Taiwan!

This past week I went to Taiwan with two other ALTs in my prefecture. We spent half of the week in Taipei, and the last half in a rural city on the Eastern coast. Taipei is an amazing city. It was home to the world's tallest building until recently. It takes about 40 seconds to go up to the top floors. The elevator goes so fast, my ears kept readjusting every ten seconds! We visited a few night markets where street vendors line the streets and sell food, clothing, accessories, etc. We also ate very well, Taiwanese food is delicious! While we were in Taipei, we visited the National Palace Museum, which is home to many ancient Chinese artifacts that date to BC dynasties. We also toured what I would call a ghost town, a town famous for the gold rush. It was so different from Colorado ghost towns though, very green and right by the ocean.

Taipei is huge and crowded, so it was nice to see a bit of rural Taiwan as well. We took a train down to Hualien. While there is not much going on in the city, it is not far from a gorgeous national park. We took a bus inside to Taroko Gorge and hiked around a few trails. There was a beautiful mix of nature and traditional Asian temples. It's one of the most beautiful places I have ever been.

I loved every minute of Taiwan, but I must admit it's nice to be back. I think it finally hit me that I live in Japan because when I went on vacation to Taiwan, I came back to Japan, and not the States. Enjoy the pictures!