Taiwan: Danshuei Old Street, Fort Santo Domingo & Danshui River cruise in Tamsui District 淡水區

Danshuei 淡水區, also spelled Danshui or Tamsui, is one of the oldest colonial settlements in Taiwan. In 1629, the Spanish established the town and mission of Santo Domingo in the area.


We first had lunch in Red Castle Restaurant, a colonial residence converted into a restaurant, before exploring the historical buildings of the district.



One of their specialties is the Brass Pot which is their version of hot pot or steamboat 火鍋. From the top of the restaurant, one gets a really nice view of the Tamsui River and Taiwan Strait.



Fort Santo Domingo is one of the major attractions here, where you could find Fort Anthonio, built by the Dutch after they expelled the Spaniards, and the British Consulate Residence. So from Danshuei Old Street, we motored to Fort Santo Domingo. There are actually more old buildings in Danshuei that are worth exploring if you have the time.



But the main attraction of the district is actually Danshuei Old Street itself, which is actually a network of streets that form a very popular shopping area, noted for its massive array of Taiwanese snacks and seafood restaurants along the banks of the beautiful Danshui River.




Instead of proceeding back to Danshuei Old Street by land, our hosts decided to bring us there via a ferry ride to show us the Danshuei District from the Tamsui River which made the community an important port in the olden days. So we proceeded to Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf 淡水漁人碼頭 to take a ferry back to Danshui Old Street.

One of the distinct features of Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf is the Lover Bridge of Tamsui which got its name from the fact that construction commenced on February 14, 2003. You basically cross this pedestrian bridge to get the the row of seafood restaurants.



We spent an hour or two just walking along the street looking for some souvenirs to take home. I actually noticed that many souvenir items are cheaper here, especially if you buy them from the street stalls on the way to the Metro Station. Danshui also has it's own Longshan Temple 龍山寺.



One of the stores we visited is a bakery called San Xie Cheng. It's easy to miss since the signs are all in Chinese. But if you notice the sign, you'll see Chez Jean depuis 1935. The bakery is known for its dragon and phoenix cakes. And the good thing is they offer free tastes to visitors who are curious about the cakes. So if you are in Tamshui, try to visit San Xie Cheng.



On the way back to the Metro, our host from China Airlines made sure we tried the grilled stinky tofu at one of the food stalls. Danshuei also has a lot of hawker stalls so the area is also good for a street food adventure. More photos of day 3 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Around Taipei's Beitou Hot Springs

Beitou District in Taipei is most known for its sulfuric hot springs. In fact, as soon as you step out of the Xinbeitou Taipei Metro Station, you can already smell the sulfur. For our third day in Taipei, we visited the different attractions of Beitou.



Our first stop was the Beitou Thermal Valley, sometimes referred to as Hell Valley because of the large amount of steam in the area. A natural sulfur gas geyser, the water in Thermal Valley is between 80 to 100 degrees Celsius and contains melanterite or green sulfur. It was quite an experience walking around Thermal Valley. Even the streams around the area were so rich in sulfur, the water was white and steaming!


After exploring Thermal Valley, we briefly stopped by the public baths (which I noticed was very popular to senior citizens) before proceeding to the Beitou Hot Spring Museum which was once a public bath itself.


The Beitou Public Baths were built by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1913 based on the design of the Mount Izu Hot Spring Bath in Japan. The biggest public baths in East Asia during its heyday, it has been adaptively reused into a museum showcasing the history of the area.



We also visited the Taiwan Folk Arts Museum, another old structure that has been transformed into a museum. Built in 1921, the two-story Japanese building was originally a hot springs inn called Kayama. It was later used as a dormitory for the families of soldiers, and later as a country house, before it became a museum in 1984, dedicated to preserving and exhibiting Taiwanese folk art.



For the afternoon, we trooped to the Danshuei District but returned to Beitou in the evening for dinner and an overnight stay at Sweetme Hot Spring Resort. After all those sumptuous meals, our last dinner was at a vegetarian restaurant called Su where we ordered from a menu of set meals.

I actually looked forward to staying at Sweetme Hot Spring Resort since every room had its own sulfuric bath! That dip in the tub of warm sulfuric water was a perfect way to end a really jam-packed trip around Taipei. More photos of day 3 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Longshan Temple 艋舺龍山寺 & Huaxi Street Night Market 華西街夜市 in Taipei's Wanhua District 萬華區

On the evening of our second day in Taipei, we visited Taipei's Longshan Temple 艋舺龍山寺 and another night market, the (in)famous Huaxi Street Night Market 華西街夜市 or Snake Alley in Taipei's Wanhua District 萬華區.


Known as the Mengjia Longshan Temple 艋舺龍山寺, it was built by settlers from Fujian in 1738. Longshan is a fine example of Taiwanese classical architecture. It has actually gone through a lot, having been destroyed by several earthquakes and fires, and the finally, the Second World War when it was hit by American bombers. A symbol of Taipei's resiliency, residents have consistently rebuilt it. It's one of those traditional Taiwanese temples you shouldn't miss when you visit Taipei.



From the temple, we proceeded to the Huaxi Street Night Market or Snake Alley. It's a two-block long night market that is quite notorious for serving almost anything from snake and turtle blood and meat, and deer penis wine among many others. Animal lovers need not visit since I myself was quite shocked seeing a turtle being cut up into pieces while alive and moving.



But not everything served there is exotic as there are also normal food stalls in the area, especially at the entrance of the market. And just like in any market, the hawker food there is also worth visiting. More photos of day 2 in Ivan About Town FB page. Also check out Raohe Street Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市 in Taipei.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Taiwanese food at Wan Lin & Chi Chia Chuang Restaurant

Food is an important part of Taiwanese culture. Which is why you shouldn't miss out on the local Taiwanese fare. For lunch and dinner on the second day, our group was brought to two restaurants which served Taiwanese food.


Wan Lin Restaurant was the typical Taiwanese diner and fast food. You had a turo-turo counter in the first floor, the usual scene you'd see in our own carinderias but in a better setting. You could order packed food to go or sit in their tables arranged fast food style. While the second floor was for the traditional Chinese round-table dining. It was the same food, but different way of serving it.



We were served a wide range of dishes including chicken, beef, pork, seafood and vegetables. Unfortunately, they did not have an English menu so we simply ate and savored what was served on the table.


For dinner, we had more Taiwanese food at Chi Chia Chuang Restaurant. A specialty of the house was the Three Taste Chicken which featured three different kinds of preparing the chicken into an appetizer. You could see the chicken displayed in the window of the restaurant.



Other dishes we ate included (1) Silver Fish with Vegetable Slices, (2) Oyster in Pickled Black Bean, (3) Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet, (4) Chi-Chia-Chuang Dough-Foux (tofu), (5) Turnip Egg Pancakes, and Chicken with Clam Casserole among many others. More photos of day 2 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Treasures of the National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院

The National Palace Museum 國立故宮博物院 has the most significant collection of Chinese artifacts in the world, even bigger than the Palace Museum in Beijing. The history of the National Palace Museum in Taipei actually began in 1925 when it was established in the Forbidden City in Beijing. This explains why the word palace is included in the name rather than just National Museum.

In 1931, to protect the collection from the ravages of the Sino-Japanese War, the collection was moved to the hinterlands of China. When civil war erupted between the Nationalist and Communist forces, the collection covering about 600,000 artifacts and works of art, were shipped to Taiwan. This explains why Taiwan has the better and most significant pieces of Chinese works of art and culture.

Unfortunately, we could not take photos inside. But needless to say, the collection was awe-inspiring. And some pieces were so intricate and detailed, one would simply wonder how they were made.

The oldest artifacts are prehistoric pottery that are over 5,000 years old. The collection includes artifacts made from jade and other precious stones, bronze, ivory, porcelain, lacquerware and enamel. There are also works of art, tapestries, priceless documents and books among many others.

Today, the collection has grown to 700,000 artifacts. And for the public to see all of them, exhibits are rotated every three months. With 15,000 different items shown every month, and 60,000 every year, it would take 12 years of constant visits to the museum for you to actually see the entire collection. More photos of day 2 in Ivan About Town FB page.

National Palace Museum
No.221, Sec. 2, Zhishan Rd., Shilin District
Tel. No. +886 (2) 28812021
E-mail: service01@npm.gov.tw

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Raohe Street Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市 in Taipei

Taipei has several popular night markets. In fact, visiting night markets is a popular pasttime, a subculture even, in Taiwan. For our first night, we visited the Raohe Street Night Market 饒河街觀光夜市, one of the oldest night markets. The market is located on a 600-meter stretch of Raohe Street, in Taipei's Songshan District.


At the entrance I noticed an unusual stress treatment where you get hit constantly on the head, neck, back and arms by a bundle of plastic sticks. I tried it out since I was quite tired. And it felt quite good. There are also a lot of foot massage services inside the market to relieve your tired feet after hours of shopping.



But more than the shopping, it's the street food which makes the night market very exciting. What I like about Asia is the hawker culture where every stall or restaurant has its own specialty. Our guide was adamant to let me try out her favorite snack, dried pigs blood dipped in peanuts and what seemed to be chopped kinchay. It was quite chewy and not bad for a snack.


I tried out different kinds of street food from local sausages to baked pepper buns. If only we weren't full from dinner, I would have wanted to try a lot more. But our time was limited and we had to rush back to the Howard Plaza Hotel. We were leaving quite early to visit more of Taipei's sights. More photos of day 1 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo

Taiwan hosted to the 2010 Taipei International Flora Expo from November 6, 2010 to April 25, 2011. The 2010 Flora Expo is a garden festival recognized by the International Association of Horticultural Producers. We didn't have time to explore the entire site. So we were brought to the Expo Dome where an orchid exhibition was being held.


Orchids are among the most fascinating flowers in the world, and is said to be the second largest family of flowering plants. And the wide range of species and hybrids were very much evident in the massive orchid exhibition at the expo.



We also got to see the Pavilion of New Fashion - FE EcoARK, a structure made of 1.52 million used PET bottles and bamboo as the main structural material supplemented by recycled steel beams. It was in fact featured in National Geographic Channel's Megastructures and is a perfect example of how one can make an energy self-sufficient structure by utilizing the sun, air and water.

Hopefully, this would be the future of construction. In Taiwan alone, several billions of plastic bottles are discarded every year. Given that most of them are non-biodegradable, the accumulation of garbage is a very serious issue and one that was addressed by the FE EcoARK.


After taking photos at some of the outdoor floral exhibits, we proceeded to Taiwan's electronics market to get some great deals. More photos of day 2 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.

Taiwan: Taipei 101 Observatory

Taipei 101 was the world's tallest building from 2004 to 2010. When it was completed in 2004, it was the world's tallest structure at 508 meters, had the tallest roof at 448 meters and had the tallest occupied floor at 438 meters. And like many of these tall skyscrapers and structures, Taipei 101 has an observatory which visitors can go up to for a spectacular view of the city.


After our dinner at Din Tai Fung, the group proceeded to the Taipei 101 Observatory on the 89th floor, which is 382 meters above the ground. The good thing about the visit to the observatory is that you can borrow pre-recorded multi-media guides in eight languages that annotate your view as you walk around the observatory. Unfortunately, it was a bit foggy that night so we weren't able to see much. If I had the chance, I would have wanted to visit the Taipei 101 Observatory during the day.

Don't forget to visit the 91st floor which is the Outdoor Observatory. There are steps from the 89th floor to get you there. But as we were about to reach the entrance, an announcement was made that the access to the 91st floor was going to be closed due to the weather situation.


As you exit the observatory, you'll get to see the world's largest and heaviest wind damper on the 88th floor. The Taipei 101 wind damper has a diameter of 5.5 meters and weighs 660 metric tons.

To get up and down the observatory, you naturally have to take an elevator. But note that the elevators of Taipei holds the Guiness Record for world's fastest elevator with top speeds of 1,010 meters per minute.

Admission fee to the Taipei 101 Observatory is NT$400 for adults and NT$370 for children under 12. While kids under 110 cm (3 feet 8 inches) enter for free. It's open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. But they only allow guests in until 9:15 p.m. Note also that there is a dress code and that slippers are not allowed. More photos of day 1 in Ivan About Town FB page.

Note: This familiarization tour of Taipei, Taiwan was organized by China Airlines. Book online at the China Airlines website.