Taiwan: exploring nature, experiencing temples and savouring tea

We arrived in Taipei after a 18-hour flight, during which time I slept a total of 0 minutes. We'd left Mexico City 2 days earlier and spent less than 24 hours exploring Vancouver and you'd think I'd be too tired to stay awake. But the excitement was stronger than my desire to sleep, so I spent the entire plane ride watching movies and imagining the 8 month adventure we had now embarked on.

We spent very little time in Taipei before making our way to Alishan National Park, a picturesque place high up in the mountains, surrounded by clouds, fog and the famous tea plantations. We walked through the paths of what felt like an enchanted forest on a cool misty day and saw trees that were thousands of years old. We discovered a small stall with delicious dumplings and noodles for dinner. 

The next morning, we woke up at 4:00 a.m. to hike up to the summit to see the sunrise. The view at the top was breathtaking and we felt a sense of pride knowing that we'd walked through the dimly lit forest pathways instead of taking the train which was overflowing with groggy tourists. 

The bus ride from Alishan to Hualien City was one of the windiest I've ever experienced. At 2500 meters above sea level, it was no easy feat to get back down the mountain safely, but we did. I even spotted some monkeys through the fog - they were gone in a flash. We visited the Taroko National Park the next day to see the gorge: surrounded by lush, green mountains split by the snaking blue-green Liwu River. The Eternal Spring (or Changchun) Shrine is a memorial which honours workers who died during the construction of the highway: a small temple with a continuously flowing waterfall. 

In Taipei, we visited the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall where we saw Falun Gong demonstrators dressed in yellow, white and blue, moving peacefully in unison. I remember walking past a protest on Parliament Hill in Ottawa years ago and saw a protester holding a sign that read "Falun Dafa is kind". I hadn't understood the meaning in its political context at the time, but seeing this gathering in Taipei made me appreciate the power of people sitting in silence. 

The Lungshan temple in Taipei was an impressive display of offerings, from flowers to food, left by worshippers. The temple's roof and trim was lined with ornate dragon figures as lit candles cast a warm glow on the walls. 

One of my favourite parts of Taiwan were the markets, which sold anything from flowers to seafood and underwear, but especially the night markets which offered an endless selection of meat on sticks, and the mouthwatering dhan (egg) waffle, with a taro filling. During my time in Taiwan, my drink of choice was bubble tea, more specifically rose milk tea, which was aesthetically pleasing as it was delicious. A fancy restaurant we passed close to the night market had shark fin soup on its menu and I was reminded of the negative environmental repercussions cultural traditions can have. 

While we were Alishan, someone (not naming names) had forgotten their prescription glasses in the hotel room we stayed at. Thankfully, the hotel mailed them to us back in Taipei. We picked the package up at 7-Eleven (basically on every street corner) only to find they'd sent someone else's glasses. UGH. So we went to a department store where they did an eye test, we picked out the frames and we had the new glasses ready within an hour for USD $80. Our experience with the Taiwanese health care system was one that was quick, effective and affordable.

We got the glasses just in time before leaving for Philippines the next day...we were going to need them, especially to drive our rented motorcycle around the islands we were about to visit!