Reflections on Taiwan 

Tomorrow morning I will leave Taiwan and fly to Malaysia. I have really enjoyed my time in this country, even more so than I ever would have expected. Taiwan had never really been on my radar of places I must see, until sometime during our February snow storm back home. The great thing about Taiwan is that while it is pretty tourist-friendly, I also did not feel that it was very touristy. Everything seems like a very natural part of people’s lives here, not like they are putting on a show for tourists. Taipei is very easy to get around using the metro. Most signs are in both Chinese and English. And at the metro stations, there are signs that point you in the direction of important landmarks, making sight-seeing simple. The city seems pretty clean, and also safe. The abundance of night markets keeps families out and about after dark, so I felt perfectly safe walking around in the evenings. And people are very friendly! There was always a friendly face around somewhere whenever I needed help with something! The only thing I didn’t like about my time in Taiwan was that it was way too hot at this time of the year (I think this will be a theme for my whole trip, though). Every day I would return to my hotel room drenched with sweat. Gatorade quickly became my new best friend to supplement my water and keep me hydrated. While I had a great experience and saw a lot, I know I would have made it to more sights without the dreadful heat. I do not recommend coming to Taiwan in June if you are like me and are a bit of a heat wimp! But I do recommend coming to Taiwan!