Riding towards Taipei from the airport, I was surrounded by lush green
hills. As we approached the city, mid-level apartment complexes started to
emerge. It was a typical modern urban landscape, other than a few temples in
the hills and a giant red building with traditional architectural elements,
which I learned is the historic Grand Hotel.
The highway was elevated, which allowed me to see into the distance from the car. A peaceful river twisted its way through the city, surrounded by lots of
green space and bike trails. From my initial back-seat perspective, Taipei
looks like a beautiful city with a high quality of life.
My Taipei airport transfer
Once we exited the highway, traffic became heavier and pedestrians filled
the streets. My hotel is located in the main shopping district and adjacent to
Taipei 101 (the world's tallest skyscraper from 2004 to 2010, when it was surpassed by Burj Khalifa in Dubai). From my window,
I got a direct view of the building and the surrounding hills in the
background. I was really excited to explore this city.
View from my window, with Taipei 101 in the foreground
View from the other angle of the hotel
When I walked out the front door of the hotel, my attention was immediately
drawn to live music playing in a nearby park. I walked closer and saw people
waving flags that said “#HUG for Taipei”. I was confused by the message but I
later learned that this was just an election rally (makes sense in retrospect, since it was happening right in front of the City Hall).
I admittedly do not know much about Taiwan’s political environment (other than
its contentious relationship with China), but I am a fan of any place that
turns a campaign rally into a live music concert.
Pre-election rally in front of City Hall
I then walked to the Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall and
arrived just in time to watch the changing of the guard ceremony. I always get
mesmerized by the focused and precise movements, even though I’m not sure what
they are actually guarding since Yat-sen’s body is not buried there.
Adjacent to the main foyer, there is a small museum with various artifacts and
clips from Yat-sen’s life as a beloved leader for post-Imperial China. I’m not
a museum person, so I breezed through this exhibition.
Exterior of Sun Yatsen Memorial Hall
Guard at Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall
I could hear loud music as soon as I stepped outside, and I noticed that
there were at least 5 different dance crews creating and practicing their
routines on the landings. I felt like I was at the auditions for a Taiwanese “Battle
of the Year” remake, but it was much more entertaining than the museum inside
so I stayed around for at least 20 minutes to watch them. The Koreans may have
emerged victorious in the "Battle of the Year" movie, but I think the Taiwanese
dancers are poised to throw down a challenge!
Dance Crew in front of Memorial Hall
Everyone says that night markets are THE thing to see in Taipei, so I decided to visit one as the next stop on my agenda. I
considered trying out the public transport system, but decided instead to grab
a bubble tea and enjoy the sights and sounds of Taipei while I walk there. Walking
proved to be an excellent decision because I stumbled upon a make-shift stage and
theatrical performance on the way. I decided to
stop and watch. Of course I couldn’t understand a single word, but it didn’t
even matter. The colorful costumes, hilarious choreography, and over-the-top
acting was enough to keep me thoroughly entertained until the end of the show.
Impromptu Theatrical Performance
Street performance in Taipei
In case photos don't do it justice, I also took a video clip:
On the other side of the road was a beautiful temple that also piqued my
curiosity. I stepped inside and admired all the decorations for a few minutes.
There wasn’t a single inch of unused space, which always provides a wonderful sensory
overload. As much as I enjoy seeing temples and churches around the world, I feel
like I always miss out on so much information by simply appreciating the
aesthetic elements, rather than taking the time to learn about what everything
means. I could not even determine which religion the temple is dedicated to. I may have ended up with more questions than answers after this stop, but these little discoveries are what make travel so exciting for me.
Outside of the temple
Visitors praying
Another scene inside the temple
Scene inside the temple
I finally arrived at Raohe Street Night market and I was instantly amazed by
the sheer number of people there. Everyone basically moves with the crowd and no one gets anywhere quickly. However, with all the sights and smells surrounding you, there is really no reason to be in a rush. Most of the vendors in the center of the road were
selling junk food, while the shops along both sides were filled with clothing and
other inexpensive gifts. I started to build up an appetite, but nothing
was appealing enough to try (street markets aren't exactly known for their healthy options). Even though I did not end
up buying anything at the market, I can totally see why it is such a famous
place for both tourists and locals. If you haven't been to a night market, you haven't seen Taipei.
Entrance to Raohe Street Night Market
Filling some dumplings
Large quantities of food for the evening rush
Meat on a stick
Deep Fried Goodness
Street markets may get all the attention, but I also found downtown Taipei to be a wonderful area for
high-street shopping. The mall inside Taipei 101 anchors a
pedestrian-only street that is lined with shops and restaurants for at least a
half-mile. I was pretty impressed by the range of brands, some of which I had never even heard of before. Although it was not even Thanksgiving back at home, the Taiwanese people wasted no time in putting up Christmas decorations and getting all the shoppers in the festive holiday mood.
Pedestrian shopping mall at night
Another view from the outdoor shopping mall
My hotel was also decorated nicely for the Christmas holidays:
The hotel is ready for Christmas
The next few days in Taipei involved a lot of food. I love the family-style
atmosphere of Chinese restaurants, but I inevitably eat more than I need. As a foreigner,
I feel even more obligated to try everything that is placed in front of me so I
don’t offend anyone with the false impression that I may not want to try the
local cuisine. Fortunately for me, I enjoyed it all.
My view at almost every meal this week...
Speaking of food… On my last night in Taipei, I had the pleasure of eating
at the famous Din Tai Fung.
This location is in the basement of Taipei 101 and I loved the unpretentious
atmosphere that allows the high-quality food to speak for itself. Din Tai Fung
doesn’t take reservations, so the lobby is always filled with hungry people who
are anxiously awaiting their number to be called. Once inside, my eyes were immediately
drawn to the show kitchen. The dumpling
chefs were crowded around small tables, each wearing a mask and hairnet. They
delicately filled each dumpling and placed it on a bamboo steamer. Din Tai
Fung may not be a fancy restaurant, but it is an experience that anyone should enjoy
in Taipei.
Dim sum chefs at Din Tai Fung
Taipei is a city full of contrasts...
Shortly after watching dance crews push the envelope with an international hip-hop beat, I stumbled across a traditional Chinese theatrical performance.
Taipei is a city full of extremes...
At the same moment that street vendors hastily fill dumplings from a giant vat of mystery meat, nearby restaurants serve dumplings that are made with surgical precision and only using the highest quality ingredients.
Taipei is a city full of surprises...
In a country where Christians comprise only 4% of the population, Christmas decorations fill the streets and hotel lobbies. I felt more in the Christmas spirit here than I did in Paris last December.
In Taipei, you can walk through the streets without an agenda, but still end up with non-stop entertainment. Despite being a modern industrial economy, Taiwan still retains many cultural traditions. I think this variety is what made the city so exciting for me to visit.
Buildings in downtown Taipei are lit up beautifully at night
For most normal people, a night of sleep in their own bed or an evening out with friends is nothing to get excited about. For a professional traveler, however, these things are pretty nice gifts. I didn't have a very long Christmas list this year, but I must have been good because I got everything I wanted. Here are my favorites: 1) A flight upgrade My first Christmas gift this year was from American Airlines in the form of a business-class upgrade from Paris to New York. What a great way to start a vacation!
The experience of flying in the premium cabin really makes a huge difference in international flights - especially for someone who can't sleep sitting up. I didn't catch any z's on the flight but it was still nice to fully recline and close my eyes for a bit. The food is also a major upgrade. After a glass of champagne to start the trip, I had a four-course lunch that wasn't served in a foil container, and even included a custom ice-cream sundae for dessert.
For some reason, American Airlines continues to fly planes to Europe without personal entertainment devices in coach class, so the most important benefit of this upgrade was actually being able to choose movies and shows to watch. This may seem like a small point, but entertainment is important on an 8-hour flight!
2) A personal airport pick-up
My parents always pick me up at the airport when I come home, which is so much nicer than searching for a stranger holding a sign with the name of my hotel or sitting in the back of a taxi. I certainly don't have a problem with being chauffeured around in a luxury sedan to my hotels, but it's so much better when you can spend the ride with people you care about.
3) My own bed
Hotels are almost like a home for me, but I still enjoy the sense of ease that accompanies my own bed. I don't have to worry about the dirty people who have stayed in my room before me or whether I will find a strand of the housekeeper's hair in the sheets. Even though I love having people to clean for me when I am living in hotels, there is a certain level of comfort that simply cannot be achieved unless I am at home. 4) Time with family and friends Often, my trips back home are too short to see everyone that I would like to catch up with. This time, I was lucky enough to have two weeks off, which even allowed me with a couple nights to just relax at home without feeling guilty that I was squandering time that could have otherwise been spent seeing more people. 5) Christmas Eve traditions Every year, Christmas eve involves a carefully-orchestrated series of events that should never be altered. I join my mom at church, which is followed by take-out Chinese/Japanese food with my family. (This year, I was tired of eating out for every meal so I just paired some appetizers with a simple salad). After dinner, I meet up with all my high school friends at the annual Christmas Eve party. Normally, we are confined to a side room with the most perfectly decorated tree I have ever seen. This year, however, we were re-assigned to the dining room table, which allowed for much easier access to the desserts and alcohol. :) The after-party is a more recent tradition where only the most hearty souls head to another home for late-night libations. Even though it wreaks havoc on Christmas morning, I feel like a younger version of myself when I can stay up with friends until after 3AM. 6) A united family I'm lucky that my extended family enjoys being home for Christmas just as much as I do. My cousins are spread around the United States (Denver, Washington DC, New York and Boston), yet we all managed to see each other on Christmas Day.
Annual cousin picture
Beyond just coming together physically, I am lucky that everyone on both sides of the extended family gets along with one another. There are no awkward conversations at the table or subtle insults throughout the meal. My brother hosted Christmas at his house, which is ideal for parties because of the open floor plan, two built-in bars, billiard room, and central speaker system that plays music everywhere. We also discovered the "Heads Up" ipad app, which provided hours of fun as the "youngs" and the "olds" battled it out. 7) Travel-themed gifts Let's just face it. I live out of a suitcase, so I obviously don't need furniture, housewares, or any other gifts that most people my age are finding under the tree these days. I figured that new luggage would make for a good gift but I am very specific. It has to be black, sleek, well-branded, and lighter than what I currently use. Otherwise, there's no point in updating. My mom and I spent one afternoon at the mall and we must have looked like crazy people as we picked up every suitcase to inspect the weight and size dimensions like we were searching for a new home. I suppose my suitcase is like a home since it transports all of my belongings for 3-4 months at a time. I was so excited to find with one that fit all the qualifications...and with wheels that spin in complete circles. Score! Another gift that only professional travelers would appreciate is metal collar-stays. Most people have probably never even heard of these, but it is important when the laundry people are constantly losing the plastic ones that come with my shirts. I can't have my collars flapping around all day! 8) A gym membership Some people need coffee as part of their daily routine. I need a work-out. My mom knows this about me, so she always gets me a temporary gym membership when I come home. Honestly, this means the world to me - especially during the holidays, when I have even more calories to burn. It's also a gift to be able to wake up whenever I want and not have to rush to the gym for an abbreviated workout before starting my day. Throughout my break, I had very leisurely mornings and I often didn't even make it to the gym until around noon. I know I'm a little nutty for thinking that a vacation should involve MORE time at the gym, but it felt like an adult playground next to the limited equipment options I usually have to deal with on the road.
9) My own car When I am traveling for work, I never have access to a car. It's just too complicated to navigate the roads, so I normally just walk or take taxis whenever I want to go out. I haven't owned a car since around 2005, so I am well accustomed to this type of transport. Having said that, I still really enjoy the freedom to drive myself around with my own car. Whenever I visit my parents, I get to use one of their extra cars and it is a gift that I will never take for granted. Part of me feels like I'm on vacation when I can just turn on the music and sing aloud. I certainly can't do that when I'm riding in the back of a taxi (without people thinking I'm crazy). 10) A snowstorm I grew up in New England. Christmas is just not the same without some snow. The weather was surprisingly warm during the first few days of my vacation, but we got a decent storm just after the new year. The white stuff made my winter vacation feel complete!
11) Freedom to control what I eat
When I travel, I can't just call room service and ask for a handful of cashews or a granola bar. I am always forced to accommodate my schedule to that of the local team, and this means no snacking and meals whenever they normally eat. Even at dinner (when I normally don't eat too much), the waiters always look at me funny when I order just a piece of grilled meat/fish without any sides. "Steamed" vegetables always seem to be laden with oil but I don't have the audacity to instruct the chefs about how I want my food prepared. My preferred eating habits have always involved 5 small meals per day, including small snacks whenever I get bored/hungry. I cook things with very little oil, eat dairy products without any fat, and avoid anything deep-fried. Being home is like a gift to my digestive system because I can eat whatever I want, whenever I want. My body was not too happy about all the excess desserts over the past two weeks, but it's the holidays after all! Fortunately, almost everything else I ate was much more healthy than I am able to find when I travel. 12) Fond Farewell Whenever I finish a work assignment, the local teams must be secretly happy for me to be gone. (Sometimes it's not such a secret!) I don't blame them because I am always a huge disruption to their normal operations while I ask questions and pry into their work. Trips back home are a completely different feeling, as my friends and family genuinely seem happy to have me back. At the end of every night out, we discuss when I will be back and it always seems like too long. For me, a fond farewell is like the wrapping paper on a gift. It seals the memories of all that exists inside, while also making you want to tear back in and discover the contents of the package. This Christmas couldn't have been better and the memories of my gifts will surely come along with me to my next travel destinations.
The month of December usually puts me in a festive mood, as I prepare for the holidays with family and friends. I love seeing the lights on the trees, attending Christmas parties, and even listening to the hokey songs as I rush through the malls. It's the one time of year when traditions and comforts of home are really important to me. I will admit that the weeks leading up to Christmas were difficult for me this year. My project in Paris was really stressful and I was working completely on my own, without any other human interaction (other than lunch). Most of my friends thought I was crazy for complaining about an extended assignment in Paris. On the surface, I don't blame them. Paris is a beautiful city - especially during the holidays. My hotel is literally in the ideal location for exploring the city and it was decorated beautifully for Christmas. The view from my office was also enough to put even the grinch in a festive mood.
Christmas lights make everything more festive
However, there was one important thing missing: warmth. I'm not talking about the heat in the building or even the weather outside. I'm talking about the feeling that the holidays should bring. I tried listening to Christmas music on my computer as I worked. I also ventured outside the hotel as much as possible, so I could marvel at the decorations around the city and absorb the energy from people around me. After almost two months in the same place, the excitement of exploring the city had dissipated and I found myself wishing that I could enjoy my surroundings with people I care about. Fortunately, I was completely re-energized one weekend when a good friend from my MBA program visited. Since graduating, we have managed to see each other once per year (2011 in Zurich and 2012 in London) so I was really excited to keep the tradition going. We walked through the Christmas market near the Champs Elysées, drank some mulled wine, marveled at the lights, and stopped for a traditional tourist picture in front of the Eiffel Tower.
Enjoying an evening in Paris
By the time we returned to the hotel the first night, we had traversed nearly the entire city. I barely remember seeing anything because we just talked incessantly everywhere we went. As much as I wish we could see each other more often, it's so nice to know that we can always pick up right where we left off and have such a fun time together. To be completely honest, Christmas decorations in Paris are a mixed bag. Maybe I have been to too many amazing German Christmas markets, but the one in Paris doesn't even come close. It was completely overcrowded with tourists (no surprise) and it felt like 90% of the booths just sold junk food and cheap gifts. There were very few high-quality items for sale and nothing that was really worth stuffing into my suitcase. It's probably great for kids (several rides, a big ice-skating rink, and even a santa that rides a sleigh along a cable in the sky), but the only thing that appealed to me was the spiced wine. Even the lights along the Champs-Elysées were a disappointment, compared to what I was anticipating. All the pictures I have seen online look like this:
This is how I imagined the christmas lights to look
But here's the reality:
This is how the Christmas lights actually looked
The Arc de Triomphe was right behind me in this photo and it always looks nice all lit up, but what's with the modern LED "rings"?? I want the trees to glitter with traditional lights!!
At least Place Vendôme lived up to expectations, with more Christmas trees lining the street than I could have even imagined. I was walking past La Canadienne one night and they actually had a live sheep in the display window. Ok, Paris, you win. This really is one of the best cities in the world for Christmas shopping.
Place Vendome, decorated for Christmas
I was so excited to return home that the last few days of the project passed at lightening speed. Miraculously, all my hard work started coming together and I could see many positive results. I was proud of myself for persevering through a very difficult project without any guidance and for all that I taught myself along the way. Considering all the places I could have been stuck for almost two months, central Paris is actually one of the best alternatives. Without such beautiful surroundings, the weekend visit from my friend, and encouragement along the way from my parents, I may have actually gone insane. Fortunately, the project ended on a high note and I could not be more excited to spend two weeks at home with family and friends.
