A Weekend in Taipei 台北

The Chiayi cohort missed the first day of the Taipei Fulbright conference trapped in our homes while we waited for Typhoon Podul to pass through. The storm didn’t do much damage near our home in Taibao, but the one person who died during the storm, a local fisherman, was from Chiayi County. It is both humbling and thrilling to live in a place so prone to natural disasters. When we received the text late Wednesday night that we could come to Taipei the next day, my roommates and I immediately booked High-Speed Rail (HSR) tickets, packed our bags, and went to bed anticipating an early morning.

I really enjoyed the 1.5 hour HSR ride up to the northern capital. My first time on the HSR was after dark on the first night that I arrived in Taiwan, and being able to see the cities and mountains in daylight was a real treat. I relaxed with headphones in, staring out the window and trying not to fall asleep for fear (irrationally since I was traveling with 20 other people) of missing my stop. Once we got to Tamsui, a province about 45 minutes outside of central downtown Taipei, we were whisked into the Fulbright conference and immediately thrown into conference sessions with the roughly 150 other Fulbrighters from around Taiwan. It was great to see so many familiar faces from our massive groupchat in person for the first time, but was also a bit overwhelming with the sheer magnitude of socialization that was being asked of us after our arrival. That night in the hotel room, I recharged on the balcony for a while, listening to music and feeling the cool summer breeze rolling off the ocean. Everyone was exhausted from the day but we gathered in the hotel room to play card games and chat before turning in early to prepare for another long day.

The next morning we woke up, grabbed buffet style breakfast, packed our bags, and headed to a closing ceremony at the conference. The conference itself felt pretty brief and disjointed, most likely due to our late arrival, and it was over before it really had the chance to sink in that it had begun. We were loaded up onto buses by 11 am and traversed the city to the Taipei Fine Arts Museum. There, I spent most of my time wandering around the exhibits of Ni Chiang-Huai, a Taiwanese watercolor painter who was taught in the Western style by a Japanese artist during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan in the early 1900s. To see an art style so beautiful, yet influenced by such a violent history, was sobering. No matter how much pain people experience in any period of oppression or violent occupation, humans will always find ways to make art, poetry, and find ways to express the human existence in beautiful form.

After spending a few hours in the Taipei Fine Arts Museum, we were released to the Taipei Main Station and were free for the rest of our Friday nights in Taipei. Most Fulbrighters decided to stay the weekend in the big city, so our Friday night was full of dancing with people from all the different cohorts. We grabbed lunch in the Taipei Main Station before heading to our Airbnb around 3 pm. After checking in, I ventured out on my own to explore the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park which included a natural lake area, some really cool architecture, and repurposed mill buildings from industrial and wartime periods that were converted into modern art galleries and historical sites. Here, I found a massive bookstore that had the traditional Chinese textbook I’ve been looking for! “A Course in Contemporary Chinese” is the standard textbook for the Mandarin Training Center of National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) which is the main Mandarin studying university for foreigners in Taiwan. I first became aware of this textbook back in the U.S. a few years ago but it was pretty expensive and difficult to get there. Here, I found the version that I needed and it was about half the price that I’d seen when I tried to buy it online back in the States. I walked back to our Airbnb to drop off my heavy textbooks (I bought the first 3 books in the first volume) and head out with some of the other Chiayi County people. We went to a taco shop (I’ve been craving tacos and Taipei has the best foreign food in Taiwan) where I paid close to U.S. prices (cries) for 3 tacos and elote. It was so worth it though, and the shop was also playing the entirety of the new Tyler, the Creator album back to back (Don’t Tap The Glass!!!!) so it felt like a much needed taste of home. We also got a great view of Taipei 101 at night from the street as we biked around the city.

After tacos, we hit up the Lin Jiang St. Night Market which was bustling with locals and tourists. We found every type of night market food you could imagine, miniature mahjong sets, and lots of funny English mistranslations (Gvery effout is ward beed, better version of yourser). Campbell and I stopped in for a bowl of mango shaved ice, a current favorite dessert of mine. It’s currently mango season and I’ve genuinely never had a fruit taste better. The ripe mango paired with the sweet condensed milk and thinly shaved ice is the perfect cold sweet treat to break up the hot and sweaty night market navigation. Post-mango shaved ice, we biked back to our Airbnb (30 minute walk, 7 minute bike ride). Riding through the streets of Taipei on U-Bikes with my friends easily makes a top 10 life moment for me. Feeling the warm summer air blow my hair in the wind, seeing the city lit up at night, laughing and just feeling so free: peak. We headed home for a quick change and then we were out for a night full of dancing with friends old and new. The music was fantastic, everyone was dancing so freely, and we didn’t head home until around 2 am. Truly an awesome night out and one of the best I’ve had in a very long time, aside from a brief scare where a random man tried to grab me (but my friends immediately came to my rescue!).

The next morning we had the chance to sleep in and then get some delicious authentic Taiwanese breakfast. I got hash brown dan bing (egg pancakes) and scallion pancakes with a milk tea. Our view of the street let us watch the morning traffic which was a fun additional to the yummy breakfast.

After breakfast, I went off on my own to explore the National Palace Museum, arguably one of the most incredible museums in the entire world. It took about an hour to get there by bus (Taipei is massive!) and there was a long hike up to the top of the hill where the museum was located. I learned my lesson that Google Maps is the best way to navigate public transit but Apple Maps is much easier to use for navigating walking directions. It was really fun to ride a bunch of the different versions of public transit in Taipei (bus, metro, u-bike) during my weekend.

Once I arrived at the museum, I had about 2.5 hours before I had to head home. I quickly learned that was nowhere near enough time to explore all the exhibits, but I still had a wonderful time. When I first arrived, I was honestly pretty exhausted and hot and overwhelmed. It had taken a lot longer to get there than I’d originally anticipated and the day was scorching hot. However, I was quickly rejuvenated after seeing the first exhibit and immediately recognizing historical figures from my Chinese history classes with Dr. Hardy at UNCA. My first exhibit was “Legacy of Magnificent Glory: Usual Scenes from the Qing Palace.” Here, I saw pieces from the reigns of some of my favorite historical figures in China: Emperors Kangxi, Qianlong, Yongzheng, and Wanli. Many of these emperors are credited with creating golden ages of literature, art, and culture in their respective reigns in China. Going from learning about their legacies in Modern Chinese History in Asheville to seeing these pieces firsthand in Taiwan truly just feels surreal and like a real dream come true. I got to go full history-nerd and I was really glad in that moment that I was alone so I could go through the museum at my own pace. The other exhibits from that day included Buddhist Compassion and Wisdom, Views of the Body in Western and Eastern Perspectives, and Ancient Jade and Bronze-Making. I didn’t have time to explore all of the exhibits, but it was truly my baby-historians dream day.

After a day in the museum, I headed straight for Xiangshan, also known as Elephant Mountain, to meet up with some friends and go on a sunset hike. We started our ascent around 5:30 pm and gradually climbed the incredibly steep staircase going up the mountain. Around 5:45, we stopped at a lookout point that showed much of the city, including the famous Taipei 101 building. There are anywhere from 500-600 stairs to get to the peak of the mountain, so this first break was welcome. I ate some dragon fruit, mango, and a sandwich from a FamilyMart that I visited at the base before the hike began. The sun was starting to set and we had a great view of the city and the mountains in the distance. We resumed our climb and took a break at the very top before meeting up with the rest of our friends and watching the sunset. We made some side quests (I found a pull-up bar) and made some new friends, including an elderly local man who recommended his favorite spots at the base. He hikes to the top of Elephant Mountain almost every day! Below I’ve included some pictures from various points throughout the hike. At the end, I stayed up at the top by myself and listened to music while I watched the city lights and tried to soak in the view and the moment. It was one of those times where you can’t fully process what you’re seeing and feels very surreal. It reminded me of hiking to the top of Bunkers del Carmel in Barcelona this past April and watching the city alone from the top of that mountain. There’s just something about watching a city with millions of people from the top of a mountain with headphones in that’s really special.

Since I’d stayed at the top of the mountain by myself, I hiked down alone and used a U-bike to bike through the city back to our Airbnb. The wind from the bike felt great after descending the mountain in the humid summer air. It was about a 10 minute bike ride back to our place in Xinyi District and I quickly got ready with some friends who had forgone the hike. We went out together for the second night in a row (which was admittedly a lot for me) but luckily we were close enough to walk to the bars from our Airbnb. There was a packed FamilyMart outside of the square and so many people crowded everywhere. It was definitely a bit overwhelming and less fun for me than the night before. It felt like a mandatory experience for being in the big city on a Saturday but I don’t have any huge desire to repeat that night again anytime soon.

Sunday morning was sleepy and slow. I got to the HSR station early and Raquel had the brilliant idea to rebook our tickets for earlier in the day so we could get home sooner. Taipei was amazing, but I was ready to be home. We took an early train back and had time to relax before starting another busy week on Monday.

That’s all I have for this post! Since this post I’ve hiked the day lily mountains of Hualien, passed my scooter test, and started my first day at my new school. Life is passing by so quickly here and every day seems to be filled with new and exciting adventures. I’m glad that I’m taking the time to work on this blog, update my Instagram account, and journal, because I am incredibly aware that this will be one of the best years of my life. Taiwan is such a beautiful country and I’m just a really big fan of the people that I’m here with, the opportunities I’m being presented with, and the new experiences I’m having every day. The food, people, culture, language, history, politics, and life here are better than I could have ever imagined. Thanks for following along, until next time!

Ona:)