[Taiwan] Chapter XLVII: In which we are glad to return to Taipei

From Jiji we completed our circle of the island by returning to Taipei by way of Taiwan's famous high-speed train. It was rather more expensive than a regular train (about US$24 per person, instead of about US$12) and indeed much faster (travelling at speeds of more than 200 km/h), but in all truth it didn't feel much different from a regular train ride.

Much of our time in Taipei was spent just living in the city, doing some work and making many arrangements for the months ahead. We even bought some non-consumable items --- something we had not really done in the past five months --- including an underwater camera, reef shoes, and a power bank, for the next destination promises to have many opportunities for diving and snorkelling, but not much by way of electricity.

Still, despite three days of constant rain and four days of freezing cold, we had time enough to explore the city's sights a bit more, including:
- Dihua Street: A long narrow street with small quaint shops selling traditional Taiwanese foodstuffs (e.g. dried fruit, various nuts, dried seafood, spices, condiments, birds' nests, sharks' fins) and crafts (e.g. in clay, paper, bamboo, wood).
- Baoan Temple: Said to be one of the most beautiful temples in Taiwan.
- Taipei 101: It used to be the world's tallest building (until 2010) and home to the world's fastest elevator (until 2016). Yet the views from its top are still as good today as when it opened in 2004.

And even do a couple of day trips outside of the city, to:
- Yehliu Geopark: A park built around some bizarre coastal rock formations, with bizarre names, such as Queen's Head, Cute Princess, Fairy's Shoe, Tofu Rock, etc.. While undeniably pretty, this was one place that we felt was too crowded, especially given the Taiwanese tendency to pose for a photo opp in front of every single attraction, thereby leaving them unobstructed only for brief moments.
- Yangmingshan National Park: A vast park with tall cloud-covered peaks, steep slippery trails, sulphurous fumaroles, and hot springs, only a tiny portion of which we managed to see (and smell) in the few hours we spent there.

And we had ample time to continue enjoying the common and uncommon tastes of vegetarian and vegan Taiwanese food, such as, for example, sweet hot peanut soup with glutinous rice balls (filled with black sesame paste) floating in it, or noodles in brown sesame sauce, or really stinky tofu with pickled cabbage, or barbecued corn on the cob, or roasted chestnuts on a cold night, or hot pots, or bubble tea, or a whole range of unidentified dishes we had at the different cheap vegetarian pay-by-weight buffet eateries spread all across the city (and all across Taiwan).

Accommodations:
- Eric' s Airbnb apartment at 75 Section 2 Hankou Street, Wanhua District, Taipei (8 nights; nice and well located)

Photo captions: (a-h) Dihua Street; (i-n) Baoan Temple; (o-gg) Yehliu Geopark; (hh-nn) Taipei 101 and views therefrom, before and after sunset; (oo-uu) Yangmingshan National Park; (vv-yy) a tiny glimpse of Taiwanese food and drink; (zz-aaa) last sunset in Taiwan, as seen from our window