It was a Friday night, and like other Friday nights when we meet over wine or beer, my friend, Rajni, and I talk about all sorts of stuff. We usually talk about our frustrations at work, but on this particular Friday night, we thought about the idea of travelling together. The trip was very spontaneous — one day, we found ourselves already booking a flight to Beijing. One month before the trip, we got our visas, booked our hotel, planned our itinerary, and we were good to go!
I know, I know. This post is four months overdue. But who says I can only write a year-ender post at the end of the year or at the beginning of the new year?!
Taipei 101 can be seen from almost any area in Taipei because of its stature, but the most amazing view can be seen atop the Elephant Mountain — you just need to hike hundreds of steps.
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It was a Wednesday. From our hotel in Zhongzheng, we took the MRT from Beimen Station towards Xiangshan Station. The commute took thirty minutes. As we approach the exit of Xiangshan Station, I slowly started to feel nervous as I am afraid I would give up and not finish the hike. You see, my last hike was three years ago, and that time, I was still relatively fit. Fast forward to present, I have gained a lot of pounds, and I am unfit as ever.
Taiwan has been enjoying the surge of tourists these past few years. Popular places to visit are Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, Taipei 101, the old townships of Shifen and Jiufen, and of course, the night markets — they are in abundance in the country. People has this impression that there’s nothing much to do or visit in Taiwan. It is often compared to Japan or Hong Kong, but the boring version of these countries. But then, if you come to think about it, nothing much can be done in these places; they are typical tourist spots and attractions.
But with a bit of research, you can find unusual places to visit, and activities to do in Taiwan. Taiwan has surprised me so much, and it is one of the best trips that I had, so far, in my short travelling life. The country has a lot of hidden gems, and endless activities to do. I experienced a lot of “first times” through this trip, and I have enjoyed a lot.
With this post, I shall share the unusual activities and places that I did and visited in Taiwan.
I am deeply sorry for being MIA these past few months. It has been six months since my last post. I wish I could say a lot has been going on in my life lately, but no, I am just lazy and unmotivated to write anything. Although, I have been travelling a lot. I actually just got back from a one week trip to Taiwan last week. I also went to China in November; Malaysia in December; and I went home to Manila twice in the last two months. Well, I guess, I have some excuse after all. Anyway, I hope I can write and share my travels to these places here on my blog. But my backlogs are endless, I am not even finished writing my Cambodia-Thailand trip. Worse, I even have pending posts to finish about my Japan trip! I went there November 2016!