A couple days before my last jaunt, I went skiing with Makayli. She’d never been, and after my ski trip in Japan decided she wanted to give it a shot.

We drove a couple hours out in her car and rented equipment at a shop near the resort. I ski’d up the mountain while she spent a couple hours with an instructor.

Then it was off to Taiwan.

One of the first things I noticed was that both Taiwan and Japan tend to give their trees an assist, but Taiwan’s style was more to do with bamboo.

I also noticed that they love their little pop-up shops. I saw lots of people lined up for something and thought it was a band, but turns out it’s a collab between a manga and a street clothing brand.

As soon as I realized that the line was just for swag, I ducked out real quick.

Went from there to a design museum nearby. Saw this awesome CD album art that turned into an incense holder. The lyrics page was treated with heat-reactive material that caused it to burn in a controlled pattern when the incense was applied.

I then found a little mini-library and tucked into a book on the history of Pixar. Really interesting reading about the process behind A Bug’s Life.

That evening I convened for dinner with my coworkers who were traveling with me. Each table had a little grill, and someone from the restaurant came and cooked meats throughout the meal.

At one point they brought out something called “fried milk”, the taste and consistency of which was a bit like french toast.

One day after work, I elected to hike up a nearby hill. I came across a huge hotel.

The rest of the hill was dotted with temples, shrines, and abandoned badminton courts.

In that last image you’ll note the metal rod going across. The underside is corrugated, and it bent down the hill, alongside the trail, in the foliage. I followed it down, and down. It kept winding along.

At the bottom I found a little tram attached to a gasoline engine, for hauling supplies up and down the hill.

Thought that was pretty neat.

Later in the trip we went through the top of the Taipei 101 tower. It features a mass damper system, a giant weight suspended by cables at the top, to prevent swaying in the wind.

That evening we went to a night market, which Taiwan is famous for. I have opinions now, about going to night markets with work friends. You’re faced with an amazing variety of food stalls, and as you’re walking past, you think to yourself: “Oh that looks interesting, I might like to try that. But there’s a bit of a line. And no one else is stopping, so I don’t want to hold everyone up. I’ll just keep going until there’s something everyone else wants to stop and try.” And if everyone is thinking this way, you get an Abilene Paradox.

So later in the trip I made sure to go back to a separate night market by myself.

On a separate night we got some amazing sushi though.

We spent most of our time in Taipei, but our last day was a visit to a data center about an hour away by high-speed train. After the visit, we stopped by a nearby coastline. The wind was incredible. I felt like I was getting sandblasted. It was great.

I ended up rolling up my pants and walking around in the water a bit. However, I noticed some odd sores on my right leg, which weren’t nearly as prevalent as on my left. They eventually faded, but I still wonder what caused them.

That evening the person who guided us through the data center took us out to do a bit of sightseeing, then had dinner at a local wagyu beef grill. One of my favorite bites was some cow tongue, but it did feel a bit like I was morbidly making out with the cow.

The next day was Saturday. My colleagues were leaving to return home, while I was due to stay for another three days. One of them had a flight later in the day and offered to take me up somewhere called Elephant Mountain. He frequently travels to Taiwan, and had hiked the mountain a couple times.

It was a slog getting up the first bit of the mountain, very steep stairs. But the views were great. We walked and talked for a bit, and then my coworker had to head back and go to the airport. I elected to stay on the mountain. He told me the trails go on for miles and miles.

I ended up spending about six hours up there. At one point I came across someone practicing tai chi to music in a rest area. I sat down to enjoy the music, and awkwardly looked at the trees to avoid seeming creepy.

There were numerous little side trails. Some of them led off to what looked like shacks, where I guess people live.

I passed a fork in the trail where one side headed down the mountain. A sign said it led to an old coal mine. I considered but decided it wasn’t quite time to leave the mountain. I hiked up another very steep portion and found myself at an overlook. I was pretty winded.

Some younger people were talking in English, and one person mentioned how good a smoothie would taste right now. I thought there was a chance they were talking about a specific place nearby that served them, and spoke up to ask them about it. They laughed and said they were just saying it would be nice. Oh well.

But they did mention in passing that there was an amazing view even further up the mountain, taking a side route up. Sign me up.

When I got to the top, it was incredible. Windy but sunny. Views all around. The signs said it was called Thumb Mountain.

I took my time up there to absorb all the zen vibes, then headed down the backside of the mountain, following a trail that at times looked abandoned, though regular markers assured me it was a real trail.

Eventually I was spat out at a small temple in the middle of nowhere. I rested and figured out next steps: a farmer’s market in town. I had been missing healthy fruits and vegetables in my diet so far this trip.

I summoned an Uber, which took a good while getting there. On the way out we drove through an incredible graveyard, spread out over a huge hilly area.

After making my way through the farmer’s market and getting some fruits and veggies, I walked around town a bit and eventually I needed some pasta. In Japan we’d found many restaurants that served delicious seafood pastas.

The place I ended up at didn’t end up being quite what I was going for, but it was still delicious.

The next day I was still feeling like my pasta itch had not been scratched properly. So I found somewhere else for lunch, and it was everything I wanted. Their menu was highlighting a tripe burger, and I’d never had tripe before, so figured now was the time. It was delicious.

I went from there through a fairground area that featured this… upgrade… from the traditional coin-operated machine for kids. I really wanted to see someone use it, but no luck.

From there I went to a modern art gallery. It featured some really interesting pieces, but eventually it got way too cerebral and interpretive, and I had to take a break into nature. There was an arboretum nearby, but it was full of people, and I was still feeling a bit much over that art gallery. So I skedaddled off to a nearby river where I could dip my legs in the water and have no one around.

I relaxed there for quite a while, just decompressing and watching fish jump out of the water. I knew it was time to leave when I felt something bob between my legs and saw a dead fish.

From there I headed off for the aforementioned solo night market trip. I made the mistake of finding myself in a belowground food court with sad-looking menus, thinking that this was the night market and I’d just come at an off hour. After eating a tray of fried rice, I ventured up and then found the actual night market.

Luckily I still had some room in my stomach for some grilled mushroom, fried milk, and fried chicken.

The next day I caught a taxi to the north end of Taiwan, to a town recommended me by one of my coworkers. It was an old-town sort of feel, narrow streets with lots of shops.

I came across a tea house with a lovely water fountain, which doubled as a pottery shop. Picked up a couple pieces.

Met the local wildlife, found some quiet corners for sitting and chilling, then had ice cream in a pancake.

I saw a large hill nearby, with a trail going up to the top. I started up, but was a bit reticent since it was a very sunny day out and there was no tree cover for the majority of the climb up – and I hadn’t a hat or sunscreen. But partway up I found a small trail that led off to the side, and decided to take it. It featured great tree cover, though seemed very abandoned. I passed many little shrines that had fallen into disrepair.

After what ended up being two hours on this abandoned trail, I was ready for it to be over. I came out near a temple with what was the most vivid decals I had seen so far. And a very friendly dog.

Made my way to a beach, enjoyed the sunset, then found a dumpling house in town for my last meal in Taiwan before heading back to the hotel by bus.

The next day I flew back, landing in the US at about 6am. I stayed in the airport for three hours before leaving for my next flight to Portland Oregon, where I was due to attend an industry conference where we were developing security standards.

I decided to grab a meal from The Old Spaghetti Factory, since it was the nicest restaurant within walking distance. It did not measure up.

For one of the activities they bused us out to a Top Golf. Afterwards I decided to walk back myself, which took about an hour. Listened to some good tunes. But walking around a commercial district in Portland wasn’t nearly as visually stimulating as walking around Taiwan, I will say.

The next evening after the working session I headed to the train station, to take the long way back. I noted that the bathroom urinals looked like the ones we had in elementary school. Blast from the past.

It was a relaxing train ride back.

We have an internal tracker that shows which all offices you’ve been to. I’m fairly competitive. As a result of these two trips I’m now up to 38.