A detailed description of our day-trip in Taiwan. The sites and shopping we explored.
This was a meh stop.
Our One-Day Taiwan Itinerary
Writing this up some months after our visit I was very glad to have written about it right after it happened. Why? Because as I started to type this up I looked at Hubby and said, “I don’t remember much of anything about Taiwan except the pollution.”
As we approached Taiwan we were without internet. China plays around with blocking internet access in the Taiwan Strait. We did have internet on the ship going into Hong Kong – it was just butt slow – but sailing into Taiwan from Hong Kong? It was out. (Starlink)
We had a tour, so we boarded a bus and drove into the city. Traffic was light, so it only took about 40 minutes.
We stopped at a temple, so Hubby decided he’d rather look around at the local shops for the hour we were there, so he took off and left me.
He ended up buying the BEST pork bun I have ever eaten, so I forgave him quickly.
He also purchased a delicious custard tart.
The Bao-An Temple was interesting. There were many places to burn incense or paper and ask for help.
The temple itself was lovely, but I was templed-out at this point.
After our temple visit, we were dumped on the Old Market Street.
This was a mix of tourist and locals shops with everything from tea (which we purchased) to lychee honey (which we purchased) to coffee shops, many, many fabric stores, and places to purchase herbs, herbal remedies, and spices.
We did stop at a tea shop where the service was so slow (we sat for 45 minutes awaiting our tea!) that we had to bolt it down, pay, and run back to meet our tour guide.
After that, it was back to the ship.
Some thoughts: Taiwan has 23 million people, move living within the city and it did not seem crowded or loud. There were supposedly more scooters here per capita than anywhere else in the world, but we saw few on the road and certainly not the swarms of the like in Bali or Saigon.
The place was dirty. Dirt just dripped off of buildings, I am assuming from all the smog. There was no garbage strewn about the ground, it was all air pollution. Many people wore masks.
And now on to South Korea.
Our other stops on this long vacation:
● Hong Kong, China | Our Day Trip
● One Week in Vietnam: Our 7-Day Adventure
● Short Stay in Thailand: Elephants, Food & Cultural Gems
● Our Two Days in Singapore: Itinerary & AttractionsBali, Indonesia | Two Days on the Island
● Adelaide to Perth: Our Australia Travel Stops
● Two Days in Melbourne, Australia: Our Itinerary
● Two Days in Tasmania: Short Stay Itinerary
● Exploring New Zealand North Island
● Auckland, New Zealand – Sightseeing and Our Itinerary
● For more travel posts on Ann’s Entitled Life, click here.
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