Taiwana come back to Taiwan

Taiwan surprised us. We had little idea what to expect but what we found we loved; bright signs, busy streets, great food, excellent hiking and hardly any tourists. Our short ten day trip was really an impromptu 'visa run' but ended up being a welcome change from our travels in Southeast Asia.

First things first we had to get some food. This was no problem as the streets were crowded with restaurants and food stalls. Here Mary is enjoying beef noodle soup. It tastes just like Aaron's Taiwanese Jewish grandmother use to make.

Then we moved on to dumplings. Originally there were nine but their deliciousness prevented us from getting a 'before' picture. This photo shows one of many varieties of dumplings available.

We were challenged by the Mandarin only menus and found ourselves pointing at other people's food as a means of ordering. This didn't deter us one bit, and if anything we tried many more types of foods than we might have otherwise.

Well fed and eager to see some sites we decided to head for the biggest thing on the horizon, Taipei 101. This also happens to be the tallest building in the world until Dubai Tower surpasses it in January.

It should be noted that large buildings on the horizon are always further than they appear. We learned this the hard way after walking for hours, but eventually we made it.

So we headed to the top to check out the view. It was hard to really appreciate the size of the structure until we looked down at the city.

At the recommendation of good friends, John McKiel and Calvin Liu, we left Taipei on the fanciest train we could find for Taroko Gorge.

Taroko did not disappoint. We found many beautiful trails and breathtaking views.

One of our favorite trails included this suspension bridge. Feeling adventurous we decided to throw caution tape to the wind and cross the rickety bridge. A local hiker advised us that it was A-Okay!

Note to the grandparents: We are being very safe and are alive and well. Please don't let this video scare you.



With our motorbike we explored the gorge, its pitch black tunnels and twisty-turny roads.



With only a few days left in Taiwan we headed back to the big city, Taipei, to enjoy a few more sights.

After a three week break from temples we had finally recovered from Angkor Wat Temple Overload (see 'the mega-post') and set out to visit our first Taiwanese temple. Shandao Temple was as refreshing as Taiwan itself. Full of locals and clouds of burning incense, it was nice to visit a temple actually being used for prayer by the people who lived there.

No trip to Taipei would be complete without a visit to the public hot springs in Beitou, so we went twice. Here we met many members of the retired Taiwanese community.

Were it not for our plans to meet a good friend in Thailand we would have stayed in Taiwan much longer. In the words of our beloved governator "We'll Be Back."