By Maya Haziza
I wish that I had done a solo travel trip sooner. Traveling alone is one of the most liberating and incredible experiences I have done while studying abroad. For one weekend I explored Taiwan and got to see the city life of Taipei and also the coastal town of Jioufen, Taiwan. The first day I visited Longshon Temple which is a famous temple that serves as a shelter for residents in Taipei to pray to over 100 gods on a daily basis. One thing I didn’t know about Taiwan before travelling there is that there are a lot of earthquakes and therefore many of the architectural plans of buildings and temples are created to support these structures in the case of an earthquake or natural disaster. In this temple people gathered around to burn incense, give fruit and flower offerings, and drop half-blocks that are supposed to signal a “yes” “maybe” or “no” from the gods in response to questions they come to ask. One funny thing I learned here was that Dutch people colonized Taiwan in the 17th & 18th century so then incense burners are pictures of them, and are meant to burn their butts for their occupation. The next place I visited was the Presidential Office which the Japanese built for their president at the time when Japan controlled Taiwan. The architecture of the building is not actually Japanese, but is western because the Japanese are highly influenced by western culture and preferred to build it in a Victorian style. I also visited the thermal valley of Taipei and Yangminshan national park in the northern part of Taiwan. It was a really interesting experiencing seeing the natural hot springs and steam in the middle of a city, while also smelling the heavy stench of sulfur. There was one hot spring where a bunch of elder people gathered around and sat to soak their feet – so I did too, but little did I realize how hot this water actually was. My feet and calves were bright red by the end of the soak, but surely felt so much better afterwards. This was a very busy day running between locations and museums, including Taipei 101 (the tallest building in Taiwan) and historical artifacts museum, but it really was the perfect way to see the city of Taipei in the most encompassing way. The following day was my favorite in Taiwan as I explored the coastal town and area of Jioufen, which was originally a place where gold miners were located to labor. The small town in the middle of the mountains of Taiwan is filled with huge natural waterfalls and orange colored rocks that you simply wouldn’t believe are real. When you go farther up into the small town, there are tiny streets selling street food and souvenirs and other kinds of local goods. I purchased some golden colored oolong tea that I am so excited to share with my friends and family back home. I met two girls who met each other in Bali on a yoga retreat and sat down with them for lunch (one was from the Philippines and the other from Vancouver in Canada). They said that even though they’ve known each other for such little time, they are best friends and feel so close to each other. The one from the Phillipines just recently got married and the woman she met was one of her maids of honor. The woman told me about her experience recently marrying a Chinese man whose family did not approve of his marrying a Philippine and did not attend the wedding because of this. This example truly highlights the traditional culture of marriages in Asia which I found really interesting to hear about directly from this woman. I finished the day at a really cool and trendy area in Taipei eating at a local restaurant and wandering the streets that were filled with Korean designers and Japanese vintage shops. Taiwan was an incredible place to travel to – from the city life to the coastal nature, the city is calm and people are very calm. I can’t wait to come back here at some point to explore more than just a weekend!