But what's coming to one's mind when thinking about Taiwan? To be honest, not too much for most of us... but hey, following the more explorative approach of life aka. "never try, never know" I was very keen to set foot on Taiwanese soil and figure out what this island has to offer.
Approaching Taipei
The flight from Seoul to Taipei was already providing the first highlight - Taipei Songshan Airport is definitely fulfilling all requirements to be labeled "City Airport"!
Not knowing that fact and approaching the airport with a descent from the West of the city, could lead to the fact that one is becoming a bit nervous in the plane as suddenly, skyscraper seem to be higher than the plane's actual altitude and one can literally see into people's houses (no doubt that the fact of flying low-cost airlines seems not a very promising fact supporting one's well-being in this particular moment)... luckily, the runway was at some point finally there and the plane landed safely!
Local specialties - Part I, a Typhoon
There are several Taiwanese specialties - and at least one of them is not culinary, but rather meteorological. As the weather from September until December is described as follows: "The best time to travel, as the weather is dry and sunny - except of the typhoons hitting on Taiwan during this season." Well, I can officially confirm this statement - unfortunately! While still at the airport, the news got around that a Typhoon (maybe it should be spelled "TAIphoon" - right?!) was hitting Taiwan in the South in two days. As this meant that the weather will be rather windy and rainy, plans had to be changed to avoid getting stuck in the South when the shut down the railway and every other public transport system.
Consequently, the famous gorges near Hualian had to be cancelled and Wai Ao, resp. Yilan, was the southernmost point of the trip. Nevertheless, this really small village is quite a well-known surfing spot in Taiwan and provided the possibility of some body-boarding - an activity that luckily can be done too, even there's rain and bad weather (and quite big waves on the plus-side!). Furthermore, on a nice day, the scenery on the East Coast of Taiwan is very nice and furthermore has some unexpected architecture to offer, or would you expect a museum like that in the middle of nowhere?!
And here some more impressions from the East Coast of Taiwan and some temples...
Local Specialties - Part II, Food
But not only in terms of the landscape has Taiwan a lot to offer - also in terms of food and culinary adventures! The local cuisine is inspired and influenced by many cultures and countries as Cantonese, Japanese, Portuguese from the former colonial period or of course, local herbs and tastes from Taiwan itself.
The spectrum of food is thus huge and offers various opportunities to try new things. On a scale from excellent and very delicate to "not really my favorite dish", this week offered everything. On the rather negative side, stinky tofu is definitely a safe pick as this Taiwanese specialty tastes so awful, on almost has to vomit when walking by a food stand that sells it (which was unfortunately the case every now and then at the night markets). I have to say that the smell was so disgusting that I didn't try to eat it. Another "highlight" was a dish called Buddha jumps over the Wall - and so did I almost, haha. Black chicken feet... one has to get used to this!
But fortunately, I was able to experience some great food as well, e.g. the Dumlings from Din Tai Fung, the only restaurant (chain) in the world that was awarded with a Michelin Star for its dumplings! Really worth a visit... and then also some unknown food on the night market that tasted quite well - like fried potatoe with cheese.
Taipei - a surprisingly quiet city with a famous skyscraper
Due to the bad weather, I spent more days than originally planned in Taipei. But with some sightseeing, eating, partying and relaxing, this was not a too big problem to handle. Taipei is definitely a nice city, really cheap (even compared to Seoul) and impressed me with its cleanness and quietness. I was more expecting the chaotic and noisy Chinese city style - but no, it was pretty much the opposite! A great metro system and so quiet... even in the biggest metro station! Just great - I guess Zurich and especially the guys talking in the S-Bahn and Tram could definitely learn something here...
And yes, of course, a visit to Taipei 101 was on the list as well. It offers a truly nice view over the city (if the wheater's nice) and is just a very impressive building itself.
All in all, the weather could have been better - but Taiwan was still a great choice and I can really recommend it to everyone! Maybe one of the "hidden champions" in Asia as this country has a way more to offer than many think - and this at a truly affordable price!
