In May, I know, this entry is way overdue as usual - we went to Taipei for the weekend. I was really surprised by just how different it is from mainland China. Like mainland China, the main language spoken is Mandarin; however, you could easily get by without knowing any as most people we came across spoke a little bit of English as well. What we also didn't expect was the amount of people we saw on the streets and on the subway - there just weren't that many! It made us realize just how many people we live with in Shanghai, and compared to that, Taipei seemed so empty to us. During any given hour in Shanghai the metro system is pretty full, but in Taipei we could actually sit down!
As promised, the food was very good. Taiwanese food is a lot more mild than most of the food we eat in Shanghai, and a lot closer in style to the Cantonese food I grew up eating in Hawaii. Taipei is also known to have good Japanese food, so we made sure to take advantage of that too. Shanghai has good Japanese curry houses, but Chinese food is definitely their strength!
One of my favorite things about Taipei was their night markets. They were filled with tons of street food, shops, and stayed open until late at night/early morning.
Lots of open spaces to relax and enjoy...
Taipei was a very nice weekend get away, but I do have to say that I enjoy the culture in Shanghai a lot, and sort of missed the hustle and bustle that we have around us each day. We hope to visit Taiwan again, and this time head to the east and south sides of the island where we've heard the natural beauty of Taiwan can be seen.
To see our full Taipei photo album, click here!
~ Trisha (and Nate, too!)