First Few Days in Taipei, Taiwan
Hi there!
Come along to see my journeys here in Taipei!
On this journey, I will be reflecting on lots of things that I will be experiencing, learning, exploring, and just living in the moment in this beautiful country. Starters, I would arrive at the airport, then head to the Just Sleep Hotel with 3 other students who landed at the same time as me. There were Zoe, Kristin, Bethany, and I who all arrived on the early flight to Taipei on the 23rd. The view in the early morning was beautiful, and I just can’t believe that I’m here abroad in real time with other students and going to experience this and make amazing memories together.
After arriving at the hotel, the girls and I drop our bags, then explore nearby the hotel and see what we will come across and kill some time before our check-in later in the afternoon. We walked down the streets for about 18 minutes and found a local steamed bun seller called Yong Fung Sheng. During the time, everything was still too early, and the local stores and market weren’t open yet. I recall when we all had to do some pit stops at the convenience store, Family Market, grabbing essential needs for the trip. I do find that the locals are similar to me whenever I travel to Cambodia, which reminds me of home. I feel the warmth in the locals who are helpful, nice, and just the food so far has been very homey to me. Every corner or down each street, there’s always something similar like one to the next cafe shop, more convenience stores, and local sellers. Later that day, I went with the girls to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. We all went there to check out the cafe seller inside, and I was amazed by the hall. It was beautiful and big. I feel this is not something I would see in the State. After browsing the streets and the hall, we went to the Taipei Main Station to do more browsing and shopping. I would say again, it's still something not like back in Seattle, and just different, and has many options or things to look at and find. We then needed a little boost of caffeine, so we went to this cat cafe shop called Block & Cafe. It was so cute seeing the 2 cats resting. I see there are similar customers as they are doing their work, chatting with each other, as if I would do the same, or seeing familiarity back in the States.
After all the routes, seeing the local streets, cafes, and trying foods and drinks here, we then head back for check-in at the hotel and get all prepared for the reception dinner to reunite with the rest of the students. It was a long day for me when arriving that day, as I was jet-lagged and slowly getting used to the time zone here in Taipei. As we entered the first full day, Monday the 24th, we started on our agenda schedule. The breakfast here at the hotel was amazing. We then headed to the University Shuiyuan Campus Building for Research Excellence to meet the NTU students and have our orientation with everyone there. It was different and difficult because of the language that we all are practicing and working together to communicate and slowly getting to know each other, as now we’re going to spend time together this whole week. I do like the building there, how it is modern, and seeing the room does give me familiarity with the lifestyle of the students here in Asia. I used to be a student back in Cambodia, and the way of learning and living is different compared to the state. As we moved forward through the day, we then visited the Dot Design and Da Dao Chen. I really enjoyed seeing and learning the background of their goals in reusing recycled materials or found materials to recreate new invention products, like the tiny cat sets, unique chairs, and other decorated designs. Hearing their journeys was fascinating, and it does take time to see how they turn from one specific material into something that we can use in our daily life. Afterward, we went to Da Dao Chen. I love seeing the classic, traditional streets there, learning about the history of what it was like before and compared to the modern time now, seeing more of the local shops, and the temple there, the God of Marriage. As I've started the trip so far, I’m beyond excited and can’t wait to see what will be next while staying here in Taipei.
omg the cat 😭🫶
ReplyDeletetyty tehehe :)
Deleteclipped me hard but it's ok because the food was fire
ReplyDeleteLMAOOO SORRYYY
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