Elephant mountain, Rainbow bridge

DAY 5

(Reading time: 3 minutes)

Taipei 101 may not be the tallest tower in the world or in Asia, but it IS an iconic structure. People want to see it from every possible angle, distance, and seek out places for their photos to look appropriately “Instagrammable.” Elephant Mountain, for example, serves this purpose. Hikes up there are primarily for the view, but the area also offers other interesting spots. You just need to walk to them.

You can take the red metro line to the Xiangshan terminal, and from there it’s just a few minutes’ walk to the trailhead. The uphill trail to the mountain is rather short and steep with many stairs, but along the way you’ll catch glimpses of Taipei 101 becoming increasingly visible.

Here, most tourists end their journey and head back down. That’s a shame and a mistake!

A bit further down below the mountain lie several temples, which are a joy to explore. No one around, just a few local eight-legged residents.

A note on this typical local fauna:

How big are the spiders here?

Bigger than my palm?

Even with fingers?

And a man’s palm with fingers?

YES

With that, I’d like to leave this topic behind.

I’ve already expressed my admiration for the beauty of Taiwanese temples, and I can add that throughout our trip I never stopped enjoying photographing, filming and visiting them. None of them disappointed. Even the smallest and most modest ones are lovingly cared for by the local people.

Planning our trip, we drew inspiration from articles and videos by other travelers. We often later found out that a visit to this or that place was worth it, but of course, not always. Case in point, the highly recommended Rainbow Bridge. A big disappointment. In Kaohsiung later, we came across a bridge that deserves the “rainbow” designation more.

However, so that we don’t end today too negatively, I’ll highlight something even worse, namely these mushrooms.

It’s the same case with food recommended by bloggers/vloggers. We generally enjoy Asian food rather than the other way around, but should one eat everything?

Almost everything. I’m partly glad we tried them (Mark managed just one piece, I had about seven), but I give this culinary experience a low score and strongly advise against it.

-endy-

DONKEY’S SPECIAL:

• The video may seem too calm, almost boring, but visiting a place not overcrowded with people, not tailored for tourists, has its own charm.
• The most interesting thing about Rainbow Bridge is the graffiti-covered bridge pillars, and I don’t mean that as a compliment.
• The more of these mushrooms you eat, the worse they taste, which I concluded immediately after the first bite; Andy assured me so a few bites later.

-mj-