Hey friends! So this isn’t meant to be a one-way postcard. If something here cracks you up, makes you hungry, or makes you say “no way,” reply to this email. It goes straight to us, and we’d love to hear from you! Okay, lets get to the good stuff

We landed in Taipei before the sun was even up, drifting half-awake through an empty airport where the customs had zero line, breezed through immigration (seriously, dream airport energy), and were miraculously checked into our hotel by 5 a.m. Danielle sank into the first hot bath of the trip before crawling into bed for a short nap, trying to get ahead of the jet lag.

Now. First order of business. FOOD! Danielle had been dreaming about eating at Din Tai Fung, our favorite dumpling place in LA, but in its motherland. However, those plans quickly collapsed under the weight of a mile-long line, so we ducked into a nameless noodle shop with no English menu, ordered by pointing by pictures, hoping for the best. We ended up with shrimp and pork wonton soups, beef rice, and something delightfully mysterious involving shrimp and fish scales. Verdict: delicious. And the best part was, for the two of us it cost just $9!

Bellies satisfied, wandering around the city, Michael heard a familiar sound coming from below a storefront. We followed the pinging and ponging and found a basement ping-pong club! The two players paused, saw my grin, and asked if I played. “A little,” I said. “Well, come on down.” Michael rallied until he was dripping with sweat, couldn’t resist asking to play a few points, and got absolutely crushed—but never had that much fun at a table. From that moment on, we decided to say “yes” to any random opportunity that came our way.

A few other highlights:

Son of a b, we woke up at 4 a.m. again, still jet-lagged and starving, the city outside dark and wet. Finding breakfast turned out to be harder than expected. Taipei mornings are slow — cafés don’t open till nearly noon, and locals seem to start their day with tea instead of eggs. We picked out this bookstore/cafe, but we had to play detectives to find it. Finally, we discovered it tucked away on the 10th floor of an office building. It felt like a secret — walls lined with books, quiet music, and big windows overlooking the misty city. Michael ordered “French toast and sausage,” which turned out to be toasted bread with melted cheese and a drizzle of honey. What the heck?! Danielle ordered eggs Benedict, which arrived with a single thin slice of lunch meat on cold bread. It wasn’t bad, just not at all what we were expecting. We laughed through the whole thing, wondering what breakfast actually meant here.

We wandered into a bustling shopping district strung with red lanterns and signs we couldn’t read. That’s where we found it: the best boba tea either of us has ever had. Are you picking up a theme here? Food is HUGE part of this trip. It started like any brown-sugar boba, but after layering the milk tea, the barista grabbed a blowtorch and caramelized the top like a crème brûlée. The result? Smoky, creamy, warm, and cold all at once—the kind of drink that makes you pause mid-sip and think “How is anything THIS good?” Even Michael, usually timid about trying new things, was obsessed.

Then we had a plan: a strategic two-hour nap to beat jet lag once and for all.

That was the plan, anyway.

Armed with 2 hours of sleep, we were determined to see the famous Raohe night market. If you’ve ever been to one, it’s exactly what you’d imagine. Giant whole squids fried and on a stick, chicken feet glistening under warming lights, mystery meats sizzling on open grills, and the occasional simple bao bun tucked between the chaos. Danielle had a sesame ball dessert over ice with a sweet, floral syrup that was weirdly addictive. Michael stuck with his trusty pork dumplings — classic, safe, delicious — and tried a bite of the dessert just to be polite (one bite was plenty). Even though we swore we’d stay out late this time, we were asleep before 9. Jet lag: 2, Sassers: 0.

Featuring our first honeymoon crasher, Christal joined us for a mellow little day trip. Jiufen Old Town—this famous little mountain village said to have inspired Spirited Away. At first, getting there sounded simple. You hop on a bus and ride it up into the hills. What they don’t tell you is that the buses barrel up and down super narrow, winding roads passing each other with inches to spare. It was basically a trust fall with your life in the driver’s hands ‘not mellow’. We gripped the seats, held our breath, and exchanged that “so this is how we die” look more than once.

But what a payoff, jagged green hills interlaced the glowing ocean as far as the eye could see. What a dream. Jiufen street itself was pure insanity. Hundreds of people in a corridor of tiny shops selling anything from tea, to trinkets, to you guessed it… whole squids again. There was only enough room for one lane of people to walk half the time. We squeezed through the crowds and found a tiny tea house perched over the cliffs with panoramic views of the mountains and sea. The tea was tasty, the dumplings even better. Danielle ordered 2 dishes, not realizing it was a minimum of 3. So then we ordered 3. The language barrier was real, because 5 things showed up. Luckily, everything was so good we didn’t care. Michael inhaled his sweet pork bao, Danielle and Christal sipped their teas and we just appreciated the randomness that led to such pleasure.

Back in Taipei, we went straight for massages to recover from the day’s adventure. Michael got a Swedish massage, not daring to get deep tissue in Taiwan. But Danielle, in a moment of misplaced confidence, chose deep tissue. Big mistake. The masseuse went full Mortal Kombat on her back while repeatedly asking, “You okay?” She said yes every time, not wanting him to know how much it really hurt, hoping the pain would payoff with relief the next day.

By Day 4 we’d surrendered to Taipei’s rhythm. Nothing opens early here, and after a few failed breakfast hunts, we officially stopped pretending to be morning people. Our first stop was the flower market, which—get this—lives under a highway overpass. A full city block, like 100 yards (or meters) of blooms, bonsai, succulents, fountains, and tiny terrariums, all humming beneath concrete. It was oddly peaceful down there. We saw the most amazing water features and asked if we could get it shipped to the states. the artist laughed and just said “no”. That led us to the Jade Market under the next highway, where Danielle scored a beautiful bracelet that will remind us of our trip out here.

Taipei 101 is the famous building that stands over 100 stores and has a floor at the top you can see panoramic views of the city. We went early to grab sunset tickets but didn’t realize it’s also a huge 5 story mall and massive food court. The kind we wished existed in Los Angeles. Christal met us there for sunset on the 89th floor. The view was wild. Other buildings that previously looked tall from the streets now looked like toys and the mountains stretched in every direction, fading into the haze.

On the 88th floor, Christal had found a restaurant-that-wasn’t-really-a-restaurant, more like a designer café with a $100 minimum spend. The entire menu was… toast. But not just any toast—toast topped with sweet-potato purée, fennel cream cheese, cinnamon sugar butter, burrata salad—Like a high roller at a casino we ordered one of everything (needed to to meet the minimum). Each piece of toast was better than the last and we enjoyed it over the sparkling lights of the city. What a way to end the night.

By Day 5, we’d realized something—we hadn’t left the city once. Taipei had kept us well-fed, well-walked, and VERY entertained, but we were ready for some nature. So we booked a last-minute tour up to Yangmingshan National Park, just outside the city. Our guide, Steve, ex-military, Taiwanese, PNW temporary resident, and one of those people who instantly feels like a sitcom character, showed us around.

The Grasslands: a 45 minute hike took us to a scenic view of rolling hills, green grass and a few buffalo! Danielle thought they were cute and wanted to pet them, Michael was glad they were behind a fence built specially for safe refuge from buffalo.

The Geo Thermal Park: Where an active volcano vents steam straight from the earth. The air smelled like ten thousand rotten eggs, sulfur pouring through the mist. It was beautiful. Steaming pools, bubbling water, everything prehistoric and hissing.

Natural Hot springs: We finished with a natural hot spring where locals soak their feet in water that could legally qualify as soup. There were two pools: Christal tried to get in the first one but was warned by a nice lady to try the other one first because it wasn’t as hot. It was still VERY HOT. We all laughed while slowly boiling ourselves in the milder pool, surrounded by old Taiwanese men who looked way too comfortable in 110-degree water.

Our final thing on our final night, we caught the train to Elephant Mountain for one last view of the city. The stairs carved straight into the hillside, weaving through thick, green jungle, until we finally broke through the trees. The city stretched out below us, Taipei 101 towering over the skyline, the sky melted from orange to pink to deep blue. What a way to end our first week of our honeymoon. Time to pack up and head to Thailand!

This was SO much fun to write and relive. But it was also a lot of work, so I don’t know if we are going to recap this much again. It’s a work in progress.

Click here to see more pictures from the trip!

Click here to watch some short video blogs from the trip! (scroll to the bottom)

Tata for now,
D+M