Life Outside the Inbox

I recently went on a 3 day, 2 night adventure to Taipei, Taiwan and it was truly amazing!

As our flight arrived to Taipei late in the day, we took the opportunity to rest at our hotel (we stayed at FX Hotel – while it’s nice, it’s not really walking distance anywhere) had a small dinner and headed to the Shilin Night Market and boy did I regret having that dinner!

The array of food found at the night market was endless and I should’ve saved room to try everything. Not only was there variety, the prices were quite affordable.  We of course started with a bubble tea which originated from Taiwan, followed by fried garlic chicken balls and tofu, with a jello like dessert and deep fried ice-cream, and what’s the night market without stinky tofu?!  But thats not all, we continued with the “tornado” potato, coated with a thick batter and sprinkled with our choice of topping (we chose seaweed and curry). We then shared a thick, gigantic piece of breaded chicken steak and lastly had a mango snow/ice dessert covered in mango puree and condensed milk.

The next day, we hired a taxi to take us around. We first arrived to Shifen Old Street which used to be a rail line to transport coal, now converted to a tourist destination. Tourists flock to Shifen to release sky lanterns (once used as a signal to families of safety for those working in the coal mines), has now become a symbol of hope and prayers. Tourists can decorate the sky lanterns and write their wishes on it and release into the sky. There’s also a beautiful suspension bridge further along the path with amazing views of the surrounding area. Next must see destination is Jiufen Old Street which is much bigger in size and located in the mountains, it offers views beyond the horizon. Jiufen offered many tea shops and restaurants with a more western flare each with a unique view. Our driver then suggested a nice, quiet location to watch the sunset and it was well worth it. We watched at the sun sank into the sea and into the night we drove into the next night market. On a slightly smaller scale, we started with a Taiwanese minced beef rice dish, then a baggie of “oil rice” downed with sugar coated diced potato, a plate of deep fried baby crab and oyster cake. We ended our night at Taipei 101 which in my opinion was mediocre.

On our last time, the rain began to pour and so we made our way to the original Din Tai Fung to eat Shanghai dumplings and different sorts of noodle dishes. We just strolled around aimlessly in the area until we had to take the bus back to the airport on an hour long ride.

All in all, 5 extra pounds later, there’s no regrets! Taiwan was an amazing experience and the views and the variety of food options cannot be beat!