David and I decided to spend our Christmas vacation visiting two countries, Taiwan and Japan. As per usual I had to write a report for our Korean employers. So here it is…(Remember this report is exaggerated to please our bosses!)

We travelled to Taiwan first. Here we spent four days exploring the capital city, Taipei. We flew from Gimhae International Airport on Saturday 15^th December in the morning. The flight was very comfortable and short. It took around one hour and fifty minutes. When we arrived in Taiwan we headed straight to our hostel, dropped off our bags and went exploring immediately. First we went to Taipei’s famous landmark, Taipei 101. The building houses a huge shopping mall. There were a variety of international boutiques inside such as Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Tiffany & Co, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Dolce and Gabbana and much more. After window shopping David and I headed to the viewing deck of this renowned landmark. We took the Guinness Record high speed pressurized elevator with a speed of 1,010 meters per minute. It takes only 37 seconds from the 5^th floor to the 89^th floor. When reaching this floor we continued the rest of journey to the 101^st floor through a flight of stairs. The view from the top was magnificent. We spent time on the outdoor observatory as well as the indoor observatory.

Taiwan has many night markets. All of the markets sell a variety of items such as clothes, toys, gadgets food etc. David and I visited a variety of markets whilst we were on vacation. The first night David and I ate dinner in Shillin night market. We had Taiwan’s famous oyster omelet, oyster vermicelli, spring rolls and Taiwanese hotdog with glutinous rice. It was all extremely delicious. We also visited Guangzhou night market, Raohe night market, Huaxi night market and Tonghua night market. All of the markets were gigantic so there was a lot to look at. We liked Tonghua night market the most because our hostel was based within it.

At Shillin night market we went shrimp fishing. David and I caught four shrimps between us. After we caught our shrimp they were cooked and then we ate them! I felt a little mean but they were scrumptious.

One of the highlights of the trip involved a trip to the hot springs. It was really nice to rest of feet and legs after doing a lot of walking. The baths were really hot but were based outside so we could still enjoy the fresh air. The baths were really busy and it was a fun experience.

As well as Taipei 101 there are many landmarks and tourist attractions within Taipei . One day David and I explored an area called Danshui. This area has lot of shops and restaurants as well as historical sights. We visited Fort San Domingo and walked along the banks of the river.  Other sights we visited included, Taipei Zoo, Chiang Kai- shek Memorial hall, Tienyuen temple and Longshan Temple. All of these attractions were absolutely fantastic. We also rode a Ferris wheel which had a extraordinary view of the night skyline and we rode a gondola through the mountains were we drank some Taiwanese tea. This was evidently extremely beautiful.

Within Taipei city there are a lot of districts. My favourite district was the Ximending district. This area is filled with all kinds of shopping options, from department stores to shops and stores, including various CD shops, hair salons, Eslite Department Stores, movie theaters, Karaoke and many others. You can find a wide selection of fashionable clothing and accessories in many styles throughout eastern and western cultures, especially Korean.

We left Taipei with a new found love for Taiwan and we hope to return someday as the culture and food are both excellent, but we were excited to get to our new destination, Japan…

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