Where modernity and tradition meet
Taiwan, Taipei
Nostalgia
After a 20 hour flight from Milan to Taipei with a connecting flight in Bangkok, i took the train from the airport directly towards Taipei Station. My first view of the city was absolutely breath-taking, seeing beautiful temples, modern buildings, musty old apartments all crammed together and with green mountains as a backdrop. It felt like my nostalgic memories of back home in the Philippines, but obviously, not exactly, since I've never been in Taiwan.
Clean streets, clean air
After living and working in center Milan for a few years now, I've gotten used to polluted atmosphere, it's not too much to bare compared to back home in the old country, after all. But once i started going around Taipei, i was fairly shocked to see the streets so clean and the air as fresh as it was. I reckon it was mainly because there's a culture of cleanliness regarding trash, though i was also pretty surprised to see that there were basically ZERO trash cans anywhere, sometimes you have to go into a convenience store just to empty your trash from your pockets. And coupled with the green mountains enclosing the city and the abundant presence of trees in the city, fresh clean air was not in short supply.
City in the night
One peculiarity I've noticed regarding Taipei, is that most things are done at night. It's when the night markets open, the staple of Taiwanese food culture. Going around the city all day long, i noticed that around the afternoon, people begin flooding the streets, that's when streets like Ximending begin to get incredibly active, every corner you look at people are eating. Sometimes it gets kind of hectic and hard to move, but that should be expected in any hotspot.
Every corner, a pleasant surprise
Since i had 13 days to explore the city, i made sure to make some detours, exploring random streets and entering small coffee shops. And let me tell you, the city is full of hidden gems. I went to a coffee shop Xinyang Street called "Campus Cafe" and their cinnamon roll and it was very good! After that i went and walked around some more and came across a random street called "Hankou street", it looked so photogenic coupled with the cloudy weather so i took a picture.
View from Taipei 101
For only around 20 euros, you can go up the Taipei 101 tower, which is one of the world's tallest buildings. The view was magnificent, i stay there during sunset and made a timelapse (on my instagram) from the 89th floor. I watched as each section of the city slowly turned their lights on and shine during the night, as if it was waking up. Sadly i couldn't go up to the highest accessible floor as there was a slight rain, which is considered dangerous for roof access, so the maximum was the 89th floor.
Away from the city buzz
Before going on a hike to "Jiannan Mountain night view" i stopped on a station called "Jiannan Rd.", in contrast to the buzzing city this area felt more... oldish? The area had it's charms and looked wonderful despite the musty look that the apartments had, and the streets in-between them was even more beautiful, it felt as if i was blown back to the past.
Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall
One of the most touristy spot in Taipei was the Chang Kai-Shek memorial hall, so of course, i couldn't miss it. When i went, i happened to have chosen the best day i possibly could have, there was a military parade going on and the soldiers demonstrated their marching skills and musical prowess.
Lungshan Temple area
Another touristy spot i couldn't miss, not just the Lungshan Temple itself, but also the area surrounding it. The street had a certain feel to it, coupled with the streets being packed with people, locals and tourists alike. I simply had to take a couple photos.