Taiwan, known for great street food, shopping, and bubble tea. We had a week in Taiwan and each day was planned. We spent three days in Taipei and then a day travelling all the way to Kenting where we stayed for three days. We literally travelled from one end of a country to the other, can’t say I’ve ever done that before.
The first day in Taipei, we tackled the district Wanhua where the popular Ximending was. Ximending is a shopping neighbourhood geared towards the youth of Taipei. The area was jam packed with clothing shops, food stands and karaoke. But besides the shopping and delicious food, I discovered that this area had the most intimidating Taiwanese girls as well. All of the girls working in the shops dressed in leather clothing, tattoos and piercings. Their style made sense when we walked down the smaller streets and saw them filled with tattoo stands and motorcycles with biker men and women. The youth of this city weren’t afraid to be rough and edgy.
The second day, we explored the cultural side of Taipei, which included the National Palace Museum which holds one of the largest collection of ancient Chinese artifacts and artworks. But truth be told, after the first hour or so, I was bored out of my mind. Since I was born in Canada, my knowledge of Chinese history is very limited. I guess I should have taken this opportunity to learn a bit more about my culture, but there is only so much I can stare at after three hours. Fun fact: the most popular items of the museum was the Jadeite Cabbage and the “Meat-shaped stone”. I’ve got to say, it really did look like what they’re famous for.
The last day in Taipei was my favourite, but also the most frustrating day. Those who haven’t experienced Asia tropical weather can’t complain about the rain. My cousin described it perfectly as “a wall of water”, and I had my taste of it that day. We decided to go to the Taipei Zoo, which was my highlight of Taipei. I love anything to do with animals. In fact, in this entire Asia trip, we went to three aquariums and two zoos. The Taipei zoo was huge, definitely one of the biggest I’ve been. It was also the first time I saw a panda and let me tell you, they are just as adorable as you see in pictures.
I’ll have to go back one day when the weather is better There was even a warning broadcasted across the zoo telling people to find shelter for a bit because of thunderstorms. It was also the only place in my whole trip that I had bug bites. Holy shit just from that day, I must have had 15 bites all down my legs and arms. I don’t know if they were mosquitoes looking for delicious Canadian blood or fleas from the animals, but I’ve never had that many in my life.
We ended that day stumbling to Taipei Seafood Paradise, a seafood market. I had the best meal of my entire Asia trip there. We had a seafood hot pot and it tasted amazing. The food was basically brought straight from the market and onto your plate. Everything was fresh and some of the food was still moving. Delicious looking right?
Kenting, known to be a resort area, was a place of beach and relaxation. We went straight from a city of rain to a place of sunshine. We spent the first day relaxing on the beach, the second day on a tour of Kenting and third day, guess what? Relaxing on the beach. Kenting does have amazing scenery, one of the most beautiful places on this Asia trip. The view from the cliffs overlooking the shoreline was a sight to remember. Just take a look at this view.
Final note, remember what I said about this Asia trip being just a tour to see all the aquariums of Asia? Yeah, Kenting has an aquarium too. Funny, they say they have one of the biggest aquariums in Asia. Sentosa Singapore also claimed that title. Hm…..