Following our Korea and Japan adventures we had a planned detour back in Sydney for 6 weeks to take advantage of opportunities that travelling gypsies just can’t pass up – 5 weeks of house sitting that had landed in our lap, and we both had secured 5 weeks of short term contract work. A win-win! Since we embarked on this nomadic journey of travel, contract work and not living in our own home we have been amazed at the opportunities that have been available to us. Sure, this is not a lifestyle that works with kids who need to go to school, or for business owners, but the freedom that has come from ditching permanent work for a while and saying yes to different things has shown us a whole new way of living, and it’s addictive.
After all the family and friend catch ups, and with replenished funds and a strong desire to leave Sydney’s cold winter, we took the plunge with China Airlines and headed for Rome. A few days before we departed we were informed that the planned 3 hour refuelling stop in Taipei was to become a 40 hour stopover, and we were not entirely disappointed! Overall China Airlines was very impressive – new aircrafts, decent airline food and good entertainment on board, and due to the delay we were put up at the Novotel with an 8am check in and midday checkout the following a day. For an unplanned inconvenience, it was actually a very convenient stop over on a long haul trip.
Taiwan is a small island off the east coast of China mainland, and depending on what you read or who you ask it may or may not be under Chinese rule/treated as a separate entity but still part of China/stand alone as an independent country (there is heaps to read on this if you are that way inclined….). What we can tell you though is that it is modern, clean, friendly and easy to navigate. The fast train from the airport into Taipei main station is super quick and regular, and from there we bought a 24 hour metro pass to get around town.
One of the most popular things to do in Taipei is visit the National Palace Museum, a collection of Chinese treasures collected by emperors over the centuries, and said to be a larger collection of artefacts than can be found even in mainland China. In the stifling heat and humidity of Taipei, the museum was a welcome relief and at less than AU$5 entry it was a few hours well spent.
The other iconic destination worth a look is the formidable Taipei 101 building – a skyscraper that held the title of world’s tallest building for 5 years from 2004-2009 and is still the tallest building in an earthquake/typhoon prone area (apparently just 200m from the fault line!). We didn’t go up to the observatory deck – at AU$27 per person it seemed a little steep – but the views from the street of the building itself were awesome if you love a tall building.
We instead took our views in from the little village of MaoKong, set amongst tea plantations and accessible via cable car next to the the Taipei Zoo. For AU$5 we rode the gondola to the top, where a small village of cafes, galleries and shops make a nice resting place for a cool drink and a snack, while looking out over the sprawling city of Taipei, including it’s iconic tower. We had 40 hours to kill so this was a nice way to spend some time, although probably not an essential stop on a Taipei itinerary.
The night markets however are a must see!! There are a few across the city, we went to Shilin Markets accessible easily via the metro and one of the largest. It was chaotic, Asian, street food and market stall madness, and the highlight of our brief stopover! Everything we sampled from a variety of carts was tasty and so, so cheap! We are talking AU 25c for a cup of noodles that appear in the 2018 Michelin Guide, 30c a piece for kebabs on a stick, and 50c for a dozen fried sweet potato-ish balls of golden goodness, dusted in sweet sugar. If you do nothing else on a stopover in Taipei, leave your hotel to get out and eat! It’s all delicious!
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