Taipei & Alishan | Taiwan, Part 1 of 3
It’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to Taiwan. It’s my history, my family. It’s political. It’s personal. It had been six years since my last visit, but since I was traveling to Japan, I had to seize the opportunity to take an extra side trip to Taiwan.
My first impressions were inevitably colored by just having come from Japan. Immediately, I noticed two things. One: before I even disembarked from the airplane, I was grateful I could actually understand people again. I can speak Mandarin and guess at Taiwanese. While my speaking skills have diminished significantly over the years and I can barely read, understanding daily conversation is still fairly second nature for me. So after ten days of being somewhat lost in Japan, this was an immense relief. Two: this place was absolute chaos compared to Japan. The funny thing is, it’s not actually that chaotic, but put up against the immaculate cleanliness and orderliness of Tokyo, Taipei was a bustling mess. The taxi ride was a mild adventure– lanes more like suggestions than guidelines. The buildings looked older, grittier, like this was the real-world version of what Japan set up on a stage. But I settled in to it quickly with a certain appreciation for the understated familiarity of it all.
I was treated to some spectacular views as we descended into Songshan Airport in the middle of Taipei.
I had just watched the Taipei episode of Anthony Bourdain’s new show, The Layover, in which he repeatedly made reference to how ugly of a city Taipei is, as if it’s just common knowledge. I was happy to see this version through my lens instead.
My first meal in Taipei. Of course. Beef noodle soup.
With my eldest aunt and youngest cousin. Three of my other aunts were also there– I have seven aunts, as my mom is the third of eight girls, no boys.
On day two, I photographed two ballerinas for my Pointe of View series, and then I met up with my friend Steve at Dintaifung, which is known for their soup dumplings. The truffle dumplings were quite delectable.
Afterward, our friend Connie also joined us, and we walked through Yong Kang jie for some dessert, and then checked out the Huashan 1914 creative park, which was an awesome hipster venue where the arts come together.
On day three, my adventures around the island began. While I usually stay in the city of Taipei my whole trip, I wanted to actually travel around the rest of Taiwan this time. I met up with my friend Charlie who was also visiting for Lunar New Year, and together we went on an ambitious four-day journey to four places: Alishan, Kaohsiung, Hualien, and Taroko Gorge.
The first leg of our trip was on High Speed Rail from Taipei to Chiayi.
We ventured into the town of Chiayi with these giant turtle shells on our backs. It was a pretty hot day, but the chicken over rice was great!
Oh how I adore Asian stationery stores.
And then it was time for our somewhat treacherous bus ride up into the mountains, passing tea farms along the way.
Dusk in Alishan village.
Alishan is known for its sunrises, but this sunset was also breathtakingly beautiful.
Our next morning began around 6am. The must-do thing at Alishan is to wake up and see the sun rise over the fog-layered mountains. We took the small mountain train up to Jhushan, and I could see the sky already brightening by the time we arrived.
The main viewing deck area is completely packed with people, mostly tourists from Mainland China, but Charlie ran up the hill to another viewpoint up top, and then he ran back to drag me up there too.
The higher vantage point was absolutely worth the extra hike.
After soaking in the scenery for a while, we headed back down to the village to check out of the hotel and get some breakfast.
Then we headed out again to do some morning hikes on the beautiful trails.
Through the magic of wide angle distortion, I am now ten feet tall.
How incredible are these cherry blossoms! In Taiwan’s subtropical climate, the cherry blossoms were already in bloom in early February.
A glimpse at the cute mountain trains that take you through Alishan.
I absolutely loved our brief time at Alishan and am so glad to have seen such a treasure of Taiwan. This is a funny picture to end on, but we grabbed some tea eggs and baos from the 7/11, said hello to this one of many mountain dogs roaming the town, and headed back down the mountain to take a train to our next destination– Kaohsiung.
Taiwan Travelogues
Part 1: Taipei & Alishan
Part 2: Kaohsiung & Hualien
Part 3: Taroko Gorge & Taipei
Anna is proud to be Taiwanese American and currently serves as the Editorial Director of TaiwaneseAmerican.org. She is a wedding and portrait photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area, but she’ll take any excuse to travel. Follow her photography on facebook or bookmark her blog at annawu.com/blog.
