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TAIWAN SUMMER 2009 (ONE MONTH)
I’m looking back at photographs as I write this because pictures equal memories and my holiday to Taiwan in 2009 has given me many great ones to share. It may have been two years ago that I went but it most certainly feels less (cliché but true). I’m only going to write about a few things to avoid writing a report so lengthy that the scrollbar on this page won’t even be visible because I went to Taiwan with my family for an entire month.
The flight to Taiwan was over 10 hours and when you can’t wait to get there it feels even longer. There was a transfer in between; flying from London to Bangkok was the long one and flying from Bangkok to Taiwan only took a few hours. However, the journey isn’t so bad when you have some good films showing and a kid’s pack given to you. Furthermore, the food on the plane actually wasn’t bad but that might have had something to do with the fact that I was ridiculously hungry at the time and when you’re hungry, everything seems to taste much better.
On arrival, everyone in the airport had black hair (That’s when you know you’re in Taiwan!). It was late at night but even so it was roasting outdoors. There was also this certain smell that permeated the air, which I now call the ‘Taiwan smell’ because it is everywhere.
Taipei underground station
On the first week I stayed in Taipei to do work experience at a law firm for a week and on travelling to the firm I needed to take the underground every day. The most fascinating thing about the underground is that they have a mall (yes, a level below the trains!) with lots and lots of shops in, including many clothing stores, arcades and a large food court. So every day on our way back from work experience, me and my sister would stop by in the station and enjoy an hour or two of shopping (window shopping most of the time), indulging in the mouth watering delicacies. Many groups of students would be in the mall, presumably having just finished school and we often see different groups of students rehearsing dance routines in the corner. I have seen this on TV before and know that it is commonplace for teenagers to do that in Taiwan. One day me and my sister decided to take some sticker pictures using one of the photo booths. Photo booths like these are everywhere in Taiwan but almost nowhere in England (but you might find a few in China Town). The speciality is that you get to choose from so many frames which allow you to pose accordingly and you can actively edit using. Sounds fun but it’s also pretty stressful when the timer is counting down and you have less than 10 seconds to refine your failed art skills on the screen (and it doesn't make it any easier when everything is written in Japanese). These are printed out onto sticker paper so once you cut out each frame, you can stick them anywhere such as on the back of your mobile phone but many people don’t peel it off as a sticker and just use it as a photo to put inside of their wallets.
Food
For all of you food lovers, you’re going to love this section. This is the part where I recommend the snacks and dishes that have sent me to heaven and back.
In Taipei we went to eat at a cake buffet which was amazing. The notion of ‘eat as much as you want’ had never been put into a better context! You might also think that in Taiwan it’s just mostly Taiwanese/Chinese/Japanese food but there are lots of western restaurants where they would try to stick to a certain theme. Here are some of the photographs I took:
From the cake buffet!
Food I had in the food court of Taipei underground station. Crispy shredded chicken and hotpot :D
Donuts from a very famous donut company called ‘Mister Donut’ which came from Japan and they’re better than Krispy Kremes.
Tall Ice Cream - I managed to finish this but it wasn’t easy racing against the speed of it melting.
Night Markets
Night markets are everywhere in Taiwan and its popularity makes the streets of many towns very busy at night time. The best one I went to is the Shilin night market in Taipei. I only managed to take one picture here because how crowded it was induced fears of getting my camera stolen.
Plenty of food is sold in stalls but these are usually late night snacks; food that people wouldn’t usually have during the day or in the evening. People of all ages come; from small children to the elderly. Clothing, jewellery and gadgets are sold in small shops in the larger night markets. In some markets there are also games to play in which prizes can be won. The games are generally quite cheap to play. One game I know of costing only 50 pence to play is to try and catch fish in a large bowl using a small net made out of paper; given that it is very difficult to but as a reward you get to keep any of the fish you catch. I’ve played this before when I was younger but in 2009 the idea of it didn’t appeal to me so I didn’t play. I love the clothing you can get from the larger night markets. They are similar to the items that you will find in shops but at a much more affordable price and because haggling is generally a part of purchasing in night markets, you can get things for even cheaper. Very few sellers set a fixed price and many set a price on the spot when they are asked how much an item costs. This will often depend on how much they think the person is willing to pay and as this is the case, according to my cousin who was with me, many sellers supposedly had tried to overcharge me. This was because they were able to tell that I was from abroad (judging by my accent) and therefore assumed that I was unable to make a sound judgment on whether something is more expensive/ cheap relative to that sort of item in Taiwan.
Southern West
We went on an escorted tour around the Southern west of Taiwan where we visited a different everyday for a week. We went to a night market in Kaohsiung, the Cigu Salt Mountain and several unlikely museums such as that of the umbrella and of coffee. The travelling was very tiring but we made friends with a few old people (the majority of people on this tour were old) and they also had a karaoke machine on the coach! Apparently everybody would sing karaoke on the coach. It’s some sort of a norm and you’d stand out for not singing more than you would for doing so unless you were that bad but most people were surprisingly good. I don’t know where I got the guts from to sing with all of these people listening; I somehow managed a rendition of Westlife’s Against all odds…
Taipei 101 tower
At 1671ft with 101 floors, it isn’t surprising that the Taipei 101 skyscraper ranked officially as the world’s tallest building from 2004-2010 until the Burj Khalifa in Dubai was built.
The tower is notably divided into eight segments of eight floors each. This design is based on the Chinese-culture that the number eight symbolises good fortune and prosperity.
When I visited the tower, the highest floor I went up to was the third. Perhaps this had something to do with my fear of heights. Travelling at 37mph, the elevators have also been named the fastest in the world.
Although I missed out on a magnificent city-wide view from the top floor, I did escape a potentially traumatic experience. Besides, the shops on the first few floors were very nice and the food court needless to say was great :D. Most of all I was able to be the most tourist-like I could possibly be and take lots of pictures without being the only one doing so.
Ever since then I have been begging to go back to Taiwan again. This year it is possible but there is one condition: ‘only if you make the grades’…thanks mum, dad.
Emma 13 U
Emma 13 U
