Taiwan (07.-18.08.)

After my three-week trip, I spent four days back in Osaka before flying to Taiwan with a good friend. After all the travel stress, we deserved a bit of beach vacation, so we didn't have big plans for Taiwan. We hadn't prepared much, except for booking the first hostel in Taipei quickly at the airport before boarding our favorite airline's fancy purple plane. Arriving in Taiwan, it wasn't difficult to find the right bus to the city center, especially since the bus driver spoke decent English. Our hostel was also easy to find, and after dropping off our backpacks, we plunged back into the scorching heat of the city after a lunch break. We spent the first few days exploring the Taiwanese capital, which I would say is one of the most diverse cities I've ever seen. Despite the heat, we walked around a lot, completely fascinated by the cleanliness and openness of the people and their ability to communicate with us in English. The subway system here is much newer and more modern than Osaka's, very easy to navigate and pleasant to use. In the evening, we decided to visit Ximending, the party district that sounds just as crazy as it looks, with music and flashing lights everywhere, similar to Tokyo but more lively and crazier. There is also street food here, as well as open shops and souvenir shops with the craziest items and restaurants. We chose a Taiwanese restaurant located in a basement and decorated like a living room from the 80s, where we were pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of Taiwanese cuisine. Interestingly, we encountered a Japanese trio in Ximending who had sat next to us on the plane.

The next day, we visited some temples in Taipei and noticed that the airport must be nearby because the planes flew so low over the skyscrapers that I thought they would soon have to touch them. As a little relaxation, we visited a larger park and then went to Taipei's landmark, the 508-meter high Taipei 101 tower. The entrance to the observation deck was not easy to find, as it went through an incredibly large mall that was not so symmetrically designed. The visit to the tower was relatively expensive but definitely worth it, as you could enjoy a breathtaking view from every side. After the visit, we were led through hundreds of detours through jade shops or other luxury stores until we finally reached the exit, which was a bit annoying. Our needs were much simpler: we were hungry, so we got some food in the large food court. Well, a bit of the surrounding luxury must have rubbed off on us because we ate at a chef who had earned a Michelin star, and it was really delicious. Afterwards, we continued to explore the city, whose neighborhoods differ so much from each other that you sometimes wonder if you are still in the same country.

The next day was our hiking day. We took a bus and then a cable car, which offered wonderful views, to a nature park near Taipei that was dotted with small tea houses. On our way through nature, which fascinated us, we were completely alone, able to take in all the sounds and smells of the jungle and enjoyed our hiking day to the fullest, even though we were sweating terribly. It turned out that we took the cable car back down at the perfect time, as we were able to admire the most impressive and beautiful sunset over Taipei, which we had ever seen. The city appeared in different shades of gray, while the horizon had a bright red color that transformed into a pale orange and then a gray-blue at increasing heights, which enchanted us during the cable car ride. Back in the city, we still didn't have enough of the beautiful views, so we decided to climb Elephant Mountain, which promised a great view of the illuminated Taipei. Even at night, it was a challenge to climb the many steps to the viewpoint, but the view was well worth it. We took great photos of the panoramic view and were very satisfied with ourselves for walking and climbing so much today.

The next day, our journey continued to Jiufen, a small cute town near the northeastern coast on a mountain, which was the inspiration for the magical land in "Spirited Away". As Studio Ghibli fans, we had to see it, so we took the train towards the coast and then the bus up the mountain. Here it was already a bit more touristy, and there was a lot going on, but it was still worth it. The small streets were full of tiny shops, tea houses, and souvenir shops, all adorned with rows of red lanterns, creating a cozy atmosphere that captivated us. The view from up here was fabulous, and we really felt like we had arrived in a magical land. On the mountain side, we found a beautifully lit red tea house, and on the valley side, there were coastline arms covered in lush greenery that stretched out into the sea.

On the way back to Taipei, we stopped in a small town to see a waterfall, but we hadn't considered that the path there would be closed in the evening, so we looked around the town, which had many restaurants and souvenir shops. The town is famous for its large red lanterns, which can be described with wishes and then released into the sky. Especially at dusk, the deep red glowing lanterns looked very beautiful. We watched the spectacle from a small restaurant, strolled around the cute train station district, and then got back on the train to Taipei.

The next day, we took a bus to a nearby hiking area because we enjoyed the last hike so much. We walked through the jungle, climbed a mountain from which we would have had a magnificent view if it hadn't been cloudy. So we started the descent again and looked for a bus stop after leaving the forest behind us. We were stranded in the middle of nowhere and had no idea where we were, let alone how we would get back to Taipei. But hey, we quickly found the bus stop, it just looked very deserted and had no timetables posted, so we had no choice but to wait. And we were rewarded, a bus came, and we were so grateful that we didn't care where the bus would take us. Our reasoning was that it must be going somewhere, and we hoped to get further from there. So we got on the bus and let ourselves be surprised. A little adventure didn't harm us either. To our surprise, we ended up at Tamsui Metro Station, the terminal station of one of Taipei's metro lines. So that worked out quite well.

The next day, we continued to the national park. We took the train south to Hualien County. Since we couldn't reserve seats anymore, we made ourselves comfortable on the floor between the compartments, wrote postcards, listened to music, and despite our uncomfortable position, we were quite happy because this experience also created a great sense of adventure. When we arrived, we first looked for our hostel and suffered a lot from the sweltering heat and our luggage. After we had recovered a bit, we went to see the sea. A beautiful rocky beach awaited us, where we spent about three hours until it got dark, and then we went to the night market, which resembled a huge fair. It smelled incredibly delicious everywhere, there was clothing, toys, and all sorts of other stuff to buy. We decided to have some ice cream, followed by a few beers to end the day.

The next day, we finally had a well-deserved beach day and could relax at a very empty stretch of coastline. But even here, nature fascinated us a lot. The sand on the beach was pitch black, and the waves in the sea were so strong that they ripped off the metal (!) strap of my bikini. But well, the halter neck leaves tan lines anyway. Swimming in the high waves was quite exhausting, so we sat in ankle-deep water right at the transition from beach to sea and enjoyed the weather and the cool sea until we started throwing black sand at each other until we looked like we had rolled in a pile of coal. We fooled around for quite a while and ended up with sand sticking to us everywhere, but we had a lot of fun being childish again.

The next day, which was my friend's last day, we visited the port of Taipei and the associated district. We took a boat shuttle to the boat docks and strolled leisurely through the pretty area, enjoying the end of a great vacation. The next day, I had one more hiking destination in mind that I could reach by bus. I took the bus to the coast and went hiking there in a relaxed manner. The paths led up mountains surrounded by wild-growing trees and flowers, and when I reached a little height, I could admire the sea and the beautiful coastal formations. I took a little break here because the view captivated me so much. After the descent, I wanted to walk to another place where I could hike, but unfortunately, it seemed to be quite far away. However, I got lucky, and a Taiwanese guy my age, whom I had already seen during the previous hike, stopped his car next to me and asked if I wanted a ride. Someone who likes nature and looks nice can hardly be evil, so I got in and got to know Leo, a 23-year-old from Taipei. With him, I climbed over the rock formations on the coast, and then he asked me if he could treat me to a meal. I had only had breakfast, so it came in handy. We drove to another town in his car, which he wanted to show me because he had studied here. And we ate very, very delicious food in a small inconspicuous place on red and blue plastic chairs. I also drank the most delicious drink in the world there: a watermelon latte. Sounds strange, but it was extremely delicious. After that, he wanted to go eat cake, but I was hopelessly full, so after a stroll through the city, we made our way back to Taipei. Before getting on the highway, he stopped the car and asked me to wait for him for a moment. The dear guy came back with a bag from an apparently very good pastry shop and brought me two Taiwanese cakes that I should take back to Japan and eat with my friends. I was very touched by this gesture and found it incredibly kind of him. He even took me back to my hostel, and then we said goodbye, and I went to sleep soon after because I had to go to the airport early. Asians are just such nice people.