Taipei Part 1

Some of you have been following along on Instagram and will probably know that I have been in Taiwan over the past few weeks! It was my first time travelling alone and absolutely amazing! I just got back late last night and thought I would share a few highlights from the first 7 days...

This is me at the airport before leaving. It was the first photo taken on my Polaroid camera! We left home especially early that day so that we would make the shops in time to buy some film for the camera before leaving.

Since we had so much time to spare after getting the film and before my flight, we watched Despicable Me 2 at the cinema. Have any of you seen it? What did you think?

 

Here's a funny story... When I went to pose for this photo, I picked up my suitcase (which is new and I love!) and just before I had gotten something out of it and forgotten to do the zip back up again! So yes, all my nicely folded belongings spilled out all over the floor in the middle of the airport. It was a tad embarrassing and I know that the people next to us were trying hard not to laugh.

Unfortunately, being the first time using the Polaroid camera, we weren't really sure what to do, so didn't manage to get a photo (I was cleaning it all up really quick!)

Oh, how I love the views from planes!

Hong Kong airport was amazing. It was so big we had to catch a train from one end to another!

After I arrived, I was welcomed, we had lunch and then went home for a nap. Then that afternoon we went out to the National Music and Performing Arts buildings, where we watched a Chinese teenage orchestra.

There were some really nice buildings there. I love this one with the sunset colours in the background!

The next day we had a quick visit to Anna (the 11 year old girl of the family I stayed with)'s school in the mountains.

Then there was a quick visit to the holiday home of the first prime minister of Taiwan. Truthfully, the architecture inspired me more than the history! Look at the light flooding through those windows!

The Top is an amazing restaurant overlooking Taipei. It had great food and a fantastic atmosphere!

A typhoon came through northern Taiwan whilst I was visiting. Despite lots of talk about it, being trapped in the tiny apartment where I stayed for the duration, I hardly even noticed!

One noticeable thing though was that this ferris wheel that we were going to ride on was closed in preparation. We watched Pacific Rim at the cinema instead!

Food was definitely one of the most interesting aspects of my stay. We ate at lots of different places, some very nice, some with long waiting lines, some that I am adamant would definitely not pass regulations here in Australia...

I love the train-style restaurants! I had previously been to one in Japan as well, but I was happy to go again in Taiwan. The food is all on a big conveyor belt that goes around past every table in the restaurant. If there is something you want, you just grab it off and eat it! Awesome!

Day 5 was a packed, fun day which included a stop at the prawn factory where we ate freshly caught prawns... yum!

And a fish foot spa! At first I was really intimidated by the fish but I soon got used to it! These were just the small fish, there were also medium-size and large fish. Sitting with your feet in the water and a Coke in hand, it was a great way too cool off on a hot day (which they all were of course!)

Lunch was interesting. I have no words.

The museum at Yilan was really great to learn about the area and it's history. Of course, once again, it was the architecture that caught my eye!

The Taiwanese beach really made me miss Bremer Bay with it's white, white sand and clear turquoise waters.

I did only a brief bit of research about Taipei before leaving. This research did however leave me to discover Taipei 101, the second tallest building in the world. I am so glad I was able to visit for real!

We went up to the 91st level (of 101). Apparantley for the other levels after that, there is no visible entrance and only select people can enter. By the time we went up it was night, so it was really nice to see all the city lights. A big difference from home where the only lights visible after dark are from the stars!

You may not understand the difficulties we had trying to get me and the top of the tower in the same frame! Yes, it's really tall! Picture me standing on my tiptoes on a bench whilst Anna (the photographer) is crouched down on the ground as far as she can go. Alas, we were successful!

Bright lights, big city...

On the top most floor of the shopping section were all the really fancy and expensive stores.

 

 This is the National Palace Museum. Lots of China's important artefacts and things are kept here.

On this particular night, dinner was cooked and served right before our eyes.
All the diners sat around and the chef cooked in the middle. Such a fun experience!

As you can see, my trip to Taipei was amazing and I had a great time! I'll share pictures from the second week soon!

What's the weirdest thing you've eaten overseas? We'll see if it compares to what I ate in the second week... keep on the look out!