To go into the park, we booked with Tiffany, a taxi guide, to pick us up from the train station and take us around for the day. If you don’t book with a guide in advance, it’s ok too because there are lots of cab drivers at the station who are very friendly (in a non-pushy way) who will be glad to take you around. We paid a little over $100 USD for the day 7-8 hours of sightseeing and it was well worth it!

On to the park. It’s incredible. The cliffs, gorges, mountains, and roads are like nothing I’ve ever seen. They’re very steep and there’s many different topographic changes throughout the park. Some of the mountain roads are extremely narrow and are only passable by a single lane. Tiffany expertly navigated the park and we were able to hit all the big attractions with many stops along the way for pictures. She was able to take us to all of the places the big tour buses can’t go which was nice because some of the attractions get busy later in the day with tourists. The sheer size and scale of the area is difficult to visualize because it is so grand.

One restaurant I can and definitely recommend is the original Ding Tai Fung on Xinyi Road in Taipei. It’s a small three story restaurant that’s always busy. Go at an off-peak hour (for a late lunch as we did) and the wait will be less. There’s always a crowd gathered outside, but the wait is worth it! There are lots of locations around town and globally, but from what we heard, this was the best.

The skyline is dominated by Taipei 101, one of the tallest buildings in the world. It’s a very unique structure and the design looks like a stack of Chinese takeout boxes stacked on top of each other.

A must-see and do when visiting  in Taipei is to hike up Elephant Mountain (象山). The trail of stairs begins about 15 minutes just to the southeast of Xiangshan Station, the end of the #2 red line (Tamsui-Xinyi). The best time to go is around sunset for a spectacular view of the city. It’s a twenty minute strenuous hike to the top, but well worth it for the view! It’s a safe trail, well paved, and well lit. Even at night, there were plenty of people walking up and down. The views from the top are better than those from Taipei 101’s observation deck because you get to see Taipei 101 and the rest of the city. It’s also free! After you finish taking in the view, head down to Taipei 101 for dinner which is only a short walk or two MRT stations away.

Xinyi  (信義) / Taipei 101

The Xinyi district is home to Taipei 101. It’s a new neighborhood that I’m guessing got redeveloped after Taipei 101 was built. There’s many new office buildings and several western hotels including a Grand Hyatt and W. Inside and around Taipei 101 is a large shopping mall and large food court. As it was the week before Chinese New Year, it was very festive with year of the sheep decorations.

Shilin (士林)

Jiantan is one of the main stations to visit. Outside the station are many shops and busy streets. This is where we spent the first half of our first day when visiting the National Palace Museum. It has a really neat design that looks like a suspension bridge. At night, the Shilin Night Market opens, and there’s many streets of different food and shops. This is a real fun place to walk around and people watch!

Xi Men Ding (西門站)

Ximending is the Times Square of Taipei. There’s many bright lights, TVs, and people walking about, especially at night. A bit of history behind the area, it was set up as an entertainment, theater,  and business district under Japanese rule. In the main area, you won’t find many street vendors as it’s mostly clothing stores and restaurants.

Part 2: Taipei at Night

Part 3: Temples and Markets of Taipei

Part 4: Taiwan Food

Part 5: Yangmingshan National Park

Part 6: Taroko National Park and Hualien, Taiwan

Back in February, I had the opportunity to stop and visit Taipei, Taiwan for four short days on our way to Hong Kong for Chinese New Year. Similar to Hong Kong, it’s a very busy and populated city. Taiwan is very modern and rapidly growing country. While Taipei not as developed and westernized as Hong Kong, it offers distinct charm and Chinese hospitality. Walking the streets, the rich culture, heritage, and tradition was evident. It’s a very vibrant and colorful city.As a plus, the cost of living is lower and the people are more laid back!

Here are some sights of the city.

I had never seen saguaro cactus or any other cactus taller than a couple feet so I was really taken aback to see towering cactus that are 15-20 feet high. So they’re kinda like trees, except they just don’t congregate as a forest given the limited water in the desert. For a desert though, I was surprised how plentiful shrubs and cacti were. Even between Phoenix and Tucson, the scenery was quite different. Phoenix had citrus trees right outside of the restaurant and seemed to have more trees in general, while Tucson had more low lying shrubs and tall saguaro cacti.

The hike I decided to do was the Hugh Norris Trail. It’s the longest trail at nearly 5 miles and is out and back. It has the quickest change in elevation, so in total is the most difficult of all the trails, but the good thing is it rises quickly so as you look back, the scenery changes quickly. About 20 minutes in and I felt as I was already halfway up the mountainside with a breathtaking view of the Sonoran Desert. It’s actually an easy hike because it is so well paved and maintained. There are stairs cut out into the rock on many sections and you won’t lose your footing. Since I was by myself and only had my camera, I didn’t go too much further, but I would definitely love to go back and hike the entire thing, definitely bringing water with me!

The first day we made the drive to Mount Magazine, the tallest mountain in Arkansas, stopping at Hot Springs and taking the scenic byway Highway 7 past Nimrod Lake to Mount Magazine State Park.

The city and now park of Hot Springs, AR are home to a famous row of Bathhouses which used to be popular for medicinal cleansing and healing. Today, it’d be more akin to a spa. There are many little shops along the street and it’s also home to the Mountain Valley Spring Water company. I didn’t make the connection that the water in the hotel (green bottles) was actually nearby from Hot Springs! At the end of the street is actually a public fountain where you can fill up your water bottle and drink.

I have to say that the hiking and size/scale of Hot Springs NP is nowhere in comparison with other national parks. It may be the oldest, but the most underwhelming of all the ones I’ve been to from Alaska to the Virgin Islands. That said, if you’ve never been, it’s probaby worth a few hours to walk through if you’re in the area.

Because of a big rain that had come through earlier in the week, many of the colors had just faded and many of the trees were already without leaves. On the bright side, the weather was on the cooler side, but very comfortable for hiking and perfect for jacket weather. Each year, it seems to vary, but generally the last week of October to the first week of November is the peek season for central Arkansas.

Mount Magazine State Park is a must see! At the top is a nice hotel and lodge that’s frequently booked full during this time of year. The view is spectacular and worth the drive. We stopped for lunch at the top at the lodge restaurant overlooking the trees and land below. We had missed the peak by about a week, but the views were still fantastic.

On the way back to Little Rock, we stopped by Petit Jean State Park. Petit Jean has tons of trees, cliffs, and water. You can’t ask for anything more. The foliage here was phenominal and I wish we had more time to spend there. They have a famous waterfall (Cedar Falls) that you can hike down to. Unfortunately, sunset was closing in quickly, so we decided not to hike in the dark.

On Sunday, we woke up early and headed out towards Mena, AR, home to the Queen Wilhelmina State Park which spans from Oklahoma to Arkansas. It’s one of the many scenic byways in the nearby area. Last year around the middle of October, we were in Mena in the Ouchita Mountains to catch the leaves, but it was all green. A few weeks or days can make a huge difference when it comes to fall colors.

For the most part in the Ouchitas, the color had passed it was mostly a dull brown, but the views from atop the mountains were nice.

Crossing back into Oklahoma, the color started to pick up again as we ventured further south back to Dallas.

Our tour lead us through the Caribbean Sea to Cruz Bay. The guides were knowledgeable about the history and pointed out significant historical landmarks along the way such as where Christopher Columbus crash landed in the “new world” and who owns what pristine ocean-view property. The captain also mentioned how the USVI was purchased from Denmark for $25M in gold in 1917, coincidentally the first time the US went into debt. With the view and pristine beauty of the islands, I’d say it was absolutely worth!

 Once you get to Cruz Bay, there are several open-air taxis (jeeps) waiting to take you into the Virgin Islands National Park that encompasses most of the island. Before the park was established, there were a few residences established and they have since been grandfathered making them very valuable to own and rent. The island is mostly undisturbed and the roads are never have any traffic (definitely another win for this Caribbean destination). The main street (North Shore Rd) winds through the northern edge of St. John and has lookouts along the way that the taxi stopped allowing us ample time to snap some breathtaking photos of the view.

At the top of the first hill overlooks Cruz Bay where our boat dropped us off. I didn’t realize how much color and how beautiful it was. Taking a step back to take it all in is quite special. The next overlook was Caneel Bay. A private beach that hosts weddings for a bargain price of $20,000 to rent for the day.

The last overlook contained the million dollar view that we had been waiting for all week, actually, salivating over for weeks prior to the trip. Words cannot comprehend just how incredible the view is of Trunk Bay.

As much as I would have loved to sit there and take it in for the rest of the day, the driver beckoned us back into the car and we were off to swim in the bay.

Admission for the day is $4, kids under 16 are free. They have plenty of showers, restrooms, and changing areas to use. The beach itself is a narrow stretch of soft sand. There is some shade under the trees towards the back of the beach. Oddly enough, it rained while we were on the beach and we found ourselves taking cover under the trees to prevent from getting wet … on the beach. After a quick shower silliness, we went snorkeling for the rest of the afternoon and it turned out to be a perfect day.

The water in Trunk Bay was the clearest all week and the area was teeming with aquatic life. Thus far, I hadn’t been too impressed with the fish, coral, and clarity of the Caribbean, but this day really made the trip. I’ve only gone snorkeling in the Western Caribbean where there wasn’t many fish either and Phuket, Thailand where the water was extremely clear and abundant with life. To be fair, the Caribbean is known for its beaches and not it’s snorkeling.

 The park has an underwater trail that you can follow that leads you around the aquatic life and points out some of the interesting coral formations. The bay itself is well enclosed on the sides and there’s a small island to prevent it from getting too wavy. It’s definitely a great area for beginners.

I turned around and this guy was swimming straight at me and scared the crap out of me.