Our trip around Taiwan started on Wednesday. We were fortunate enough to get our hands on a car from Cathy’s dad’s company. It’s a Corolla just like Cathy’s old car, but much cooler equipped with a GPS system. (and automatic side mirror closing device)
We started driving from Taipei down the number 5 highway (commonly known as the “Snow Mountain Express Highway” – 雪山隧道). We started our trip with couple LOOOOONG tunnels and a slightly confusing GPS-miscommunication-induced detour at PingLing (坪林). It took us about an hour to get from Taipei …

We leave tomorrow for our around-island trip of awesomeness. (you do know Taiwan is an island, right?)
We start by heading down the east coast towards Hualien. The next morning we drive through the Taroko gorge (pronounced tie-roo-guh) before staying at a five star resort in the heart of the gorge. The next couple nights we’ll spend in the southern part of the island visiting hot spring resorts and beaching, before visiting Cathy’s uncle in the South.
The rest of the trip, we’ll figure out as we go, but the most …

Rumor has it that Taipei has 5 million scooters riding around every day. (By rumor, I mean, Cathy’s dad said that.)
This is the intersection right by the MRT station where we get off all the time. It’s on he ping east road. (和平東路)

Taiwan is filled with people. Everywhere. All the time.
We visited the morning market. Think of it as a night market, but in the morning, and with more groceries. It is called 菜市場. (The direct translation would be grocery / vegetable market).
If you think this is crazy, just wait till we post a video of the night market.

One of our favorite transportation in Taipei is the MRT (捷運). It’s an amazing skytrain system that works with a magical RFID card that tracks your trips and you can put more money on …

Okay- So!
We have been in Taipei, Taiwan for a week. It has been a blast. (for those of you who are geographically challenged, here is a map of Taiwan.)
We recorded a first “hello” video for people who might be missing us. (or people who we think should be missing us) You can see it at the end of this post.
We arrived in 28 degree and 80% humidity weather. It has cooled off since. We now enjoy the occasional refreshing breeze. (when it’s not pouring rain)
Places we visited: (and many more)
Taipei …