I’m cheating a little with this one by combining the two months so I can be caught up with these already! And anyway, not too much has happened over these months to warrant separate recaps.
It’s so true that the longer you’re at a place, the less you do. There’s just no need to bust your ass exploring somewhere new everyday when you’ve got three months to do it. But that just means that I’ve put off stuff for so long that now, on the brink of leaving, I still have a long list of things I never got around to. And the constant grey/rainy weather hasn’t really contributed to the exploring mood either.
Instead, we’ve settled in really nicely here in Taipei these past couple months. We’ve focused more on integrating ourselves into the culture and the city. Being here for longer gave us a chance to make some local friends and have some separate activities away from each other. It’s nice to feel like a normal person in a normal relationship. ;)
Here’s what we’ve been up to these months:
Taipei from the top of Elephant Mountain
I kicked off November with a hike and the company of a new friend. Jamie from Ink + Adventure (an American expat in Taipei) joined me on a hike up Elephant Mountain. It was a drizzly day but we still got a good view of Taipei.
It’s funny because I live only a couple of blocks from Taipei 101, but it really doesn’t look that tall. I think it’s maybe the way it’s designed. But from Elephant Mountain, you can really see this gigantic landmark looming tall over the entire city.
Dinner with D’s family
We met up with D’s uncle’s family for dinner again. Last April, they took us to a really good Sichuan restaurant that all of us loved. So this time, it was an unanimous choice to eat there again!
A visit from D’s parents
blurry selfie with a selfie stick! (at Taipei 101 mall)
We got a real treat at the end of November with a visit from D’s parents! Thanksgiving passed pretty quietly and uneventfully, but we definitely made up for it the weekend after. It was great to have some family around, especially since D hasn’t seen his parents in over a year by this time! We had so much fun taking them to all our favorite places and giving them a taste of what our daily life in Taipei is like.
A day by the sea at Yeiliu
at Yeiliu with Khee
At the beginning of December, I went with a new friend (that I met at the mall, of all places!) on a day trip to Yeiliu National Geopark, an area in Northeast Taipei famous for its strange rock formations due to coastal erosion. We had a fun day climbing over the rocks and then eating our way through the Jin Shan old street.
this is not sand, it’s a rock!
And this little trip proved that traveling with a girl is oftentimes more fun, because we don’t get annoyed with each other when we want to take a million photos of silly poses. In fact, we encourage it. :)
Making local friends
baking cakes with Wanyi at a cooking class!
For the first time since we started traveling, we’re in a place long enough to make local friends! I found that Conversation Exchange is an easy way to meet locals (in a non-sleazy way), and I’m so thankful that I’ve met a couple of people from there who are becoming good friends.
About once a week, I meet up with them to explore a new part of Taipei together, whether it’s trying a locally popular eatery or taking a baking class or browsing the shops. This allowed me to experience things that I otherwise wouldn’t have and really makes this city feel more like home.
If you’re interested in trying Conversation Exchange, don’t worry too much about the “exchange” part. The locals are more than happy to practice English, you want to make some friends, and hey, maybe you will even learn some phrases… so it’s a win-win-win!
Going on mini solo foodie adventures
D and I took this time to make separate friends and do more of our own things (since we don’t always have similar interests in activities or in food!), so I made a point to go on some mini solo adventures around town. I loved the freedom to walk around aimlessly and eat whatever I wanted.
Basically this meant that if I wanted to eat an entire huge bowl of mango snow ice (despite it being cold and windy), then that’s what I did!
A day in the magical town of Juifen
This was one of my favorite Taipei adventures! Once again, I met up with Jamie to explore Juifen together, a new destination for the both of us. Juifen is an old mining town built into the coastal hillsides, and is famously the inspiration for the Miyazaki film Spirited Away. It’s amazingly picturesque with its windy narrow lanes, hundreds of stairs, tea houses, local delicacies, and red lanterns everywhere!
I’ve yet to write about it, so check out Jamie’s post in the meantime! It’s full of gorgeous pictures!
Dinner with Airbnb hosts
One of the reasons why we love our Airbnb, aside from the good location and value, is our friendly hosts. Eric and his crew took us out to dinner one night to a very local Taiwanese joint and ordered up a table spread of traditional dishes. It always makes an Airbnb experience more special when the hosts are more involved.
If you’re looking to travel to Taipei, I really recommend Eric’s listings as you can’t get better for the value + location! Get $20 off if you’re a new Airbnb user (shameless plug).
Playing tour guide to travelers
Din Tai Fung with Carmel
And speaking of our Airbnb, we’ve assumed the unofficial, self-proclaimed title of tour guides. Our Airbnb has more of a guesthouse setup with a few room rentals within one apartment unit. We picked this thinking that it’d be fun to meet other travelers (but with a private room to retreat to if we’re not feeling social). Every so often, we do meet travelers interested in hanging out, and in that case, we always offer to take them on a food tour of our local night market. It’s fun playing tour guide and almost makes me feel like a local!
One such guest was an older traveler from Australia (but teaches English in Vietnam!). Carmel was on a solo trip to Taipei for a week and we instantly clicked with her. We introduced her to stinky tofu at the night market and the delicious xiaolongbao’s at Din Tai Fung. And I even got up early one day to join her for breakfast at the secret Starbucks on the 35th floor of Taipei 101!
view of Taipei from the secret Starbucks on 35th
And finally, we ended the year with the fireworks off of Taipei 101. It was a lovely way to end the year and begin a new one.
Happy New Year from Taipei!!
Posted by Slightly Astray on Thursday, December 31, 2015
What’s going on in January
I can’t believe our three months in Taipei passed so fast! As I write this, we are in the process of packing for our next destination. It’s kind of amazing how much extra crap I’ve managed to accumulate in just three months, so maybe it’s a good thing to keep on moving to new places!
In two days, we are flying to Kuala Lumper, Malaysia! As much as you guys know I love Taipei, I think three months is enough because I’m so ready for some new flavors (aka. spice again!) and for some warmth! Malaysia is currently in the 90’s (or mid 30’s Celsius) so it probably means that I’ll enjoy it for approximately two days before complaining that it’s too hot. ;)
If you’ve been to Malaysia (KL in particular) and have any tips/suggestions at all, please share!
What are your plans this month?
Wow… so cool to read about your “settled” lifestyle in Taipei and I LOOVE that you guys went to the Spirited Away town. Dang! Between yours and Jamie’s posts, I am really feeling the need to get to Taiwan at some point!
And definitely agree about traveling with girlfriends sometimes… it’s just so different and refreshing after so much travel with one dude ;) I was delighted when I was in Paris with my mother at how excited she was about EVERYTHING… it really made me realize how subdued Alex is and how much fun it is to travel with someone whose excitement matches your own.
I know! Daniel never seems to get as excited as me (except for when it comes to food), and he never wants to take pictures of me! And gets annoyed when I stop to take pics, haha. That’s why it’s been nice to travel with a girl and/or another blogger because we just get it! You should come to Taiwan someday!! I think you’ll love it too!
ooh.. loved this post! really enjoyed reading about how you’ve settled in taipei (even if for a little while) and are meeting new friends, doing local activities, etc. very cool! it totally gives you a different perspective from glimpsing a place as a brief traveler. i think its awesome that you connected with locals as well as visitors who are stopping in as well..that’s an awesome way to meet people! i dont know how you do it- i’m an introvert so meeting new people is always challenging for me (especially when over small talk) props!
also, that mango shaved ice. wow. i’m drooling.
But you’re a nurse so I’m sure you talk to people all the time! I’m actually an introvert too and find small talk hard and awkward! And trust there, are were plenty of times I just stayed in my room and didn’t talk to the other guests. ;) I really liked meeting local friends though.. it just made the experience so much better!
hahaha. you’re right. i do meet all types of people BUT it’s much easier to talk to people when they have to trust you with their life… =P
its cool to meet another introvert! have you done the Myer Briggs personality test? do you know what 4 letter combination you are?
I just took one, and I got ISFP! What about you?
cool! i’m an INFJ! =D
ISFP means you’re an introvert, who make decisions based on all senses (or all data you could say, rather than using intuition), a feeler (versus a thinker) and more spontaneous (rather than a planner). very cool!
i’m an INFJ. =)
It’s so nice you got to stay somewhere long enough that it felt like home. I’ve never been to KL but my husband went for a week for work and really liked it!
I have to admit that KL is taking some getting used to, after not being in the Southeast Asia area for so long (I don’t consider Taiwan SEA)!! But I’m liking it :)
Aw, you make me miss Taiwan!! I agree that it’s easy to start feeling settled there– we stayed in Taipei unexpectedly for quite a few weeks two summers ago, and I loved it. Glad you took the initiative to do so many creative things as well. Can’t wait to see what adventures you have in Malaysia!
Malaysia is definitely different, especially since I haven’t been in the SEA area in a while again! Sometimes, I miss Taipei even! But it’s nice to experience different things in Malaysia :).
This all looks so fun and delicious! (More XLB, so jealous.) That’s awesome that you got to make some friends and that you guys hung out separately some. Also, I just checked out those Airbnbs and they look fabulous. And agreed… I always think I want really hot weather and then after about two or three days I’m totally over it. It’s freezing in NC and I’m ready to head out again. Already bored here.
Hehe I know what you mean. After traveling, you get restless so easily when back home. Hang in there, only 10 or so days left before you can go off on an adventure again! And omg, it’s so hot and humid in Malaysia… I’m so not used to it anymore!
AHHH! I love everything in this post! Din Tai Fung! Jiufen! Smoothie King! I really, really wanted to climb Elephant Mountain when I was there. I heard it was a pretty easy hike and it’s a beautiful sight to see at night. I also really, really wanted to go to Yeiliu to see the rock formation, but when I would’ve had to transfer so many times to make it there from where I was in Taipei. Jealous that you went!
You stayed at an Airbnb for three months? Was it expensive? I have no experience with Airbnb but I’m thinking of traveling this summer and if Airbnb is easy to use, then that’ll motivate me more to use it!
Can’t wait to see your travels in Kuala Lumper! How long will you be there?
I didn’t think our airbnb was expensive (we paid $800/mo) especially for that location, but some local Taiwanese thought it was haha. I guess it depends on what you’re comfortable with paying. But I wholeheartedly suggest using airbnb! If you’re going to sign up for an account, I would appreciate it if you use our invite to get $20 off! ;)
Elephant Mountain is a pretty easy hike.. only about 15 minutes! I enjoyed Yeiliu, but I honestly wouldn’t recommend it to a tourist if they were only in Taipei long enough for 1 day trip. I think there are other more fun ones, like Juifen!
I’m going to be in Kuala Lumper for 1 month!
I get serious Asia wanderlust every time I set foot on your blog!!
It’s so nice to go slow with the travelling. That’s what I loved about our trip to NYC, we had two weeks, so we could do as we pleased each day and even took a day off too :) At the same time, after two weeks we were excited to move on to the rest of the trip and get back to being a little rushed. For long term travel, slow is definitely better.
I definitely agree! I love to have days of just doing nothing. And I like waking up whenever I want! Maybe sometime in the next couple of years, you’ll come to Asia. ;)
Yay! I’ve been waiting for you to blog again. :) It looks like you’ve had such an awesome time in Taipei! I’m obsessed with Sichuan food; I bet that was so delicious! I’m looking forward to your Malaysia posts! Enjoy the weather! :) <3
We’ve been in Malaysia for 2 days and it’s super hot and humid half the time, and thunderstorming the other half, haha! And yep, I’m so not used to it being this hot anymore!! Missing Taipei temperature already!
I’m so glad that you got to feel really in home in Taipei and got to experience all of those great things that come with being in one place for a while :) And, as always I’m looking forward to following along with your adventures in your next location – sounds great!! Happy weekend.
It felt soooo good to be in one place for long enough to fit in and make some friends! We’re in Malaysia now, but knowing how behind I am with blogging, I probably won’t even get to talk about it for months!
Crap. It’s going to be pretty much the same all through February (the hot and humid thing). The only consolation is KL and Penang will be slightly less hot compared to Singapore, but I doubt you will be able to tell the difference.
Anyway, I sent you some recommendations on where to get food. Hopefully it helps. :/
I know… just our luck that we came to Malaysia during the hottest time! And thanks for all the food rec’s… they’ve been great so far! Looking forward to meeting too!
Your time in Taipei looks like it was wonderful! It’s nice that you felt more like a local and got to show some others around. And the way to meet up with people sounds fun! I would definitely want to venture off from my husband and try new foods/experiences if we were in a new place for that long… sign me up for eating all the sweets, and him all the meats! lol. Can’t wait to hear about how KL is!
Haha! D and I are the same way! I always want to eat the desserts and he’s not much of a sweets person, so it’s great to have some solo foodie adventures and eat whatever I want! KL is great so far, but it’s hard getting used to being somewhere this hot + humid again! The food though… sooooo good!
Everything looks perfect! I don’t know much about Taipei, but it was really fun learning more from this post. I am a big fan of anything mango, so that dessert is looking amazing too me. ;)
<3 Have Ashley, Will Travel
I love mango too! It’s my favorite fruit :D. Taipei doesn’t have too much to do, but it’s a really fun city to live in. I hope to have a lot more Taipei posts coming up! :)
Wow so many cool things! It’s so important when you live in a different country to go out and meet locals and even expats and tourists, very cool how much you got to do!
Yeah! It’s just a completely different experience when you can make some friends in a new place! I was able to explore so much and to places I would otherwise never know!