台北， 台湾 (Taipei, Taiwan)

Through the generosity of the IES Abroad program we were treated to an, almost, expenses paid trip to the lovely tropical climate city of Taipei, Taiwan. During this trip, through a partnership with NTU, National Taiwan University, we were treated to a few guest lectures, some tours of the university and interaction with students who currently attend this beautiful campus. The students were more than happy to share their experiences in Taiwan and even give us a guide of where to go for fun, such as one of the many local night markets where delicious food and snacks and TOTALLY LEGITIMATE PRODUCTS THAT ARE NOT FAKE IN THE SLIGHTEST are sold. *note the subtle sarcasm*

A cook making delicious crapes full of delicious things, like ice cream ->







Just imagine hundreds of small stands like these each making unique delicious treats 





The sightseeing in Taiwan is second to none, we stayed in Taipei which for all intents and purposes is a city, a rather large active one as well. Yet one day we traveled to I-Lan (also known as Yilan), which consisted of lush forestation, mountainous ranges and even black sand beaches.

                                                A small sampling of the city and beaches

Taiwan was also home to some of the most plentiful amounts of seafood I had ever seen. I personally am not a fan of seafood but I could appreciate the amounts of fish, crab; just any type of fish imaginable really presented in front of you in the most eloquent way possible.

Within the city we also saw some unique museums, such as a museum on modern religion with one of the weirdest children's sections I have ever seen. As well as visiting the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall and some interesting sights on my own time.

Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall

                                         One part of the religion museum and it's terrifying mascot

All in all Taipei was a fantastic experience that I would not have traded for the world. The tropical weather was a nice change of pace from the slowly cooling Shanghai and as you will see in my photo dump the sights were truly one in a million. So keep an eye towards this blog; as they say a picture is worth a thousand words and these pictures that will be posted do a much better job conveying the true image of Taiwan than I ever could.