A few months ago, I had the opportunity to make a weekend trip to Japan. As mentioned in an earlier post, going to neighboring countries in Asia is super affordable. For that reason, I decided to hop over to another island country: Taiwan.
With a little bit of web surfing, I managed to find round trip tickets to Taiwan for a little less than $350. That's pretty awesome considering the fact that I looked for them last minute and it was during holiday season.
Taiwan is a beautiful country. It's not a vacation for me unless I see palm trees and that's one thing I was greeted with everywhere there. Aside from visiting a close friend and former CDI teacher, I went to Taiwan with just one goal: eat everything on the
CNNgo list. This list is aptly titled, "40 Taiwanese foods we can't live without." My personal goal was to eat at least thirty out of the list and I accomplished it.
There are actually a lot more pictures like the one above, since that's really all I did on this trip. I didn't go to the famous 101 building, I didn't check out any temples, instead I ate my way through Taiwan.
Even though there were some pretty scary descriptions of certain dishes, I didn't back down. I kept a straight face and tried as much as I could. Shilin night market was a perfect way to knock out a ton off my list. I have to say though, the pig blood jelly didn't sit too well in my stomach...nor the "frog-egg" drink.
Do try out the foot massage offered in Taiwan. It won't be the most soothing massage you have received, but it will make you feel good afterwards. I went to the one at the night market and it cost only around $30 for an hour-long session!
Aside from all the eating though, I did get to travel around the city for the four days I was there. I was lucky to have my friend as a guide because Chinese is not my specialty. I love language and always try to learn a few phrases from each, but Chinese is one that I cannot, for the life of me, pick up. The tone and certain pronunciations are just impossible to follow.
The Taipei zoo is not anything too out of the ordinary. However, if you do get to visit, get on the gondola and go to the top of the mountain.
It's actually a bit scary because it dips and rises like a roller coaster ride. It's about a 25 minute ride from the zoo to the top of the mountain, but the scenery is absolutely stunning.
If you do make it up there, check out the Guan Ding tea house. Not only do they have some interesting tasting tea-flavored ice cream, but the lady that works there will let you try different types of tea brewed in her own special way.
I do have to say, the most fun thing about this trip was going shrimping. Not fishing, but catching shrimp! All it really is is a giant pool filled with some big prawns. You pay by the hour and however many shrimp you catch is how many you get to eat. My boyfriend and I were pretty lucky and caught seven together. The restaurant also has a grill for you to cook your shrimp to your liking.
My flight back home was also pretty memorable- I got to ride on the Hello Kitty jet. Everything from the pillows, TV screen, utensils, and even the decoration on the food were all "Hello Kitty-ed" out. Not much of a fan, but I must admit it was too cute.
Although I wish I had more than just a weekend to travel around in Asia, trips like this one are still a good way to relax and be able to experience something different while you're out here in Korea for a whole year. I think making small trips throughout my stay in Korea is better than having one massive one after. This way, I can come back to work and make up for the budget losses!
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