Reset search
AsiaAsia
SatelliteEdit route

Asia

September - October 2023
Taiwan
Vietnam
Cambodia Read more
  • 25footprints
  • 3countries
  • 34days
  • 432photos
  • 29videos
  • 5.3kkilometers
  • 1.6kkilometers
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • TravelerAsia
    Day 1

    Taipei - city centre exploring

    September 27, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    So up at 4, I blame jetlag!
    Managed to make 0 friends as not many people in the hostel speak English and I'm a standard brit who can't speak any other language!
    Buuuut made a plan with a lil help from Hsieh and the maps in the hostel... so went to:
    - Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall where I was also on time to see part of the changing of the guards
    - Rongjin Gorgeous Time - a heritage site, prison / guards Station which has been renovated (to preserve) into some shops and restaurants... very pretty, can definitely see the Japanese influence here!
    - Taipei 101 / World Trade Centre (went up to the observatory 89 floors up in the scarily fast elevator!)
    - Dihua Street and a couple of temples around the Dadaocheng area... wish I could capture the smells of this street 🤤
    - Walked the park area along Tamsui River where there was a super cool looking street food area... May go tomorrow evening when I'll be more awake!

    And all this navigating the underground successfully 😁 (also good idea for UK... umbrella shares in the tube stations!)

    Have a vague plan for tomorrow, found some strangers online who may become friends! - we'll see!    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 2

    Too hot to hike

    September 28, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Ha! Successfully met up with 3 others staying in different hostels in Taipei to go on a mini adventure outside of city centre.
    We decided to take the train to the end of the line catch the bus to Thousand Island Lake and hike to some viewing spots...
    All went well except we failed yo look at bus timetables so we're going to have to wait 1.5 hours... instead we took a chance and hitch-hiked, such a success! First car passed pulled in and was happy to take us 😃
    Hike was fab, very dirt track, not very signed but vaguely clear as to where we should go... it was very hot and sticky but 100% worth it... what a place - magical!

    Fuelled by our first success, we stuck our thumbs out and tried again to get to Yinhe Cave... we were trying to go the wrong way 🤦‍♀️
    But this just shows how wonderful the people are here, the guy dropped his wife at home and came back to give us a lift 😲 can't imagine that in the UK at all!!!!!

    The caves were up a steep climb again in sticky heat, but at the top was a waterfall with a temple built behind... pretty cool and good opportunity to cool off!

    Headed back to the station with the girls and yup, another lift from a kind stranger, to get back to the city where I met up with another bunch of friendlies to go to the night market for dinner. Was totally overwhelmed by the choices but had some fried chicken and some deep fried sweet potatoes which had a texture of jelly... kinda odd but tasty none the less! Yum!    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    1
    Day 3

    To Kaohsiung

    September 29, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Morning in Taipei, decided to head to cable cars with Ava from the hostel as missed out yesterday... pretty cool, nice views, shame I didn't have time to stop off to explore a bit...

    Got my transport geek on getting on the HSR to Kaohsiung - 96 minutes pretty much covering the whole island! Where i was met by my buddy - so good to see him, it has been a few years now... and even longer for the family

    To stay awake (only had 2ish hours sleep last night) Hsieh showed me around some of the markets close by - very colourful and really good vibes... Will come back here!
    Tried 'smelly tofu' - possibly one of the most rancid things I have ever eaten... closest thing I can describe it to was deep fried inca trek socks - blister gunk and all 🤢 but Hsieh was a fan - strange one him!    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 5

    I'm on a boat!

    October 1, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Headed out to the warehouse markets to try and find some new shorts (I'm down to my last pair) which was a massive fail as it was closed!
    Swift change of plan and caught the ferry over to Qijin District... completely unprepared and no idea what to expect!
    Turned out to be pretty cool, walked through the street market - so much food! Went to the beach (black sands) for a paddle but ended up stripping off to undies and submerging (I thought it would cool me down... I was wrong, water was so warm!) (... also wondering if this was predetermined as had subconsciously put on matching undies so could have passed as a bikini right?!)
    Went on a hot, sticky and now sandy walk upto the lighthouse which had some nice views and I met Benji...
    We went for lunch down at the fish market then strolled along the sea front, checking out temples and landmarks...
    All in all good and unexpected day 😁    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 6

    Fo Guang Shan Monastery

    October 2, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Fo Guang Shan Monastery and Museum has to be one of the biggest and impressive worship areas I think I've ever been to! Considering the coach load of people's arriving, the place is so big it felt like it was empty!
    Met Benji at the bus station (was unsure if he was gunna come so also befriended 2 Dutch women in the queue!) for the half hour journey to the temple.
    First stop was the museum and big Buddha. There was three other shrines we went to see but we weren't allowed to take photos as it was a place of worship, but it was just beautiful, the architecture, colours and smells were great... I also tried my hand at calligraphy... check out that concentration!

    Went for a bite to eat (thanks Benji for capturing me with a gob full) - tasty! And after lunch went to the Dhama Hall to see, as Benji put it, "that religious dude who did lots of good stuff" 🤣

    Was a full day activity, loads to see and do...    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 7

    Liuqiu Island

    October 3, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌬 31 °C

    Got up early and went with Hsieh to Lotus Lake... was pretty nice, lots of temples... and terrapins!
    Planned to spend the night in Liuqiu Island but apparently there's a typhoon brewing or something so no ferries tomorrow (boooooooo!) So a day trip it was...
    Usually being unplanned works quite well for me, had an idea that I wanted to go to Secret Beach and then do a bit of a hike on the other side of the island... I only had 5 hours so thought this was a good plan!
    The walk to Secret Beach took over an hour, it was hot, unscenic and quite frankly miserable... I started to think this was going to be the first disappointing day of solo travelling... but then Secret Beach was ace... small, completely empty and saw about 8 or 9 sea turtles... 🥰 (sea was a bit rough so didn't go in! Despite having a cossie and snorkel stuff this time!) Spent about 45 mins trying to capture the turtles on camera (photography really isn't a skill of mine)... they're an absolute tease! If you can spot them in the pic / vid that would make me happy!!
    Anyways, couldn't stand to walk much further so popped into a nearby hostel (it was empty!) to ask if they knew the bus routes... they didn't but one lady, Linees (I think), was very quick to offer me a ride on a moped to the other side of the island... who am i to say no?! That was fun 😄 bloody love strangers!
    Spent a bit of time on Beauty Beach... lives up to its name... before wondering around to Vase Rock (I think it looks more like Broccoli Brain personally, but judge for yourself!) all the while spotting more turtles offshore popping up for air!

    Took a couple of selfies... I think I pull off the sweaty mess look better than clean and tidy! 🤣    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 9

    Typhoon and hotsprings

    October 5, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌬 29 °C

    Had to leave Hsieh and the family early as the typhoon meant basically lockdown in South Taiwan 😓, so he stuck me back on the train to Taipei so I could enjoy sightseeing and actually catch my flight!
    So unplanned day trip to an area called Beitou where there are natural hot springs and several museums...
    Just had a ganda around for a bit, including the thermal valley where I bumped into Silvia (Taiwanese but lives in Aus) and Orna (from Isreal) while burning the back of my legs on some hot seats (I didn't realise they were hot in my defence)...
    We went to a local foot spa to chill with feet in hot water, and quiz Silvia on how to get to various locations (honestly, she was so patient with us!) before going for dumplings.
    Went to the hot springs museum before saying goodbye to Silvia (honestly, she could have a career change and become a tour guide!), and Orna and I jumped into the public hot springs for a soak in the rain... very hot, but relaxing!    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 10

    Spirited Away (well Jioufen)

    October 6, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    Took the bus from Taipei to Jioufen...
    It is bloody beautiful (if completely packed and full of tourists)! Despite the weather being grey, foggy and just a bit miserable, can see why people claim it's the street that Studio Ghibli's "Spirited Away" was based on (love that film 🥰)
    The old street is so windy, narrow and full of really cool shops and food places... too many to count...
    Amongst other food, finally had a peanut ice cream wrap (I lie, I had 2 as I'm a pig!), so good! Made a friend during lunch, unfortunately she had to leave after about an hour and half, but then made another friend while sitting in a tea shop... we're gunna go to Shifen tomorrow, and she is Taiwanese, which is so handy for the language barrier!
    Staying the night here as according to friends it's even more beautiful at night... it is true! In the evening bumped into Orna, from yesterday! Such a small touristy place! 😅 feel like I'm becoming a local randomly bumping into people I know!    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 11

    Waterfalls and 'Old Streets'

    October 7, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 28 °C

    Met my new friend, Chloe from the tea shop, at 9am to head to Shifen via bus and train... once at the station, she convinced me that I should go to the end of the line - Jingtong - and work my way back... so of course, the peer pressure worked and that's what I did!
    Jingtong was lovely, very small old coal mining village, not a lit to see tbf, but very pretty... we were done in about half an hour but the train was hourly so had to wait!
    I said goodbye to Chloe and her mum as I stopped in Wanggu to go on a walk to see a waterfall... as I knew the trains were hourly I gave myself the hour to do it... It wasn't very challenging! I also didn't see anyone else on the path until I got to the waterfall where there was a photography group who saw me attempting a selfie and insisted they take my picture... with posing instructions and all... I think you can see my awkwardness and panic in my eyes 😬 so frikken cringe! 😅
    But the waterfall was good!
    Went to Shifen next, the original plan... omg it was so busy!!!! There were lots of lanterns being set off, which were beautiful to watch but so sooooo bad for the environment so I didn't participate... too much guilt already!
    On a sad note, you could see remnants of the lanterns scattered over the hills 😪 and I watched some go down to the unknown as well as up...
    Anyways, super busy, stopped for lunch and then headed back to Taipei... it was raining A LOT! But in one of the stations a local school orchestra was doing a performance... very nice!
    I completely forgot to do the Shifen waterfall trail which was the reason I wanted to go to Shifen in the first place - d'oh!!!! Never mind, next time! 😅    Read more

  • TravelerAsia
    Day 12

    Last day in Taiwan

    October 8, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 27 °C

    For the last day in Taiwan I wanted a chill day so decided to go to Elephant Mountain as it had been recommended. It wasn't too hot and a bit overcast but thought it would clear up a bit to get some nice views... I was wrong! 🤣
    But the walk itself was nice, it was a lot of steps but manageable (especially after inca and with zero altitude!), the path was pretty cool and there were a lot of huge spiders which were really colourful 😁
    In the afternoon i went to the national palace museum. It was good, but turned out to be mostly an art museum, I wanted to hear more about the history of the country and the people, so actually blasted through it really quickly... my favourite was a jade bokchoy 😅 so random!!!    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English