Country mice in the big city

This past weekend Cammie and I packed up our quiet little beach life to visit our friends in the big city of Taipei. Our journey took us from the southern tip of the island nearly to the northern most part, and it was worth it! Our day started with a bus ride:

 (On the Kenting Express)

Followed by some primping on the high speed rail from Kaohsiung to Taipei. We did not want to embarrass our city friends, so I put on makeup and accessories and fixed my hair for the first time in five weeks.

 (Very carefully)

(All better!)

And into the city we came. Friday night we had a great time out at the bars with our friends. It felt really good to hang out with all of them again, and to get away from some of the frustrations of attempting field work during typhoon season.

 (Around the Gonguan district near National Taiwan University)

 (Tofu noodle soup at dinner)

 (Sarah, Alex and Cammie)

 (With my wonderful host for the weekend, Sarah)

(With Alex and Peter)

On Saturday we finally made it to the moment I had been waiting for: Taipei 101. This was the tallest building in the world until 2011 when the Burj Khalifa was built in Dubai. But still, second tallest building in the world is pretty amazing!

 (Looking way down on the other skyscrapers)

 (At the top of Taipei 101)

 (On the outdoor observation deck looking up at the last ten floors - those are people's offices)

 (Outdoor observation deck of Taipei 101)

 (I will join you in treasuring the Earth - Taipei 101 is the largest LEED certified building in the world)

 (From the bottom)

(Looking from the MRT station and playing with cheesy filters)

 (Beer float at the top of Taipei 101 - it was not good)

On Sunday, we continued our quests as tourists and rode the Maokong Gondola over the Taipei Zoo to the Maokong Tea District of Taipei. 

 (Maokong Gondola with breathtaking views of Taipei)

 (With Sarah in the gondola)

 (Peter and Johnson in the gondola)

 (Maokong Tea District)

 (Unreal view of the basin and Taipei 101 from the tea house)

 (Getting a little bit artsy)

 (From Maokong looking onto the Taipei basin)

 (Flowers perfectly framing 101 at the tea shop)

 (My grapefruit and Asian lime tea)

 (Going back down in our Crystal Cabin Gondola)

(View from the gondola of the Taipei Basin)

I had such an amazing weekend visiting friends and playing tourist in Taipei. Despite my normal insistence on being a traveller not a tourist, sometimes there is a super awesome reason why these places are so popular. But going off the beaten path is still my favorite, so I was happy to get home to my little Hengchun and the aquarium.

Love to all!

-Jules