ZISHAN ECOLOGICAL GARDEN – THURSDAY 11TH FEB
At 5pm, the garden closes but we were staying in this huge and cold building. It was creepy and felt weird. We felt lost, alone and overwhelmed. I was in such a state of mind and Önder felt screw up. We had to adapt but it was a way too much as at night rats came out and explored the room where we slept! The same night we decided to leave. The first morning, the manager of the place did not even ask us anything but just told us: " over there you can get the tools to do some weedings". Well thank you but what about breakfast?! It was 9am and we were supposed to start at 9! We planned to stay 10 days, once again we had to find an alternative just thinking of staying in Taipei 10 days in a hostel was not appealing at all. We had to go through phases to find light at the end of the tunnel! We ran out of ideas: couchsurfing done and checked, helpx and wwoofing done and checked. We had two options left: hostel or camping. XIMEN - FRIDAY 12th FEB
We made up our mind: we will go camping! HUAZHONG RIVERSIDE - CAMPING 13th-21st feb Let´s go camping in the middle of the city! The weather was very good, 27 degrees, sunny and hot! The best conditions to enjoy camping. The very next day the temperatures dropped to 10 degrees. We had a hard time since it was rainy, stormy and humid. We were determined to stay! On the phone we were told 500NT per tent but for backpackers 100NT per night, per person. Hot showers, electricity round the clock. We had 2 neighbours during the week and on the week end about 20 spaces were rented! Finally we enjoyed it even the weather conditions were rough and tough, we did not want to leave but our laundry was waiting! PINGXI – THE LANTERN FESTIVAL on Valentin´s day It marks the begins of the new Lunar New Year. “Tradition has it that the “sky lantern” was invented during the Three Kingdoms period (AD 220-265) by Zhuge Liang. At first it was used to transmit military information, different from beacon towers yet ingeniously serving the same function, and is now generally recognized as the earliest ancestor to the hot air balloon. In the early 19th century the Lantern Festival was brought to Taiwan, where every year, at the beginning of the spring planting season, people would release “sky lanterns” into the air as a prayer for the coming year. Because in olden times marriage was for the purpose of “adding a son” and increasing manpower, people went to the temple to pray for blessings and released sky lanterns on which they had written things like “May a son soon be born.” and “May the harvests be bountiful.” Sky lanterns were released to follow the wind, rising up to the ancestors to report that all was well and to pray for blessings. Slowly this evolved to become a local event for the Yuanxiao Festival in the Pingxi area.” http://eventaiwan.tw/cal_en/cal_19543#left Shuttle buses were organised from Zoo station. Better than that you really can do! One bus was transporting only seated passengers! The ticket return cost 1, 35€! the lantern festival is for free. The lantern will be released every 20 minutes from 6pm and 8. We arrived early enough to get a ticket and waited for our turn about 2 hours. Meanwhile we enjoyed a coffee with biscuits at the convenience store and a walk in the village. It was rainy and cold but it was still a magic moment! BEITOU – HOT SPRINGS AND LIBRARY –MONDAY 15th Over 300 years ago Beitou was not a popular neighbourhood as it is today. It was “the place where trees don’t grow and the earth boils”. The Ketagalan, the aborigines, called it “the home of witches”. The fumes was associated with sorcery! The Japanese saw in Beitou a business potential. During their occupation (1895-1945) they built up a railway line, a station and hot spring inns. Nowadays Beitou is famous for its hot springs and its Japanese architecture, garden, temples. We spend few hours in the library. It is the first eco-friendly library in town. It has been set solar power, a rainwater recycling system and a green oasis on the rooftop. NEAR 101- THE TOWER -ELEPHANT HILL –TUESDAY 16th On the weekend, at the campsite Önder met Tshoba and his girlfriend. He is originally from Hungary and decided to settle down in Taipei. They invited us for a delicious lunch. On the menu, we had a special drink based on ginger, beef soup, beef stew followed with goat cheese and homemade bread and tea/coffee. When we left, they also gave us biscuits, egg rolls and homemade vodka! We spent the afternoon there, they gave us the tips not to go to Taipei 101 but to the elephant hill. A 20 minutes trail, 2 stations away from where they live. It was only 5pm when we get out. We were not much outside in comparison with the previous days, why not going to the hill?! It was worth it taking the time and right after we walked to Taipei 101. It is where businesses are now. On our way to 101, we discovered this magic bus that tells the story of a children´s book written by a Taiwanese: 月亮忘记了 - The Moon Forgets: WANHUA IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD WEDNESDAY 17th That day we prioritised our activities:
We basically stayed in the neighbourhood! CHILLING OUT TOUR – TAIPEI – THURSDAY 18thTour me away is a free walking organisation founded two year ago and locals take you around the city It has three types of free tour. As we were satisfied with the first one, we took them all! :) The theme for the first one was: "Chilling out tour!" From Daan park to the antiques markets passing through previous Japanese houses to end at the CKS Memorial Hall. C.K.S stands for Chiang-Kai-Shek. We discovered Taipei differently!
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