Taiwan may often be overlooked as a vacation destination in favor for the bigger metropolitan cities like Hong Kong and Tokyo. But if you're planning a vacation to Asia in the future, here's why you should put Taipei on your list!

My boyfriend and I were invited to his friend's wedding taking place in Hong Kong. After our previous city/country hopping trips, we were excited to spend the quality time in one city without rushing it like we always do. That is until his friend invited us on quick trip to Taipei a week before his wedding. We couldn't say no. Initially, I had overlooked Taiwan ahead of time until we were invited. And boy am I glad we made the trip. So here's a list of the top sights in Taipei when you have a couple days!

Taipei 101

Until 2014, it was the tallest building in the world. It was also known for having the fastest elevator ride in the world shooting from the 5th to the 89th floor in less than a minute. You can feel it too!! I had to pop my ears at least twice on the way up. The views are spectacular. We went right before Halloween and there were several school kids going trick or treating at the top to the vendors. It was precious. It was about $600 NTD which is roughly $20 USD for admission to the observation deck.

Elephant Mountain

It is a steep and brutal hike up to 'the rock' where the great viewpoints of Taipei 101 and the city are but it is a short one (15-20 minutes depending on how well you do with stairs). So make sure to have your fitness tracker on if you're into that and get ready to huff and puff your way to the top but I guarantee the view is worth it. To get to the Rock viewpoint- stay left at the fork of the path!

Jianguo Flower Market & Jade Market

The flower market and Jade market are built right into an underpass of the freeway. It is quite impressive to see the space utilized in such a fashion. Both markets are only open on weekends and are long corridors of goodies. the Jade market has a wide collection of precious stones, jewelry, and unique antiques. The flower market offers plants in the largest nursery I've seen. They even have a kitten adoption stall!

Shilin Nightmarket

Clothing, food, games, toys. The night markets are a crazy carnival in themselves. We mostly just walked around taking in the very stimulating sights as we fought back the hardcore jet lag gripping us. The markets buzzing energy helped though. Whats amazing is how active and vibrant the city is late at night. The markets and many shops are open until 2am.

Ximending Shopping

Speaking of shopping, there is so much of it in Taiwan! You will even find malls at metro stations throughout China and Taiwan- one of the largest malls in Taiwan being at Main Station! I may live in LA now but shopping is feels less like recreation and more like sport. Its exhilarating and exhausting. My favorite shopping district was Ximending. It did happen to be close to my Airbnb but the area reminded me of a smaller Times Square or Piccadilly Circus. Unlike a lot of the bigger shopping malls, this shopping district is outside. You can still find all the major brands like Nike, Adidas, Converse, Dickies, but there are tons of boutiques to peruse through as well!

Authentic Taiwanese Food in Wanhua District

The Wanhua District is the oldest district of Taipei. Christie, our friend from Hong Kong booked our Airbnb in the Wanhua District. You can see the melting of old and new while walking through the streets in Wanhua. My favorite part though was the food! The large gratitude goes out to Christie who acted as our Food Tour guide and translator and took us to traditional Taiwanese breakfast places...most of the time they were holes in the wall with a chalkboard or poster of the foods they offered and nothing in English. I at a lot of egg scallion pancakes! I also tried these savory churro looking foods that you dip in warm soybean milk called Twisted Cruller. Another breakfast item I tired was an egg sandwich in a Bao bun. I loved trying all the new foods!

Day Trip to Jiufen Old Street

I wish I had more time to explore all of Taiwan but if you have to settle for 1 day trip- visit Jiufen. People say that it inspired the setting in Spirited Away and when you visit you will understand. The maze-like alleyways are lined with what feels like an infinite number of Chinese lanterns, food stalls and goods. Jiufen, which was an old Gold mining town, is an insanely popular destination for locals an tourists alike. So be prepared for an occasional push or shove as people make their way through the stalls. So take your time exploring all the teahouses, interesting food stalls, leather goods, and souvenir shops and if you have the time venture to the old mine entrances!