Combined together with late nights I think at the end of four months I am going to need to disappear for a couple of months and maybe just lie in a dark room for a while!
I've written before that as I am journeying alone it is good for me to have as many 'distractions' as possible and in trying to squeeze as many things into each day as possible helps to keep me occupied and prevent me from sometimes focussing on the fact that it can be rather lonely 10,000 miles away from home all by yourself.
Another reason that I've taken to packing so much in is also because at this stage of my life I have no idea if I'm ever going to be able to visit them again in the future.
I think one thing that this trip has confirmed to me is that I will always be someone who enjoys travelling to different places and seeing different things. Sure, it's been totally different to any other journey I've taken before, but the countries that I've made it to so far (and the ones that are left) are places that I had a distinct interest in visiting.
This trip has helped me tick off at least ten different countries that I've not been to before, but if I had an actual list written out of all the places that I want to visit during my life then I think it would probably be considerably longer than any essay I had to write in three years at university.
I think one thing that this trip has confirmed to me is that I will always be someone who enjoys travelling to different places and seeing different things. Sure, it's been totally different to any other journey I've taken before, but the countries that I've made it to so far (and the ones that are left) are places that I had a distinct interest in visiting.
This trip has helped me tick off at least ten different countries that I've not been to before, but if I had an actual list written out of all the places that I want to visit during my life then I think it would probably be considerably longer than any essay I had to write in three years at university.
I've enjoyed pretty much everywhere that I've been, and I'd probably go back to most of them without a second thought, but to be honest this all-encompassing journey around Asia will probably encourage me to visit different parts of the world. There are hundreds of different cities on my doorstep in Europe which I haven't yet ventured to, and I don't know when (or if) there will be another opportunity that I will have to take four months and spend it travelling round a number of countries in a different continent.
I hope that a chance like that will open up for me in the future, but I can't guarantee that I will ever get to enjoy the sights of places like Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam again, which is why it is important for me to make the most of every opportunity and ensure that I spent my time in each city wisely.
I hope that a chance like that will open up for me in the future, but I can't guarantee that I will ever get to enjoy the sights of places like Cambodia, Malaysia and Vietnam again, which is why it is important for me to make the most of every opportunity and ensure that I spent my time in each city wisely.
*********************************************************************************
I feel like I have settled into quite a comfortable rhythm in Taiwan, and I like the combination of being somewhere that has plenty to do, combined with having a nice place to stay and convenient ways to get around. All these elements are contributing to what is a very enjoyable stay.
Perhaps because it was pushed further back towards the end of my trip and it was sandwiched somewhere between Korea, Japan and Hong Kong - the three places I was anticipating the most, coming here became a bit of an afterthought.
I didn't really have any expectations for coming to Taiwan, and figured that due to its close links with China that my time in Taipei would be very similar to what I experienced in Shanghai, but I have to be honest and say that it is nothing like I expected.
Not to judge all of Taiwan from four days so far in the capital city, but I feel comfortable in saying that this has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my trip so far - and I say that without attempting to be prisoner of the moment. Upon reflection there have been many enjoyable cities, but when my journey is all over and I'm back under the grey skies of northern England, I will probably look back on Taipei as one of the best cities that I stayed in.
Obviously I have worked around the time-frame that I set out by deciding to stay here for five nights, but I feel like any shorter length of time and I'd probably have felt like it wasn't possible to see and do everything that I wanted to. In that situation obviously I would have prioritised things like Taipei 101 and Chiang Kei-shek, but with extra time on my hands I feel like I have done a good job so far with my itinerary.
Some cities I've visited like Kuala Lumpur, Busan and Bangkok I have felt really fulfilled by my stay there - I could probably have spent even longer in any one of those three places, and the same goes for Taipei. There are others where it's turned into an exercise in filling time - Phnom Penh for example although that was due in part to staying there to sort out a visa.
Coming to Taipei has now made me more interested at seeing other parts of Taiwan, but I think that the capital would certainly be a great starting point for anyone looking to come here. Not quite to the same level of Malaysia and Singapore, but I feel that anyone who'd never been to Asia before would certainly not feel totally over-matched by coming here for their first trip to the continent. I'd certainly suggest that anyone who is looking for something a bit different rather than the more visited parts of this neck of the woods should definitely consider this as a potential holiday destination.
My plan for today was pretty similar to the one yesterday, although I was going to be spending time in the northern part of the city rather than in the heart of it. Studying the map whilst watching the NBA Playoffs this morning I put together a route which would see me visit a number of different historical locations within the city all of which were relatively close together.
The weather was pretty perfect outside again today (that is something I can definitely get used to) and the one great thing about it, like the last couple of days is that even though it's humid out, there is also a lovely breeze blowing around which makes all the difference.
This time of the year, weather-wise, really is perfect for visiting countries in this region. In Korea I know from personal experience that spring is the most enjoyable time to be out and about. The evenings are cool, but warm enough to still wear shorts and you can get away with just a light jacket early in the morning and when the sun goes down. I was very surprised by the contrasts of summer and winter over there as in summer it was equatorially hot and then in the winter it was like living in one of the poles with a ton of snow showing up unannounced some mornings.
Figuring out the best away to go about things, I was travelling on the metro to a stop called Yuanshan which was relatively easy to get to from where I am staying. The Taipei Metro is becoming a bit like the traffic in Manila - something I discuss each and every day - but it still shocks me how quiet and nice it is on there. It's also really quick as well which is brilliant, although I suppose that is the benefit of staying pretty much in the middle of the city.
On a couple of occasions within the last few days I have actually been able to walk from one metro stop to another which would save me some time in transferring lines, and also because quite a lot of it is overground, it's easy to follow when I look at the map and think that I can get between two places without having to buy another token.
Yuanshan is on the banks of the Keelung River which runs horizontally on the edge of the city centre area. It is the closest metro stop for the first two places I was visiting today which happened to be right around the corner from one another.
It took about twenty minutes to get to the Confucius Temple which was the first place I was going, and thanks to some useful instructions at MRT Station I took a short walk in the direction of the temple, stopping first at the shop to get myself some food.
I can't pretend to know much about Confucius despite having attempted to read up on it before. I was first introduced to the concepts of Confucius whilst living in Korea as I know that a lot of the behaviours of the natives are linked to the teachings of the famous scholar.
Whilst in Hanoi we went to temple which had been a Confucius School and there was some information about him there which I read and tried to understand.
I actually picked up a leaflet today which I intend to read through as it explains the six arts taught by Confucius, and hopefully gives me some background information which will stick in my head next time I come across it.
I've written before how much I like the architecture of Asian temples, and having visited a fair few of them during my time on this continent I feel like I have a good appreciation for them by now.
The entrance to the temple was pretty inconspicuous, but once you got inside the inner walls of the temple itself, that's when things started to get a little more spectacular:
As with any temple of this kind there were a number of different courtyards, before you get to the central sections. It's like those Russian Dolls what you see where inside each larger one is a smaller doll, that's how I feel about looking at these temples because just when you think you've seen everything you step through another door and there's another courtyard, or another building:
Once you eventually got to the central courtyard there was the main building in the middle, but then some smaller rooms around the outside which had some exhibits about Confucius and his teachings. It actually felt a bit more like a museum than a temple itself, and was pretty educational. I presume in a bid to cater to all ages, there were sections which were interactive as there were video screens, opportunities to try your hand at calligraphy and also a room where you could do some rubbings of ancient Chinese script.
I was genuinely very impressed with the place and took quite a bit of time to walk around admiring not only the architecture, but taking in as much information as I possibly could:
Another great thing about the temple was the fabulous gift shop which at first I wasn't going to go into, but in the end am very glad that I did. Rather than having the usual generic stuff you'd find in a 'regular' gift shop this had some very unique gifts, and some which could be personalised also. I didn't pick anything up, but spent about ten minutes just walking around considering whether or not I'd have any space for any of this stuff in my bag!
Just around the corner was the second of my stops for the day which was the Baoan Temple. It was pretty similar looking to the Longshan Temple which I'd visited yesterday, and like the Confucius Temple I'd just walked around there were a number of courtyards and rooms which led to different parts of it. It was like a maze just walking through the whole thing. Instead of having exhibits in each of the side rooms there were statues and shrines to various different Gods which people were preying to, and also lighting incense in front of them. I don't really have a full grasp of their routine, but it was interesting see people following different patterns whilst standing and preying in front of different statues:
The architecture in the Baoan Temple was also fantastic, and although it was quite busy around me, I spent some time admiring the art work whilst trying not to get in anybody's way.
It looked like they were setting up for something, although I'm not quite sure what, but there were people setting tables out and putting flowers on them which I presume was for some kind of ceremony.
Across the road from the Baoan Temple was what looked to be another temple, although I didn't catch the name of this one. It looked like it was closed, or at least under construction as the two side entrances were blocked, but the main one had the gates wide open. When I arrived it looked like a traditional Chinese puppet show was just starting, and although I had no idea what was going on, I stood and watched for a while as four or five characters on stage acted like they were in some kind of Punch and Judy Variety show! It was obviously entertaining the crowd as they let out several laughs as I stood and watched:
Although the first two destinations I visited were pretty close together, the next place I was heading to was a little further away. I could actually have hopped on the metro, but I guess the downfall of having so few lines is that they don't always join up with one another. In order to get to the closest metro to where I was going next, I'd have had to have gone back into the city and then headed back out in the same direction, but on a different line. Considering the weather was so nice and it looked on my map as though there were some green spaces to walk through, I figured that it made sense to actually spend some of my afternoon walking and taking in my surroundings rather than just looking at them out of a subway window.
I had to head back in the direction of the metro station and then walk towards Taipei Fine Arts Museum which is in the grounds of the Flora Expo Park. Up ahead of me I saw a very impressive building which I later identified as The Grand Hotel, but I walked the opposite way from it in order to go through the Expo Park and head in the Direction of the Riverside Park which took me along the Keelung and in the right direction for where I needed to go next:
The park itself was pretty nice, and I imagine you could spend a lot of time just sitting in there enjoying yourself. It stretched quite a long way on my map and I walked through it until I got to the first pedestrian bridge I could which took me over to the other side of the river.
I got a better view of the Grand Hotel from here and also saw quite a few people canoeing on the river as well as the occasional fish popping its head out of the water.
Once I got to the Dazhi Bridge, I had to head back in land a little before being able to cross and getting this superb view of the city:
It's really amazing to think that somewhere in a city which is well known for its highrise buildings can also have so much green space in and around it, and I think that's perhaps one of the things which separates Taipei from Bangkok or even Kuala Lumpur, although there were a few parks there. It's more like Ho Chi Minh City in terms of its open spaces, and they are certainly appreciated by people walking their dogs, exercising or just relaxing away from the city.
Once I got across the bridge, I had to go back on myself a little in order to visit the Martys' Shrine which from a distance looks a little bit like the gate of the Memorial Hall - although definitely with less scaffolding.
As luck would have it, I timed my visit there to perfection once again as the changing of the guard was taking place again, so I was able to stand and watch as the soldiers went through a very similar routine than the day before as two new guards took their place on podiums at the front of the monument:
The good thing about the Martyrs' Shrine is that there are actually two different places which are guarded so if you're not there exactly on the hour then if you stick around for at least half an hour there's an opportunity to see it take place at the opposite end of the complex:
The Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the war dead of the Republic of China in various conflicts throughout history. The shrine itself is actually at the far end of the complex, and it is a rather large place with a wide open space in the middle like like the Memorial Hall.
I wandered from one end to the other, coming across two very colourful pagodas, one on each side of the stone courtyard before eventually going up and towards the shrine itself:
Just as I got there it was time for the changing of the guard at that end of the complex so I didn't quite get enough time to look inside as people were ushered out of the way in order for the guards to perform their roles. Once again it was very impressive watching them and they were extremely coordinated. I presume very much like the Beefeaters and those on Horse Guards Parade, it is a pretty prestigious job, and standing still for that long certainly takes some doing:
The Shrine was heading towards closing time so I wandered off back down parallel to the river again, this time on the opposite side towards the final thing I'd wanted to see today which was the Miramar Entertainment Park. The picture on the map, and name make it sound as though it is some kind of amusement park, when in fact it is a shopping centre which a rather large Ferris Wheel outside of it.
I've discussed before that I'm not a whopping great big fan of heights, and I wouldn't say that the Ferris Wheel is something that particularly intigues me at fairs - in fact do they even still have them?
I have been confident enough to go on the London Eye a couple of times, although that feels different because you're in a large capsule rather than an individual one, and there's no chance of it wobbling around in the wind.
I figured that it was time to put my moderate dislike of heights behind me and paid for a ticket to get on just as the sun was starting to disappear from the sky. I'd imagine that during the weekends it can get quite busy, but when I lined up there were only four other sets of people in the queue, and two of them were waiting for the glass bottom carriage to come around so I was pretty much able to get on straight away.
The carriage I was riding in was moving pretty slowly which was perfect for taking photos, but not perfect in terms of the wind taking its toll. It wobbled left and right slightly, and me moving around to get the best angles for my pictures probably didn't help any!
The view wasn't exactly a spectacular one, but you could see Taipei 101 which had made brief appearances throughout the day. There was also a strangely good view of the airport which was extremely close by. As I came down on the other side, there was much better view of the greener side of Taipei which slowly disappeared as my rotation came to an end.
Getting my feet back on the ground was a bit of a relief as with my carriage blowing backwards and forwards for twenty minutes I was having to take plenty of pictures in order to distract myself from the heights. Goodness knows what I'd have been like if I went in the glass-bottomed one!
It was starting to fall dark all around me and that time of the day when I was considering what to do for dinner. I feel like I have had less dinner conundrums in Taipei than previously in Korea and China, but I certainly look forward to very soon just being able to reach into the cupboard and cook myself something or to be able to go to a restaurant where I can actually read the menu.
Speaking of which, I was planning to go back to the Living Mall tonight to get some dinner, but on my way there I came across something called MOS Burger which looked like it might serve some reasonable food. It seemed to be a little more upmarket and Lotteria or McDonalds so figured that it'd be worth a try. Once I was at the front of the queue, I carried out the tried and tested art of pointing at things on the menu in order to get my order across, and although the guy serving me couldn't speak any English whatsoever, I think we both handled it fairly well!
The end of another day, and time to reflect back on another busy adventure filled with lots of walking, and some enjoyable experiences. Tomorrow is my final one in Taipei before moving on, and as we all know, I often like to save the best until last...
Ferris Wheel
The Everly Brothers (1964)
Perhaps because it was pushed further back towards the end of my trip and it was sandwiched somewhere between Korea, Japan and Hong Kong - the three places I was anticipating the most, coming here became a bit of an afterthought.
I didn't really have any expectations for coming to Taiwan, and figured that due to its close links with China that my time in Taipei would be very similar to what I experienced in Shanghai, but I have to be honest and say that it is nothing like I expected.
Not to judge all of Taiwan from four days so far in the capital city, but I feel comfortable in saying that this has been one of the most enjoyable parts of my trip so far - and I say that without attempting to be prisoner of the moment. Upon reflection there have been many enjoyable cities, but when my journey is all over and I'm back under the grey skies of northern England, I will probably look back on Taipei as one of the best cities that I stayed in.
Obviously I have worked around the time-frame that I set out by deciding to stay here for five nights, but I feel like any shorter length of time and I'd probably have felt like it wasn't possible to see and do everything that I wanted to. In that situation obviously I would have prioritised things like Taipei 101 and Chiang Kei-shek, but with extra time on my hands I feel like I have done a good job so far with my itinerary.
Some cities I've visited like Kuala Lumpur, Busan and Bangkok I have felt really fulfilled by my stay there - I could probably have spent even longer in any one of those three places, and the same goes for Taipei. There are others where it's turned into an exercise in filling time - Phnom Penh for example although that was due in part to staying there to sort out a visa.
Coming to Taipei has now made me more interested at seeing other parts of Taiwan, but I think that the capital would certainly be a great starting point for anyone looking to come here. Not quite to the same level of Malaysia and Singapore, but I feel that anyone who'd never been to Asia before would certainly not feel totally over-matched by coming here for their first trip to the continent. I'd certainly suggest that anyone who is looking for something a bit different rather than the more visited parts of this neck of the woods should definitely consider this as a potential holiday destination.
My plan for today was pretty similar to the one yesterday, although I was going to be spending time in the northern part of the city rather than in the heart of it. Studying the map whilst watching the NBA Playoffs this morning I put together a route which would see me visit a number of different historical locations within the city all of which were relatively close together.
The weather was pretty perfect outside again today (that is something I can definitely get used to) and the one great thing about it, like the last couple of days is that even though it's humid out, there is also a lovely breeze blowing around which makes all the difference.
This time of the year, weather-wise, really is perfect for visiting countries in this region. In Korea I know from personal experience that spring is the most enjoyable time to be out and about. The evenings are cool, but warm enough to still wear shorts and you can get away with just a light jacket early in the morning and when the sun goes down. I was very surprised by the contrasts of summer and winter over there as in summer it was equatorially hot and then in the winter it was like living in one of the poles with a ton of snow showing up unannounced some mornings.
Figuring out the best away to go about things, I was travelling on the metro to a stop called Yuanshan which was relatively easy to get to from where I am staying. The Taipei Metro is becoming a bit like the traffic in Manila - something I discuss each and every day - but it still shocks me how quiet and nice it is on there. It's also really quick as well which is brilliant, although I suppose that is the benefit of staying pretty much in the middle of the city.
On a couple of occasions within the last few days I have actually been able to walk from one metro stop to another which would save me some time in transferring lines, and also because quite a lot of it is overground, it's easy to follow when I look at the map and think that I can get between two places without having to buy another token.
Yuanshan is on the banks of the Keelung River which runs horizontally on the edge of the city centre area. It is the closest metro stop for the first two places I was visiting today which happened to be right around the corner from one another.
It took about twenty minutes to get to the Confucius Temple which was the first place I was going, and thanks to some useful instructions at MRT Station I took a short walk in the direction of the temple, stopping first at the shop to get myself some food.
I can't pretend to know much about Confucius despite having attempted to read up on it before. I was first introduced to the concepts of Confucius whilst living in Korea as I know that a lot of the behaviours of the natives are linked to the teachings of the famous scholar.
Whilst in Hanoi we went to temple which had been a Confucius School and there was some information about him there which I read and tried to understand.
I actually picked up a leaflet today which I intend to read through as it explains the six arts taught by Confucius, and hopefully gives me some background information which will stick in my head next time I come across it.
I've written before how much I like the architecture of Asian temples, and having visited a fair few of them during my time on this continent I feel like I have a good appreciation for them by now.
The entrance to the temple was pretty inconspicuous, but once you got inside the inner walls of the temple itself, that's when things started to get a little more spectacular:
As with any temple of this kind there were a number of different courtyards, before you get to the central sections. It's like those Russian Dolls what you see where inside each larger one is a smaller doll, that's how I feel about looking at these temples because just when you think you've seen everything you step through another door and there's another courtyard, or another building:
Once you eventually got to the central courtyard there was the main building in the middle, but then some smaller rooms around the outside which had some exhibits about Confucius and his teachings. It actually felt a bit more like a museum than a temple itself, and was pretty educational. I presume in a bid to cater to all ages, there were sections which were interactive as there were video screens, opportunities to try your hand at calligraphy and also a room where you could do some rubbings of ancient Chinese script.
I was genuinely very impressed with the place and took quite a bit of time to walk around admiring not only the architecture, but taking in as much information as I possibly could:
Another great thing about the temple was the fabulous gift shop which at first I wasn't going to go into, but in the end am very glad that I did. Rather than having the usual generic stuff you'd find in a 'regular' gift shop this had some very unique gifts, and some which could be personalised also. I didn't pick anything up, but spent about ten minutes just walking around considering whether or not I'd have any space for any of this stuff in my bag!
Just around the corner was the second of my stops for the day which was the Baoan Temple. It was pretty similar looking to the Longshan Temple which I'd visited yesterday, and like the Confucius Temple I'd just walked around there were a number of courtyards and rooms which led to different parts of it. It was like a maze just walking through the whole thing. Instead of having exhibits in each of the side rooms there were statues and shrines to various different Gods which people were preying to, and also lighting incense in front of them. I don't really have a full grasp of their routine, but it was interesting see people following different patterns whilst standing and preying in front of different statues:
The architecture in the Baoan Temple was also fantastic, and although it was quite busy around me, I spent some time admiring the art work whilst trying not to get in anybody's way.
It looked like they were setting up for something, although I'm not quite sure what, but there were people setting tables out and putting flowers on them which I presume was for some kind of ceremony.
Across the road from the Baoan Temple was what looked to be another temple, although I didn't catch the name of this one. It looked like it was closed, or at least under construction as the two side entrances were blocked, but the main one had the gates wide open. When I arrived it looked like a traditional Chinese puppet show was just starting, and although I had no idea what was going on, I stood and watched for a while as four or five characters on stage acted like they were in some kind of Punch and Judy Variety show! It was obviously entertaining the crowd as they let out several laughs as I stood and watched:
Although the first two destinations I visited were pretty close together, the next place I was heading to was a little further away. I could actually have hopped on the metro, but I guess the downfall of having so few lines is that they don't always join up with one another. In order to get to the closest metro to where I was going next, I'd have had to have gone back into the city and then headed back out in the same direction, but on a different line. Considering the weather was so nice and it looked on my map as though there were some green spaces to walk through, I figured that it made sense to actually spend some of my afternoon walking and taking in my surroundings rather than just looking at them out of a subway window.
I had to head back in the direction of the metro station and then walk towards Taipei Fine Arts Museum which is in the grounds of the Flora Expo Park. Up ahead of me I saw a very impressive building which I later identified as The Grand Hotel, but I walked the opposite way from it in order to go through the Expo Park and head in the Direction of the Riverside Park which took me along the Keelung and in the right direction for where I needed to go next:
The park itself was pretty nice, and I imagine you could spend a lot of time just sitting in there enjoying yourself. It stretched quite a long way on my map and I walked through it until I got to the first pedestrian bridge I could which took me over to the other side of the river.
I got a better view of the Grand Hotel from here and also saw quite a few people canoeing on the river as well as the occasional fish popping its head out of the water.
Once I got to the Dazhi Bridge, I had to head back in land a little before being able to cross and getting this superb view of the city:
It's really amazing to think that somewhere in a city which is well known for its highrise buildings can also have so much green space in and around it, and I think that's perhaps one of the things which separates Taipei from Bangkok or even Kuala Lumpur, although there were a few parks there. It's more like Ho Chi Minh City in terms of its open spaces, and they are certainly appreciated by people walking their dogs, exercising or just relaxing away from the city.
Once I got across the bridge, I had to go back on myself a little in order to visit the Martys' Shrine which from a distance looks a little bit like the gate of the Memorial Hall - although definitely with less scaffolding.
As luck would have it, I timed my visit there to perfection once again as the changing of the guard was taking place again, so I was able to stand and watch as the soldiers went through a very similar routine than the day before as two new guards took their place on podiums at the front of the monument:
The good thing about the Martyrs' Shrine is that there are actually two different places which are guarded so if you're not there exactly on the hour then if you stick around for at least half an hour there's an opportunity to see it take place at the opposite end of the complex:
The Martyrs' Shrine is dedicated to the war dead of the Republic of China in various conflicts throughout history. The shrine itself is actually at the far end of the complex, and it is a rather large place with a wide open space in the middle like like the Memorial Hall.
I wandered from one end to the other, coming across two very colourful pagodas, one on each side of the stone courtyard before eventually going up and towards the shrine itself:
Just as I got there it was time for the changing of the guard at that end of the complex so I didn't quite get enough time to look inside as people were ushered out of the way in order for the guards to perform their roles. Once again it was very impressive watching them and they were extremely coordinated. I presume very much like the Beefeaters and those on Horse Guards Parade, it is a pretty prestigious job, and standing still for that long certainly takes some doing:
The Shrine was heading towards closing time so I wandered off back down parallel to the river again, this time on the opposite side towards the final thing I'd wanted to see today which was the Miramar Entertainment Park. The picture on the map, and name make it sound as though it is some kind of amusement park, when in fact it is a shopping centre which a rather large Ferris Wheel outside of it.
I've discussed before that I'm not a whopping great big fan of heights, and I wouldn't say that the Ferris Wheel is something that particularly intigues me at fairs - in fact do they even still have them?
I have been confident enough to go on the London Eye a couple of times, although that feels different because you're in a large capsule rather than an individual one, and there's no chance of it wobbling around in the wind.
The carriage I was riding in was moving pretty slowly which was perfect for taking photos, but not perfect in terms of the wind taking its toll. It wobbled left and right slightly, and me moving around to get the best angles for my pictures probably didn't help any!
The view wasn't exactly a spectacular one, but you could see Taipei 101 which had made brief appearances throughout the day. There was also a strangely good view of the airport which was extremely close by. As I came down on the other side, there was much better view of the greener side of Taipei which slowly disappeared as my rotation came to an end.
Getting my feet back on the ground was a bit of a relief as with my carriage blowing backwards and forwards for twenty minutes I was having to take plenty of pictures in order to distract myself from the heights. Goodness knows what I'd have been like if I went in the glass-bottomed one!
It was starting to fall dark all around me and that time of the day when I was considering what to do for dinner. I feel like I have had less dinner conundrums in Taipei than previously in Korea and China, but I certainly look forward to very soon just being able to reach into the cupboard and cook myself something or to be able to go to a restaurant where I can actually read the menu.
Speaking of which, I was planning to go back to the Living Mall tonight to get some dinner, but on my way there I came across something called MOS Burger which looked like it might serve some reasonable food. It seemed to be a little more upmarket and Lotteria or McDonalds so figured that it'd be worth a try. Once I was at the front of the queue, I carried out the tried and tested art of pointing at things on the menu in order to get my order across, and although the guy serving me couldn't speak any English whatsoever, I think we both handled it fairly well!
The end of another day, and time to reflect back on another busy adventure filled with lots of walking, and some enjoyable experiences. Tomorrow is my final one in Taipei before moving on, and as we all know, I often like to save the best until last...
Ferris Wheel
The Everly Brothers (1964)
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