A taste of Taiwan

We were looking forward to a break from China, so after the overnight ferry ride we arrived in the port city of Keelung, which is right in the north. Because we only had 6 days we didn't want to spend it rushing around the country trying to see and do too much, so we decided to just spend the whole time in the capital city of Taipei.

Taiwan is an interesting country with a history of being conquered by various nations: at one time or another it has been colonised and/or ruled by the Dutch, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese. The Chinese are still trying to maintain control of Taiwan, but opinions in Taiwan are pretty split with some supporting unification with China, and others fighting for independence. Despite these differing views of how the country should be run, there was no hint of unrest or divide that we noticed. Quite the opposite in fact. As soon as we arrived we noticed that everyone was extremely friendly and helpful, eager to talk to us and help us get where we needed to be. There was no spitting, hardly any smoking and the streets were immaculately clean. It couldn't have been more different, or a more welcome change from the dirt and pollution of China. We think the majority of the population (who want independence) are so determined to be viewed as separate from and different to China that they go out of their way to be nicer, cleaner and more civil than their neighbours to the west. For this reason alone we were already loving Taiwan and looking forward to our 6 days here.

Taipei is a very modern and cultural city, with a lot to offer visiting tourists. We managed to check out the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall where we saw the elaborate changing of the guard ceremony; the National Revolutionary Martyr's Shrine with another crowd-drawing guard changing ceremony; went to the top of Taipei 101, now the world's 5th tallest building; and gorged ourselves on the amazing food at the many night markets spread around the city. 

National Chiang-kai Shek Memorial Hall

National Revolutionary Martyr's Shrine changing of the guard ceremony

Taipei 101

View from the top

One of the many night markets

Because of the many different influences on Taiwanese cuisine, the food is absolutely incredible. The highlight of our day was choosing which night market to visit and stuff our faces with the amazing array of food available. We went to four or five different night markets, including Raohe, Tonghua, Shilin and Keelung. They all offered similar things like beef noodles, oyster omelette, Taiwanese meatball, tiny sausages, Taiwanese spring roll, dumplings, Taiwanese fried chicken....the list goes on. We also went to the most famous dumpling restaurant chain in the country, Din Tai Fung. It was here we tried our first xiaolongbao (soup dumplings) which are freaking awesome. Just when you thought dumplings couldn't get any better, they magically add soup inside. Genius.

Beef noodles

Oyster omelette

Taiwanese meatball

Xiaolongbao (soup dumpling) at Din Tai Fung

If only we'd known how amazing the country and it's food were, we would have spent so much longer here to explore the rest of the country which is supposed to be quite beautiful, with rugged mountains, great beaches and stunning national parks. Unfortunately we'd already booked our ferry back to China, so it was with great regret we headed down the country to Taichung, the port city we were leaving from. But after our very brief taste (both figuratively and literally) of Taiwan, we know we'll be back for more one day.