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Taiwan with Journy

Journy plans custom itineraries tailored to your specific travel style. Find out more at gojourny.com

By Dave Krugman

December 10^th, 2018

First steps on another side of the world...

I've always been eager to see Asia, and though I consider myself fairly well travelled, I've somehow come this far without ever stepping foot here. When Journy reached out to me about their trip to Taipei, Taiwan, I knew I'd finally get to see this vibrant part of the world.

Journy is a travel company that works with you to design the perfect trip for any part of the world. They take your specific wants and needs into consideration, and lay out a trip where travel according to your own priorities. It's a breath of fresh air after taking so many trips where the individual traveler is often overlooked.

A rainy night brings out the watercolor...

Rain is always attractive to my senses, the sounds, the smells, the colors of the city are enhanced by this extra layer of reflectivity and atmosphere. I was absolutely thrilled that my first looks at Taipei were drenched in raindrops and neon lights. The city swirled around us, and we moved through the streets, ducking under awnings and sliding into hole-in-the-wall restaurants to drink warm tea and catch a reprieve from the open skies. It was a night filled with laughter and adventure, and there was so much to take in, I didn't quite know where to turn.

A curated nightlife...

After hours of rain and photography, we took a break at a members-only speakeasy, where we met the staff, had incredible snacks, and sampled a wide variety of some of the best cocktails in the city. As a New Yorker, nightlife and the local bar scene is something that I'm always curious to see. With Journy, the doors flew open and we had an extremely personal experience with the staff.

A bit further down the road...

After a few days in the city- we switched gears and drove into the gorges of Taroko National Park. The scale of this place was shocking- you'd follow a ridgeline with your eyes all the way to its peak, only to see another peak towering just behind it. Dotted throughout the jagged green expanses were temples, shrines, and bridges, with bright colors that accented the dramatic landscape. It was an immersive experience, overwhelming in the best way, and filled us with excitement about the road ahead.

Inspiration in a downpour...

One of my favorite parts of the entire journey was the mountain town of Jiufen. It felt like stepping into a movie, and the winds and rain that enveloped the town muted the lights and made cozy cocoons out of tea houses. After wandering through the winding, narrow streets, we sat for tea and dinner, listened to the howling wind at the windows, and looked out on the blue vistas, punctuated by the orange tint of sodium lights. Though crowded, I found moments of solitude by taking random turns down alleys and up stairs, and I got wonderfully lost following my camera through the magic of this city.

A food lovers fantasia...

Asian cuisine has always been my favorite type of food, and this was my first time getting it straight from the source. I was amazed at the places Journy showed us, the access we were able to get, all at a complete bargain. One of the highlights of these culinary dives was the Fish Market, where we hand selected food to carry out, and had a standing picnic on the tables outside. It was delicious, easy, carefree, and the sake that flowed paired perfectly with our food selections.

A masterclass in Xiaolong bao

The legendary Din Tai Fung is the golden standard for soup dumplings. Considering this is nearly my favorite dish of all time, I was thrilled to hear Journy arranged a kitchen tour and lessons for how to make this succulent steamed treats. It's wayyy harder than it looks- these masters whip up thousands of these a day, filling the demand which makes a line out the door. My dumplings didn't make the cut, but luckily we had as many as we want, crafted fresh by these masters of the craft.

Exploring the Night Markets of Taipei

Food as always been an interest of mine, and Asian cuisine in particular has always been my favorite. Even with high expectations, nothing could have prepared me for the sensory overload of the Night Markets. Whether from the sea, land, or air, the ingredients and styles of preparation seemed endless. Before even trying a bite, we canvassed the entire street, taking photos and taking notes about which stalls to return to. After we felt like we'd covered it all, we walked back through at a slower pace, drinking Taiwan Beer and sampling the plethora of different options. Though the crowds were dense, people were tremendously hospitable and seemed invested in making sure we had a fulfilling experience.

Scenes from the streets...

My goal is always storytelling. How much can I convey in a still frame, even without any context? It's a challenge that drives me to keep creating, to keep seeing what depths we can get to. Walking the streets of Taipei was a new challenge for me, and I focused on capturing the people that make this place such a vibrant destination.