Summer Vacation

For my second week of vacation this summer I went to Taipei, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Although there was a lot that I did on my vacation, I will only touch on best parts of my trip.

Taipei

I loved Taiwan! I wish I would have had more time to explore the rest of the country. The people where so nice and locals would come up to me and have conversations. The country was also so beautiful, and lets not forget about the food! One of the main reasons I wanted to visit Taiwan was the food and SNOWY ICE! Taipei did not disappoint! I was on a mission to try as much delicious food as possible and this was easily done in the night markets. The night markets are markets that are only open at night and there are several street vendors that fill the streets.

Linjiang Street Night Market

Some food vendors were making dumplings and cooking them right there on the streets.

There where also teppanyaki grill, small restaurants that allowed you to sit at a tabled, and a lot of juice and fruit smoothie places. I had fruit that I didn't think I would have for another year like mango, papaya, and pineapple!

Oh yes and snowy ice! unfortunately I only found it once at Shilin night market, the largest night market in Taipei. For those of you who have never tried it, it's simply amazing. It's sort of like shaved ice but the ice is shaved with a special machine that makes the ice into snow like consistency that melts in your mouth how I imagine snow would.

The ice is then topped with fruit, mochi, beans, and condensed milk! Here is the menu for the snowy ice: 

I decided to stick to the one that I love back at home which is the mango jam (I think I pointed to a picture instead of using the menu)

It tasted the same except they where very generous with the condensed milk and mango syrup!

I also enjoyed going to Maokong. I took a cable car to the top of the mountain and enjoyed tea at the top.

I also went on a short hike to look at the potholes.

The hot springs were also fun. A local recommended I go to Beitou Park and use the public hot springs there because it would be a lot cheaper then going to a hotel. It cost under $2 for 2 hours! There were three pools and each pool had a different temperature. I think the hottest pool was at 107 degrees and I felt like I was cooking in it! I don't understand how people (although only a few) where just sitting in them.

Hong Kong

I was honestly not that impressed with Hong Kong. The city seemed very touristic and I found it hard to find traditional cantonese food. I did find it interesting how many foreigners lived in the city.

Here is the view of Hong Kong from the Peak

I enjoyed the Bird Park. It was a place that sold birds and everything that you needed for a bird. It also had birds in cages all around the park. It seemed like a place my dad would really enjoy to hang out.

I went to the Ladies Market, which sold clothing, purses, souvenirs, and stuff for IPads. Here I got chance to haggle over the price of a knockoff purse.

The Jade Market was also interesting. I have a feeling I got ripped off though. I purchased a jade bracelet for $35 but then latter another lady sold me another one for $20. The thing about the bracelets is that they are difficult to put on and take off. So when I wanted to run away I had no choice but to stay because I had the stupid bracelet stuck on me!

Now although I didn't love Hong Kong, I do wish I had an extra day to spend on a island or beach in Sai Kung. I did go to Sai Kung village but did not have time to spend the day there and there was also a high chance for showers so I decided to stick to my original plans. Here is the beautiful view:

Overall it was a great trip! I got home feeling like I was away for a really long time. I can't wait for my next vacation, which is in winter. I do hope that next time I will be able to have my two weeks off consecutively. I am planning to go to Thailand and Indonesia because I think it will be a nice break from the cold korean winter I will be experiancing.