Jen Consalvo

just needed to clarify because most people guessed thailand – someone even thought it was in south america.  but no, it’s in taiwan which is part of the prc (china). anyway, several weeks ago i was fortunate enough to go there and of course, i took lots of photos. thank you to everyone who sent me tips on things to do. some highlights included:

• going to the top of the taipei 101 building (world’s tallest building) in the fastest elevator in the world
• pretending we were part of a photography class photographing a lotus pond at the taipei botanical garden
• visiting the national chiang kai-shek memorial hall (which was as impressive as i remembered!)
• taking a trip to the north coast and meandering through jioufen old street – which felt like the asian equivalent of visiting bar harbor, maine or some other salty coastal retreat (all about the candy and trinkets)

but my two absolute favorite events were eating dumplings at din tai fong and visiting lungshan temple. on the dumplings… i believe going through a foreign country without trying as much food as possible is like going through blindfolded. the dumplings, soups and other plates we sampled were divine. and speaking of divine, i have a thing for temples and lungshan was an absolute experience for all of my senses:  the colors, carvings, paintings, statues and ponds were a visual feast. there were tons of people, music, bells – too many sounds to distinguish. there were candles being lit, the smell of incense wafting through the air, a multitude of fruit, vegetables and flowers given as offerings and intense heat from the mid-day sun… so much going on. i had to stop myself from trying to capture it all on camera and just sit, take it all in and be part of the experience. enjoy some photos, below. i’ll do a separate post just for pics from the temple and the garden.