Walking Taipei. May 2024. Part 1. River walks.
Can we befriend a river?
Part 2 is here. Part 3 is here. Part 4 is here.
Warming up.
I have been coming to Taiwan since 2006. Every year, sometimes a few times. Work, then staying few days after and wandering places. Slowly, I had developed a sizable affection to this unique country. Taiwan graciously mixes the aftertaste of a Japanese culture and manners (the land was ruled by Japanese from 1895 till 1945) with a less orderly but still charming fragrance of a Chinese heritage. These notes will cover my latest strolls around Taipei in May this year, plus a glimpse of some other locations. Taipei can be noisy (motorbikes), it is hard to find good coffee (same as in Japan), but it has a lot to offer with its busy big city vibe softened by an easy access to old school street food in small lanes and as a result not feeling overwhelmed.
Tamsui River walk. Dihua area to Taipei Garden Mall.
Tamsui River is very long, around 158 km. It starts in Taipei and flows northward all the way to Taiwan Strait. Recently I am trying to sleep at 10 and get up at 6. Not always successful but getting there. So, I left my hotel early (Taipei hotels notes to follow) to get some breakfast. I am not hungry as I normally eat my first meal at noon. But I love those little food stalls in Taipei, and I have only a few days. I don’t speak Chinese (although did 6 months’ course in Sydney Evening College just to help with basic communication), so normally I would point at the characters I know or at the food being cooked asking the same. If I could master this wall menu, I would be able to order food anywhere in Taiwan!
I know the names of my Taiwan breakfast staples, so I order them. Radish cake “tsai tao kui” and “dang bin” - pancake. Ask me “which pancake?” and the conversation will stop. This is as far as I know. So, sometimes I patiently wait, observing what other people order and when I see what I want I point to it.
By the way, I normally buy no sugar soy milk in convenience stores (not easily available in “let’s add sugar everywhere” Japan actually).
Actually, best pancakes Chinese style I have ever tried where in Beijing. 10 or so years ago, street food was still not banned there. I enjoyed them in different varieties in the morning, often with normal milk.
I better keep going and stop pancake stories. Satisfied with my meal I walk towards Dihua Street. It is one of the oldest streets in Taipei, a magnet for many tourists, but it is early morning, and since it is on the way to the river, I decided to give it a go.
Fun to see, may be once, now to the river which is nearby. I walk straight towards Minshen W.Road and turn right towards Tamsui River.
It is getting hot, but I can also walk in a shade, near the wall. I am now on the right bank, but left one looks greener. From the distance. Well, no easy way to cross, so I keep going.
From here (or rather from the left bank) it is possible to walk to Tamsui (Danshui) District, one of the areas I like a lot (later on that in Part 2). Will take around 5-6 hours.
Chongyang Bridge ahead, few cyclists, no walkers. Hot Sunday.
On the way I find a few observation sidewalk decks surrounded by the pockets of greenery. Reminds me of the similar structures along Arakawa River in Tokyo.
After 3 hours walking I am melting, decide it is enough for today and look for the nearest bus stop.
I did not pay attention before or probably this is because in Taipei I mostly use metro, but bus stops here (similar to HK) display actual time of bus arrival. Japan needs to learn. Again.
How strongly I would recommend this walk? It is OK, if you are visiting Old Dihua Town and want some open space afterwards. But there are better river walks.
Raohe Market to Dazhi Bridge along Keelung River. Better.
Night markets in Taipei is my healthy addiction. The favorite one is Raohe. In fact, I “met” Raohe Market before I “met” Keelung River, although they are just a few feet apart. I do believe in meeting Places, some of them can become longtime friends, some are easily forgotten. Similar to the levels of friendship. I visited Raohe market first time around 18 years ago. Those were still the glorious days of Lonely Planet books with creased pages folded, messy and randomly highlighted, hours of walking or running through the cities with a map in my hand. Raohe was close to my hotel, but somehow, I got lost. Motorbike stopped at the red light. “Raohe zhidao ma?” I uttered trying not to roll the tongue to sound more “Taiwanese”. The driver pointed with a turn of his head to the back of the motorbike. I jumped on and within 5 minutes we were there. “Thank you”, - opened waving palm and engine roaring to life again was the reply. After wandering inside the market for a while I was surprised to find a quiet riverbank just behind it. I bought a can of beer and sat there enjoying a starking contrast with a busy market. This is how I “met” Keelung River.
So, here I am again to relive my old memories. It is daytime, and the market is closed. I just say hi and move towards the river.
Keelung river is much shorter than Tamsui, both merge eventually before reaching the sea together.
I cross the Rainbow Bridge to the opposite side of the river, as it looks greener and more unobstructed.
Then there is a stream of different riverside parks - Neihu, Meiti and Hebin parks flow one into another. With Keelung River slowly observing them.
On the left you can see 101 tower.
Soon I am crossing Dazhi Bridge. From here the river view is more panoramic.
I liked this walk better than Tamsui one and ended my day wandering around Xiling night market. Those sheng jian bao (fresh pan-fried pork buns) were the best I have ever tried!
(to be continued)
Very interesting. In 2020, my wife and I had already booked flight and hotel in Taipei for our first visit to Taiwan when Covid crashed the party and we had to stay in Japan. We hope to go soon, at last.
Thank you so much for this! I have been thinking of taking a long weekend walking trip to Taipei and really enjoyed reading this and it sure motivated me to go.