Teleportation Exists

Well almost..........our 11:55 pm flight later today from Taipei (via Vancouver) is slated to arrive home at 11:40 pm on the same day. Work needs to be done on eliminating that 15 minute gap before bringing this time travel concept to market but I'm all for it, especially when they figure out a way to prevent double-digit hour flights.

When we last left you, we were in Hualien, Taiwan. Before leaving, we made a second trip into the scenic Taroko Gorge NP, taking on a few more short walks along trails. The steepness of the canyon walls enables semi-regular rock slides and the frequency of spotting "Do Not Linger" signs along the trails is a constant reminder. In fact one of the trails we walked was closed half way through due to a recent slide so we took a few more 'quick' pictures and headed back. The sights still made it a worthwhile use of our time.

We hiked up to the Xiangde Temple and the more elevated Tianfeng Pagoda while we were in Tainxing. This little village was nestled into the canyon floor near the west end of the Taroko Gorge.

Back in Hualien for our final night, we walked over to the Dongdamen Night Market again. We spotted a stall selling hot pot meals with a sit down area behind, and being a favourite meal of ours we couldn't resist. Multiple propane burners at each table allowed the patrons to cook their meals at their desired pace.

From Hualien we rode the comfortable two hour TRA train back to Taipei, our final stop on this two month journey. We started our Taiwan time there several weeks ago but this return visit allowed for additional time to explore the northern part of the country on day trips. We signed up for a shuttle tour on the first day, allowing us to see 4 different spots that public transportation would have been too time consuming to facilitate otherwise in one day. Yehliu Geological Park, renowned for it's unique hoodoo-like formations, and the Shifen Waterfall......nicknamed "Little Niagara Falls" but more like a miniature version at 40 x 20 metres, were our first two stops. Shifen town was next, popular for lantern launches and we followed the trend writing our own wishes on a lantern we purchased and then watching it ascend towards the sky and drift away in the wind. The final stop was in the mountainside village of Jiufen where hundreds of steep steps were required to navigate between the two main stall streets. Our reward was finding a good restaurant with a great village view from our table on a balcony, with the clouds below rolling in and out. On our second day we rode the MRT train for one hour to the final stop at Tamsui, a small fishing town near the north-west corner of the country. We took a short ferry trip, visited a fort and walked along their lovely waterfront promenade, stopping for lunch at a posh seaside restaurant, sitting under a large banyan tree, metres from the water. It was a relaxing way to complete our travel in Taiwan which was much appreciated by the locals. Tourism volume in Taiwan during the past 2 weeks has been down by more than 50% due to Coronavirus keeping the Chinese tourists at home. Precautions were taken with temperature checks at most entry points in places, even busy shopping centres, so we went about our business as usual although we found ourselves washing our hands much more frequently.

Another new world destination (for us) has come to an end but this one will be especially remembered for our first overseas Christmas away from home with our whole family together. We had a wonderful two weeks together in Cambodia but I doubt we could have kept that same pace up for the past 6 weeks.

This was one of the natural sandstone formations created by sea waves and erosion at Yehliu Geological Park, an hour north of Taipei. This particular one was known as the Princess Head but it also looks like a cobra about to strike. There were hundreds of similar formations in the Geopark making it seem like we were walking on Mars.

Here we are in Shifen about to release our lantern (already lit inside) before the next train came along. Our group guide explained the lanterns fly in the air for about 20 minutes before burning out. When I asked about the environmental impact he told us the locals are incented financially by the government to retrieve the remains which the winds blow in the same general direction. However, upon leaving the small town we did notice some lantern remains caught high up in trees which may take some time to be recovered.

The Shifen Waterfall ('Little Niagara Falls'), which happens to be the broadest waterfall in Taiwan. At 40 metres wide and 20 metres tall, it pales in comparison to Niagara Falls. If only the locals could see the real deal.

Walking along the stalls of the Old Street #2 in Jiufen. Together with Old Street #1, about 100 steps below on the mountainside, they seemed to be the only two relatively flat alleys in the town.

The popular A-mei Tea House in Jiufen. It looks familiar to the one used in the animated picture Spirited Away adding to it's mystique. Everyone else was taking a picture so we followed suit and discovered the details later.

Lover's Bridge in Tamsui, near Fisherman's Wharf. It was officially opened on Valentine's Day in 2003, hence the name. We walked slowly together over the bridge which I'm sure will guarantee us another 38 years of happiness.

We came across this cool looking apartment building when walking near Fisherman's Wharf in Tamsui. Unique architectural designs like this were spotted in other Taiwanese cities.

After walking around picturesque Tamsui we found a lovely restaurant beside the waterfront. We had a late lunch there and enjoyed the beautiful view sitting on a comfortable sofa. A couple of very large banyan trees provided shade on a warm day.

After lunch in Tamsui we wandered along their Old Street. We were too full to order any more food so we just enjoyed the scene and smells......except when we walked by the Stinky Tofu stalls, one of the very few items we did not try in any of the markets.