One last stop before heading home to the States! My friend Jackie invited me, Mallory, and Cassie to join her on a road trip around Taiwan and to spend the Lunar New Year with her family. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to get to see Jackie’s home country through her eyes, so we couldn’t say no! 

January 13th – Taipei to Tainan City:

Mallory and I had an overnight flight journey from Thailand to Taiwan, and unfortunately, I didn’t sleep at all on our flights. As we waited for Jackie to pick us up at the airport, I took a quick nap in the Taipei Airport food court. We were spending the first half of our trip on a road trip around the entire island of Taiwan. Jackie had gotten the rental car and picked Mallory and I up at the airport before we stopped by Cassie’s hostel to scoop her since she had gotten in late the night before. 

We stopped for a delicious traditional Taiwanese breakfast of omelets and turnip cakes at a place down the street from Cassie’s hostel before we hit the road towards Tainan City. Jackie had done such an awesome job taking the reins of planning this trip. For each driving day, she had planned some cool places for us to stop along the way to serve as both a sightseeing stop and an opportunity for us to stretch our legs. Our first stop was in a town called Lukang where we did lots of window shopping, got tea, and tried some street food like taro cakes and grilled squid. It was such a beautiful day, like high 60s and sunny, so we were having a lovely afternoon strolling through Lukang and admiring this cute town, especially since there were so many decorations everywhere for New Year’s.

We drove a little more, during which I took a brief nap, before stopping in a cute town that has tons of murals everywhere. The town itself was very quiet and pretty empty, but we enjoyed following the signs to see the creative, underwater-themed murals that were sprinkled all over town. There were also gorgeous temples in this quaint little town that were so colorful and detailed. Our next stop was a salt farm. We climbed to the top of the watch towers to get a look at all the salt that is extracted from the ocean water. We wandered through the salt farm and got some passionfruit and yakult (a sweetened probiotic milk drink) popsicles before hopping back in the car.

After a little more driving, we finally arrived in Tainan City! We were staying in an Airbnb for the night, which was up four floors of stairs. I thought I had done a really great job of packing so that I would only need my carry on for at least the first portion of our trip when we were staying in different places every night, but I completely forgot that I had packed all of my toiletries in my huge checked bag. I had also underestimated how warm it would be, so I needed to rearrange some of my luggage. All this is to say that I had to lug my huge suitcase AND my carry on all the way up to our fourth floor Airbnb. It was quite the workout, but I felt a lot better after reorganizing my things.

We ventured back down to street level and found a dry hot pot place to get take away. When I was in China, dry pot was one of my favorite meals. We would get it every Sunday, and I always looked forward to it. So I was pumped about this meal! We each got a basket and tongs that we used to pile in everything we wanted and choose our broth. They cook it up for you, drain the broth, and return to you a container full of the yummiest veggies, tofu, meats, etc. We actually didn’t realize when we were ordering that it was dry pot, so we had assumed the food would still be in the broth. We ended up stopping by a 7-Eleven to get some broth to pour over ourselves. There was also a mochi place nearby where we picked up white chocolate and taro (for Cassie and Jackie) or matcha (for me and Mallory) mochi covered strawberries. We brought our food back up to the Airbnb for our feast.

I don’t like spicy food, so I had asked for my dry pot to be made in the non-spicy broth. Mal, Cassie, and Jackie had each asked for the least spicy broth, but we quickly learned that we were not all on the same page about what “least spicy” meant. Their mouths were on FIRE. So much so that Cassie and Jackie ran back downstairs to 7-Eleven to get milk in hopes of helping their mouths cool down. The food itself was hot aside from the spiciness, so that didn’t help either. We eventually were able to handle the heat and thank god because the food was delicious! I was so stuffed that I saved my matcha mochi strawberry for the next morning. Jackie had to work remotely that night during PST hours, so she took a nap before waking up to work at 11:00 pm. Meanwhile, Mallory, Cassie, and I showered, rearranged our luggage, and settled in before heading to bed. Our Airbnb was really cool because the bedroom was a lofted room with blackout curtains by the door and three big mattresses on the floor. We all agreed that we had such a good night’s sleep, which was much needed after all of our crazy travel days.

January 14th – Tainan City to Kaohsiung City:

Waking up feeling rested and ready for the day, we packed up the rental car and then walked around Tainan City in search of breakfast. We ended up on a street with lots of food vendors, where I got a bubble waffle. The girls got some kind of meatball wrapped in rice noodles with a savory sauce, and we all got mung bean boba, which was delicious! We hit the road and continued down the western coast of Taiwan.

Our main stop for the day was the Fo Guang Shan Buddha Museum, which is home to a Buddhist monastery with a massive golden Buddha statue. It was another beautiful sunny day perfect for walking around the museum grounds and through the gardens. We walked through the museum and learned a lot about the values of Buddhism and the religion’s origins and important figures. When we entered the museum, an employee came up to us asking where we were from and welcoming us to Taiwan. He was so kind, and excused himself saying that he had a gift for us. He returned with a book on Humanistic Buddhism and a scroll of red banners for each of us. People typically hang red banners around their doors near the New Year to bring good luck. He wished us a happy New Year and thanked us for coming in to learn about Buddhism. He was so sweet! Eventually we made our way to the rooftop terrace to get up close to the Big Buddha. The whole visit was very grounding and educational. I’m so glad we stopped here!

Before we left, we had lunch at the restaurant there. The monks who live at the monastery are all vegetarian, so this entire restaurant was vegetarian, which was great for me! We got a bunch of things to share: a tofu soup, truffle dumplings, cabbage dumplings, mushroom dumplings, and charcoal sesame buns (I couldn’t eat these because there were nuts in them, but the girls loved them so much they got a second order. Luckily, we found sesame buns later in our trip that were nut-free). It was such a tasty lunch, and we left feeling so satisfied. On our way out, we got dessert buns. Mine had chocolate filling, and it was to die for.

We had quite a bit of driving ahead of us to get to Kaohsiung City, which we spent chatting and singing along to some of our favorite throwback songs. We got to the city past dark and got settled in our hostel room before heading out again to see some temples and go to a night market.

The first temple we went to was one of the most unique I have seen, with a massive dragon head in the center. It was closed at the time, but during the day, you can walk through the dragon’s mouth. There was another temple nearby with both a dragon and a lion statue. We couldn’t walk up to that one, but we could view it from afar. There was also a statue nearby of a massive warrior, which Jackie told us is a symbol of protection that is often carved onto doors to protect people’s homes. Near the warrior statue, there were a bunch of older people doing some outdoor karaoke, which we thought was adorable.

Afterwards, we headed to our first night market, which we quickly fell in love with. There is so much delicious food to try, and it is all so cheap. It’s hard to resist it all! I got fried mushrooms, which were AMAZING and some fried tofu. We all also shared some grilled corn on the cob. We picked up pineapple buns to bring back to the hostel. Jackie had told us that pineapple buns were one of her favorite Taiwanese desserts, and we fully understood why. They were delicious!

January 15th – Kaohsiung City to Dulan:

One of the first things we learned in Taiwan was the importance of 7-Eleven. That place is EVERYTHING. You can get anything your heart desires in a 7-Eleven, and it became our safe haven for a bathroom when we were out and about. We also learned that 7-Eleven has amazing breakfast food, which was what we had this morning. I got a couple hard-boiled eggs and fried sweet potato. The girls got some breakfast buns, and we took our breakfast on the go with us. We also stopped at KFC to pick up egg tarts, which were reminiscent of Mallory and I’s beloved pastel de nata from the coffee shop next to our Barcelona apartment. Especially since Mallory hadn’t been able to eat her last pastel de nata due to her whole food poisoning situation, she was pumped to find something similar in Taiwan.

We did a lot of driving this day, but it was such a gorgeous drive! We were driving around the southern point of the island, so much of our drive had us surrounded by mountains and greenery on our left and the black beaches and coastline on our right. It was such a stunning view, and we were enjoying the ride by chatting, singing along to throwback songs (again), and snacking on sweet potato chips, wax apples, and starfruit.

Our destination for the day was Dulan, a little beach/surf town on the southeastern side of the island. While there, we got to meet up with a family friend of Jackie’s, her “uncle” Patrick and his wife Ah Biang. We had been hoping to have a beach day, but it ended up being cold and windy so that was out of the cards. Jackie and Cassie were planning to go surfing the next morning, so Patrick offered to show us how to get there. He had to stop at home and switch vehicles, so we followed him to his home where he gave us a tour of his property. Patrick and his wife built everything on their property, which was amazing. Their space has so much character and personality, and it was really interesting to hear his stories about how he collected all the pieces he used. Some of the structures had recycles bottles or old traffic lights built into them for decoration. We were all fawning over his outdoor bathroom and admiring what an amazing space and lifestyle they have built for themselves. I loved hearing Patrick talk about how he came to create his space. He has lived such a cool life, and it was awesome and inspiring getting to hear even part of his life story.

After our tour of Patrick’s home, we followed him down to the beach. It was a gorgeous black sand beach with the most stunning view of the lush mountains. He showed us a few lookout points on our drive back into town.

We met up with Ah Biang again afterwards. She runs a business, calling herself The Coconut Woman, where she creates and sells products made out of woven coconut tree leaves, as well as hot sauce! She sets up shop in different places every day, so Patrick was helping her pack her things up in their truck at the end of the business day. Ah Biang and Patrick have a pet bird named Chucho, who was perched politely on Ah Biang’s shoulder. Ah Biang helped us get settled at a nearby restaurant for dinner and let us hang out with Chucho while she and Patrick packed up her merchandise. Chucho loved Mallory, and they quickly became besties. It was cracking us up because whenever he was near Cassie, he kept trying to chew on her rings or her fingernails, and eventually pooped on her sweatshirt. Once our food came, Chucho went back with Ah Biang so we could eat without him trying to steal a bite. We had soup, dumplings, and noodles before saying goodbye to Patrick and Ah Biang.

It was so special to meet Patrick and Ah Biang and hear about their lives. Patrick said at one point how awesome it was that we were traveling with Jackie and what an awesome itinerary she put together for us because we were getting to see such unique parts of Taiwan and really get a full picture of what Taiwan is like. He said so many Taiwanese people never even see places like Dulan and experience that side of Taiwan. We completely agreed with him, and it made us even more grateful for this trip.

January 16th –  Dulan to Hualien:

Jackie and Cassie woke up bright and early to go surfing this morning, while Mallory and I slept in a little. Mallory and I drove to the beach a little later to watch Jackie and Cassie surf and relax on the beach. We also saw Patrick and Ah Biang who were going surfing that morning as well. After a while, Mallory and I went back to the hostel to shower and get our things together. Our hostel had an awesome rooftop with a hammock, so we both hung out there until the girls came back. The sun had started to come out, which made for a beautiful and relaxing morning. On their way back from surfing, Jackie and Cassie had picked up some buns for breakfast which we ate on the rooftop. Mine had cabbage in them, and we each had a sesame bun for “dessert”, which was delicious and so filling.

We then packed the car up once again and drove off towards Hualien. When we got to our hostel, one of the hosts there gave us a little lesson on the history of Taiwan, which was really interesting. The walls were decorated with timelines and maps telling the story of Taiwan. Hualien is known for having amazing mochi, which we were so excited to try. We walked to a place nearby where we picked up some mochi to save for later. We spent the majority of our night at another night market. This one had lots of games like a carnival! We played one where you throw darts at balloons, and on our way out we did archery. We got dumpling soup and ate lots and lots of fried mushrooms and sweet potato balls.

January 17th – Hualien to Taipei:

Today was the final day of our road trip! We were headed back up to Taipei today where we would be staying with Jackie and her mom for two nights. We started the day early at Taroko National Park, where we got to see the Taroko Gorge and walk along the Swallow’s Trail and Shakadang Trail. This national park was stunning, and we could not stop gawking at all the beauty! The water in the Taroko Gorge was the most piercing icy blue, and the trees and greenery everywhere were so beautiful. There were also some small temples tucked away in the mountains. It was so serene.

On the rest of our drive towards Taipei, we were driving up the eastern coast of Taiwan with the mountains on our left and the black sand beaches on our right. I can’t even begin to emphasize how gorgeous the views were. Words can’t do it justice. We pulled over to the side of the road countless times to get out and admire the view and take pictures in hopes that they would do the slightest bit of justice to the beauty we were seeing. Seriously though – the drive without stopping would have been an hour and a half, and I’m pretty sure it took us three hours because we stopped so many times to enjoy the view.

As we were nearing Taipei, we stopped for dinner where the girls got chicken and we all shared noodles and greens. We picked up some chicken to go for Jackie’s mom, got Cold Stone ice cream from 7-Eleven, and made our final trek into Taipei. We finally made it to Jackie’s house and got to meet her mom! She was so kind, and we spent a long time just hanging out and talking with her. Jackie went to sleep since she had to wake up again in a few hours for work, so Mallory, Cassie, and I got settled in, did face masks, and watched Tangled before going to bed for an early night. We were all pretty wiped out from being on the go for so many days, and it was really comforting to be “home” with Jackie’s mom and just be able to relax.

January 18th – Taipei:

We all slept in this morning until 10ish. We had a slow morning hanging out in our PJs and talking with Jackie’s mom. She made us all breakfast, and it was so nice to have a home cooked meal. The vibe for the whole day was slow, relaxed, and cozy, which was just what we needed. We took our time getting ready and headed to a hot spring after returning the rental car. We hung out in the outdoor hot springs and also in the indoor pools where they were lots of massage jets that felt so good on our muscles. We also ventured upstairs to sit in the sauna for a bit. We all left feeling rejuvenated and relaxed.

Jackie headed back home to get some sleep before work that night, but Cassie, Mallory, and I had massages booked! Jackie’s mom had scheduled them for us at her favorite place. We took the bullet train to get there. We got 90 minute full body massages, and we left feeling relaxed and sleepy. The three of us had hoped to go to Din Tai Fung (a place that Mallory has been wanting to take me to in California for so long) for dinner, but by the time we got there, they were closing soon and only doing takeaway orders. Most places were closing soon, but we found a hot pot restaurant nearby that was open so we decided to eat here.

I had gotten hot pot plenty of times when I was in China, but I had always just gone as a guest and was sort of just along for the ride. Li Yen had always been in charge of ordering and communicating with waiters, so I had never gotten hot pot by myself. The three of us had such a funny experience because it was clear we had no idea what we were doing. You had to go get your veggies and noodles yourself, which I mistakenly thought was a salad bar (LOL). Thankfully, there were a couple waiters who spoke English and were able to help us out, but we know we just looked ridiculous. We were clearly fish out of water making it up as we went. A man (who didn’t even work at this restaurant) came up to us at one point and asked us if our pots were turned on. I later burned my broth because I had the heat up too high, and Cassie almost burned hers. We didn’t have enough chopsticks, and we were splashing soy sauce everywhere. The food was delicious, but we couldn’t stop laughing at what fools we must have looked like! At the very least, we were providing some high quality entertainment for everyone around us.

January 19th – Taipei:

In the morning, Mallory, Cassie, and I packed up our things because the three of us were moving to an Airbnb for the last three nights of our trip since Jackie’s Grandma was coming to town to stay with them for the New Year. We dropped our things off in our room and then found a place nearby to get lunch. This place was delicious, cheap, and easy! We each got a tray and as we made our way down the counter, you just point to whatever you want and they put a scoop of it on your tray. I got a ton of stuff: veggies, tofu, broth.

After lunch, we took an Uber to a different part of the city where we took a gondola ride up into the mountains to see the tea terraces. The gondola ride was beautiful and we were suspended over the lush, green mountains. We walked through the adorable town and found a cafe where we could sit and admire the view with some refreshments. Jackie and Mallory got tea, I got hot chocolate, and Cassie got her first ever matcha drink. I also got a waffle with chocolate sauce to snack on. There was a sweet little cat at this outdoor cafe who came right up to Mallory, climbed on her lap, and snuggled up to her. Mallory hadn’t been feeling well, so she really needed those kitty cuddles. The sun was starting to set as we were up there, and it cast the most beautiful glow over Taipei.

We took the MRT (metro) back to our hostel and parted ways with Jackie. She was going to sleep before a long night full of meetings. Cassie, Mallory, and I had thought about going to a night market, but we didn’t have the energy for it. Instead, Cassie and I went to pick up pizza and cheesy bread, which we brought back to the hostel and ate while the three of us watched a trashy movie.

January 20th – Taipei:

Cassie, Mallory, and I went to Din Tai Fung for lunch, where we got to briefly meet a friend of Mallory’s grandma who is Taiwanese and happened to be visiting her family at the same time that we were there. What a coincidence! It was nice to meet her, and it was a good reminder of how small the world really is. Our din tai fung meal was delicious. Cassie and Mallory got a bunch (20, to be specific) of their iconic soup dumplings, which have earned the restaurant a Michelin star. I got some appetizers and soup. The three of us split three orders of dessert buns: golden lava buns, sesame buns, and chocolate buns. These were unreal, and I could have eaten a million more.

We went back to the hostel to hang out for a little and waited for Jackie to meet up with us. Once the four of us were together, we set off to go to a New Year’s market and grab a few things to prepare for the New Year. It was so crowded, as expected, since the following day was New Year’s. It is the year of the rabbit, which is Jackie’s mom’s year, so we got some rabbit decorations for her and we got a bunch of red envelopes. It is a Lunar New Year tradition for adults to give children red envelopes with money in them. We planned to write each other notes in our red envelopes to exchange during our celebrations. Afterwards, we went to one more night market where we got sweet potato balls, noodle soup, and we stocked up on pineapple buns to last us the next few days. The rest of the night was spent hanging out at the hostel watching movies and relaxing.

January 21st – Taipei:

Our final day in Taiwan 😦

We started the morning with a hike that led to a beautiful view of the city. The hike was near Jackie’s high school, so we got to walk around the neighborhood and hear Jackie tell stories about her childhood and what her school experience was like. She went to an American international school, and it was really cool to hear about her experience. We got milk tea and boba to sip on as we walked around. We went to a food court for lunch and had a super tasty meal.

Back at Jackie’s house, we got to meet her grandma who had taken the train into town the day before. She couldn’t be any cuter, and it was so fun to meet her! She doesn’t speak much English, but we still had the best time with her. We helped prepare for our New Year’s celebrations by doing some crafts. We used a stencil to trace a Chinese character that means “spring”. At the New Year’s market the day before, we had seen this character on a magnet. Jackie told us that people will have this character upside down, and then on the new year, they turn it right side up as a signal that spring is coming. We used the stencil to trace and cut out the character on red paper. We each made three and then taped/stapled them together to make a 3D version that stands up on its own. Jackie’s grandma was so sweet and supportive. She celebrated us for our craftsmanship and said we did a good job! We told Jackie to ask her grandma which of ours was the best and Jackie said, “I already know she’s going to say they’re all amazing and she can’t choose”, which is exactly what her grandma said. She knows her well! We made several to put around the house and then take home as souvenirs. All the while, we were listening to traditional Taiwanese music, and Jackie’s mom was showing us her favorite Taiwanese musicians. We exchanged our red envelopes with each other, saying “Xīnnián kuàilè” (“Happy New Year”) as we handed the envelope to its recipient with two hands. We put our collection of red envelopes off to the side to open later in private.

When it was time for dinner, we cleared the table and made room for all the food Jackie’s mom had been preparing. We had hot pot, which was much less chaotic this time around compared to when Cassie, Mallory, and I went by ourselves. There was tons of meat, fish, and veggies. It was a long and relaxing meal. Jackie reminded us before we started eating that it was a marathon, not a sprint. I was grateful for this reminder because the food just kept coming. Surprisingly, I wasn’t feeling stuffed at the end of it because our meal was stretched out over a couple hours. We had such great conversations, and it was so nice to spend the day with Jackie’s family. After dinner, we cleaned up and settled back in for dessert. Everything was just too yummy. Jackie also played the piano for us all!

It had been such a wholesome celebration with Jackie’s family, and I was feeling so happy, grateful, and grounded. It also made me really excited to be home with my family! We said our goodbyes to Jackie’s mom and grandma before heading out to the temple for a midnight tradition.

At the temple, there were two massive lanterns created in honor of the year of the rabbit. One of the lanterns represented peace, and the other represented fortune. We joined the long lines of people waiting to walk underneath the lanterns and wish for peace and fortune. The four of us went underneath the lanterns together, silently made our wishes, and then had a big group hug (we were big on group hugs this trip). It was so cute and wholesome. We then went further into the temple and waited for midnight. At 12:00, two monks on the upper level of the temple started chanting Sanskrit while ringing a bell. This went on for nearly 15 minutes, and it was very calming and meditative. After this, a monk on the other side of the temple played a massive drum. The repetitive rhythm was relaxing and intriguing. The four of us had talked about the difference between Lunar New Year celebrations and the way that the New Year is celebrated on December 31st. The Lunar New Year celebrations are a lot more calm and reflective with a focus on spending time with family. It was a nice contrast to the way we had always celebrated the Western calendar New Year. We felt so grounded going into the Year of the Rabbit.

We had to quickly head out of the temple to try and catch the last MRT train of the night. We only made it halfway to our destination before the MRT closed. We said our goodbyes to Jackie and she took an Uber back to her house. The three of us walked back to our hostel. Cassie would be leaving for the airport in just a few hours for her early morning flight, while Mallory and I could sleep in a little longer.

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This was such an incredible trip that was hard to put into words. Taiwan had never been at the top of my travel bucket list and who knows if/when I would have made my way there if Jackie hadn’t invited us to visit. Even if I had visited on my own, I probably would have only gone to Taipei, and I would have missed out on so much that this amazing country has to offer. Getting to travel around the whole island with friends was such a cool experience, and to see Taiwan through the lens of someone who grew up here was especially unique. As Patrick said when we were in Dulan, we got to see sides of Taiwan that most people don’t see. I’m so glad I got to experience Taiwan in this way because I fell in love with this country and learned so much. I only just met Jackie and Cassie back in October in Nice and Barcelona, and now we’ve been to three countries together! We were joking about how we have never even hung out in the U.S. together – only internationally! It’s safe to say that this trip is one that I will never forget, and I will be reminiscing about this iconic girls’ trip for a long, long time.