Taiwan stopover

Hi BoBers,

I was very lucky to find a flight across to Munich that was good for two reasons. Firstly, it was cheap and secondly, I was able to get a 16 hour stopover in Taipei - a country that I’ve heard a lot about and been wanting to visit for some time.

My time there wasn’t too eventful. I arrived at 5:30am, took the train into town and roamed around the very deserted main station in Taipei before heading to the Maokong gondola which takes you up to the scenic Zhinan temple which has great views of the city. Because I have an excellent sense of misdirection, I managed to get lost walking a beautiful but overgrown footpath between two of the main gondola stops. The first random act of kindness of this trip came earlier than expected on this trip when a lovely man gestured the way to the next gondola stop, which was a five minute walk along a road before taking a turn and heading up hill. As I was walking I saw him ride past me on his scooter and as I got to the intersection I saw him there stopping traffic to let me pass and show me the way. So kind!

After the gondola ride and hike I went into the city centre to find myself something to eat and managed to accidentally order a meat dish (it was the only one with tofu, I thought I was safe). In roaming around the city I came across a temple and was lucky enough to be there during a ceremony of sorts. There were a group of monks chanting in the centre of the temple and the courtyard area was full of people joining in. It was quite a moving experience. There were small offerings scattered through the courtyard area of money and water and snacks, but people were dropping and picking up small beads painted like mini watermelons. I guess everybody’s rituals can look bizarre from the outside.

As the sun set I was drenched with sweat from the temperature and humidity and despite my best intentions of fully exploring the city, I went back to the air-conditioned sanctuary of the Taipei airport a few hours early and got ready for my flight to Munich and the beginning of the European leg of my journey.

Any time you’re travelling in a place that is so different there’s going to be a bit of culture shock:

There were really a lot of small shops filled with arcades around.

There were really a lot of small shops filled with arcades around.