Taiwan Spring Festival Trip!

A pic of the two of us in Da'an Forest Park in Taipei!
Da'an Forest Park is located in the Gongguan district, and
offers a great escape from the hustle and bustle of the city.
In addition to being a great place to take walks, there are
also a great deal of unique looking birds that inhabit the
park all year round!

     This past year, I went to Taiwan during the Spring Festival with my boyfriend Jacob. We decided to go to Taiwan for a multitude of reasons: This was Jacob's first time going out of the country, and I figured it would be a good idea to show him a place I was very familiar with (I've lived in Taipei for a cumulative total of about 6 months between 2015 and 2016), and I was not eager to plan a trip to a place that I've never been before, and where I didn't speak the local language. In addition, Taiwan, specifically Taipei, is still one of my most favorite places I've ever been to, and after reading this blogpost, I'm sure you'll see why!
                                                                         

Jiufen Old Street
Jiufen Old Street is a night market about an hour outside of
Taipei with spectacular views, especially during sunset!
Many claim that the movie "Spirited Away" takes place in
Jiufen. However, these claims have never been substantiated

     Over the course of our two week trip, we stuck almost exclusively around Taipei, but
there was no shortage of things to do, even during the Spring Festival! I specifically mention the Spring Festival because, during this holiday, many take time off of work to spend time with their families, so many stores, restaurants etc. are closed for the majority of the week.

      Every day we spent in Taiwan, we went to two or three different attractions, so it would be impossible to put up pictures of every place we went to, much less describe every single thing that we did! Therefore, I found it easiest to post some of my favorite photos with a quick description.

Maokong Gondola Ride
The Maokong Gondola Ride is located near the Taipei Zoo,
and offers scenic views of the countryside, places to sit and
drink tea at the top of the mountain, as well as many hiking
trails.

Other places we visited:

• Sun Yat Sen Memorial
• Taipei 101
• Huashan1914 Creative Park
• XimenDing
• ATT 4 Fun
• Syntrend
• Raohe Night Market
• Danshui Night Market
• Beitou Hot Springs
• Color Gallery
• Gongguan Night Market
• National Taiwan University
• Shilin Night Market

Chiangkai Shek Memorial
The Chiangkai Shek Memorial, in my opinion, is one of the
most beautiful places to visit within the city, and is a must
see when traveling in Taipei! However, over the years,
Chiangkai Shek has been viewed more and more as a
controversial figure in Taiwan, and I would advise
researching his legacy before visiting. 

Gudetama Cafe
This is a cafe that celebrates everything Gudetama,
my favorite Sanrio character! The decor, the food, and
everything in betweenis plastered with his face,
and makes for a great place to take
photos. 

     That concludes my Taiwan blogpost, but please feel free to ask more about our trip or about any of the many attractions we visited during our stay in Taipei! As always, thank you for reading!