It was a short summer vacation to Taipei, Taiwan, mostly centered around eating delicious food and visiting small, unique villages. Below is the map showing all the places we have visited. Except that it was in the middle of a sweltering July heat, it was an amusing trip full of interesting experiences.
We took a morning flight from Seoul to Taipei. Songshan Airport is located in the middle of Taipei City, and is conveniently connected by the subway system. We took the subway to check in to our hotel near Dongmen station.
For lunch, we had all-you-can-eat hot pot which was located right across the street from our hotel. All the ingredients were fresh and flavorful. It was nice to have such an energizing meal from the start.
Gobar Shabu
Next, we went to the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Chiang Kai-shek is the father of the Republic of China, but also a dictator who suppressed democracy. There was a guard changing ceremony going on when we arrived.
Guard-change ceremony
Chiang Kai-shek
His statue sits toward the mainland China, to which he could never return after the evacuation in 1949.
Looking toward the mainland
Memorial Hall
For dinner, we had niuroumian (beef noodles). Even though the temperature was so hot, we devoured the hot beef noodle. Such was the taste of the broth, noodle, and meat.
Yongkang Niuroumian
For dessert, we had mango shaved ice at Smoothie House, a dessert chain selling all sorts of shaved ice and ice cream.
Smoothie House
Yongkang Street
Mango shaved ice was made by shaving frozen mango juice, so the shaved ice had a creamy texture. Toppings of pieces of mango were also delicious.
Mango Shaved Ice
Then we came back to hotel to have a good rest before a long day trip tomorrow.
Good night
Hudson Han's Log 