hello kitty gate at taipei's taoyuan airport (tpe)

At the Hello Kitty Gate.

Although I have pretty much gone over the hill, I must admit that I still have a certain fondness for Hello Kitty. I blame it on a Sanrio-filled youth. As a little girl, I used to wear shirts emblazoned with multiple Sanrio characters. I put my coins in a Hello Kitty purse. My pencils were kept in a My Melody holder. My lunch box had Little Twin Stars in the front. 

Now, I must admit that I still have a few trinkets that has Hello Kitty's cute mug all over. So, when Mr. Sazy Rock and I went to Taipei, I was very excited that the airport has a dedicated Hello Kitty Gate, complete with lounge chairs and other displays. This is what it looked like:

restaurant review: din tai fung - the taiwan original is still the best!

they even have a mascot!

Din Tai Fung is famous worldwide for their soup dumplings, which are delicious pillows of savory meat and soup broth that magically fill my mouth with happiness.  According to their website (www.dintaifungusa.com) they have locations in the United States, Taiwan, China, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Australia and Thailand.  I’ve personally had them in the USA (Arcadia location), Taiwan, Japan, Singapore and Thailand, and I have to say that the original location in Taiwan (Xinyi Road – no. 194, Sec. 2, Xinyi Rd., Da-an District) is still the best!  The texture, taste and temperature of the soup dumplings at that location are consistently perfect.  And I mean perfect.  The dumplings don’t even burn your mouth – just pop them in there and enjoy! 

freebies around the world

Traveling could be expensive. In a series of posts, we will let you know about places that allow you entry into famous, fascinating and/or worthwhile sights or activities for free. Yes, gratis. 

For sights, we are not including public spaces (such as Central Park in New York or the medinas of Morocco) but we may include public (i.e, government run) buildings (such as the museums in London).

So, let’s start with a few freebies, shall we?

United States of America

Los Angeles, CA

1. The Getty – Enjoy a lot of paintings, photographs and a garden that changes with the season for free, but you have to pay for parking.

You can get up close and
personal with the steel curves of
the Walt Disney Concert Hall.

2.  The Getty Villa – You can see Greek, Roman and Etruscan art for free, but you will need to sign up for a (free) ticket. Also, parking isn’t free.

3. Walt Disney Concert Hall – Renowned architect Frank Gehry designed this wonderful jumble of shiny steel. You can roam the grounds – don’t miss the “Rose Garden” in the back of the Concert Hall – and enter the building for free but you have to pay to watch a show. Enjoy being up close and personal with the curved steel.

4. Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) – Only the permanent collection and non-ticketed exhibitions are free on the Second Tuesday each month. 

5. Los Angeles Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels – Renowned Spanish architect Rafael Moneo designed this gem.

6. Bradbury building – You may have seen this building in movies like Blade Runner and (500) Days of Summer, among other things. This beautiful, light and airy building is free to visit up to the first floor landing. Beyond that, the tenants don't want random folks roaming around their space.

quick tips about getting around in taipei if you can't read or speak mandarin

(Taipei, Taiwan).  I think some Americans traveling to foreign countries have a tendency to assume that people will speak and/or understand a little english wherever they go.  I didn't realize until I was planning my trip to Taiwan a few years ago that my husband was one of these people.  On that particular trip we were staying at an apartment and not a hotel so I repeatedly asked him for the address in chinese, but to no avail.  He couldn't comprehend why the english address wasn't sufficient for a taxi driver.  I finally asked him if he thought people in Taiwan understood english and he looked at me as if I were being silly, because he couldn't imagine why people in Taiwan would not understand english.

(sigh)

I had to explain to him that people in Taiwan speak mandarin or taiwanese, and english is rather uncommon.  In recent years Taiwan has been promoting tourism and you can see that in the growing amount of english signage at tourist sights and the addition of more "western" style toilets (as opposed to "eastern" style toilets which are set into the ground and where you have to crouch over the opening).  Despite the improvement, that does not mean the local people can speak or read english well, if at all.  However, that doesn't mean it's difficult to get around because luckily most people in Taiwan are friendly and there are great transportation options available (especially in Taipei).

taipei for food lovers

Taipei is currently getting a lot of love from food obsessed travelers everywhere. And not because of the crazy concept restaurants (toilet theme, anyone?).  It is simply because Taiwanese food is delicious, and the Taiwanese people love to eat - all the time. 

These are some of the reasons why Taipei and her varied food options are getting a lot of attention:

A street vendor at the Ningxia Night market
selling grilled oysters.

1. Lots of night markets. There are big night markets (like Shilin) and small ones (like Ningxia). If you can, try and go to every single one of them. The food there ranges from oyster pancakes to Taiwanese sausages to various grilled meats, seafood and blood to fried chicken to fruits to …. So, if you have a travel companion, make sure you buy one item from each stall and share. That way, you can get to taste more items. Trust  me, you’ll be full and beyond satisfied. If you can’t speak the language, don’t fret. Just point.