Taiwan’s the one you’ll love

Published Mar 15, 2012

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There are nine million scooters in Taipei. Walking through the streets of Taiwan’s capital is like being in the middle of a biker rally – only in miniature. Scooters are everywhere. Students, they ride them. Pensioners, they ride them. Men in suits, they ride them. Good-looking women of questionable morality, yes, they ride them, too.

The image of scooters zipping through the traffic or parked in seemingly endless lines on the pavement is one of the abiding memories of Taipei, a city that has the power to surprise.

I’m not sure what I expected from Taiwan and its capital, but my week there definitely wasn’t it. It’s a remarkable country with remarkable people that has everything a visitor could possible wish for.

The night markets are a must way to experience the “real” Taipei. It is here where you are transported to a city full of sights, sounds and colours you might not experience anywhere else.

Street vendors sell everything, from local foods to cheap children’s toys, and from probably counterfeit clothing to sex toys. People scurry about looking for bargains, while their scooters are parked on the street corner waiting to zip them home.

At the Guang Zhou Street Tourist Night Market, I met up with a friend of mine, Justin Kao, who lived with me for about a year while we were in junior school in my hometown of Mthatha in the Eastern Cape.

He took me around, proud to show me his city. That’s one thing that amazed me about the Taiwanese people: they are incredibly proud of their country, readily admitting to its faults and quick to point out its numerous successes. It’s a wonderfully positive national identity.

While at the market he set me a challenge: eat local foods. (You should know, before I continue, that I’ll pretty much say yes to anything I’m challenged to do. It’s one of my many character flaws. Okay, back to the story.)

First up was something called “Stinky Tofu” – and, no, I’m not joking. That is what it’s called. The name comes from the smell that is released during the cooking process. As it suggests, it smells really bad, almost like ammonia. But the smell is worse than the taste and, to be honest, it’s actually quite good.

The next challenge would be slightly harder, Justin warned me. As I ate my Stinky Tofu he pointed out a black cube of what looked like jelly in our shared bowl of food. That, he said, was my second challenge. Pig’s blood.

Reluctantly, I lifted the chopsticks to my lips and took a really, really small bite out of that little cube. It was delicious.

Experiencing a local delicacy. Check.

But fear not. If eating strange foods isn’t your cup of tea (Taiwanese tea is also really tasty, incidentally) there is plenty more to do in Taipei. And one of those things is the National Palace Museum, an absolute must for any visitor to the city.

It houses the largest collection of Chinese historical artifacts in the world, some dating back to 4000BC. In total, there are some 680 000 pieces in the museum’s collection. Not all are on display, though. I asked the museum’s director, Dr Kung-shin Chou, what the collection was worth. Smiling, she simply said: “Priceless.”

Among the pieces is the original treaty which signed Hong Kong away to the British, a huge historical event which defined and shaped the histories of Taiwan and China.

“There are some items here that are unique. There are none like them, not even replicas, anywhere else in the world. You can’t put a value on that,” Chou said.

The only downside is that cameras are not allowed. According to officials, the constant flashing can cause damage to the ageing paper, and it would be too much of a risk to allow people to use flashes in some areas and not in others.

Given the value and historical significance of the collection, Chou said it was safer to ban cameras completely. It’s easy to see why, given that 3.6 million people visited the museum last year, and they’re expecting to beat that this year.

It’s also definitely worth visiting the National Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. CKS, as he’s commonly known in a country that loves acronyms, is credited with founding the Taiwanese nation when he fled from mainland China in a communist-led civil war. A massive bronze statue of Kai-shek sits atop a marble base, with 89 steps leading up to the hall signifying his age when he died. The building is a sublime piece of architecture, wonderfully ornate and breathtakingly beautiful. It’s easy to see why this is one of Taipei’s biggest attractions.

It’s also worth it to stop at the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Artifacts Museum, which tracks the history of the Taiwanese presidency. It houses all the gifts given to the president. For the Taiwanese, the gifts are considered to have been given to the country and not to any individual, so they are put on display for the public to see. It’s a wonderful idea.

There are also the many temples dotted throughout the city. The buildings are incredibly detailed and intricate. Beware, though. If you aren’t fond of the constant smell of incense, you might want to steer well clear.

Taipei101 is also one of the city’s main attractions. Essentially a shopping mall, the building is the tallest in Taiwan and was once the tallest in the world. The views from the 89th floor viewing deck are incredible and the building itself is a sight to behold.

Attractions aside, it’s the people that make Taiwan the place it is. You’ll hear ni hao a lot. This Chinese greeting – which means “good day” or, more accurately, “you are well” – will be said to you countless times. The people will make you feel welcome and make you want to come back.

There was no greater way to finish the trip than catching a Peking Opera at the Taiwan Eye. The show, which lasted an hour, was a colourful take on Chinese culture. Essentially, a little girl befriends a lion, but she gets poisoned and the lion has to come to her rescue by finding a magic mushroom that will heal her. Needless to say, the lion finds it and they live happily ever after.

What makes the performance, though, is the agility and ability of the actors, who dance, jump, spin and twirl their way across the stage with gravity-defying ease. Taiwan’s tourist motto is “Touch Your Heart”, and it’s a country that touched mine. And I will be back. And next time, I’ll make sure I ride a scooter.

l Flights, accommodation, airport transfers, and entrance fees for the attractions paid by Taiwan’s Government Information Office. - Saturday Star

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