was very easy and cheap to take the airport bus (cost us about $4) to the central train station which the hostel was by. The hostel was on the 22nd floor of a building in a city that is filled with skyscrapers.
We only had 3 days in to explore the city so our days were totally jam packed, making it adventurous and rewarding. Since Taipei also has one of the most efficient subways systems in the world, exploring this small city wasn't that hard at all.

Taiwanese people remind me of Koreans - extremely kind and helpful. Only difference is that Taiwanese can speak English. We met several people on the street while asking for help with directions that spoke close to perfect English. They had no accent at all! Being an English teacher, I was very impressed with this.

The history of Taiwan is very interesting, something else that I would have never thought to read up on throwing it away as boring and uneventful. Taiwan has never been its own country, they have always been ruled either by China or Japan. Although they are technically still a Chinese colony, this only shows in the fact that Mandarin is the official language. When it comes to food and governmental rule, Taiwan is completely independent. Taiwan has cultures from different parts of Asia, not just China. Thier cuisine consists of Indian, Chinese and Japanese (maybe even more cultures) influences. Along with Mandarin and English, Hakka and Taiwanese are also widely used.
So Taiwan is NOT communist!

And it is the home of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101 (it has 101 floors).
After visiting Longsham Temple (one of the oldest non-denominational temples located in the old part of Taipei) which was very unique, we made a visit to Taipei 101 learning that it also has the world's fastest elevator. The view from the observation deck was phenomenal because Taipei has a very urban center, but is not far from mountainous scenery filled with greenery and rivers. This proved to me why hiking was a popular hobby in Taiwan as well.

We also made a stop at the CKS Memorial Hall which is in the process (or maybe already has been) of being renamed since this CKS guy isn't really the greatest person for Taiwanese. He was a past prime minister for whom this hall was built for, surrounded by beautiful gardens and a pond. Since it was on our way we decided to take a peek, which again was a great choice because this memorial hall was very unique since the design was chosen from a contest after the death of CKS.

Our last adventure for the day was to make to Makong, an area atop the mountain side known for its tea shops and scenic views. The popularity also comes from the fact that you have to take the gondola (part of the subway system) to get there. The gondala is actually a cable car which takes you to Makong thru the mountains (which look more like jungles). The ride lasted about 45 mins but felt like forever because I was seriously freaked out since I have a fear of heights. At the same time, the experience was really amazing and this whole gondala thing was clearly designed for dates and couples since each gondola can only fit about 6 people at a time. Totally not catered for mass transportation.

The first day in Taipei was definetly amazing. We saw numerous sights which we were easily able to do so even though we didn't speak a speck of Mandarin. We also met a few nice Taiwanese people on the way and took thier advice and hit the night market in Shilin which opens only after 10pm. I was confused about this night market idea, but after speaking a Taiwanese about this I was informed that due to the heat, most Taiwanese people prefer to stay indoors until the sun goes down. Only at night do they do their shopping and biking. Since Taiwan is one of the safest countries in the world, this people of this city truly live at night.

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