Here are some pictures from the two weeks we spent vacationing in Taiwan. We know they are long overdue but better late than never.
When Brandon arrived in Taiwan we spent two days exploring Taipei, Taiwan's capital and largest city.
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| National Palace Museum in Taipei. It just happened to be the centennial anniversary of Taiwan while we were visiting. |
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| This is the beer selection in a 7-Eleven. We managed to try a good portion of them. Brandon's favorite was the "The Beer" which is made for 7-11. But for the most part they all tasted pretty similar. It was also surprising to see Sam Adams in Taiwan |
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| Confucius Temple in Taipei |
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| Baoan Temple |
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| Ximen - shopping area |
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| We had hot pot for dinner. It's set up so you can pick what kind of veggies and meats you want, then you cook them yourself in one of the two sauces. |
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| The view from Taipei 101 |
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| Super Big Wind Damper in Taipei 101 |
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| Entrance to the Raohe Street Night Market |
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| Longshan Temple |
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| Taipei Railway Station - Waiting for a train to Hualien |
After seeing Taipei, we took a train to Hualien which is on the east coast of Taiwan. From there we traveled to the Taroko National Park to visit the scenic river gorge.
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| Roxanne in the Taroko Gorge |
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| Marble lion near a bridge. The detail is amazing. |
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| This is Chanchun Shrine on a fresh water spring in the gorge. We took a short hike over to the shrine. |
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| Walking out to the Shrine |
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| Brandon in the Shrine |
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| Roxanne and Brandon on the Swallow Grotto Trail along the narrowest part of the gorge |
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| Roxanne on a bridge right outside our hotel |
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| Marble boulders in the gorge |
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| Brandon in the Xiangde Pagoda |
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| Xiangde Temple |
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| Brandon and Roxanne at the Qingshui Cliffs on the east coast of Taiwan. |
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| Roxanne on the path going down to the beach |
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| Brandon on the Shakadang Trail in the Taroko Gorge |
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| At the end of the Shakadang trail there were food and craft stalls run by aboriginal people who live in the mountains. We bought a cup of winter melon tea which refreshed us for the hike back. |
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| Roxanne on the trail |
After leaving Taroko Gorge, we went to Taitung which is further south on the east coast of Taiwan. We had plans to visit a smaller island off the coast (Green Island) but Typhoon Nanmadol got in our way.
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| We spent one night in Taitung and had dinner at a small restaurant on the water. Here is some Taiwan Beer at our table. |
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| Typhoon Nanmadol |
We left Taitung before the Typhoon arrived and headed west to Tainan. Tainan has a lot of interesting cultural sites.
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| We had dinner at a food cart in Tainan. We had an assortment of freshly grilled meats, veggies, and mushrooms, and a big bottle of Taiwan beer all for about $7. |
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| This is from inside the Official God of War Temple. The gold work on the ceiling is very intricate. |
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| Brandon enjoying a winter melon tea. Favorite beverage in Taiwan. |
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| Chihkan Tower built by the Dutch |
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| Dragons on the roof. The attention to detail everywhere was impressive. |
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| Pagoda inside the Confucius Temple. People would come here to pray before taking exams. |
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| Anping Fort Zeelandia, also built by the Dutch |
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| Taiwanese steak & egg dinner. Surprisingly delicious. |
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| High Speed Rail. The trains have a maximum speed of 300 km/h (about 186 mph). |
We took the High Speed Rail north to Taipei, completing our trip around the island.
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| Hotel 73, where we stayed in Taipei. |
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| Crowd in the Taipei Main Metro Station. At rush hour the place was packed with commuters. |
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| One of the gates to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. |
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| Gardens in the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. One of the large buildings is a theater. |
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| Brandon and Roxanne in front of the main memorial building |
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| We took a gondola up to Maokong where tea is grown. |
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| We had some oolong tea in the mountains. We could see the Taipei 101 from our table. |
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| Brandon and Roxanne taking the gondola back down to Taipei |
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| Dumplings, dumplings and more dumplings all very delicious. Din Tai Fung restaurant. |
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| Sleeping Panda in the Taipei Zoo |
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| Milk tea place at the Gonguan Night Market. The tea was excellent. |
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| Changing the Honor Guard in the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. They change every hour and the ceremony takes about 15 minutes. |
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| Brandon outside the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, Taipei 101 in the background. |
