JULIA & JONAS PRESENTS: TAIPEI IN PICTURES pt 1

This is a part of our series 

TRAVEL CORRESPONDENCES, 

where our friends provide us with pictures from their fantastic trips abroad to help us spread inspiration.

This digital postcard comes from JULIA & JONAS, Felicia's sister and her boyfriend Jonas, from when they were in Taiwan this autumn.  

After enjoying the many quirky cafées and bustling city of Seoul, Julia and Jonas had a more serious agenda to take care of; 19 years ago, Jonas got adopted from Taiwan, and this was the pilgrimage back to see if he could get in contact with his biological parents. 

Did they succed in finding his birth parents? 

SUN YAT-SEN MEMORIAL HALL-AREA

"The whole area was very peaceful, sort of idyllic with kids running around flying kites and playing badminton, like from a movie."

"Inside the Memorial Hall, changing guards is a big deal. They stand there for like an hour to honor Sun Yat-sen and when it's time for next hours'-guards to take their place, they preform a ceremony during which they stamp and clonk the rifles in the air and drill and do all kinds of stuff in perfect syncronization."

"Traditional Taiwanese food we were recommended to try from someone at the orphanage. 

We didn't really understand the hype about it since it's basically simple rice, turkey and vegetables."  

- Julia

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XINYI 

TAIPEI 101 AREA

The magnificent shopping mall in daylight...

...and after dawn.

"Waffles for daaaays at Cafe Lugo inside of Taipei 101"

"Something new and exciting around every corner at this Christmas Market outside Taipei 101." 

Caramel Macchiato at Taipei Garden Café

Swedes are known for keeping to the que-lines almost religiously, but Julia said this system for the Taipeian metro took it to the next level. 

SHILIN AREA 

Famous for it's night market 

"It's in EVERY 'Things to do in Taipei'-list", Jonas says. 

"We found a place in Shilin Market Area that sold Hot buns and they were delicious!"

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WENSHAN DISTRICT

MAEKONG GONDOLA

"Nearby Taipei Zoo lays Maekong Gondola that you can take up to four stations uphills to the end station Maekong Station. There is a temple one station prior, but we rather wanted to go all the way up."

"We thought we could walk down to the closest lower station since we actually wanted to see the temple there" (Because you can't see too many temples, editor's note) "and we walked and walked and walked... until we saw a bus station and caught the bus down to Zhinan Station." 

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WANHUA DISTRICT

LONGSHAN TEMPLE

NIGHT MARKET BY LONGSHAN TEMPLE

"Night market at Longshan Temple. A lot shabbier than Shilin Night Market, but quite cool.
I did feel kind of uneasy though, because in the area there were a couple of alleys swarming of prostitutes, so we went back to Taipei 101 area and relived Seoul via Korean BBQ."
- Julia

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FISHERMAN'S WHARF AREA 

"The bridge is called Lover's Bridge and the whole area oozes of a chilled, mediterranian vibe. There's a lot of Hawaiian restaurants around the deck as well. Worth a shorter visit, definitely!"

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We thank Julia & Jonas for the great pictures and stories from their trip!

Part two is coming up soon - about their visit to the famous Hot Springs of Taipei

All pictures in this post belongs to Julia and Jonas