We came alongside in the busy Port of Keelung where we disembarked for our tour of Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan. With around 23.9 million inhabitants, Taiwan is among the most densely populated countries with an area of 13,826 square miles, with mountain ranges dominating the eastern two-thirds and plains in the western third, where its highly urbanized population is concentrated.

We really don’t want to get into the political issues of Taiwan and China. Suffice it to say that communist China has claimed Taiwan as its own, and Taiwan, a democracy since 1996, claims its independence. A juggernaut of industrial power and innovation, Taiwan is one of the “Four Asian Tigers” alongside Hong Kong, South Korea and Singapore.

Today, our guide was Florence, a life-long resident of Taiwan. We were picked up at the cruise terminal and after a thirty-minute drive to Taipei, our first stop was the Lungshan Temple. If you’ve been following the blog, you know we’ve seen a temple or two over the last couple of months. This one had to be in top five – for beauty, for authenticity and for its scent. If we could add scratch and sniff to this blog, we would!! The burning incense, combined with the scent of thousands of fresh flowers, suffice it to say that it was intoxicating. Along with the fresh cut flower arrangements, there were also live orchid plants, each with a card that told the personal prayer of the person giving it. There were gifts of food, cakes, and fruit. It was an amazing vibe and a wonderful thing to witness.

From there, we walked to the spice market, hidden alongside the former Bopiliao historic district. We walked along the narrow alleys and imagined the commerce that was conducted. Today, Bopiliao is a trendy area for artists and creative types.

We made our way to the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial, a massive complex in the middle of Taipei. Chiang was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who led the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 until his death in 1975. He is a controversial figure; beloved and loathed equally by many.

Our lunch was at a very traditional restaurant, Hangzhou Soup Dumplings. Thank goodness they had an online ordering system because no one spoke English and our guide was gone. We ordered some items and they came out super quick from the kitchen. Everything was delicious and we were in and out in 30 minutes.

After lunch we visited the traditional market area on Dihua Street. Florence said this is where locals would go to buy items for special meals like the Chinese New Year. The shops were immaculate, each with their own specialty. This was not a farmer’s market. There were fabric and jewelry shops, alongside of dried scallops, shrimp and fish shops. There were nut purveyors next to potters. It was fun to walk through, tasting samples and admiring the goods, despite the pouring rain.

Our final stop was Taipei 101; the world’s tallest skyscraper when it was completed in 2004, it now stands as the 11th tallest building in the world. Clocking in at 1,667ft, its elevator transports passengers from the 5th to the 89th floor in 37 seconds (37.7 miles per hour). The weather wasn’t great for the expansive views but we definitely got the sense of how high we were. A tour of the “damper’ made it all very real, with a video of how the building responded during the recent 2024 earthquake that killed 1,100 in Taiwan.

It was a long and wet day, but it was a great tour and we were glad to have seen Taiwan. Florence and her driver did a great job ushering us through the city and showing us many of the main sites.

Tomorrow: Sea Day

Recommended: Though we booked this tour through Shore Excursions Group, they were just the middle man to justaiwantour.com and we believe you could get a better price by just booking directly with them.