One Last Day in Taiwan

Sunday in Tawain (which was really Saturday back home) was Taylor's 15th birthday! We started the celebration right away with a breakfast buffet. She had wanted to sleep in until 8am, but that buffet called at 7am (she was not thrilled with the rest of us).

While at breakfast, we debated a plan for the day. Do we stick around Taipei and see different parts of the city? Or do we venture a little further out and see more of the surrounding area?

Venturing won out, and not long after breakfast we were in a cab on our way to Wulai, a town famous for its hot springs and beautiful countryside setting -- about a 45-minute drive from Taipei. Getting to Wulai requires at least 15-20 minutes on a very windy road...I had flashbacks to our drive from Baños to Cuenca in Ecuador in 2022 (this was the drive where Taylor threw up in our snack bag, we bribed a policeman, and our driver was in a major hurry to drop us off).

But we arrived in Wulai without incident. We exited our taxi and walked into the historic town, right onto Wulai Old Street. Old Street was amazing -- just shop after shop after shop, all selling different things...mostly food. There were also some pay-to-stay hot springs along Old Street. Prior to arriving in Wulai, we had planned to experience the hot springs. But we were so hot walking along Old Street that we decided there was no way we could climb into even hotter water.

I just love the display!

Seen on the way to Wulai Old Street.

Another angle of our view...approaching Wulai Old Street.

Hot spring preserved eggs. Want one?

Eating wild boar sausage.

Family selfie. Had to do it!

Can you see all the cats?

More Wulai.

7-Elevens everywhere and I love it so much.

We walked all the way through Wulai Old Street and then over a bridge and then up some stairs to a little train, essentially an old log cart. After buying tickets and waiting in line, we took the train uphill (again, windy) and, eight minutes later, got out and could easily see the Wulai Waterfall, which boasts the most significant drop in height in northern Taiwan. It was beautiful; we were also not about to take the gondola ride that gets you closer to it.

On the little Wulai log cart!

Posing at the top of the hill (mountain?).

Incredible waterfall!

Oop, another family selfie.

We waited behind this group of 20-somethings for ice cream. I literally melted just looking at them. It was, no cap (as the kids say), a trillion degrees outside. And they're wearing pants, jackets, sweatshirts. (Gosh, I'm such an American wimp when it comes to weather...)

Ice cream in hand. Still, it's a trillion degrees out.

Such beauty behind us!

We took the train/log cart back down the hill (mountain?) and then retraced our steps, walking back over the bridge and through Wulai Old Street. We did stop at a vendor's stall selling onion pancakes; we had heard about this food (thank you again, Stephanie) and knew we had to try it. OHMYWORD. Delicious! Box checked on our last day.

Mmmm, onion pancakes!

We made it all the way back to the taxi stand. There were three taxis kinda, sorta, haphazardly lined up along the curb. I typed into Google Translate, "We'd like to go to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial" and walked up to the #3 cab driver and showed him the translation. He responded to me in Chinese and waved over another guy. This guy, clearly Indigenous, was dressed in a skirt, a necklace of dead animals' hooves, and a headdress. He looked amazing and imposing. I showed him the translation on my phone; he began to talk to me in Chinese. He then took us over to the #2 cab driver. That driver quoted us a price in yuan and we said yes, thinking we'd be riding with him. But not so fast...as it turned out, we actually rode with the Indigenous man. This guy's taxi decorations were something else. It was probably the most interesting taxi ride any of us had ever taken.

This was our taxi ride back to Taipei. Yes, those are dead animal heads (and more) on the dash.

Long story short, we made it back to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. You may be asking, "But why would you return there? You visited the CKS Memorial on your first go in Taipei?" And you are correct; we did visit this impressive building. But, see, we craved (craved!) more brown sugar boba from Xing Fu Tang. And we knew the one place we could find that boba was at the CKS Memorial. The drink was delicious (again) and we enjoyed the air conditioning for a quick spell.

THIS IS THE MOST DELICIOUS DRINK EVER!

Even Tim is smiling about it!

Our boba and break restored us, and not too much later, we were off to the Huashan 1914 Creative Park. Ok, this place was super, super cool. I am now obsessed with creative parks. We need to start this trend in the U.S.! Who's with me?!

Here's the deal with the Huashan 1914 Creative Park: It's actually a Japanese-era winery and sake distillery in Taipei that was spared destruction and converted into a cultural and arts venue. There were restaurants, shops, "pop-up" exhibits, musical performances, indoor and outdoor spaces...I mean, the whole thing was just spectacular. Taylor and I loved walking around and looking at all of the amazing goods for sale (jewelry, clothing, bags, wooden figurines, paper, stamps, stickers, and on and on). Tim and Wyatt enjoyed walking around, but for a fraction of the time. ;) They went back to our hotel early, and Taylor and I bopped around a bit longer.

Milling around the Huashan 1914 Creative Park on a Sunday afternoon.

Checking out little shops.

Just a couple of girls, waiting for the Metro.

Back at our hotel, Tim searched up Din Tai Fung locations in Taipei. The wait times at each of the locations was looooong, and although we had really, really wanted to experience this restaurant while in Taiwan (and especially on Taylor's bithday), we weren't willing to wait two hours to eat. Instead, Tim found a similar restaurant (without the buzzy name); we took the Metro over, put in our name, and 20 minutes later, we had seats.

Waiting for a dinner table.

Our last dinner in Taiwan -- and Taylor's birthday dinner -- was delicious. Tim and Wyatt did end up trying stinky tofu...like, more than a few bites. I could not; I literally could not even stomach the smell of it. But kudos to them.

Oh boy. The stinky tofu has arrived. And it stinks.

Tim is getting ready to ingest.

The smell was too much though, and he needed to regroup.

But then he went for it.

(Oh my word. I can't believe he ate it!)

And...this is his reaction.

Now Wyatt's going for it.

Oh boy!

Wyatt needed a moment to regroup; the smell was overpowering.

He's ready to ingest.

He ate it...and this is his reaction.

After dinner, we took the Metro to the Shilin Night Market, one of the oldest and busiest night markets in Taipei. It was definitely not as packed as the Raohe Night Market, which we all appreciated. There were probably the same amount of people there, but we just had more room to move around at Shilin.

After seeing these kinds of games at the Night Markets we visited, Wyatt decided he wanted in on the action.

Now for a little basketball.

Taylor wants in on it, too.

Walking through the Shilin Night Market.

Ha! Taylor won this snake in an arcade game.

Then, back near our hotel, we grabbed dessert at (where else?) 7-Eleven. It was just the right thing to do!

It had been an incredible last day in Taiwan. And a great 15th birthday for Taylor. We are going to miss this place, with its kindness, cleanliness, respect, and order. Thanks, Taiwan, for an excellent 2026 family adventure.

We loved The Wan. Here's hoping this special island can remain independent... (everyone, cross your fingers)!