National Palace Museum

Today is my last full day in Taiwan. After waking up to a downpour and adjusting my activities to more indoor ones, the main stop for today is the National Palace Museum. After picking up a few snacks for breakfast at the Family Mart across the street from my hotel. I then hop on a bus for the half hour ride to the Museum. Upon arriving, I see that the palace grounds are quite amazing.. Simply walking up to the museum itself is already an experience!

After paying for admission and starting through the museum I learn that it is primarily a large collection of various arts and treasures from different times in Chinese history. There are sculptures, paintings, works of art, pottery, and even furniture! Normally my preference for museums is less art and more history and events. However there are some pieces here that are fascinating. My one gripe is that not all the displays include english descriptions, so some of it is up to the imagination.

One pretty unique display which I find kind of comical is this “rock” that looks like a piece of meat, maybe pork belly? It has its own display area, so it must be pretty special!

Silks Palace

After spending a majority of the morning and early afternoon at the palace, I walked over to the restaurant beside the main palace building for lunch. Its a restaurant called Silks Palace. I did have a few alternatives in mind instead of the “museum” restaurant, but with the weather and the overall gloominess I figure a meal here couldn’t be that bad.

Because I already tried a highly regarded Beef Noodle yesterday I wanted something to compare it against, so I ordered the same here. (Plus who doesn’t want a noodle soup on a rainy cloudy day!) I also added some dim sum, which I didn’t know I missed until I saw it on the menu.

The food is pretty good (albeit pricier than other places). In a pinch its not a bad alternative, but with a little effort you can probably find better for cheaper. (I obviously didn’t want to put in the effort today!)

Xing Fu Tang Bubble Tea!

On the way back from the National Museum, I strolled through the Ximending area. Its a pretty happening spot with lots of small shops and places to eat. I did stop at a fairly popular bubble tea spot called Xing Fu Tang, where I ordered one of their brown sugar offerings!

Now in no way am I a bubble tea connoisseur. So, I can’t really speak to how this stacks up to the competition. All I can say is it is very tasty and I enjoyed it thoroughly!

Ximending at Night

After walking around with my bubble tea, I return to my hotel and eventually take a small nap as well. Admittedly, I did feel fairly fatigued. I think after a month of straight travel my energy levels were starting to wain a little. Pair that with the crummy weather and my motivation just isn’t there.

But I did manage to pull myself up and out in the evening to check out Ximending at night. Its a very lively spot, moreso at night than during my afternoon visit. My main goal was to get dinner but also explore the place a little. Dinner turned out to be Taiwanese fried chicken from one of the many stalls. My exploration ended as the rain started getting heavier and heavier.

Being wet, a bit tired and now full from dinner I headed back to my hotel. I eventually settled in with a good movie a hot drink for a fairly quiet and relaxing evening! Unfortunately I did start feeling a little under the weather. I suspect the combination of the change in weather and the long travel started to wear. Its a good thing tomorrow I would be on my way home.

Modern Toilet

Today I will be flying out of Taiwan heading back to Vancouver Canada. Before I make my way to the airport though, I did have one food stop I wanted to make. Gimpy mentioned to me a place she visited when she was in Taiwan called Modern Toilet. Its this unique restaurant that is completely centered around “toilets”. Everything is toilet themed, and with a description like that I had to check it out. 

The entrance itself is already telling as you can see glimpses of the toilet theme from the outside. However, as you get deeper and deeper into the restaurant, you start to see just how committed the restaurant is to this theme.

After fully taking the place in, I took seat and browsed through the menu (also toilet themed). After making a few selections, the food arrives fairly quickly afterwards. Even the way that the food is presented is all toilet themed. I really got a kick out of seeing how devoted to the theme the restaurant is. The food is good, not anything to write home about, but I mean, we’re not really here for the culinary masterpieces that come out of the kitchen are we?

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

After Modern Toilet and returning to my hotel. The task of packing for the journey home began. I then bid the hotel staff farewell and making my way to the Airport Express MRT line. This is a convenient method of getting to and from the airport and after a half hour ride I arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

Trouble at the airport

I wanted to get to the airport early because I wanted to maximize the time I had to explore the various lounges the airport has to offer. However, I’m thankful for getting to the airport early because during check in the agent discovered an issue with my ticket. I originally planned to be in Taiwan for an extra day. But, with Canada urging its citizens to come home due to the pandemic, I changed this flight to get home a day earlier and also avoid a small layover in Seattle.

What I didn’t know is that because this leg home is part of a multi city itinerary originating in Perth, the agent isn’t able to print my boarding pass. Because the legs I travelled prior to coming to Taiwan are “left open” after the change. What this technically means is, by changing my last flight, I “re-issued” my whole ticket and the computer says I didn’t travel the Perth to Taiwan legs and cannot issue the Taiwan to Vancouver leg. So unfortunately, what is supposed to be time in the lounges ended up being time on hold with Air Canada trying to get them to close the earlier legs. Given what was going on in the world, this made for very long hold times and a bit of apprehension on my part.

Fortunately, even though I never did get through to Air Canada, the EVA air staff were kind enough to override something and re-issue just my final leg ticket.

Homeward Bound, finally!

With disaster averted, I quickly hustled to the EVA Air lounge and still had a little time to enjoy the food, de stress a little and even pick up a Kavalan Whiskey from the duty free shop.

EVA 787 Business Class to Vancouver

After a short time boarding begins and not only am I happy to board this flight. I’m excited because this is one flight I am eagerly looking forward to. Upon settling in, it did not disappoint. The EVA air 787’s are their new planes and their new business class products as well. I sampled this a little on my way from Japan to Taiwan earlier on this trip and now I get to experience it for a long haul flight across the pacific.

The food onboard is also excellent. Prior to flying I pre-ordered the duck and it did not disappoint. In addition, after waking up halfway through the flight, being able to order a “snack” at anytime is a treat as well. If you ever get onboard this flight, ask for the burger. Its Great!

Home!

Unfortunately, (and fortunately in some ways) all good things come to an end. And in this specific case, while I am always happy to be on the road, this is one time it really did feel good to be home. Seeing the beautiful coastal mountains of Canada is certainly a calming and beautiful sight especially when coming home during a time of uncertainty.

Looking back, I truly returned home at the right time. Canada closed its borders soon after and international travel came to a screeching halt. The beginning of the pandemic means a lot of nervousness around the world and I really do feel blessed that not only did I arrive home safe, but my trip did not alter too much because of it.

I’ll be doing a trip recap of this fairly long and epic trip in the weeks to come. I suspect this one will also be a bit more introspective given that the world shut down soon after. But for now, I feel amazingly blessed. For health, for safety during my travel, for the ability to travel and for the timing of how everything simply worked well.