We took an early train back to Taipei on our last day. We headed to the Shida area for breakfast at Grandma Nitti's Kitchen. We got there before it opened so we killed some time walking around and taking photos. So clean & lots of plants! :)

After breakfast, we headed to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. It's an impressive structure built to remember former president Chiang Kai-Shek. Much to my delight, there were also tons of blossoming cherry blossom trees nearby!

Our last stop before the airport was Ximending. It's a busy area, packed with shops and restaurants. It reminded us a lot of Tokyo and Seoul!

It was then time for us to head back to South Korea. We weren't able to go everywhere I had researched, but we were able to see quite a bit! We had tried to check out a few night markets, but they were all closed due to Lunar New Year. We also didn't get to to climb Elephant Mountain Trail, which offers a nice view of the city. I would love to visit Taiwan again one day, so maybe next time!

On our third day, we headed north of Taipei to Xienbeitou. The area is well known for its natural hot springs. It was easy to get there via the MRT (check out detailed instructions here). We first checked out Geothermal Valley (地熱谷). It was beautiful but spoiler alert: smells like rotten eggs! :) You can't go in the water here because it's way too hot, but there are other spots in town where you can.

We then popped by Millennium Hot Springs. If you can believe it, entrance was only about $1.50! It was a neat experience. There were multiple pools of varying temperatures (some were crazy hot!). If I were to do it again, I would definitely wear a one-piece. I stuck out a bit in my bikini! Also, you'll notice in the photo below that a lot of people are sitting on the side of the pools, but whenever we tried to do that, old men would tell us we needed to totally sit in the pools. Haha, just gotta roll with it.

Once we got our hot spring fix, we walked around town & had some amazing noodles.

We then hopped back on the MRT and carried on to Danshui (淡水- also spelled Tamsui). Shirley, a blogging pal from Singapore, had recommended we check it out. We rented bikes and biked along the Golden Shore Bike Path.  It was a great way to see the area!

After we brought our bikes back, we walked along the pier and stopped by La Vie Revee Des Anges Cafe 天使热爱的生活咖啡馆 (a bit of a mouthful!). Shirley mentioned that it was a prime spot to catch the sunset.  Unfortunately, it wasn't a great sunset that night, but it's a really cute spot. If you're in Danshui, try to check it out!

After sunset, we made our way back to the MRT station. There was the cutest girl dancing just outside the station. I had totally forgotten about her until I was going through our trip photos. I love when a photo brings back a memory! It was a really sweet moment.

Next up: Taroko National Park!

Six months later, I'm ready to finish off my Taiwan posts! We have so many photos but I've decided to make a few longer posts, rather than drag it out forever. So here we go!

While in Taipei, we stayed at Mango53 Inn. It's quite close to Longshan Temple and a super quick walk to the MRT station. It was a nice spot! On our second day, we decided to head to the temple. It was a total madhouse - I think because of Lunar New Year. We didn't get to see much of the temple but we had some grilled sausages and milk tea while we people watched!

We then headed to the Taipei Zoo MRT station so we could check out the Maokong Gondola. The gondola ride was about 20 minutes! At the top, there were all sorts of food vendors, cafes, and tea houses. We had a delicious lunch at a spot that overlooked the mountains! It was a bit smoggy, but we could still see Taipei 101 peeking out in the distance. It was really nice to be somewhere less crowded after our chaotic morning.

Once we were back in the city, we went to Taipei 101. The building has the fastest elevator in the world! It zips you up to the 89th floor in only 40 seconds! (Mike's fave part, obvi.) We timed it so that we were there for sunset - so nice!

Next up - Beitou Hot Springs and Danshui!