Tea Time and Sky High in Taipei

Last Night

Last night while I was having my massage, John went to the Ximending Night Market. Being the Saturday before Halloween, there were a number of people dressed up including a small parade of Star Wars themed characters.

Liberty Square

It’s 8am, sunny and already 28° in the shade.

The streets are quiet when we leave the apartment for the subway. Once again we are in another city with a fabulous subway system.

As soon as we get out of the air conditioned subway station, we see a parade.

Liberty Square (our first stop) is packed with people, tents, stalls and loud music. It turns out that there is a three day “Taipei Hakka Win” Festival.

The Square is flanked by the Liberty Square Arch, National Concert Hall, National Theatre and the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.

We first walk up and around the National Concert Hall. The wide, shady, outdoor covered areas around it are filled with groups of people; a group practicing Tai Chi and a group beside them practicing pop dance moves.

I’ve noticed especially in Asian countries, people really use the outdoor space.

Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall

We next head to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of China until the civil war (Communists led by Mao versus the Nationalists led by Kai-shek) resulted in Chiang Kai-shek and his followers being forced to flee to Taiwan where he was president until his death. This monument was built in 1976 and has 89 steps to signify his age when he died. The monument is very similar to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington.

228 Peace Park

We walk a number of blocks to the beautiful 228 Peace Park. Not sure what the 228 stands for.

People practicing Tai Chi beside modern pop dance classes

Peace Memorial Park. Once again small groups of people are doing activities in just about every shady area of the park; Tai Chi, dancing and a bunch of older men were hanging around holding long sticks. I ask John what he thinks they are doing with the sticks and John tells me they are going to hit each other if they get the moves wrong…a likely story.

We see some people having a lesson that looks like a mix of sword skill and Tai Chi. Now that’s more like it. Click here for a short video.

Daan Park

We take the subway to Daan Park, another lush park in the midst of the city. The park is filled with birdsong and there are many egrets not only in the pond, but also in and around the park.

Tea in Taipei

On the edge of the park is a highly recommended historical teahouse called Wistaria Tea House. It is in an older Japanese era style wooden home where many a polical conversation and new idea was hatched within its serene walls.

We are walked through many rooms to one with low tables and cushions. The tea menu is extensive. It is not unusual to spend three hours socializing over tea and light snacks.

The hostess takes our order and brings us all the tea paraphernalia. She lights a burner under a large cast iron teapot with a very narrow spout. Also included are two tiny tea pots (one for each type of tea we ordered), a ceramic serving cup, two tiny narrow cups, two tiny rounded cups, a wooden bowl with rounded spout for tea leaves, a wooden wide mouth funnel to put leaves into the little teapot, a long handled little spoon and a big bowl for extra water…oh yeah, a thick napkin for wiping up spills.

Here is the process: you pour boiling water into the little teapot to heat it up, once heated toss the water in the bowl and put pre-measured tea leaves into the tiny pot, put hot water in the pot and let it sit for 5 seconds. Pour into the serving container, then pour into each sniffing cup and finally pour into tiny round drinking cup and enjoy. You get about 6 brews from each amount of tea leaves. Add five seconds to each subsequent brewing.

We end up spending a couple enjoyable, relaxing hours drinking tea and chatting. John commented how much my girlfriend’s and I would get into this.

As we are leaving, we learn that after so many years they were closing the tea house in December because the old building needs a lot of repair. However, they have opened one in Paris, France.

Here is a picture of John after two hours of sipping tea from tiny cups…his words, not mine.

Taipei 101

We walk back through Daan Park and take the subway to the Taipei 101 skyscraper. At 101 floors, this used to be the world’s tallest building until the Burj Khalifa in Dubai took over the title. Other taller buildings have since dropped Taipei 101 to the 11th tallest.

This is also the only building in the world where the public can see the “tuned mass damper” ball. A damper is a very large, heavy ball that can swing and it is built into the top of very tall buildings in order to give them up to 40% more stability in an earthquake or high winds. The damper in Taipei 101 weighs 660 tons and is suspended by massive steel cables. Click here to see it in the works during a typhoon (not my video).

We head all the way to the 91st floor. Needless to say, the views are spectacular.

Songshan Cultural Creative Park

Songshan Cultural Creative Park is not far away. This park is built around a few old factories. The park is a venue for parkland, concerts, food, local crafts and art installments. Truly a really cool area. We wouldn’t mind staying longer but I am starving and we have a very cool place in mind for supper.

Addiction Aquatic Development (aka Taipei Fish Market)

It is a 40 minute trip by subway so we grab an Uber instead because, did I already mention, I am really hungry.

We are a little confused at first but then someone explains the concept to us. It is a fresh market with mostly fish but other food as well…and drinks. You can buy food inside but you have to eat it outside at stand up tables or you can go to one of the indoor restaurants (which we do).

We are taken by our waiter to the fish area beside where the chef’s are cooking and we choose our fish and vegetables. The vegetables arrive at the table, one dish at a time. The next dish arrives when we finish the dish before.

We can watch the chef’s cooking our food. Very cool.

Xingtian Temple

We walk to the nearby Xingtian Temple before taking the subway back to Ximending which is the area where we are staying. We take a walk through the Ximending Night Market and call it a night.