merry christmas: 5 things i like about taiwan

12/21-12/24

a whole fiasco in itself but ill jus rmb it with this peaceful pic

year end work pawtay

japanese roads rlly lookin like rainbow road

first things first

authentic af

KITTY

sum GOOD GOOD

kareoke parties all throughout the park

wall mural

just a tiny lil door surrounding a whole ass park like u could literally trap ppl in the park

THEY RUN THE STREETS

mandatory

din tai fung is mediocre af

inside of this temple

miscellaneous waterfall appears out of nowhere

ominious alleyway dare u to explore it

BEST PHOTO EVAR

red bean stuff pastry not as good as japan sry

BAO

the most litty night market imo

leaves japan to go to taiwan to eat japanese chikin

ok

the stairs were better than the bridge honestly

JIUFEN

LOOK AT DAT STEAM

nice views tho

almond bbt quite nice

the famus teahouse but apparently unrelated to spirited away

fluffy boi

lil temples hidden in the mountainside

time to work off 4 days of straight eating

handpulled noodles TASTY AF

sum blessed soy milk before we leave

fave airport lounge so far they got that good azz beef noodo

after a very hectic last wk of work, meeting up w fam in kyoto, driving a car on the opposite side for the first time, making my bonenkai for an hour and driving thru the countryside to catch a flight in osaka, im on my furst trip outta japan~

if u like to eat, taiwan is the place to be. a country of good, cheap food and nice people, granted it’s a lot more chill, and free but u know u’re still in china. aside from toilets not being heated and no wet tissues/free tea readily available at any restaurant, here are

5 things u soon find out about taiwan:

1. motorbikes run taiwan! it’s nutty how many there are n the way traffic works around them- there’s even designated boxes for motorbikes to stop at in intersections.. it was nice to be surrounded by noise tho and it pleasantly reminded me of vietnam n thailand. also pretty amazing how u can fit an entire family and like a huge chow chow on a motorbike ?? (im convinced that if u were raised anywhere in south east asia, u’re bound to be more resilient/adaptable than most ppl born in a western country)
2. they luv their night markets.. seriously how is it possible to have 67 nightmarkets in just one place ?? there is good food EVERYWHERE n u dont run out of things to try plus basically everything is under $5CAD. i didnt have a proper dinner for 4 days, we were jus consistently eating and incessantly full
3. people r nicer than u expect (maybe just me.. its been a while since ive been to china but they were super helpful even tho my mando sucks)
4. and if ur mando sucks, u can use japanese !! japan is the leading country of origin for tourists to taiwan after well, china so basically all vendors speak a handful of japanese, english and korean
5. they REALLY like animals. if u peep some of the google photos of their nightmarkets, u mainly see a lot of pics of dogs and cats just chilling. upon further visitation, i can confirm this to be true. ive seen dogs being carried like babies, dogs in strollers and dogs hanging out at shops. and im not jus talking smol frens but also the BIG BOIS like chow chows n st bernards. also saw a cat shitting in a plant. 10/10

if u’re visiting a country famus for food, i advise not visiting with vegans or people who are fasting (jks love u sis) bc there’s way too much good food to try! my top picks are BEEF NOODLE SOUP, the peanut shaving cilantro ice cream roll (so wierd but so good), kiln baked black pepper buns, green onion pancakes, and OFC bubble tea. u gotta try the OG tiger sugar bbt which is just cream poured over brown sugar pearls- yea u might lose a few years off ur lifespan but u won’t regret it! lastly, skip din tai fung– it sucks and the best xiao long baos are at top shanghai restaurant in richmond, BC. I STAND BY THIS.

as my fam returns to canada in time for christmas dinner (bless timezones n time travel), im off to hk tmr
MERRY CHRISTMAS MOFOs,

A