Arriving in Taipei, Taiwan

Feb 16 (or 18?), 2023

When the world opened up after COVID, I looked hungrily at the map trying to decide where to go. Shall we go cycling in Switzerland? Wine drinking in Chile? Hiking in Iceland? In the end, Netflix food docuseries and the promise of dumplings and noodles drew us to Taiwan. Our first trip abroad since the pandemic will be eating our way through the night markets and food stalls of Taiwan.

In my family, we speak of a trip to Taiwan as a “returning.” “回” Taiwan expresses a return to a homeland, the place of origin. I haven’t been “back” to Taiwan since 2008. Most of my memories are from childhood, a Taiwan of the early 1990s, a strange cacophany of oppressive tropical humidity, unrelenting mosquitoes, bustling wet markets with live animals for slaughter and sale, pirated MC Hammer songs on cassette tapes, and all the chaos of a developing nation coming out of martial law. I remember how obviously I stood out as an American, told by taxi drivers how “lucky” I was to have been born and raised in America. Taiwan in 2023 is an entirely different world: 24 million people living on a small northwest Pacific island of about 14,000 square miles, an indisputable leader in high-tech manufacturing with an bustling economy, an enviable public transportation and health care system, and a vibrant and cosmopolitan culture. It feels simultaneously familiar and foreign.

We left Wenatchee on a Thursday. We landed on a Saturday, 6000 miles and a 14 hour flight later, descending through the clouds just as I could make out the outline of high mountain peaks rimmed with the gold of a Pacific island sunrise. The voice on the intercom welcomed us to Taipei in flawless English, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.

The first order of business was to find breakfast. Every street seems to have little stalls serving the traditional Taiwanese breakfast: savory scallion pancakes with egg, warm bowls of salty soy milk, steaming hot baos. I can’t read the menu, but I can mimic what the guy in front of me ordered. An absolutely delicious welcome back. I am lucky to be here.

February 18, 2023