Taipei, Taiwan

We arrived in Taipei, Taiwan last night around 10 PM. We were delighted to see our luggage did arrive. Hooray, hooray! We had pre-ordered our Taiwan Arrival Card (TWAC), just before we left Canada so that simplified our processing through customs. Everybody entering the country must complete one, no sooner than three days before one's arrival in Taiwan.

Once we exited our secure zone at the airport, we were so very pleased to see somebody greeting us with a sign with our name on it. Big sigh of relief for that too. We had pre-arranged this pick up with Hotel Taipei to take us directly to the hotel. Foreign city, country, late at night - we were happy to have this arranged after a 24+ hour travel day. We settled into our hotel room, cleaned up and went to sleep around 12:30. We awoke around 5:30 AM and started the day.

George at the front desk was exceptionally helpful in sharing a map of the city and suggesting sites to see and places to eat.

We started off taking a taxi to Fuhang Soy Milk - one of the oldest traditional Taiwanese breakfast shops in Taipei. It reminded me of lining up for Fairmont bagels in Montreal. People appreciate that a refined food item is worth the wait in line to enjoy it fresh. We probably stood in line for about 30 minutes and enjoyed chatting with a family from the UK behind us. They shared their insight as to what items are most popular! Fuhang Soy Milk has been in business since 1958, but in 2018, it rocketed to fame when it was awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand award in the inaugural Taipei Michelin Guide. It won Michelin awards from 2018 to 2022.

I chose to drink a sweet soy milk (hot) which kind of reminded me of drinking a cup of hot chocolate (minus the chocolate). J had the salty soy milk, #3 (which might be better described as savoury). We shared a #11, Signature Oven Baked thick bread and #43 Eggs with green onion (kind of like an omelette). J would like to go back there tomorrow for breakfast. That breakfast cost us 165 Taiwanese dollars or $8 Canadian total.

After breakfast we used our paper map and data on my phone to walk to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall - a cultural landmark in Taipei. The more I go in and read about the history of a country, the less qualified I feel to write about the details in my blog. There was so much history inside - and we were not allowed to take photos.

Taiwan, is officially called the Republic of China (ROC). On Wikipedia it states Chiang Kai-Shek (for whom the Memorial Hall was built) was a former President of the Republic of China. The Memorial Hall sits atop of two sets of white stairs, each with 89 steps to represent Chiang's age at the time of his death.

We were fortunate to see the changing of the guard at the top of the hour.

After we left the Memorial Hall and gardens, we walked past the Presidential Hall Plaza - the work place of the president of the Republic of China on Taiwan.

We continued to walk to the 'fabric' market - really to continue exploring Taipei on foot. We ended up walking about 15,000 steps today. We were looking for a place to eat. We finally found a line up in front a shop selling noodle soups so we joined the line. 

We met an english teacher, Kevin, who guided us through the process to get a number to stand in line and get our name in the queue. Kevin told us the restaurant, Du Hsiao Yueh, was famous for its Dan Zi Noodles. Originally it was sold in a street noodle stall and gained enough fame to warrant a restaurant. We each had a bowl of the famous noodles and shared an order of Taiwanese beef shanks. (Very thin, flavourful, tender beef - served with ginger and raw red onions in a sauce). A delicious lunch cost us 353 Taiwanese dollars (just under $18 CAD).

We then decided to take the train to get back to the flower market near our hotel. While studying a map outside the train station, Charlie approached us and asked if we needed help. He kindly told us how to get to the train station. We then paid 40 Taiwanese dollars for the two of us to take the train (2 CAD) about 5 train stops. Charlie even coached us on how to transfer between train lines! Very lovely people in Taipei!

At the flower market we saw all kinds of cut and potted plants. The market is situated below a train line - quite an ingenious use of space.

J suggested I get an arrangement of flowers to take aboard the ship - so for about $14 CAD I got what I think is an exotic selection of flowers to take with us when we board tomorrow.

We returned to our hotel around 3 pm in the afternoon and I typed my blog. As we approached 5 pm, we decided not to go to the night market to eat supper, but to eat at a local restaurant. J found a restaurant called Rong Rong Yuan that was well rated and just a 3 minute walk from our hotel. We walked - circled the block, then returned to the front desk to ask how to get there. We learned it was on the second floor - and found that there was no English signage to indicate to us where to find the restaurant.

Rong Rong Yuan made up for our inexpensive meals by costing about $120 for our dinner tonight. We had a shrimp dish, bamboo shoots, and the Michelin Star winner Braised Pork BBQ ribs. It was tasty. J accepted the offer of complimentary stinky tofu - I declined and was glad of my decision!

We are back in our room at 6:30 pm and I am weary. I will have a bath and try to stay awake till at least 8 pm. J is feeling tired too! Tomorrow is embarkation day!