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  • welcome back to the budgeteers and a welcome to  Taiwan coming up in this miniseries we explore  

  • Taipei in all of its colorful and fragrant  splendor and as a typhoon heads our way we  

  • escape into a wilder part of the country  to discover something that will blow you  

  • away can you believe this is Taiwan yes we  cannot wait to show you over the next few  

  • weeks what this little unassuming island  has to offer and hopefully this series  

  • will change your mind but what this island  is all about and put it on the map as your  

  • next budget travel destination exactly they  may not do me a favor and roll that bloody

  • and I mean downtown Taipei and I was actually  gonna film the entire process of getting out  

  • of the plane and getting into downtown becauseheard it was actually quite complicated but it was  

  • really straightforward and this is Taipei City  Mall Station which is where I basically got off  

  • the train from the airport and right behind me  over there is the hostel so I'm going to go in  

  • and hopefully be able to see Damien for the first  time which is really exciting I feel like I'm on  

  • an awkward tinder day or something out I'm gonna  go meet someone that I've never met before but  

  • check this out this is the hostel yeah we chose  this because it's right in the middle of downtown  

  • easy to get to from the airport and they've got  a bar so that's always good look who I can see

  • what was the letter e hello little brother  hey man Oh give me a hug ease what page do  

  • they have on drafts that looks good are you  feeling breakfast can I have some breakfast  

  • too can I have one of these please thank  you well how it's got air column here and  

  • everything registrants are they okay  good health and here's to a safe trip

  • well that is lovely what is that floating light  yeah it was so great to finally meet Damian and  

  • we spent the first hour just catching up and  getting to know each other but yeah after a  

  • day's worth of traveling it wasn't long until  our bellies started to rumble so we made our  

  • way into the neon tainted streets of Taipei  on the hunt for a local street food supper

  • don't drink too much okay

  • that's IQ I know I know okay well  like I have no a clue just what  

  • does that distinguish there's thingsokay Wow look how fabulous that lives

  • Wow

  • I can order some food where we get sip  then we have some beautiful okay get in  

  • my belly Dameon starving and semis so we just  thought let's just get something I've actually  

  • accidentally got some chicken feet and snail  salad okay a little bit yeah Oh chicken feet  

  • and then what are we going for here just  for some military because you know military  

  • that's the control defines Taiwan for me but  nobody's here can we have some milk to have  

  • some and this is what I love about travelling  the most is that first impressions that first  

  • evening when you're out exploring all the new  foods all of the new smells and all of you

  • oh that is colle do that again look  at this oh it looks like a snake

  • but threesome between the squid the shrimp  and a port so the cool part about 7-eleven  

  • family marks here in Taipei is that  you can one of your food reps of beers

  • I'll get the beers Damien you want a local one

  • Cheers oh I miss this place

  • yes last time I was here I fell in love  with Taiwan so when petit invited me to  

  • come along on this last-minute  adventure I immediately said yes  

  • and I was excited to explore much  more of the island on this trip

  • so after our late night dinner  and a walk around the city we  

  • just decided to call it a night  because we want it to be full of  

  • energy to enjoy tomorrow our first  proper full day in Taiwan together

  • no first

  • good morning everybody and welcome to the first  proper day here in Taipei last night was really  

  • good fun obviously I don't know Damian I've  never met him before this is our first trip  

  • together and it was really nice to meet him get  to know him it's really good because basically  

  • we just enjoy the same things we both like good  food cold cheap beer and just yeah like enjoying  

  • being young and healthy and fortunate enough to  come to a place like Taipei good morning you're  

  • handsome man good morning what are you doing  I'm ordering a cappuccino from this what is  

  • it it's a robot and see that's how it works  cappuccino some Chinese characters what's  

  • happening change the language to English yeah  here sure is the anyone flashing okay and now  

  • I'll scan the QR code at the aimbot machine  okay yeah this is very over complicated I  

  • just wanted coffee I just wanna cuff damn it can  I talk to the manager oh that's right way no way

  • Oh going for the syrup

  • do away that's a foolish thing hey  buddy oh he's waving ass not a drop  

  • spilled come on don't mess it up  don't mess it up don't mess it up

  • how is it it's perfect wow what an experience  it's a lot of fuss for just one cappuccino doe  

  • but yeah it might have been a lot of fuss but  we really needed the caffeine boost as jet lag  

  • was hitting us really hard we made our way on  the local underground and headed towards the  

  • very center to see what we could find however  upon getting back to street level the weather  

  • had flipped 180 and it was pissing down  rain and blowing a gale little bit wet

  • we had no option to just try our  best to get shelter from the bad  

  • weather and we've ducked into a cheap  noodle place to help boost on morale

  • it's actually perfect on a rainy afternoon spicy  of our soup I need some soup yeah okay buddy

  • the rain was relentless for the rest of our  first day but it did look like it might clear  

  • up so we headed over to meet a friend of mine who  teaches here in Taipei this is Alex he's a cool  

  • dude from Canada with a dry sense of humor and  plenty of experience of cool places to check out

  • we're having the same store man I might  not the work tomorrow and as the weather  

  • brightened up in the afternoon we headed over  to a place that Alex said we had to check out

  • we are coming to which is quite possibly one of  the most popular things to do in Taipei right  

  • elephant hill right Elephant Mountain they  mean you've been here before that's a nice  

  • viewpoint right yep perfect place for sunset we  have seen a lot of people in sport wear so we  

  • probably won't be alone on this summit yeah I'm  hiking so seriously yeah you never know I know  

  • each one's like a walking advertisement for Under  Armour and okay you're looking for the star of the  

  • trail look for the big crowd okay it says about  15 minutes 400 meters to the top easy it's a good  

  • job Damien's got these bad boys I love isolated  mountains like this just exploring the jungle

  • we've emerged as a viewpoint so that's  the first viewpoint I think a lot of  

  • people would probably just stay here so we're  gonna keep going up can I get a better view

  • quick little quiet getaway just outside the  city eventually we made it to the highest point  

  • and even though it was also completely overrun we  just decided to commandeer a little spot and soak  

  • up the views it was pretty steep so bring water  like we did and if you're extra savvy bring some  

  • beers it will be really worth the extra effort we  guarantee and once the stunning Taipei's skyline  

  • had finished transitioning from a moody afternoon  to a striking neon light sky we made our way back  

  • down the steps towards some street food however  on the way down we could hear the sweet sound  

  • of a smartly dressed Taiwanese man singing  soft karaoke on the side of the mountain pass

  • after resting and listening to this  hero singing away he actually kindly  

  • invited us up to join him and we could not resist

  • just as long Oh in Taipei samurai

  • windy afternoon here in Taipei  that archway is next level

  • one of the questions that you ask yourselves when  you come to Taiwan like I did and Damien did when  

  • he first came here is like what country am i what  country am i coming to am i coming to China is  

  • Taiwan a country is it not and we're not gonna get  too political obviously but it's an interesting  

  • question to know and Damien knows a little bit  more than me and he's been explaining a little  

  • bit so Damien just you know in your own words like  because it is important like he's been telling me  

  • it's important to know because you don't want  to offend the locals and you kind of start to  

  • get a better understanding of what you're seeing  around you when you understand what is Taiwan  

  • at the moment so where does this story start  basically this is not a History Channel we're  

  • not I'm another expert in the Chinese history  or whatever but the quickest way I can put it is  

  • there are two governments right now that claim to  be the real China why is that because in the 50s  

  • the civil war in China Chinese civil war between  the Communists internationally it's ended the  

  • Nationalists they lost and they their government  fled to Taiwan the leader of the government was  

  • called Chiang kai-shek and at the moment we are  at the Chiang kai-shek memorial so let me tell  

  • you something more about that guy so that's what  she got the memorial we made our way over to the  

  • memorial which by the way is completely free  to walk around and it's absolutely stunning and  

  • Damien told me more about the history of this man  and his huge significance to the Taiwanese people

  • so yeah like I said there was a civil war  and Republic of China lost and retreated  

  • to the island of Taiwan so the leader Chiang  kai-shek who lost took his government with him  

  • as well whilst the leader of the victorious  Communist Party Mao Zedong instituted a new  

  • government in mainland China under the new  name the People's Republic of China the  

  • reason that the names of both governments are  so similar is thanks to the fact that both of  

  • them claim to be the legitimate and only China  current People's Republic of China sees Taiwan  

  • as a part of their territory but Taiwan sees  the People's Republic of China as an illegal  

  • States occupying their former territory so even  though the occupation of China is still to this  

  • day disputed and highly controversial it is  comforted to know that this current standoff  

  • is peaceful and the Chinese are welcomed in  Taiwan as tourists and visitors without trouble  

  • but one small piece of advice don't call people  in Taiwan Chinese just call them Taiwanese just  

  • know that Chiang kai-shek is a very significant  person and this memorial side is highly important  

  • to the local Taiwanese so come here and check  it out and learn more about what happened here  

  • and during our walk around the museum we could  see that a lot of people were checking their  

  • phones and leaving apparently the typhoon that  was swirling around the South China Sea which had  

  • originally been on cause to hit North in Japan  had apparently turned west and was due to smash  

  • into Taipei in less than 24 hours so we decided to  join the mass exodus but not before recapping this  

  • super important landmark so thank you Damien for  giving us a little bit of historical information  

  • it is a bit of a mess isn't it it is like to  answer the question we saw with you know is it  

  • China is it not China it's complicated yeah that's  the only answer we've got for you yeah if they  

  • were on Facebook their relationship status would  be it's complicated you need some basic knowledge  

  • about this place you don't even necessarily know  everything but you need to know a little bit about  

  • the history to understand the people in their  culture and what's going on and what's going on  

  • and stuff like that and what's going on right now  there's a typhoon behind this look over here it's  

  • like a really nice sunny day but the typhoon is  right behind us coming and it's nice because it's  

  • super hot and humid but it's raining guys look and  the tide foods coming okay we didn't have to run  

  • just yet but things were getting worse later that  evening we met up with Alex again and took shelter  

  • in a local flower market however the approaching  weather was causing him to pack up early so I told  

  • the guys to go to his really beautiful temple  which in my opinion is totally worth the visit

  • welcome to long shank temple is over  300 years old and has a wonderful mix  

  • of different faiths with Taoist  Buddhist and Confucian elements

  • Taiwan prides itself on its inclusive attitudes  

  • towards religion and long shank  temple is the perfect example and  

  • for that reason even in bad weather it's  always busy and tonight see no exception

  • that's luck has it it's like a typhoon rolling in  and here you never know if it's gonna stay or flow  

  • into the sea I feel bad for these guys it's great  plans but I picked him up at Dom mark and we took  

  • shelter in the Jade market and that was kind of  cool but they were packing up and it's getting  

  • kind of lame so we came here to lung Shan temple  and you Damien have already been here before yes  

  • in your travels and he's been telling me some  stuff that I had no idea yeah so can you tell us  

  • a little bit about this place so I was here last  year I was here for two weeks and I visited this  

  • long Chinatown for multiple times and they have  like different deities here that they preach so  

  • the way they prayed to them is first they take  three sticks of incense which about three times  

  • put it on their forehead then you can see  that their lips are moving because they're  

  • introducing themselves to these deities and after  they introduce themselves they kick they think  

  • these wooden blocks look at happening kinder they  throwed on the floor and they asked a question  

  • to the gods after they should have introducing  themselves if they can ask for a favor a question  

  • so it depends how they're oriented yeah depends on  how the blocks are oriented if it's yes the gauzy  

  • yes you may ask a question or no so basically it's  like it takes a few steps for these people here  

  • to even ask for a fearful to God I like thatlike that there's a small process you have to get  

  • her to get an answer that's the cool part about  traveling that you go somewhere else and learn is  

  • completely different traditions and cultures that  you would have never known if you just stayed home  

  • and played for tonight hey I'm for tonight I'm  gonna add you Meaghan we're gonna smoke some news

  • after longshan we hit up the night markets  across the street as the smells of the food  

  • were just too damn delicious to pass  even with the impending storm on the  

  • way and so for the next few hours we just  ate as much food and beer as we could as  

  • we weren't sure how long it was gonna  be until everyone had to close up shop  

  • for the night or when our next spicy  barbeque eel fish who was gonna be

  • this is like melt-in-your-mouth yeah and turns  out it wasn't long before things got shut down  

  • and so we retreated to the safety of the hostel  for a nightcap and a proper chat about what we  

  • should do to avoid this terrible weather that was  potentially gonna ruin our trip there's been a  

  • slight change of plan yeah so we were planning the  same tape here for four days and as we mentioned  

  • there was a typhoon well it was supposed to hit  Japan they were supposed to but you're having it  

  • go that way but it's yeah what is this I know  yeah it's gonna change it's gonna the change  

  • direction and it's gonna stay around type here  for a couple of days got a message right I got  

  • a hundred and eighteen messages no talking  about this typhoon so I don't work tomorrow  

  • because the government's shutting everything  down which basically means that I'm free for  

  • the night but also I'm gonna be locked in my room  so yeah he doesn't have to work tomorrow we had a  

  • bunch of plans but because of the typhoon can't do  this anymore so luckily we're right next to that  

  • train station yeah we're right next to the Taipei  main station so tomorrow we're gonna hop on a hop  

  • on a bullet train always have to just escape the  typhoon that's the plan this is why you need to be  

  • flexible with your travel plans guys are we gonna  die in the typhoon Oh oh it does mean that we can  

  • have one more beer before bed because we don't  have to be wake up super early just have one more

  • one more half than the one I get next

  • good morning and welcome to the high speed  train here completely unexpected but super  

  • easy to get a ticket and we're on here now so  we're gonna go right to the very south of the  

  • island and maximize our chances of having better  weather and then maybe we'll try and work our way  

  • back up we have no clue like we have nothing  planned this is a good thing as well because  

  • we didn't pre book any accommodation or pretty  book any activities so we haven't really lost  

  • out on any planning we've just yeah it's it's  we're going into the south with no plan and  

  • it's quite quite a fun so thanks for watching  this episode and did you have a good time love  

  • that I won't always come back to Sophie and  favoritest Indonesia I agree it's very very  

  • because it is up there my top five cities in  the world honestly really really cool phrase  

  • but thank you for watching if you're new make sure  to subscribe to watch the rest of this miniseries  

  • we're going to have lots more adventures here in  Taiwan and yeah see you on the next one guys right

  • thanks again for watching and if you did enjoy  this episode then please help and support us  

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welcome back to the budgeteers and a welcome to  Taiwan coming up in this miniseries we explore  

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