My Journey to Asia: First Stop Taiwan

After flying to San Francisco and spending a few days visiting with family, my daughter, Lisa, left on February 3 at 11:30 pm and arrived in Taiwan on February 5 at 6:30 am. A completely full flight on EVA Airlines (Taiwanese airlines) we immediately knew what it felt like to be a minority! We had upgraded to Premium Economy so that we could have partially-reclining seats and a better chance to sleep on the 14 hour direct flight. It was a good choice and we arrived well fed and rested so that we could spend the morning walking the streets exploring the sights, sounds and smells of this distant island country off of mainland China.

Here we are upon arrival taking the express train to downtown Taipei City, a beautiful, clean, modern, and quick train passing through miles of thick green forests.

My daughter, Lisa, excited and happy to be on this adventure together.

Our distant view of the Taipei City from our express train at 7:00 am.

Early afternoon we met with Chiarra, our quirky knowledgeable tour guide. People from Israel, Korea, and the Philippines joined the group for a 2-½ hour historical walking tour which included the history of Taiwan which was formerly called Formosa. We visited the ancient walled city, learned about the wars fought with the Spanish, the French, and China over occupation and rule, and visited several temples where we learned about some of the gods people pray to for health, wealth, and marriage.

Ancient temple wedged between modern day buildings in downtown Tapei City, Taiwan.

Inside the temple people pray to the gods and leave presents such as flowers, candy, drinks, cookies, and other small gifts.

Carved wood sign on the front of a restroom door in a small coffee shop where we took an “intermission” during our walking tour. A really curative way to show this is a shared restroom!

This family owned lantern shop has been making handmade lanterns for over a century.

As the afternoon progressed we walked through local markets, stopped at a cafe for coffee,

and continued our tour learning about daily life in Taiwan.

Motorcycles are everywhere!

I find walking is the best way to experience a city’s life. It makes you slow down and not only notice people, shops, and things but to also notice colors, shapes, textures, and the small things many people don’t actually see in their rush to get from one place to another.

Colorful paper lanterns hanging above the streets of historic downtown Taipei City

As you can see, Taiwan is a vibrant city filled with history and people visiting from all over the world wanting to experience this country for themselves.

Tomorrow we are going outside the city so stay tuned for more adventures!