Asia Trip 2023 Day 5 - Temples of Taipei
After a great dinner last night, we both woke up relatively refreshed and ready to go this morning. After a quick run in the gym, we went down to breakfast which was included with our American Express booking. To say that the breakfast buffet had variety would be an understatement given they seemed to have breakfast foods from all over the world. Nothing was particularly memorable or delicious, it was quantity over quality.
We came back up to the room for a half-hour before going downstairs to meet our tour guide Harry for our 6-hour private Taipei tour. We’ve done a number of these types of “highlight” tours before but never have we been to one that has been as jam-packed as today. We took over 350 photos and a handful of videos. A lot of those were thanks to Harry who was very good about asking to take pictures of us at various locations.
The tour began at what was probably the highlight of the day, Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. It was only a short distance from our hotel and after parking the car we got to take in this beautiful structure. Part opera house, part theater, part memorial it is one of the most stunning places we’ve visited that has obvious Chinese architectural influences. We walked the grounds before going into the museum and later to watch the changing of the guards at the memorial. This process was one of the most meticulous and slow-moving changing of guards we’ve ever seen.
From there we were back in Harry’s car and off to make a very quick stop at the Presidential Office building. The entire area is quite guarded so we were only able to walk outside, snap some photos, and keep going. After that quick visit, we made our way to Bangka Lungshan Temple a couple hundred year old temple that was packed with locals. What was so fascinating about our visit there are the various reasons why people go and the rituals in which they ask their higher beings for assistance and guidance. We walked around the temple and learned about many of the rituals and customs.
We spent quite a bit of time at the temple before walking a few blocks, getting some tea from a nearby street vendor, and then off to a nearby district that was one of the main markets a hundred years ago. From there we went to Dihua Street a main street market in Taipei where we walked through both a textile market and a food market before walking up and down the main shops. The area was packed with people and was one of the perfect reasons to get a tour guide because on your own you’d be lost.
Our other favorite stop of the tour came next when we arrived at Lin An Tai Historical House and Museum. Originally built in the 18th century for the Lin family it was once a very rich and prestigious family and had truly stunning grounds. We got to walk through the entire estate taking in the bedrooms, kitchens, and gardens. Today turned out to be such a beautiful day (albeit warm) that it was really nice to take pictures near the beautiful pond and enjoy the nice breeze.
As the tour was winding down we decided that our final stop would be at the Confucius Temple. At this point, both Jenn and I were getting pretty tired but it was nice to see yet another place where the community gathered looking for guidance and peace. It was a beautiful temple and after going in through several of the rooms we made our way back to Harry’s car and back to our hotel. The 6-hour tour ended right on time and we were back at the Shangri-La at 3 PM exhausted but happy to have been able to see as much as we did in the day. We had ordered McDonalds on Uber Eats on the way back and it arrived a few minutes after we got back. Jenn enjoyed her fries and chicken nuggets and my cheeseburger. We even took Harry’s suggestion and tried the very delicious sweet corn soup.
We both took naps after our very late lunch and went down for dinner at 6:30 PM at Shang Palace a restaurant in the hotel. The menu was probably 20 pages long but we landed on their duck meal which had a full duck prepared three ways. After Jenn got her glass of white wine and my sparkling water the chef came by with our duck and carved it table side. It was first served with thin pancakes, scallions, cucumber, and a Hoisin sauce. This was by far the highlight of the meal with very crisp skin and a perfectly cooked duck. From there they brought us a bowl of mushrooms, duck, and tofu that was a bit thick for our taste and sort of funky tasting. The meal ended with the rest of the duck made into a beautiful duck broth that we devoured although by this point were rather full.
Although not a 10-course mastery of cooking it was a delicious meal and one that we were glad to have enjoyed. After dinner Jenn took a shower, I caught up on some work and my recaps for the trip before we once again watched an episode of Seinfeld before turning out the lights and getting ready for our second tour in Taipei tomorrow.
