I had no plans of coming to Taiwan before this trip happened.. And now, all I can think of is when I should go back.

Last September 17-22, 2015, I was given a chance by my alma mater (and still my school for my masteral studies), UP Diliman - Institute of Civil Engineering, to join the annual IDEERS (Introducing and Demonstrating Earthquake Engineering in Schools) Competition. The said contest is sponsored by NCREE and is held in Taipei every year. I went there with 2 of my teammates (JR and Cris) and Sir Eric, our coach.

I won't be talking much about the competition since I believe most of you is more interested with the leisure part of this trip :P But allow me to tell you that we finished on the 5th spot despite our lack of preparation and sleep days before the competition. Great job, team!

We only had a few hours to explore Taipei because of the competition. Good thing, the city is small and is very easy to navigate. Taipei is a walkable city and the main attractions are connected by its train system so traveling from one place to another is very convenient.

Chit

Rapid Trains

This is how the inside looks like

Taiwan also has very clean and artistic train stations. Some of them even look like they are temples!

See?

We toured the modern part of the city during our first night.

Their mall

Mandatory touristy shot HAHA

Homongous train station at center of their BD

A trip to Taipei will not be complete without going to Shilin Night Market. Shilin Market is their most famous night market catering to the hip and the young with a hundred shops to stroll at. Here you will find cheap but beutifully-made shoes, clothes and TDF street food. Yummmmm!

Only photo I had cos I got crazy roaming around huhu!

Being our engineer selves, we explored Taipei 101 the next day. Taipei 101 is also known as Taipei World Financial Center - and is Taiwan's landmark skyscraper. The said building used to be the world's tallest way before Burj Khalifa was completed. It is known to be the largest green building in the world and it houses the fastest elevator in the entire universe. How's about that for trivias? *wink wink*

Oh please excuse my face

How the inside looks like

The next day, we visited a few of their temples with our Taiwanese friend who toured us around as well.

Xing Tian Temple

 We also tried to score cheap gadgets in their own version of Gilmore :P

 

Our last destination (or so I thought) is Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall. Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall is one of their national monuments in memory of the former president of ROC.

White and clean

  

 Just when we were about to go back to our hotel, our coach invited us over to one last destination. He brought us to go hiking just so we could get the best view of Taipei 101. After nearly a thousand steps, thank God the view did not disappoint! We stayed there until after sunset and got the best photos we could of the city.

Baduy pose but who cares? :))

 I guess that's about it! I hope I can go back there probably with Pao or my friends just to taste more of their food. I'd love to go back on winter, especially now that VISA is lifted for those who have been to countries like Japan, Korea, etc. Til the next, Taiwan!



Check out my short travel video below:


Taipei 2015 from Lean Jess Dela Cruz on Vimeo.