On Saturday afternoon after the March Breakfast Meet Up, stuck in Taipei alone while the wife went off without the kids, I ran off to Hoping Island with my friend Jeff, whom I got a masters degree with at George Washington sometime early in the Qing Dynasty. Jeff has lived for many years in the Keelung area, and is definitely master of that domain. Enjoy my website on a beautiful day at Hoping Island, the place where my wife was born.
UPDATE: Marc in Taipei left this below in the comments -- good info! so I moved it up here.
HopingDow is even better in the summer. (which is most of the year..) There is a beergarden with cheap NT$70/mug drafts with a bonus of amazing sunsets over the distant mountians. The swimming is also great in the "cement ponds" - relatively deep, spacious and fun. Good snorkling off the ocean side too. I go there often with my friends on hot summer days. (Take the red/white/blue bus to keelung from the front of the taipei train station (NT$45), then catch a bus in keelung to the hoping. (i think it is bus 101) Also, taxi rides are cheap, if you see one with a white sign in the window for hoping, they charge only $35NT per person for the trip. Cheers!
[Taiwan]
Incredibly. I was born in Taiwan and never even heard of this place.
ReplyDeleteIf Taiwan had planned things right, it would be indeed a really beautiful island to visit for tourists (like Hawaii).
Fantastic photos, thanks for sharing Michael! HopingDow is even better in the summer. (which is most of the year..) There is a beergarden with cheap NT$70/mug drafts with a bonus of amazing sunsets over the distant mountians. The swimming is also great in the "cement ponds" - relatively deep, spacious and fun. Good snorkling off the ocean side too. I go there often with my friends on hot summer days. (Take the red/white/blue bus to keelung from the front of the taipei train station (NT$45), then catch a bus in keelung to the hoping. (i think it is bus 101) Also, taxi rides are cheap, if you see one with a white sign in the window for hoping, they charge only $35NT per person for the trip. Cheers!
ReplyDeletemarc/taipei
(the pic on your site about the old ladies selling the rice/grain i walk past that shop every day on my way to work..funny to see it on the site.
Those old ladies were sooooo perfect. Soooo Taiwanese. I stalked 'em a couple of times hoping for some canonical and classic shot, but being a foreigner means that inconspicuous photography is impossible.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info on Hoping Island! I hadn't been there in years. Next month I am definitely taking my kids there.
Michael
Michael, please count us in too!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos!
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