Taiwan Travelogue

This post is long overdue because I actually went to Taiwan in July of this year, but I haven’t had time to collect my thoughts. Furthermore, it was quite a downer of a trip for me due to personal reasons, so I wasn’t really sure if I wanted to do a post about it. Nevertheless, I thought it would still be quite meaningful to pin down some memories from the trip.

Taipei

We were in Taipei for the start and end of the trip, leaving the city during the days in between. It was a bustling city, but nothing much that I couldn’t experience back at home. We mostly spent the time shopping and visiting night markets. Ximending is a must go for shopping, and 1914 Huashan Creative Park will be an interesting place if you like artsy fartsy stuff! Dazzling Cafe is a must go as well, the food was good, and the desserts even better. 

The one thing that I probably loved about Taiwan were it’s convenience stores! Korea, Japan and Taiwan have literally took my heart away with their amazing convenience stores that sell nearly everything (the packagings are super aesthetically pleasing too). 

Hualien

Hualien was a 180 degree difference from the city. The views were pretty, with beaches and nature galore, but that was it. Furthermore, it was raining the whole two days we were there, and transportation was only via car. The only place that I thought was worth going would be the 七星潭 (Qixingtan) Beach. The shore was filled with rocks and pebbles as opposed to sand, and the waters were a clear blue shade. 

Taitung

Taitung was filled with plantations and farms, and had much more attractive sites to offer. For someone like me who loves cycling, I truly enjoyed the Taitung Forest Park. You are literally surrounded by trees, nature and lakes as you ride around the area. You will feel so relaxed that you become unaware of time passing. We also made our way to 三仙台 (Sanxiantai), but were way too tired to make our way across. Being the cycling fanatic I was, 伯龙大道 (Mr. Brown Avenue) was one of the most enjoyable locations for me. We rented a four seater vehicle (with a motor installed), and scaled the endless greenery and fields.