The Taiwan trip was fantastic! Beautiful scenic spots and wonderful people. It was generally hot and humid for the first few days until the typhoon was drawing near Taiwan mainland. Named Sinlaku, it was a weird typhoon as reported by the local media. It has very well formed structure but moved at an incredibly slow speed, making it unpredictable. This would mean that it will hit Taiwan for a longer time, causing more damage.
We were experiencing torrential rain and strong winds towards the last few days, making outdoor activities less easy but more exciting. Umbrellas are a big business there…haha, with upside down umbrellas a common sight and screwed up umbrellas everywhere (but they really do have a wide selection of beautiful umbrellas).
Taroko National Park is really magnificent. Mountains and hills of marble and granite, which is what you can call nature at its best! Our homestay lady boss was showing off her daughter’s pre-wed photos taken at Taroko and her homestay surroundings. The homestay was a lovely place (very popular with Singaporeans), waking up to sunshine and birds chirping (or rather the damn rooster that always screech at 4am!).
Shopping and eating in Taiwan is really fun and convenient, with all the night markets and shops sprouting on every street. Particularly worth mention is the considerable ease of getting vegetarian food there.
Our flight back was delayed for a day and it sure was a bumpy ride as our plane struggled to fly against the strong winds during takeoff and out of the typhoon zone. It’s really scary but definitely a good experience!
