Tenacious Taiwan capital had me at ‘ni hao’

 TAIPEI-This fast-paced city is full of temples, amazing food, a 100-year span of diverse architecture styles in an environment of organized chaos with escapes to hot springs and nature adventures at its doorstep.

 The friendliness of the people was affirmed everywhere I went. This mixed in with a warm winter climate was a welcome change from its mainland neighbor. The possibility of watching “Free Solo” star Alex Honnold, scale one of the tallest buildings in the world, Taipei 101, without ropes was another draw for my visit.

 Today Taiwan functions as a self-governing democracy referring to itself as the Republic of China (ROC). This began after Second World War following Japan’s defeat when the island was transferred from Japan to the ROC. During China’s civil war the ROC retreated to the island to help form Modern Taiwan. The country developed into an economic power becoming one of the four Asian Tigers with its neighbors Hong Kong, Singapore, and South Korea.

 “I like the breakfast the most,” said Vincent Lin, my walking tour guide when I asked him what his favorite thing about the city is. He then categorized the three types of breakfasts in the city: 1. The traditional breakfast of noodles and braised pork rice to help labors get their energy to work in the fields; 2. Chinese breakfasts of soy milk, fried dough, and flat bread coming from northern China; and 3. The Taiwanese type, but influenced by American breakfasts, which consists of sandwiches with ham, chicken fillets, and omelets along with egg pancakes.

 He said, “In Taipei, we have 13,000 to 14,000 convenient stores, but we have over 20,000 breakfast places. So, in Taiwan not a lot of people make breakfast at home.” I immediately decided to confirm his theory and ate breakfast out as much as possible during the trip.

 My first selection was Fuhang Soy Milk, a Michelin recommended café with a fast-moving line starting before 8 a.m. I had plenty of time to decide what to eat while I was waiting in line. I chose warm soy milk, flat bread with the fried dough inside, and the sesame flat bread with eggs. The fried dough was not as sweet as I expected it to be, but the sweet soy milk helped. The fresh baked flat bread was worth the hype.

 The National Palace Museum was at the top of my sightseeing list. The museum holds a collection of around 700,000 pieces, most of which were removed from the Forbidden City in Beijing in 1931 to prevent them from falling into the hands of the Imperial Japanese Army. After Second World War, the museum treasures were moved to Taiwan for safe keeping during the Chinese civil war. The National Palace Museum was eventually opened in 1965 to display the valuable artifacts.

 I opted for an English-speaking tour to help me navigate the large collection. Kay, our volunteer guide who has worked at the museum for 10 years, whipped us in and out of galleries methodically choosing the most meaningful displays that were the least crowded.

 When asked what aspect of the museum meant the most to her, she said, “The collection is largely based on the imperial heritage but really based on the heritage of humankind and knowledge going back thousands of years. How people managed and developed these unthinkable techniques which many cannot be deciphered today.  The imperial court just preserved them for us to look at today.”

 After the tour, I agreed with her completely. One particularly awe-inspiring piece was a sphere carved out of ivory with 18 movable inner spheres handcrafted in the second half of the 19th century.  One of most important pieces of the museum is the Mao Gong Ding, a large bronze ceremonial pot from 805 B.C. that has 500 characters written on its interior, the longest such inscription known today. The inscription is significant because it sheds a light on the Zhou dynasty when there is little historical evidence available from that period.

 Taiwan is famous for its natural hot springs which the Japanese developed during the occupation (1895-1945). An efficient and easy to use metro ride brought me to Beitou on the edge of the city. Long Nai Tang (meaning “long nice hot spring”) was my choice, one of the oldest springs in the area, a no-frills place with men and woman separated (four-euro entry fee). The water is considered a green sulfur spring and is divided into two pools on the men’s side.

 The first pool was 46 degrees, and the second pool was 43 degrees. As I was not excited about the nudity nor am I hot springs expert, I figured I would start off in the hotter pool. I quickly retreated into the second one. The attendant suggested three to five minutes in the water, then to take a break. Three minutes was harder than I thought, even in the cooler pool. Each three-minute session was followed by a short rest just outside of the water. After less than an hour, I was pretty well-boiled.

 As I stumbled out of the hot springs, the sun started to appear. I decided to head down to Taipei 101. The famous skyscraper was once the tallest building in the world when it was built in 2003 until it was overtaken by the Burj Kalifa in Dubai built in 2009. The efficient metro brought me to the base of the tower.

 I was disappointed to see that the clouds had returned but decided to take a hike up the nearby Elephant Mountain regardless, hoping the sun would eventually appear. I had seen the hike in the guide book, and it promised great views of the city and especially of Taipei 101.

 When I reached the overlook, I could barely see the building due to the fog, but I noticed that a helicopter kept circling the building. I assumed it was doing a test run for Alex Honnold’s climbing event which was scheduled to air live on Netflix the next day. The famous rock climber was going to attempt to climb the entire building without any ropes or safety nets. Then all a sudden, the clouds cleared, and the sun came out. What a view! I got some of the best shots of the city.

 Walking down, I decided to head over directly to the observation deck trusting the sunshine would continue. As I arrived at the base of the building, I noticed a Netflix stage with a small group of people looking up. I decided to join them and realized they were watching Alex do a test run with ropes before the real climb the next day. My timing was perfect, as I arrived five minutes before Alex reached the top.

 Reaching the observation deck was relatively quick without a long wait in line. These days, the observation decks all look the same. The ropes Alex had just used were still dangling outside the window which provided a unique perspective of what he had just accomplished. Another unusual and noteworthy feature of the observation deck was the visit to the 660-ton steel damper (hanging ball) which helps to stabilize the building during earthquakes or typhoons.

 Every dinner in Taiwan during my trip was spent at a night market. The markets were highly recommended and a food lovers’ paradise and also affordable and numerous throughout the city. The markets I visited were the Raohe Street, Shilin, and Ningxia markets.

 The idea was to try as many dishes as possible. Some stand-out dishes were the pepper pork buns, Taiwanese fried chicken steak, Taiwanese sausage in sticky rice with a spicy dressing, grilled Shitake mushrooms with spices, and fried taro balls with pork floss and egg yolk.

 Some of the stands were Michelin-rated and had the expected long lines. A veteran market technique I discovered was to grab a dish and jump into a line and eat that dish while you wait for the next item, then repeat. Oyster omelets were a favorite as well.

 For dessert, my favorites were little egg pancakes with sweet fillings and fried sweet potato balls. I avoided the popular stinky tofu (submerged brine made from fermented vegetables, milk and sometimes meat for serval months), as it was always easy to smell and to avoid.

 The people of Taipei were so helpful and friendly when ordering food, navigating the metro or just in general. My last night in Taipei, I was in line with a local and, we were watching his girlfriend make a video of the experience for social media. He seemed excited about my visit and shared a lot of local information about night markets and Taiwanese culture. After he bought his steamed pork in sticky rice, we exchanged a goodbye.

 Finally, after the long wait, I then received my food. I tried to give the vendor money for my food, but she told me that the guy in front of me had paid already. As I looked up to thank him, he had already disappeared into the crowd. The city had a similar impact on me, like a friendly stranger that was already gone when I looked up to thank them. mlp