2024 Taiwan: Day 3
大家好！My name is Chris L. '25, and I am currently a junior traveling on the 2024 Taiwan Global Studies Trip. Today, we wrapped up our third day of travel on this trip, and I keep finding that the beautiful city of Taipei keeps one-upping itself.
After our first two days here, all of us were able to play out the amazingly thought-out itinerary and realized just how jam-packed this trip really would be! While all of us are wiped out by the time we fall into bed, we keep waking up the next day with smiles, sensing the adventure that awaits us. On this third day, we were able to do a variety of activities that allowed us to explore many different aspects of Taiwanese culture and cuisine.
We began the morning by having a slightly shorter breakfast than usual (for the need to stock up on Taiwanese snacks and transfer out some cash at a nearby 7-11) and then briskly departed to catch — as we learned on the first day — the incredibly efficient metro. Our destination was one of the most influential places in Taiwan, the Presidential Palace, or 故宫, as some may know it (not to be confused with the 故宫 located in Beijing on the mainland). But first, we came across some people practicing Taichi (太極), and even got to join in! Taichi is a traditional method of Chinese martial arts in which the idea is to use your enemy's strength against them. We cannot thank this group enough for teaching and showing us this amazing martial art.
After this quick detour, we had the opportunity to attend a tour of the Presidential Palace in Taiwan. This beautifully constructed museum/historic site was incredibly comprehensive and thorough in explaining key moments in the history of Taiwanese politics, legislation, and governmental development; this was a real treat for anyone, such as myself, who was interested in history or politics. Even the building itself was meticulously created so that, when looked on from above, it spells out the character 日, meaning sun; the Presidential Entrance is even located on the East side of the building because of the sun's position when it rises. After getting a good dose of history (and a quick trip to the gift shop), we walked to the nearest metro station and wondered which marvel we would see next.
As it turns out, we landed in the shopping district of the city, Dadaocheng (达稻埕). After a debrief from our tour guide, James Yen, about the history of the town, we realized that we were standing on a piece of history. This town was one of the oldest trading hubs used by colonists in the 18th and 19th centuries and still remains a popular tourist attraction and port city. Since the town sits right on the Tamsui River (淡水河), it often served as a gateway from the resource-rich mountains to the South China Sea. Now, it is home to several restaurants/businesses, which are filled to the brim with delicious food and small items for sale. One of these restaurants, Rice and Shine, was where we decided to have our lunch. With a myriad of different dishes, ranging from fish-based to pork-based dishes, we all agreed that it was an incredible taste of Taiwanese cooking (pun intended).
After doing some shopping at some local artisan stores, we were given a brief yet sensational tour of a nearby temple, which inside displayed some beautiful sculptures and artifacts that people still pray at to this day in order to bring luck, love, fertility, prosperity, and several other positive qualities to their life.
After our trip to 达稻埕, we took the metro for the last time to participate in making soup dumplings (小笼包), a classic dish for Taiwanese people, as well an incredibly popular dish on both the mainland and Taiwan, hot and sour soup (酸辣汤). After several failed attempts at correctly wrapping the 小笼包, I think it's safe to say that we all were able to gain an appreciation for the culinary artistry and deceptive simplicity of 小笼包! Every time you have a bite of delicious and beautiful food, make sure you appreciate the time and effort going into it! After this, we celebrated and ended the night by eating our creations and drinking bubble tea, a drink that has become popular across the world but was originally created in Taiwan.
This trip is really turning out to be an eye-opener for several different reasons; whether it be the incredible food that we get the privilege to eat, or the rich history and culture that we get to experience, or even the amazing relationships that we have been able to build with each other, our trip to Taiwan has truly turned out to be one of the most influential experiences of our lives. And we have only scratched the surface of what this beautiful place has to offer.
Next time, you will be able to read about our experiences outside of Taipei and explore the different cultures, foods, experiences, and opportunities that are in store.
Enjoy, and happy reading!
