ＡＬＴ日誌

     My Short Trip to Taiwan                                      3/22/2016

Goodmorning, everyone!

Last month I went on a small vacation to Taiwan. Taiwan is only afew hours away from Japan by plane. The country used to be called, “Formosa”which means beautiful island. And avery beautiful island, it is!

One great thing was the weather. It was warm in Taiwan. We couldwear short-sleeve shirts and shorts. It was a great change from the chillyweather in Japan. I really enjoyed it. My friends and I were able to experiencemany fun things in Taiwan. First, we went to the zoo in Taipei. It was very,very cheap – around 200 yen. We were able to see many different animals,including many native to Taiwan.

Near the zoo are some gondolas you can take to Maokong. These gondolascross over some beautiful green hills. You can see both gorgeous nature and thecity of Taipei from these gondolas. It was a wonderful view. Once we reachedMaokong in the hills, we had some tea and made music with some of the othercustomers. Some of us sang, while others played guitar, drums, or maracas. Itwas fun spending time with locals.

The next day, we went to a port city called Keelung by train. Mygroup of friends was separated from each other and we were lost for at least anhour. But by being lost, we were able to discover many interesting things thatwe wouldn’t have otherwise. After we found the rest of our friends again, wewent to the night market in Keelung. I went to a few night markets in Taipeibut this one in Keelung was the best. There is a street lined with lanterns,food stalls, and crowds of people. It was very lively. I recommend it if youvisit Taiwan.

The last thing we did in Taiwan was visit the tallest building –Taipei 101. Taipei 101 has the world’s fastest elevator. You can’t really feelhow fast it is except that your ears pop and there is a screen that shows howfast you are going to the top floor. It was crazy how fast it went. On a clearday, you can get a great view of the city from the top floor. Overall, I reallyenjoyed my visit to Taiwan and hope to go back someday soon.