I just got back to Scotland from a trip to Taipei, where I was speaking at RightsCon about a victory against the Turkish Government in the country’s Constitutional Court. I had never been to Taiwan before, and so seized upon the opportunity to head out early and spend a bit of time exploring, as well as to adjust to the sizable timezone difference. An early morning flight via London Heathrow took me through Hong Kong airport, and despite the jet-lag, I immediately felt myself come alive with the sensation of being back in Asia.
The logistics of picking up a SIM card, then getting from the airport to my accommodation were all pretty straightforward, with the system mirroring what I was used to from my trips to Japan and South Korea (and no, don’t ask why this post is appearing before the Seoul one!!).
I was staying at a hostel pretty close to the main station, which meant that I was just a hop, skip and a jump (well, more like 25 minute walk) from Ximending. This area has been described as the ‘Shibuya of Taipei’ – a comparison that whilst I understand, feels a bit lazy. Either way, I spent the first few hours wandering about the colourful sights in a daze, soaking up all of the details like street signs and neon lights that I knew I would inevitably come to take for granted in the days to come.
As time wore on, I ended up drinking at a bar where I got my first taste of how open the Taiwanese people were to foreigners, chatting away with folks including this young guy who gave me the lowdown on the legalities of drinking on the street (allowed), vaping (totally banned), and where to eat while I was there.
One of his suggestions was Din Tai Fung – a famous chain that are renowned for their dumplings. Sure, it might be something of a tourist spot, but he said it was worth checking out. So I did. They had a window where you could see into their dough preparation area, which was crammed with people folding up delicious dumplings. Sure, I might be gluten intolerant, but when in Taipei…
The dumplings were well worth the pain.
After a few beers, I decided to try out some of the local spirit. You placed your order via a mobile app, and there wasn’t much detail on there in English. Still trying to get my head around the currency conversion rate, I picked what seemed like a reasonable looking option. It was only when the waiters came by for the third time to confirm my order, that I began to suspect that I had probably made some kind of mistake. This became clear when the bottle was delivered and the mouth of the girl at the table next to me dropped open, and Google reliably informed me that I had somehow ended up not with a delicious sake like substance, but something called Kaoliang – which was 58%. Not only that, but I had managed to go for the premium option – coming in at about £35 for a half. So much for a quiet drink. Everybody that came in after that could barely hide their surprise at the sight of this lunatic making his way through this bottle of petroleum solo – not least because I had completely run out of food by this point.
While not an ideal choice in many respects, the rocket fuel did provide some momentum for roaming the streets, camera in hand.
As day extended into night, I found myself in bars surrounded by animals: Cats, dogs, and exuberant bar-staff alike.
This friendly lot even gave me a free shot of Kaoliang. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I had already sunk a whole bottle of the stuff just a few hours ago. Ah well, when in Taipei…
For those of you wondering about why some of these pictures are a different dimension… that is because I brought along a new anamorphic lens adapter called the Blazar Nero 1.5x – which is specifically designed to produce (dare I say it) cinematic results. Coupled with a Helios 44 58mm f2 strapped to my Sony A7 IV, this was my first major outing with the frankly ludicrous looking contraption, and while it takes a bit of getting used to, I am pretty pleased with the results. It has the capacity to turn fairly humdrum scenes into something akin to a movie still – and the results look especially nice at night.
My other main camera was a decidedly battered Ricoh GR III – something that I have taken with me on travels all over the world. It barely functions properly any more, and I had to continually lick the batteries or what the thing off of nearby walls to keep it going, but it is such a great candid camera… and small enough that I could bring it along even with the tight limits on hand luggage weight. Despite continually switching itself off, the pictures came out well. If the prices of these things hadn’t sky-rocketed, I would gladly buy a replacement.
One of the main ‘sights’ in Taipei is Liberty Square – a huge public plaza bordered by various impressive buildings. The sheer scale of the place is pretty hard to show, but I spent a good few hours just wandering around, soaking it up from every angle.
By sheer coincidence, I happened to be there for the changing of the guards. An impressive ceremony with twirling guns and such.
Naturally, I also had to traverse the famous Taipei 101 building – which was once the tallest building in the world until it was surpassed by the Burj Khalifa.
I was fortunate enough to get up there on a day where the sky was clear enough to take in the view, though whilst I appreciated how it provided a perspective of the size of the city (and the various pods that were strewn around the place to hang out in), it didn’t blow me away. Once you’ve been up a few of these towers I think they all kind of just begin to look the same.
Another highlight was exploring the many street markets that are scattered throughout Taipei – many of which only pop up at night. These are filled with all sorts of delicious treats, and I sampled a bunch of things including the infamous ‘Big Sausage, Little Sausage’, as well as fruits that I had never seen before like ‘kiwi berries’. I went with the full intention of trying the ‘stinky tofu’, but ultimately didn’t, as I genuinely thought the smell was coming from a sewer.
A day or two before the work side of things started, I met up with a couple of folks from my team who had also come in early – heading off on a day trip to see some of the sights that lay north of Taipei. This included some rather strange rock formations…
and a big waterfall.
In what was clearly an attempt to make me feel at home, it pished it down with rain the entire time.
Braving the odds, we stopped off at Shifen Old Street to send off some fire lanterns into the cloudy sky, begging the Gods (?) to bless us with health, wealth, and other things. Perhaps an umbrella. I had the foresight to bring my waterproof boots on the trip, but wasn’t clever enough to wear them on the one day that I needed them most. Duh.
This was a cool experience, and the history of the area was interesting, but despite it being low season, the street was so crowded with visitors that everything felt rushed – and it was hard to properly take things in.
We then had a similar experience in Jiufen – a village that is commonly referred to as the inspiration for the location of Spirited Away – something that the locals insisted upon despite denials by Miyazaki. This area is apparently known as the ‘Santorini of Taiwan’, and while I can see the similarities in the winding streets nestled on a cliff-side… I can unfortunately also see the similarities with the sheer number of tourists turning the place into something of a theme park, detracting from so much of what made it special in the first place.
In the end, we broke away from the group on our own to find some quieter shops on the edges of the town to have something to eat, and sip on delicious brown sugar boba drinks.
Overall, I don’t regret going – especially not as the day only cost 20 quid – but I probably wouldn’t recommend that folks rush to visit these places, especially not if you only have a few hours and need to rely on a tour. Staying overnight and exploring when the busses depart (or before they arrive) would no doubt provide a very different experience… as would going when you could actually see more than sheets of rain probably.
My time in Taiwan left me grateful for the opportunity to explore another new part of the world. A number of folks have asked how it stacks up against Japan or South Korea, and the truth is that while these places all share cultural threads, each have their own unique rhythms and subtleties that you really need to experience in order to understand. While Taipei might not have the high-energy pulse of a place like Tokyo, in Taipei I found a laid-back energy, welcoming people, and an and authentic character which ultimately felt very comfortable. It’s made me curious to explore more of South East Asia in future.
