Delta’s flights, which we connected in Seattle with a manageable layover with 3 separate Skyclub visits en route. I was lucky enough to be sitting behind a Michigan grad from Ann Arbor flying to China with his folks and we split the $40 internet fee to watch UM / OU (even though they announced that internet wasn’t available for the flight, this feed came through with regular manual refreshes).
Once we finally figured out our Arrival Cards and how to get out of the airport, we were eager to get to our hotel, the Miramar Gardens Taipei for some rest and adjustment to the 13 hour time difference. Luckily, Uber served Taiwan and we had about an hour ride to get to the Zhongshang District in the heart of the city. We found this to be a very nice, comfortable, convenient choice and cool neighborhood to explore. Highlight was the “Japanese Style” spa (read: had to sign-off on being naked to utilize the hot and cold tubs, steam & sauna rooms, etc. It was a very relaxing and soothing experience. The outdoor pool area with lounges was also very relaxing and appreciated, as was the bidet with all kinds of settings (we got quite used to having these regularly).
Taiwan is known for having a leading amount of convenience stores and the trip to my nearby 7-11 turned out interestingly. We brought a lot of snacks but I wanted to supplement a few meal with finds from there and what I got was not what I expected upon picking. Instead of cheese, I got an egg product another weird protein product that was like tofu, beef gizzards, sparkling wine in a can with bobas (they also invented Boba/Bubble Tea), crab flavored corn nut like and other chip-like things.
Another local staple is beef noodles and I tried it nearby and enjoyed the pho-like dish (although wasn’t willing to wait outside this famous noodle house and found another I could get served quickly). The Liaoning Street Market was a short walk away and fun to walk the streets seeing what the locals were dishing out and feeding folks. Visiting the night markets is a must in Taipei as they’re buzzing with energy and interesting vendor finds. We also checked out Raoshe, which was much bigger and more action-packed. Nextdoor was a fabulous 300 year old temple with a ton of intricate special details in the design.
We opted for a few photos out front and not the ride up what was the world’s tallest building in Taipei 101. Notably, Taipei despite being a top population dense city also felt green and sustainable with lots of parks.
The biggest highlights came via our private Viator custom tour, of which we had the best, most engaging guide in “Nicolas” (after Cage, who along with other Hollywood movie stars taught him his great English)., who left a career in business for the flexibility and change of pace in providing special tours. Despite his Lakers hat (sensitive subject with me historically), Nicolas connected well with both of us – he loved his baseball (following Taiwanese stars especially), the NBA and playing badminton regularly.
He taught us a lot about the culture while taking us to the Houtong “Cat Village”, an old coal mining town turned tourist attraction with community cats and related local ties. He also took us to Yangmingshan National Park, a mountainous volcanic forest with geysers and hot springs that fed right down into the north side of Taipei. One hot spring pool had a small temple to honor the ghosts of residents with no families. Volcano Island appeared off the rocky north shores of the island. We saw a big Formosan Rock (or Taiwanese) Macaque on a fence near the road, several skinks and an egret. For $34, we had an upscale 90 minute private spa soak room with a hot and cold tub piping mineral water.
Taiwan has a number of other national parks including Turtle Island, named after it’s appearance of a partially submerged turtle. It’s temperate semi-tropical climate make it a very comfortable place and its easy to see how why it’s a surging place for expats.
Lions are a key symbol for Taiwan, known for warding off spirits, being brave and courageous and lucky. We had good luck exploring this special place and think you would too.
TRUE NORTH TEAM CONSULTING 