My first time here, and Taipei has it! A 101 story skyscraper of recent fame (rock climber Alex Honnold scaled it live on Netflix), plus night markets, boba milk tea, and dumplings and wonton (Din Tai Fung!). There are temples, memorials, a super efficient metro, a weekend jade market, and so, so many motor scooters.
The little island nation of Taiwan has so much going for it, and yet it exists under a big shadow. It’s the underdog to gigantic China, and I root for the underdog.
Some tourists come to Japan primarily for the food, and I can see why. Such variety of preparation and fresh ingredients, and full dinners including beer or sake for $10 to $25. We prepared our own bento box dinners in a cooking class. So fun!
I’d been told about egg salad sandwiches sold in convenience stores; sure enough, they were delicious. And the morning buffet at one of our hotels had soft serve ice cream for breakfast. Why not?
The beauty and serenity of nature are important to Japanese spirituality. And we’ve experienced it in shrine and temple grounds; in parks and gardens, and on a hike in the Japanese Alps.
We’re a bit late for the cherry blossom bloom, which came early this year. But they’re still spectacular here and there . . .
