The Duffs Travels

Our last day in Taiwan was a bittersweet one. We woke up early, excited to make the most of our remaining time. We indulged in our favorite cabbage buns and hopped on the underground towards Da-an Park. The park was serene and we spent hours exploring its expansive pond and observing the wildlife. As we strolled around, we stumbled upon a vibrant flower market filled with many different species of flowers and plants. We couldn't resist the urge to buy a gorgeous large tea tray( how it's getting home we don't know 😱) and enjoyed a refreshing cold green tea before heading out.  Our next stop was Beitou, where we visited the hot spring museum and later enjoyed a relaxing soak in the Beitou public baths. It was the perfect way to spend our last afternoon and evening. We even managed to squeeze in a visit to my favorite ceramic shop, where we filled the last remaining space in our tea transportation case.  As we reflected on our second trip to Taiwan, we couldn't help but f...

We have decided to spend our last two days in Taipei. Our morning was spent looking around the vibrant city then we made our way to the Su Ho Paper Museum,  a place we had been eager to visit during our last trip but couldn't locate. The museum showcased some incredible paper installations, and we even got to make our paper, which was a unique and exciting experience.        Taipei is a fascinating city with a distinct character in each of its neighbourhoods. You can find all kinds of interesting things here, from street food to high-end hotels, and traditional medicine shops to designer boutiques. One thing that stood out to us this year was Taipei's growing coffee culture. The city is filled with quirky and cozy cafes that are worth checking out.  Our dinner experience was one of the most peculiar and fun experiences we have ever had. Taipei is known for its themed restaurants, and this time we decided to go all out and visit the  "Modern Toilet" Res...

After much discussion, we finally settled on a plan for the day. We decided to head north to the coastal Geopark at Yeliu, which is a limestone cape full of rock formations eroded by the wind and sea into peculiar shapes. As we walked around the trail, we were awestruck by the amazing views of the eroded coastline and we enjoyed exploring the area. It was fun trying to identify the individual rocks by their descriptive names like gorilla rock, elephant rock, dragon rock, and fairy shoe rock (although the last one looked more like a flip-flop to us).    After an interesting couple of hours around the park, and giving up trying to differentiate between chicken drumstick rock and BBQ chicken drumstick rock, we decided to have lunch and cool down as it was even hotter on the north coast than in Tainan. We ate at "Shark Eats Sandwich," a cafe whose name we didn't understand until our sandwiches arrived, and we realized we needed to be a shark to fit them in our mouths!   ...

We ventured off to the serene village of Pinglin, nestled amidst the lush green hillsides and tea plantations. The journey involved a short MRT ride followed by an hour-long bus journey, which dropped us off in the heart of this rustic village. As we strolled down the street, we were cordially invited into an old house where we savored the famous Bao Chung Oolong tea, followed by a bowl of rice.  After this delicious tea we headed towards one of the many walking trails which led us upwards towards  thickening jungle foliage. This was all good till we came across a huge spider and we quickly descended  After a while walking the heavens opened, and we had to seek shelter in a nearby tea shop. We ordered a delectable spread of tea-infused fried shrimp, tea oil noodles, and tea-stewed pig knuckles, which paired perfectly with the copious amounts of local Oolong tea we drank.  We were quite happy idling away the hours like this till the rain subsided, We then rented bicyc...

 We kicked off our day early in the morning to embark on our journey back to Taipei. We took a local train to the main station and then hopped onto the fast THSR, which took us straight to the heart of the trendy area of Taipei, Ximending, where our hotel is located.  Since it was lunchtime when we arrived, we decided to have a light meal from one of the many street vendors. We tried a delicious triangle-shaped pancake bread filled with spring onions and a small bun filled with cabbage, which we loved. We were so impressed by the food that we're planning to have them again and again.  After lunch, we spent the rest of the afternoon exploring Ximending and its bustling shops selling everything from clothes to bubble tea, fruit, ice cream, gadgets, and snacks. We even stumbled upon a cute café and decided to have an early tea of burger and chips, which made someone very happy.           As we continued our shopping spree, Alanna added more clot...

Today was a memorable day as we explored the lesser-known parts of Tainan, on our final day in this incredible city. Our first stop was Tainan Park, which we were told was "It's Just A Park"  But we were pleasantly surprised by its beauty and magnificence. We enjoyed our breakfast in an exquisite pagoda, surrounded by a lotus pond teeming with koi fish and terrapins. The park was filled with the songs of birds, the buzzing of dragonflies, and colorful butterflies fluttering about in the clear blue sky.  We arrived with our breakfast in a bag and realised it was in fact a beautiful city park, typical of the ones we have visited in China, far removed from the parks in the UK. We ate our breakfast in a very elaborate pagoda, next to an ornate bridge spanning a lotus pond full of koi carp and terrapins. The sky was blue, and all around were amazing things to see. As we strolled along the paths, we were mesmerized by the colorful flowers, towering banyan trees, and the playful...

After the sweltering heat of yesterday we decided to have some relaxation. We went to the Guanziling hot spring area. As it was a little complicated to get to and we would have needed to take the train, bus and walk we just hired a driver to take us. This scenic route only took us an hour so it was definitely worth it. There are only three hot mud springs in the world, this being one of them. We chose the King Garden Villa Resort as it has over twenty different pools and it's mixed sex so we can keep our swimwear on 👍. We had lots of fun popping in and out of the various outdoor pools, ranging from freezing dung pools to boiling pools at 43.7 degrees. We covered our bodies with the hot mud and relaxed while all the minerals got to work.  The indoor pools were cooler and they had varied water jets. Some were so powerful and painful that we wondered how these could be good for you 😂. One of them was so vigorous that once you were under it you couldn't get out of it till it stop...