Photo: The Ecological Pond Inside Da’An Park, Taipei
So I guess I’ve been out a little too much in the past few days. The sun and the heat in Taipei are surely no jokes and my skin is suffering quite a lot. Right now I’m in my shared house with two layers of olive oil applied onto my face with the hope to soothe the pain from sunburns and dehydration.
Anyway, back to Taipei. This city, and the whole country in general, is filled with green things. Trees are everywhere and being the naturalist that I am, I love this endlessly. My favourite should be Dunhua street and Da’an Park.
- Dunhua street is right in the center of the city and you can probably call it the “bank street” of Taipei. All kinds of banks are there, from huge international banks to small local ones. The trees here are extremely lovely and they form somewhat a small park along the street.
- Da’an Park is the biggest green space in Taipei. It is not that big (like what I had imagined) though, considering that the whole country is a small island. Still it is clean and is a nice place to enjoy a walk and come into contact with nature. The ecological pond in the park is home to numerous kinds of birds and I have a good time watching them.
Yesterday I went to Maokong, which would have been a wonderful trip if the weather hadn’t been that tough. The restaurants and coffee shops there are just too expensive T_T A simple cup of Alishan Oolong Tea costs as much as 2 meals in Taipei city (it’s worthy though since the taste is pretty good). T_T Yet I did enjoy myself quite a lot with:
- several cups of tea with some elder people in the Tea Exhibition Center. I don’t quite understand what they talk to me but that does not prevent us from having a good time together
- many walking trails through beautiful landscapes.
- a long rest in the maple forest
- very nice cakes from a local bakery (it’s a shop right next to the Tian-en-kong Temple, and I definitely recommend you to try the “niunai mantou” there)
Visiting Maokong is all about walking and hiking. It’s obvious that I came at the wrong time. So I will wait for the weather to cool down a bit before getting there and discover the place all over again.
Last night I slept for around 9 hours and that’s the longest sleep I’ve had in Taiwan. Today I really have to stay in to give my body, especially my skin, sometimes to recover.
alienmeo 