24 hours in Taipei

My first impression of Taipei – as our cab edged through the heavy morning traffic – was that it looked like Blade Runner by daylight.

But my too-brief visit revealed it’s a destination filled with friendly people, fun, 24-hour energy and culture.

I was sad to leave because it’s not the easiest place to visit from Australia – there is only one airline that flies direct to Taipei – so I’m not sure I will get the chance to return.

DD and I barely scratched the surface of the city’s attractions and we loved wandering its lively streets.

Our first stop after dropping our bags at our hotel was a great coffee shop, which we found a few blocks away at Later.

The quirky spot was created by a Japanese designer and featured the same blonde-wood aesthetic as the excellent coffee shops we frequented while in Japan.

It looked out on a leafy community square and the barista was a lovely bloke who even called the metro station for us to check they accepted credit cards. A fancy apartment block overlooked the garden and cafe and I could almost see myself living there, popping over the road to pick up my daily double shot iced lattes.

Ordering them iced would be a necessity because about the only thing I didn’t like about Taipei was the vicious humidity. It was unrelentingly brutal and the air conditioning never seemed to be set high enough to cool me down.

It felt like I was going through menopause all over again!

But I braved the heat and we wandered to the train station marvelling at the various pets being transported around the city on mopeds.

We bought 24-hour Metro passes and headed to Lungshan Temple, built in 1740 (and rebuilt numerous times due to various disasters including American warplanes bombing it during World War II). It is used for worshipping Guanshiyin Budda and other divine spirits.

Three daily chanting ceremonies take place in the temple grounds and we were lucky enough to arrive during one of them. The voices of monks and worshippers filled the air and gave our visit a mesmerising vibe.

Nearby stop was the historic Bopiliao Old Street, originally home to a community formed back in early Qing Dynasty when the temple was first built.

In 2009, Taipei City government finished repairing the district and opened it up to the public. Featuring arching verandas and red-brown brick walls, the traditional shop homes are used to hold art exhibitions.

A sweaty trek through the streets followed in search of lunch food that didn’t involve “stinky tofu” (a local delicacy) or gizzards.

DD and I almost came to hangry blows when he suggested we eat at a Vietnamese restaurant.

Sacrilege for our first meal in Taiwan!

Finally we stumbled across an outdoor stall, gave up on air conditioning and pointed to a picture of noodles on the menu. They arrived doused with weird sauce with fatty chunks in it that I hope were pork fat … the bill for two? Less than $3.50!

Then it was back to the hotel for a shower and a nap … and to research a more salubrious spot for dinner.

We scored a booth at a popular local joint that’s been operating since 1964, called AoBa Taiwanese Cuisine. We feasted on prawns with pine nuts, salt and pepper squid, stir fried greens, beef with shallots and shrimp fried rice. Nom, nom.

Next stop? Well, actually about 10 stops on the Metro, was the tallest building in Taiwan, the Taipei 101, which – not surprisingly – has 101 floors. The building is designed to look like the numeral eight, which is considered very lucky in Chinese culture.

While the 89F Observation Floor offers visitors a commanding view of the city, I have a childhood fear of tall buildings and Taipei has heaps of earthquakes, so even the fact it contains a “728-ton spherical steel pendulum that offsets lateral movements” we stuck to snapping photos from ground level.

There was a full moon and clouds were swirling around the tower, which looked pretty surreal.

Then we wandered through the modern outdoor malls nearby, festooned with hundreds of thousands of fairylights, gawping at groups of girls performing in a dance competition before heading to the Humble Hotel for cocktails with a view of the 101 and the clouds swirling past it.

We treated ourselves to a cab back to the hotel, marvelling at the hundreds of mopeds swarming around us and the nightlife unfolding at every corner.

Sadly we didn’t get to explore its charms more, among the famous bars are one called Hanko 60, which is disguised as a retro cinema. Cocktails include True Blood, which comes in a blood bag, with dry-ice added for a spooky cinematic effect, and the Movie Street, which comes in a bag of popcorn. 

If we ever return I’d also love to see the city’s famous night markets.

The next morning I wandered back to our favourite coffee shop for takeaway. Then we packed our bags and headed off to explore the Dihua Street Area, which gives visitors a feel of Taipei City’s past. The old-town market is filled with shops selling a variety of traditional goods such as Chinese medicines and herbs, spices and dried food and wooden crafts.

I was fascinated to see whole shops devoted to different types of garlic, and others selling endless varieties of dried mushrooms. There were also hip boutiques and gift stores interspersed with them, which we loved exploring.

Prior to window shopping we snacked on chicken potstickers and pork dumplings at a popular Taiwanese chain called Bafang, then cooled down post-shopping in a gelato shop, slurping on aged plum ice cream.

All too soon it was time to head back to our hotel, grab our bags and catch the Metro to the airport for our looooong flight home via Hong Kong.

Something very cool happened during transit … I’ll give you the lowdown another day, that’s enough chitter chat from me for now.

Song of the day: Crowded House “Distant sun”