Taiwan 🇹🇼
ℹ️ Note: Before I begin, it should be noted that I am retro-writing this blog post. Leah and I went to Taiwan in 2019 and I am now writing this blog post in the fine year of 2023; while on a plane to Greece with my family. This post will be more “highlights” of what we did and less details as it is being recalled from my memory years later.
In 2019, I was working at a small computer repair shop to help pay for rent in Seattle, WA. The last big trip that Leah and I went on together was Colombia and Leah was really itching to travel again. One day at work, I get a phone call from Leah that went something like this:
- Leah: “Hey I have about 12 days off next month, want to go somewhere?”
- Me: “Sure!”
- Leah: “I’m looking right now and found a super cheap flight to Taiwan, should I book it?”
- Me: “Send it”
- Leah: “Booked!”
Just like that, we had plane tickets booked for our first trip together in Asia. I distinctly remember being extremely excited for this trip. For many of our other trips, I was often a mix of excited and anxious, but for whatever reason, the idea of going to Taiwan brought me nothing but excitement.
Taipei
We flew from Seattle -> Vancouver -> Taipei. The flight was the longest I had ever done at the time but fortunately for me, I had recently gotten into “Game of Thrones” and binged an entire season on the flight so time flew right on by. Before we knew it, we were on the group in Taipei. We got in fairly late so we just hopped on the metro and went towards our Airbnb which happened to be a very small bedroom inside of a Taiwanese family’s garage.
The next day we woke up at about 5am due to the jet lag. As soon as I woke up, I remember waking Leah up and telling here “lets go, lets go!”. I was super excited to see Taiwan and didn’t even care that it was 5am. I sharply remember my first feelings when I stepped outside to see the streets of Taipei with the sunrise. It wasn’t even culture shock but more “culture amazement”. My jaw was on the floor the whole morning stroll and Leah kept laughing at me and how stunned I was to be in Asia. The only thing that knocked my jaw back into place was the first whiff of “stinky tofu” when we got into the city center. I remember it caused a shock of physical pain all throughout my body when the first whiff hit me. Throughout the trip I would come to love stinky tofu but only for the flavor as the smell would make your stomach due a back-flip.
Here are some photos from our first few days in Taipei!
After finding a Koi pond where you could feed the fish (with dispensed fish food), we found a wonderful palace area in Taipei to explore
The street markets in Taipei are full of all sorts of bits of food. We couldn’t understand any of the signs but these looked like intestines to us - We tried some later on and they were actually quite tasty
Now I could be totally wrong here, but the small bits up front look like a pair of lungs. That was not something I was willing to try…
A shot of the street market
Some delicious dumplings that Leah and I shared
The market at night
A museum full of a mix of history from Taiwan and China. We learned that China is really pushing to take (claim, steal?) a lot of the pieces here - not too pleasant
Leah looking at the window of a gondola that took us up into the hills of Taipei
A shot looking out from the window of the gondola
A drone shot I got of the hills where the gondola dropped us off
The Taipei 101 as seen from the top of a hill we hiked up nearby
The last photo seen above was taking from the top of Elephant Hill in Taipei. It was extremely scenic and had panoramic views of the whole city. On our way back down, the sun was setting and I wanted to fly my drone before it got dark. I found an empty parking lot and launched my drone. I took a few shots before panning the drone camera straight downwards to the city streets. As soon as I did so, I was looking at what would be my favorite drone picture I have ever captured. I call it, “X Marks the Spot”.
“X Marks the Spot”
Taroko
After Taipei, we hopped on a set of local passenger trains that took us along the beautiful East cost of Taiwan towards Taroko National Park. The park looked stunning and about a month for we left, I actually reached out to the Government of Taiwan to request permission to fly my drone in the park (which they approved!). We stayed in a small town just a short ways from the entrance of Taroko National Park. When we first arrived, we spent the evening strolling through the night markets, getting mango ice cream, and watching kids rollerblade through a speed course of orange cones. The Caragol’s family came here just a few years before and had highly suggested getting a private driver to take us through the park so we could stop wherever we like. We hired the exact same driver that Leah’s family did in fact!
A set of tunnels that the train took us through along the coast
The East coast of Taiwan
The entrance to the park which we drove through. After entering, we were given helmets that had to be worn at all times when outside due to falling rocks
The river that cuts through the park
Another shot of the river
The river from above via drone
We wrapped up our time in the Taroko area and headed back to the town we were staying at. The next day, we attended a wonderful cooking course where we learned how to make Taiwanese “Three Cup Chicken” and we still make the same recipe to date! We often cook it for our friends and family on special occasions or if we are missing Taiwan.
Kaohsiung
After exploring the Taroko area, we hopped back on the passenger train which took us through South Taiwan and further on to the other side of the island where we stopped at Kaohsiung. In Kaohsiung we ate a lot of food at street markets, explored temples, and cruised around on scooters. The city of Kaohsiung is known for having many great artists and creative sights so we took plenty of photos along the way.
Grant on the side of a canal in the heart of Kaohsiung
Intricate carvings in a template with a dragon
Leah taking a stroll through some bubbles in the sun
Grant (AKA “King Bubbles”)
Yummy toasted potato swirls from a street market
Leah on the edge of a boat heading back from the side of the island where we drove scooters
A massive Buddha at one of the temples we visited
Leah strolling through the temple hallways
Leah overlooking the temple
The temple from above via drone
One of the central metro stations in Kaohsiung that is really stunning
A view from the drone of the streets we scooter’d around
Another drone shot of the streets
A small lighthouse and island we walked around for a quick scooter break
Two adjoining temples on a pond. You enter one through a tiger and exit through the mouth of a dragon
The backside of the tiger and dragon temples
A top down shot of another temple on the pond
A close up (via drone) of the path that extends outwards onto the pond
The temple at night surrounded by lilies
A really stunning drone shot I captured at dusk of the temple on the water
Jiufen 🏮
After our stay in Kaohsiung, we hopped on an ultra-fast train that brought us back into the Taipei region.
The ultra-fast train that took us back to Taipei
Once in the Taipei region, Leah and I checked out a small section of North Taipei called Beitou. This region is known for having a lot of natural hot springs so we spent the afternoon soaking in one and sipping green tea.
Our next destination on our trip was Jiufen which is a small village in the hills outside of Taipei. It used to be the home of many miners but is now a fairly quiet place visited mostly by travelers. The rumor is that Jiufen was the inspiration behind the setting in “Spirited Away”.
The view from a street near our Airbnb
The finest “toasted brown sugar boba tea” we have ever consumed
Lanterns over one of the central streets of Jiufen
Another shot of the lanterns
Leah posing on a street with lanterns above 🏮
After Leah and I had food from a street vendor in the alleys of Jiufen, we went back to our Airbnb. I had the idea of waiting until the night got quite late and then to go out and explore the streets alone. I waited until about midnight and grabbed my camera. I started wandering around the streets alone and it was a truly magical experience. There wasn’t as single soul around, except maybe that of the “Spirited Away” ghosts. Here are some of the shots I captured while exploring the empty alleys of Jiufen:
The empty alleys near the famous old tea house in Jiufen
The closed up street vendors with their vibrant orange tarps extending above. Even though I was alone, it felt like there may have been some spirits floating around here 👻
This shot had a light on above that looked like the sun coming through from a long-exposure shot. There wasn’t any sun at midnight though 🤷
Our next day in Jiufen, we explored some of the old mines and the traditional Taiwanese houses that the miners would have lived in. It was a very rainy and moody day in the mountains but a really scenic one too!
A shot from the balcony of our Airbnb after our day exploring the mining areas
Some exquisite dumplings we got in the markets of Jiufen
Drone Video
During this trip, I flew my drone extensively in many of the places that we went too. It took me many months after the trip of editing, but I completed the Taiwan Drone Video and I was extremely excited with how it turned out!
YouTube Link: Taiwan in 4k by Drone
Conclusion
Writing this blog post years later and looking back on this trip, I still think it was one of the best trips Leah and I have done to date (writing this in 2023 now). The scenery in Taiwan was just stunning and the night markets are something I could honestly never get bored of. There is just an endless supply of unique and delicious foods in the night markets and so many vibrant smells, tastes, and sights.
The people of Taiwan were also incredibly friendly, caring, and respectful of each other. Even among the chaos in the busy streets of Taipei, it felt like there was a great sense of order and organization. Even years later, I still often find myself saying “I miss Taiwan” and it is largely due to just how fun and easy it was to travel in a place that might have seemed so foreign at face value.
❤️🇹🇼