2009 was my first time back to Taiwan in 25 years. I never knew how much fun it was back "home" on the tiny island. There is so much to do at all hours of the day and the food is so good and cheap. Since then I've been back three times.
Click to see some pictures from my first and second trips to Taiwan.
Scooters out number cars 3 to 1 here. They even have scooter only lanes on the highway. So fun!
We took the Taiwan High Speed Rail from Taipei to Kaohsiung. It's capable of going 186 mph cutting a 4.5 hour train ride to 90 min.
We took a road trip from Taipei in Northern Taiwan to the western coast then across to the eastern coast. We got a flat on the way. What's an adventure without some mishaps right? Good thing we got the flat while we were in the country and not on the narrow twisty mountain roads.
The wedding business is huge over there. This is one of the many wedding photography shops along a busy street intersection. In the US people want pictures that capture moments during the wedding day but in Taiwan wedding photography puts more emphasis on the bride and groom portraiture. Their style is a bit fantasy Glamour Shot-ish and a lot of posing.We stayed with my uncle who lives right in the Shilin Night Market. The night market is similar to Taste of Addison or Dallas except the food costs about one quarter less and tastes waaaaay better.
This is a random night during the week at around 11pm. There are always people here.
"Big Big Fried Chicken" is basically a giant piece of chicken dipped in batter, seasoned and deep fried. There is always a huge line that goes into the street for this.
This is where we had breakfast everyday for two weeks. For about 8 American dollars you can get breakfast for 8 people and get full. Beat that McDonalds!
I didn't know this until my aunt told me but my dad donated some money 30+ years ago to build this temple in the Shilin Night Market and his name is carved in one of the marble pillars.
This was my favorite food I had on this trip. It is THE beef noodle soup that won the best beef noodle soup award in Taiwan. I tried the soup from three or four different places. They were all good but yes, this one deserves the award! I would recommend it but the place doesn't have an english name.I can't wait for my next trip on the other side of the planet for some more award winning beef noodle soup!
