Asian Adventure - Part 6 - Taiwan

As soon as I landed in Taiwan I felt welcome, people were happy to help, and they even smiled! What a relief after Guangzhou. I took a bus to meet my friend Wen in Taichung and was greeted by her complete with scooter. She handed me my helmet and much to my surprise said it would be fine with my huge backpack. I trusted her and didn't fancy walking so I hopped of the back for my first scooter ride.

We were home in minutes and I was asleep not long after, we had an early start!
In the morning it was back on the scooter:

...through the 'pedestrianised' market full of scooters, to the bus station. After some traditional Taiwanese breakfast including a kind of omelette and a peanut rice-milk shake we hopped on a bus to Tainan and met Wen's brother, who we collected the family car from. With our new transport we went in to Old Tainan city for lunch and I tried Winter melon lemon tea. There were lots of little shops and we visited a very colourful temple...

...saw traditional carvings...

...and visited the old fortress surrounded by Bayan trees:

The tree roots grow down from the branches and create huge trunks in layers of roots.

Afterwards we drove to another city to see the show Dancing Diva. Wen's friends were in the show so we had great seats and the performance was amazing even though I couldn't understand the dialog. It was about a dancer who needs a dancing partner.In the end she finds a dancing partner but he has an artificial leg. The guy was incredible and his balance was amazing, he even did lift with the girl!

Next morning we went for brunch at Wen's boyfriends cafe/restaurant; Shark bites toast (http://www.facebook.com/pages/%E9%AF%8A%E9%AD%9A%E5%92%AC%E5%90%90%E5%8F%B8-Shark-Bites-Toast/307634055939276). The food was great and the Papaya milk was delicious. Unexpectedly I also ended up being interviewed by Taiwanese TV who were doing a spot about the restaurant chain.

Then we spent the afternoon in an old market town and looked at one of the oldest temples:

and one of the newer ones...

and for tea we went to a traditional restaurant with Wen's mum Michelle...

It was an old street...

...complete with shops and cinema that had had a roof built over the top and turned in to one big restaurant:

The next day we set off on our trip to Sun Moon Lake...

...and the Aboriginal Village...

...where, once the mist cleared, we got to see traditional buildings,

 crafts,

and dancing:

After our drive home we went out for tea with Wen's Mum at the restaurant she worked at and had delicious hot pot.
In the morning Wen took me back to the train station so that I could go to explore the capital; Taipei.
I arrived and took the metro to meet my new couchsurfing host Cynthia and her flatmates.
They were so helpful and helped me work out where I wanted to go over the next few days and then Cynthia and Michelle took me to the Mongkok gondola:

to have a wonderful meal and see the views from the top:

before we headed back down the mountain for some amazing Bubble Tea!

The next day was beautiful so I set off on the bus for a day trip to the old streets of Shifen and the waterfall:

Shifen is known for the traditional lanterns. People chose a colour of lantern that reflects their wishes and they write their hopes and dreams on the lantern before letting it off in to the sky:

The old streets of Shifen are connected to the other local villages by train. The streets are so small that the train is almost touching the buildings when it passes through:

After my trip around the old traditional countryside I took the train back to the city to explore some temples...

before meeting up with Cynthia and Michelle to visit the night market where I tried shark:

then we went to Taipei 101:

before treating ourselves to a foot massage. In Taiwan they believe that the best people to give massages are the blind. They believe that because they cannot see they feel for the muscles that most need treatment. At first I felt kind of bad because they were blind but then I realised really its no different because they chose that career and its probably better than a lot of other jobs!

On my final day in Taipei I took another bus trip to the coast to visit Jinshan and explore the market and sights there:

Next, I went to Tamsui to explore yet more markets and the Dutch fort that had been built along the coast:

My last stop of the day was Xinbeitou with its natural hot springs:

It was lovely after a days walking to sit at the river and put my feet in warm running water!

My time in Taiwan was brilliant and the country was so beautiful. After the streets of China where most people seem grumpy and unhappy, Taiwan was such a nice contrast where people actually smiledand enjoyed life!