２０１４年７月７日

June 7th:

This was my last full day in Taipei and one of the things I wanted to see the most was a beach. In California, I visit the beach pretty regularly to body surf, boogie board, play volleyball, or just relax in the sand. In Osaka, I hadn't really had a chance to do these hobbies, so I was excited to see the ocean again. The trip up to Baishawan, (literally "white sand bay") took quite some time. First we had to take the metro all the way up to the northernmost station. From there we had to find the right bus to the beach, which took like another 40 minutes. But it was all worth it when we got there. Here are pictures:

Bus ride through the jungles of Taiwan to the beach. 

Bein a dork. 

Some shops along the strand.

Couldn't have asked for better weather.

In the evening on the way back on the bus.

The beach was so relaxing. And though the life guards held a pretty tight perimeter so we couldn't swim out too far, I still managed to ride a couple waves. For dinner, Maika wanted to show me this vegetarian restaurant she had gone to with her friend Lisa. But first, we were starving and it was only about 5 PM, so we decided to drop by the night market for some bomb pork buns and pork sandwiches. I was not let down. Delicious food. The vegetarian restaurant we went to was nice. very westernized feel. We were served about 6 courses starting with appetizers and ending with dessert. Here are pictures.

Fruit with yogurt for the warm-up.

Pumpkin soup with my lovely date.

Main course.

Vanilla ice cream dessert.

That night was a little sad. We had to part ways the next morning. The next time I would see Maika, we would be in the states again. I truly had a magical time in Taiwan, and I would like to thank Maika for accommodating me for 5 days in a beautiful city.