Taipei and the North Coast

 I'm doing couchsurfing and my hosts are incredible. They drove me up to the northern coast and showed me so many places and food I never would have found otherwise. They are a young married couple with a 3 year old girl. And the girl is forcing me to attempt to speak Chinese. Young children who don't always care if you don't understand them are great! She also has taken a liking to me, and always insists on holding my hand when we are walking around. And gets angry at her mom when I don't sit in the back seat of the car with her. Awww

Taiwan has been a fantastic place so far, I haven't found anything I don't like(except maybe the humidity, I've been sticky since I got here, alas, its only going to get worse from here).

 I'm doing couchsurfing and my hosts are incredible. They drove me up to the northern coast and showed me so many places and food I never would have found otherwise. They are a young married couple with a 3 year old girl. And the girl is forcing me to attempt to speak Chinese. Young children who don't always care if you don't understand them are great! She as also taken a liking to me, and always insists on holding my hand when we are walking places. And she gets angry when I don't sit in the back seat of the car with her. Awwww

This was at an old mining town turned into a tourist village called jiufen. Similar to china's ancient towns but with different delicious food.

Views like this all along the coast. I can't believe how beautiful it all is.

Back in Taipei my first stop is Taipei 101. Formerly the tallest building in the world. This is the 660 ton steel damper that reduces vibrations from wind by up to 40%. It just hangs in the middle of the building. It's also the only one available for public viewing. 101 also has the fastest elevator in the world. It goes up to 1000 feet per minute. It has special tiles like the space shuttle to handle friction heat and high speeds. It also has spoilers like a car! Riding it up to the 89 floor took something like 40 seconds and felt a little like an amusement park ride.

101 from the outside. It's meant to resemble bamboo. Oh and the name comes from how it has 101 floors.

Elsewhere in Taipei I visited the memorials of Taiwanese first president and the founder of the republic of china. They have hourly changing of the guard which includes them twirling their rifles around in various ways for a good 5 minutes. Neat.