Travel – maryghawley

Beitou Park – A Green Getaway in Taipei

One of my favorite day trips within Taipei City was a visit to Beitou Park. The park is north of Taipei and close to Yangmingshan National Park. While researching the park, I didn’t have high expectations but was pleasantly surprised by this peaceful park.

Getting to Beitou Park

It is easy to get to Beitou via the MRT. Accessibility is always one of my considerations when planning trips. In Taipei, I preferred riding the MRT over taking the bus because it is easier to navigate. To get to Beitou from Taipei Main Station, take the Red Line towards Tamsui. At the Beitou Station transfer to the Pink Line and ride to the end of the line which is the XinBeitou Station. The entrance to the park is across the street to the east.

Things to See and Do in Beitou Park

The park is a long, narrow strip of land with a creek running through the majority of it. If you start at the west entrance near the MRT station, you will find points of interest in this order.

Taipei Public Library, Beitou Branch

The library in the park is gorgeous. Three stories tall, with porches that overlook a waterlily pond, I wish I had found this gem earlier in my visit to Taipei.

It has a solemn friendliness. The interior is primarily warm wood with low bookcases that allow light from the windows to illuminate each floor. There are plenty of tables and armchairs for reading or studying. I even spotted books in English. It would be easy to spend hours tucked in a corner reading or journaling.

Beitou Hot Springs

Our next stop was the hot springs. We wanted to stop at the Beitou Hot Springs Museum, but it was closed for maintenance during September 2017. The public hot springs area was developed in the mid-nineties. There are private hot springs that are nicer if you want to pay the extra money. But if you really want to fully engage with the experience, the public hot springs are the way to go. The weather the day we were there was warm, as is usually during September, but was raining and made the hot springs still enjoyable.

Before entering the public hot springs area, you have to buy a pass from a vending machine at the entrance. There is a small shop to buy swimwear if you didn’t bring any or if what you bought doesn’t meet their criteria. Most women’s swimwear is acceptable. For men, there are a few more rules, one of which is no pockets. The lady at the turnstile into the pool area was friendly and spoke a little English. The six rock pools are on a three-level terrace, all enclosed with delightful plants and a fence for privacy. Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the pool area, so it is hard to show exactly what it looks like. After taking a quick shower, and storing our belongings in the provided lockers, we surveyed the pools to pick out the best one for the initial dip. Most of the other bathers were elderly locals and other western tourists. Each pool had a sign indicating the temperature. On the top level of the terrace were the hottest pools, and to the side were two small pools with lower temps to help cool off after sitting in the hot pools. We picked a warm pool and after rinsing off our feet with the plastic pots sitting at the edge of the pool we entered the pool and enjoyed the warm, relaxing water.

Thermal Pool

After enjoying the hot springs, we walked to the thermal pool, the source of the hot water flowing through the hot springs. This sulfur hot spring can reach boiling and emits stem even in the middle of summer.

Dinner at Sushi Express

After exploring the park and relaxing in the hot springs, we were starving. Fortunately, there is a Sushi Express across the street from the park near the MRT Station. I love Sushi Express. As someone with multiple food allergies, I appreciate the simplicity of sushi. It is easy to identify exactly what you are eating. And there is an unlimited supply of green tea. We wrapped up our day right when schools let out for the day and made our way home surrounded by chattering children in their school uniforms.

36 Hours in Hong Kong

I wish my visit to Hong Kong had been longer, 36 hours fly by quickly. In September 2017, I spent a month visiting a lifelong friend in Taipei. One of my goals while in Taiwan was to visit another country or large city. Hong Kong was close and the tickets were relatively cheap. So three of us decided to embark on a whirlwind tour.

We caught the last flight out of Taipei on a Thursday and arrived in Hong Kong just before midnight. There is a certain thrill to navigating a new city. Figuring out the currency and transportation system is like working out a giant puzzle. If you ever decide to fly to Hong Kong, I would suggest picking a flight with an earlier arrival time. The MTR Airport Express train which takes you all the way to the Central Station on Hong Kong Island stops running shortly after midnight. We had to take the double-decker night bus which stops at every imaginable stop. I tracked our location on my phone and watched as we made circles on the island where the Hong Kong International Airport is located. After at least 30 minutes, we finally made it off the island.

Our Airbnb was located in Tsim Sha Tsui, a few blocks off of Nathan Road. At 3am, we walked down our street which was littered with trash, and had people lurking in dark doorways, and suspected that we were staying in a sketchy neighborhood. Our host graciously had someone at the building to let us into our room in the middle of the night.

To best enjoy our time in Hong Kong, we slept until 9am and then started our day refreshed. Stop number one was caffeine. At home, I don’t frequent Starbucks, but on the road, I love the iconic brand. The closest Starbucks was a few blocks away and sipping on a hot black tea latte and people watching as they made their way to the MTR was the perfect start to the day. I think I even spotted two off duty models dressed in all black.

I had planned a rough itinerary for our day and we took the crowded MTR to Central Station. After gawking at the massive buildings in the financial district and watching people rush about in their well-cut business attire, we made our way to the Peak Tram. The Peak is on the highest mountain on Hong Kong Island and boasts numerous shops, restaurants, and walkways. It is a great spot to spend a few hours and get a fantastic view of Hong Kong and Victoria Harbour.

When traveling, I like to think about what I would do on my next visit. For there is so much information about a place that can only be gathered in person. And it is this first-hand experience that is the basis for planning the perfect excursion. Next time I visit Hong Kong and go to the Peak, I want to hike back down into the city. We walked down a section of trail and it was absolutely gorgeous.

It was a gently slopping paved walkway, lined with trees and a stunning vista of the city and harbor. The entire trail would have taken several hours and we had not budgeted the time in our schedule.

Instead of hiking back to the city, we caught a bus. I am glad we did. As we made our way down the mountain, we saw parts of the island that we would have otherwise missed. The ocean, a brilliant blue for as far as the key could see, lay to the south. Tucked between switchbacks, were skyscrapers impossibly perched on mountainsides. Gradually the mountain gave way to skyscrapers and we found ourselves back in the financial district.

One of the activities I enjoy while traveling is visiting parks. So we spent time in Hong Kong Park and Tamar Park on the banks of Victoria Harbor. The memory that is the clearest from our wanderings in Hong Kong Park is the fountain. It was shaped like a giant mushroom with a circular bench around the stem. There was room underneath the dome to stand without getting wet.

But where is the fun in that? I ran around the circumference of the fountain multiple times with my hand outstretched and running through the water. It was quite refreshing after the tropical heat.

On the way to Tamar Park, we got lost multiple times. On the map, it looked like it was only a few blocks away. Three blocks on surface-level streets are easy enough, but when you have to navigate multilevel underground malls, an MTR station, catwalks over busy roads, and sidewalks wrapped around governmental buildings, it gets confusing. But we finally made it to the harbor where we had a great view of Tsim Sha Tsui across the water, Hong Kong behind us, and boats ferrying people between the two places.

As evening approached we made our way back to Tsim Sha Tsui so that we could get a better view of the Hong Kong skyline as the sunset and the city became a dazzling display of lights.

On the way back to our Airbnb, we stopped for a Korean BBQ at a restaurant located on the 5th floor of a building that had a different restaurant on each floor. While looking for a place to eat, I was only looking at establishments on the ground floor. It didn’t occur to me to look up, even though there were giant signs on buildings advertising the restaurants located inside. Fortunately, my friend who lives in Taiwan knew how to spot the restaurants and found us a place before we expired from hunger.

After dinner, the Temple Street Night Market was in full swing on our street. This explained why the street was littered with trash at 3am the night of our arrival. The night market was different than the Taiwanese night markets I was accustomed to. There were more knockoff goods of brands that I actually recognized. I decided to purchase a pair of TOMS shoes and found a pair I liked. The lady had to run back to a store somewhere to get my size. But then I was the proud owner of a pair of navy, sized 42 TOMS, for the low price of $15 USD. The next day, on the way to the airport, the insoles of my new shoes kept on slipping around. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there was a second pair of insoles in the shoes. When I took them out, it became evident that my size 42 shoes were actually 43. I had a good laugh and continued to walk through the airport in my too-big shoes.

Day Trip to Jiufen, Taiwan

Jiufen is a Taiwanese village nestled in the mountains and overlooks the northern Pacific Ocean. The village boasts multiple Japanese style buildings and is often said to be the visual inspiration for the movie Spirited Away. While standing in the narrow streets, red paper lantern shining overhead, it is easy to imagine that you have been transported to a magical place.

There is plenty to do in and around the village. Getting there from Taipei is easy. Using our Easycard, we took a bus from the Songshan station, the ride was only a few hours. The first stop was near the Gold Museum. Near the entrance of the Gold Museum are some historic Japanese style buildings. In the early twentieth century, a member of the royal family planned on visiting Taiwan, and the houses were built in preparation for their arrival. The buildings are quite lovely and I enjoyed walking around the grounds and seeing authentic Japanese architecture. If you spend time in Taiwan, you will notice that wood is rarely used as a building material. The Japanese buildings were built primarily with wood and I found it a refreshing change from the steel, concrete, and tile.

We decided to not visit the museum, as my attention span in museums is very short and I would rather spend time outdoors. Instead, we walked around the gardens and enjoyed the view of the village in the valley and the ocean in the distance. After we had our fill of the gardens we hopped on the bus for a short ride to Old Jiufen where the night market happens.

On the bus, we drove by Keelung Mountain and I noticed the entrance to a hiking trail just a few hundred yards from the bus stop. The trail didn’t look too difficult, and there were some adorable little gazebos interspersed along with it. The top of the mountain was sure to have fantastic views! However, trail composed completely of steps in 90-degree weather becomes difficult quickly. But we kept going and eventually made it to the top. At one point an elderly Taiwanese person with canes passed us going down the trail, there was no way we were going to give up after that.

By the time we made it to the top, clouds had rolled in and we were standing in the mild of one, completely obstructing the view. But as we rested, the wind carried it away and the village below could be seen. The panoramic view of the village, lush green mountains, and the ocean were definitely worth the wait. On the way down we passed a group of hikers having tea. One of the hikers had brought with them a teapot and a small stove. Tea and mountains are the perfect combinations. One day I want to copy them and drink hot tea in the middle of a hike. Once back down in the village, we made our way to the night market. While walking through the crowded streets, we snacked on local street food. Sausage on a stick with cloves of fresh garlic, samples of mysterious dried fruit, and popsicles took the edge off our hunger. I love getting lost in villages with tiny stone streets, not knowing what will be around the next corner, and being surprised with public verandas with gorgeous views. After watching the sunset over the bay, we went in search of dinner.

One of my personal life philosophies is – always eat outside if it is an option. Dinner was a hodgepodge of meat, veggies, and rice. But it was delicious because it was eaten on a balcony on a mountainside. One lesson that I took away from the meal, is that overstepped lavender tea is not pleasant.

After dinner, we went in search of a teahouse with a rooftop tea room. We settled on the Jioufen Teahouse (Jiufen and Jioufen are interchangeable). At the teahouse, one is served tea and small sweet treats. In this case, there were dried plums, pressed green cakes with a sweet center, brown sugar mochi, and various kinds of sesame candy. But the experience is really all about the tea. The server gave detailed instructions on how to properly experience the tea.

The setup included a gigantic kettle of hot water, which is kept warm by sitting on a small fire in an earthenware pot of the floor beside the table, a bamboo water box, small teapot to brew the tea, a second teapot to serve the tea, cups, and saucers, and a bowl of oolong tea.

Each pot of tea could be steeped five times and there was enough tea for 4 pots. I acted as the tea preparer and enjoyed the dance of timing each steep and keeping all three cups supplied with oolong. There was plenty of tea and we had our fill before the bowl of the loose leaf was empty. I tucked the extra in my backpack and brought it home at the end of the night.