Cruising Past Seventy: The Inner Journeys: OLA: Getting Enchanted in Taiwan!

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

OLA: Getting Enchanted in Taiwan!


Juoifen, The City of Sadness, in northern Taiwan

Here are some synonyms of the verb enchant: bewitch, delight, fascinate, charm, captivate, enrapture.

a Taiwanese fair by the sea
We got enchanted in Taiwan for 10 days in 2009 when Bill finally sold his business to plunge into retirement.  We had more time to get enraptured by its charm (the trip to HK was too short). And, although we started our visit with a goal of joining Bill’s friend Alan (with gracious Taiwanese wife Li Hua) and the many expats  teaching English in Taiwan (we even went to a Bluegrass Pub with them), that is where we slowly drifted to a fascination with traveling as a lifestyle!  

the majestic Marble Gorge
Taiwan lies off the southeastern coast of China and the northeastern tip of the Philippines.  The eastern part of the country is made up of five rugged mountain ranges (making it the world's fourth-highest island) and the western plains is home to most of Taiwan's 7M. The Taroko National Park in the rugged region is home to the Marble Gorge, carved by the erosive power of the Liwu River, began 200M years ago as sediment on the ocean’s bottom, still being uplifted by plates about 0.5cm per year. 

large jade market
The area supplies the Taipei Jianguo Jade Market with the kind of jade found only in Taiwan. The market lies underneath the elevated Jianguo Road, stretching for over a kilometer, one of the largest jade markets in all of Asia. Pinglin, on the other hand, is the most famous place for producing tea, with 80% of residents being tea growers. The hills all around are filled with neatly growing tea plants and the Pinglin Tea Industry Museum is the world's largest.

downtown in the city of Sadness
 On the northernmost tip lies Juifen where gold was discovered in 1893. The resulting gold rush hastened its development, but the mines shut down in 1971, and the town forgotten. In 1989, Hou Hsiao-hsien's movie, A City of Sadness, became a big hit. Soon retro-Chinese style cafés, tea houses, and souvenir stores bearing the name "City of Sadness" were built. In 2001, the city again became famous when its downtown was used as a model in the anime movie Spirited Away.

a temple for nine turtles in Tainan
In the south is Tainan City, the fifth largest and regarded as one of the oldest cities in Taiwan. The first Confucian school–temple was built there in 1665. The city claims more Buddhist and Taoist temples than any other city in Taiwan. But it was a trip to the nearby Salt Museum and Salt Mountain Resort that gave us a most forgettable (the Salt Mountain itself) experience. But it was our Taiwanese taxi driver who was the saving grace. He stopped the car, got out of his cab, took something out of his trunk, and gave cookies to us when he saw that he had a cup of coffee and that I looked hungry!

first Confucian temple in Tainan
the Bitan Bridge and its pedal boats
Taipei metropolitan area is the political, economic, and cultural center of Taiwan.  Just a short MRT ride away is Bitan in the Xindian District, New Taipei City. It literally means Green Lake, referring to where the Xindian River widens to form the lake. There is a long suspension bridge used only for people on foot and the area is alive with restaurants, carnival activities, and pedal boats.  You will find many interesting scenes on the ride around the lake. 

don't know how they got there but they did!
a mixture of Dutch and Spanish
At the other end of the MRT line is Danshui, originally settled by the Ketagalan aborigines. The Spanish established the mission of Santo Domingo there in the 17th century. In 1641, they were expelled from Taiwan by the Dutch who built Fort Anthonio, now the main building of the Fort San Domingo museum complex. The Dutch left Taiwan in 1661 following their defeat by Koxinga whose descendants were later defeated by the Qing Dynasty. A very enchanting history is part of Taiwan’s mystique.

National Palace Museum
The Japanese acquired Taiwan in 1895 after the First Sino-Japanese War. Following the Japanese surrender in 1945, the Republic of China took over the island. After losing Mainland China to the Chinese Communist Party in a Civil War, the ruling Kuomintang resettled the government to Taiwan with Taipei as the capital in 1949, carrying with them an amazing collection of Chinese artifacts. Thus, Taipei’s National Palace Museum is considered one of the world’s best museums! 

Shilin Night Market
Taipei is also famous for its many night markets, the busiest of which is the Shilin Night Market in the Shilin District.  Most night markets open around 4 PM and crowds reach their peak during the late evening hours, operating well past midnight. Bill and I visited a new night market each night. They are meccas for excellent, cheap street food (except for the stinky tofu) and some really nice shopping! You will be amazed with the size of succulent Taiwanese mangoes (like big papayas).

Taiwan's bullet train
We covered most of the island in easy day trips with the world’s most efficient MRT, regular and high speed rail, good highways and lots of bus lines and taxis, and airports from a small hotel near an MRT station! There we were treated to sunny-side eggs cooked to perfection just for the two of us every morning at the breakfast buffet of congee and condiments!

Taipei 101
Taipei 101 is a landmark skyscraper located in Xinyi District, ranked officially as the world's tallest from 2004 until the opening of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai in 2010.  Comprising 101 floors above ground and 5 floors, it is a symbol of modern technology and Asian tradition. Thus, it remains the biggest and most visible indicator of our enchantment with Taiwan!

large Taiwan mangoes
Next Stop: Reliving WWII (Bataan and Corregidor)

another scene in Bitan

16 comments:

  1. I am so glad i found your site. Fantastic photos - thank you!!

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  2. Now I too am enchanted with Taiwan. I did not even get to be there yet. Perhaps someday.

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  3. Carol, you are so blessed for your kind of life right now. I enjoyed the history & shared pictorials of Taiwan. When we get to travel, we would love to see Taiwan too. Taipei is one memorable place where my late Chinoy husband went to visit his brother & family. They used to lived there.I did not get the chance to see Taipei at that time.Thank you so much for sharing your cruising life style.Looking forward for more scenic places you will be posting. Angie M.

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  4. Hi Angie,
    I didn't know your late husband was from there! Sayang you did not go there. Really lovely place...and so clean! Thanks for your nice comments.
    Carol

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  5. Hi Rezervesana,
    Thank you so much for your nice comments!
    Carol

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  6. Hi Emma,
    You will get there some day! Taiwan is definitely enchanting. And I forgot to say...so clean!
    Carol
    PS Thanks for your comments!

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  7. Taiwan looks like a real must visit place! I really want to see ALL of the places you listed, and it seems like you had good experiences with the people as well.
    Do you speak Chinese? Is that why you enjoyed so much and seemed to have an easy time?

    ReplyDelete
  8. No, we didn't speak Chinese and the people also did not speak English but somehow we ere able to communicate! I forgot to relate the story of the bus we took from Tainan to the Salt Mountain. The driver said when we were getting off the bus, 'tri terty'. we finally realized it meant there was only one bus going back and we better be there at 3:30! That's when we took the cab back and met the very nice taxi driver!

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