Trip To Chang Kai-Shek Memorial!

Well I woke up on the 19th of December thinking 'Woo hoo! It's not a dream! and i'm meeting a girl today!' :P

When I stepped out the front of the house and onto the pavement, it really struck me. There are a hell of a lot of scooters! They even drove through red lights (that really took the biscuit, but that was really the only thing i could have complained about). I got to the bus stop, and there was an old woman and a younger man standing around watching the world go by while they waited for there bus. To my surprise, I didn't get any funny looks as I was forewarned, but a nod of the head and a smile, which felt very welcoming.

While I was traveling to Jing An (景安) MRT station on the bus, I noticed that the scooters drive on both sides of the vehicle. Absolutely bonkers Haha! It only cost 15 NTD (New Taiwanese Dollars) to travel there, compared to Britain, where it costs 3 pound and 50 pence (A complete RIP OFF BLOODY BASTARD GOVERNMENT!)... rant over, back to the story.

Waiting for the bus on a rainy day!

Then came the tough bit! Which MRT to catch?! Admittedly I'm horrendous with directions, so I had to ask a bloke that worked there, and he was kind enough to give me a metro map, huzzah! VICTORY! I could then navigate my way round using the MRT's perfectly... or that's how it worked out in my dreams (but that's a story you'll be told later in the blog) ;)

After a ten minute journey to Taipei Main Station (台北車站) I finally met up with a girl I had been talking to over the past few months and also who I had been helping with her English. Her name is Betty, and my first impression was that she was quite... small (but has a heart of gold!... whew saved myself some trouble there) :P

We first went to the mall, where we ate a rice burger and some other strange burger thing from a place called 'Mos Burger'. I liked it a lot.

After formalities and what not, we decided to go and have a look at Chang Kai-Shek Memorial. I had heard about this place, but had never done any research, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I can assure you, it was a pleasant surprise.

Betty, who offered to guide me to places (which was so very nice of her)

Reminds me of all the old Kung-Fu movies haha

'This is truly a stunning country' was the first thing that went through my mind. It definitely has a lot of colour to it, even when it rains everything seems to be bright (especially the Taiwanese people, they were wonderful).

After our trip to the Chang Kai-Shek Memorial, we decided to Longshan Temple (艋舺龍山寺), which was my first experience in a non-christian religious affiliated building. I was blown away by how beautiful it was. It was built in 1738 and is still standing today, so if you are going to Taipei (台北) I wholeheartedly suggest you check this place out!

When we had finished exploring this amazing place, we more than likely had tea together and then parted ways at Taipei Main Station, but I don't remember too well :P

My Arrival To Taiwan

Hey Guys! 大家好!

Well this is my first of many posts to do with my amazing trip to Taiwan over Christmas and New year in 2013/14.

I'll give you a bit of background about me first though. I'm 6ft 3, ginger, blue eyed and I absolutely love Mandarin, Taiwanese and Cantonese music (as I am a music student, I might write a review of all the albums I have... hmmm good idea for a new blog!).

I arrived in Taoyuan international airport and my goodness was I in for a surprise! Being from Britain (UK), I was used to rowdy northerners at the airports drinking shots before (what they thought) was going to be a treacherous flight to some sunny island where they would pick up some exotic woman with three arms or something.

Alas!, the place was crowded, but so clean and peaceful. I had to wait for about five minutes for my Taiwanese friend named Han to pick me up from the airport.

A very weird picture of Taoyuan international airport

I was pretty stinky by this time as I had to stay in Amsterdam airport for 21 hours, then a ten hour flight to Shanghai Airport, then to Taoyuan airport, so I hadn't been able to have a shower.

The bus journey took about an hour to get to Jing An (景安) in Taipei. I pretty much kept bombarding Han with numerous question about the culture and more importantly the food! When we arrived at his house, which was very traditional by the way (an amazing sight for someone who is used to living in a semi detached house in the countryside with only their immediate family), we tucked into a meal his auntie had kindly cooked for us.

My first meal in Taiwan

After eating this it was time to hit the hay, so we parted ways for the night. When in bed, I pondered on what the next three weeks would bring, and what experiences would I encounter.

My room which Han kindly gave me to sleep in (as it was his room!)