Taipei Tales
A reflection of my first visit to Taiwan.
My soul needed this trip desperately. I had been so mentally drained and emotionally exhausted. Coming into it, I was nervous. I had never been to Taiwan before and my anxiety consumed me. I worried about being in a place I didn’t know on my own and stressed about figuring it all out. But Taipei felt like the place I was meant to be. I’m a big believer in whatever is meant to happen will and it felt like I was supposed to be here. Everything fell into place. Serendipity, some would say.
Honestly, I felt instantly comfortable there, taking the metro like someone local. It felt great to accomplish the tasks I set out for myself each day. On the first day, I hit the ground running after hopping off a 13-hour flight. I visited Taipei 101, the tenth tallest building in the world, slurped down soup dumplings and vegetable fried rice at Din Tai Fung, grabbed myself the first boba of the trip, waited 20 minutes for the most famous scallion pancake in Taipei, and sat for an hour and a half to experience my first ever scalp treatment (which was worth the hype).
With an 8 am wake-up call, day two began with a visit to the grand Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. Even after seeing photos of this architectural marvel, the sheer size of this was something worth seeing in person. Ironically, it was the one thing on my list that I didn’t really want to visit. Ultimately, it was one of my favorite things that I saw in the city. The memorial is at the end of a pathway, surrounded on both sides by perfectly sculpted gardens. On either side, two large gates, and in front of them two houses that look like temples. I popped into one of them, which happened to be the National Theater, and took a guided tour that taught me so much. One thing that resonated with me from it: the clovers embedded into the wall represent the acts of things going your way. See what I mean about me meant to be here? From there, a visit to the Red House before heading back to the hotel.
In the afternoon, I went to the Xinyi Shopping District in search of the shop that invented boba. It was hidden inside a luxe department store and was nearly impossible to find. The boba wasn’t my favorite, I prefer things sweeter but the victory of finding it was well worth it. I walked by the oldest bookstore and caught Taipei 101 from a distance.
From there, a 40-minute metro ride to Raohe Street Night Market. Stalls upon stalls, a strange concoction of smells, and a street filled with people is what greeted me. It was one of the most authentic experiences I’ve had and one of my favorites in Taipei. I spent a lot of time, taking it all in, memorizing the experience to memory. Every stall has a specialty and everything is made to order. Each shop owner shouting at you, trying to convince you to purchase from them. Fluffy pancakes, Taiwanese fried chicken, freshly made dumplings, seafood of all kinds, and more, all made to order on the spot. The prices were super inexpensive, too.
As I sat in the airport to reflect, I felt bittersweet to leave. I connected to Taipei. It was truly what my mind needed. It reminded me why I love to travel so much. Exploring new places is daunting sometimes, other times it’s exactly what your mind needs.