First Time in Taipei Taiwan [PHOTO-ESSAY]

The wife raved about the food in Taipei. We ate in plenty wonderful restaurants, but the Ay Chung Flour Rice Noodle in the Wanhua District in Taipei was memorable for me. I think it’s because I like street food in general. When we arrived here, there was a line, no seats, and plenty of noodles. Very good noodles.

Of course, we wanted to see a few of the more touristy things. So a visit to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall was in order. Unfortunately, we visited on a very hot day. After taking a few photos, we took shade in a nearby park, which turned out to be one of the highlights for the trip.

It was a joy to see the kids enjoying time with nature. In particular, we spent a good hour just feeding bread sticks to pigeons. I forgot to mention. One of the biggest things in our to do list was for the kids, we were to visit The Taipei Zoo. Fortunately, this brush with nature foreshadowed what was to come.

Of course a visit to Taipei wouldn’t be complete without spending time inside the iconic Taipei 101. The first photo from this blog post was taken from the top of this building.

For the kids, this must have been the highlight. We trekked all over the Taipei Zoo just looking for one particular animal, the Panda. That big guy did not disappoint. He moved around, jumped for his food, and showed the crowd a good time. Well worth the visit.

Of course, I got to visit the Rapha store in Taipei. I’ve been geeking out on all things cycling lately. So this was a treat. I did not get any apparel, but I ordered a Flat White.

One of the more memorable towns in Taiwan is Jiufen. It’s a mountain town. Which had a charm all to its own. Instead of sidewalks, they had stairs. Most of that visit was spent walking up those stairs with the kids. We eventually gave up and settled inside a wonderful little cafe with a beautiful view.

Another memorable experience was writing our wishes on a sky lantern, lighting the bottom with fire, and watching it fly away. All over the town of Shifen we saw these lanterns fly above the sky. It really was magical.

My favorite thing to do in any city is walk the streets. I love seeing what it is like living in new cities. Especially when the city is built for people and not just cars. Taipei is no exception to this. Walking around was as easy as walking gets. We traveled with two toddlers and a stroller. Although it’s not easy getting around with kids, the city was well equipped for us. There were ramps everywhere, clean sidewalks, shade when we needed it, efficient trains, and very friendly locals.