Taipei 台北

Michael had a holiday this past Monday, so we decided to take a weekend trip to Taipei. We started off our trip to Longshan Temple. This was a very active temple and I felt that we were the only tourists on site. The temples in Taipei were very colorful. After the temple, we ventured off to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. The Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall was very beautiful. Inside the memorial there was a multi-level museum with many artifacts. From the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial we headed over to Taipei 101 where we had lunch and met up with Kevin and his girlfriend. Unfortunately, it started to rain so we decided not to go up Taipei 101 to the observatory deck because we would not be able to see anything. Kevin and Jocelyn took us around to different places because of the rain, we were limited to indoor areas. They took us to Eslite Bookstore, but there were many little shops within the bookstore like a small furniture store, toy store, stationary store, etc. We later went to dinner at a yummy dumpling place on the east side. We ordered dumplings (小籠包), drunken chicken, some veggies and many other things. It was so delicious! After dinner we went to get some bubble tea, it was so good. I miss bubble tea. To finish off the day, we walked around the Raohe Street Night Market. The night market was filled with food and shops. The second day we first went to Taipei 101 because the weather was nice in the morning. We went up to the 89th floor and had a great panoramic view of Taipei. Michael was quite fascinated with the super big wind damper and the elevator model. There was also a nice outdoor observatory on the 91st floor, but the barrier/fence was quite big that it hindered the view a little, I guess safety first. Taipei 101 also had a jewelry museum and lots of coral and jade sculptures; we actually spent 2 hours in Taipei 101. After Taipei 101, we went to get some dim sum and it was pretty good. I guess anything is good when you miss it. We were so excited to eat, we forgot to take pictures. After lunch, we went to the National Palace Museum and met up with Kevin and Jocelyn again. The palace museum was a collection of art, sculptures, calligraphy and books. After the museum we went to Shilin Night Market to have a snack and walk around. Kevin and Jocelyn took us to this awesome dessert place. I had this shaved milk ice cream topped with mango sauce and fresh mango chunks! It was awesome and like nothing I’ve ever had. I am a bit sad that I can’t have it again. To finish off Sunday night, we went to Miramar Shopping Center. This was a newer area and everything was bright and colorful. The ferris wheel was probably the most noticeable item and it was beautiful. It lit up at night changing colors every 30 seconds or so. We found a nice little restaurant to chill and relax. That about concludes our trip, thanks to Kevin and Jocelyn for taking us everywhere, we had a wonderful time!

Click here for more pictures