(grunting)
(laughter)
- [Sylvia] Ow, we're getting punished.
- [Gunnarolla] Hey, I'm Gunnarolla,
world traveler, food lover.
Taiwan is one of my favorite travel destinations
and last fall, I had the chance to cycle around the country
with my partner in photo shoots, Sylvia.
This trip was a great way to experience
all that Taiwan has to offer
and challenge ourselves by doing something
we'd never done before.
From breathtaking views to the freshest seafood
and bubble tea every day
and the occasional booch.
- [Sylvia] Booch it!
- [Gunnarolla] This was our trip to Taiwan.
You ready?
(vibey music)
So, the cycling part of our trip is done.
- Woo-hoo.
- It's time to treat ourselves.
We checked into a beautiful hotel
in the heart of Taipei.
- W Taipei,
- Five-star luxury.
- Count of five stars.
- Alright, time to check out our room.
They've brought all of our bags.
So, all we gotta do is open the door.
Whoa.
Oh my God!
We got an exquisite Baller Suite.
They had macaroons waiting for us.
We had panoramic views.
We could see Taipei 101 right from our window.
- You could see Taipei 101 from the jacuzzi.
- Oh my God!
This bath.
Look at these views.
This is a sexy room.
And if that wasn't enough, the toilet.
Want to see a magic trick?
- It went up on its own.
- That's how we do that.
It was the height of luxury
- The height, we were all the way up.
- [Gunnarolla] It was the literal height.
- Literal height.
(violin music)
- So once we got settled into the hotel,
we had some time to explore the local culinary scene.
Starting with--
- [Sylvia] Comes to Taiwan, goes to Kispy Kreme.
- I gotta get my Kispy Kreme.
And then I got to meet up with my dear friend
who I met the last time I was in Taiwan, Elsa.
- Hi Sylvia.
- Elsa.
I feel like I know her already.
- Hi, how are you?
- [Sylvia] Okay, where are we going?
- Are your guys butts sore?
(laughs)
- I mean--
- [Sylvia] Yeah.
She took us around for some real Taiwanese treats.
- [Gunnarolla] Do you remember those buns?
- Oh my God!
Thank you.
Oh, it's so cute.
A little juicy, a little greasy.
- [Gunnarolla] Made fresh, right in front of us,
out of a stall.
- [Sylvia] It was amazing.
So then we went to Ximending, which is this really cool,
trendy, hipster, young district of Taiwan.
- [Gunnarolla] Yeah, you've got shops,
you've got restaurants, street food.
We met up with some of our friends.
It's kind of like the Harajuku or the Yong Dong.
- [Sylvia] Exactly.
- [Gunnarolla] of Taipei.
- [Sylvia] It really reminded me of Yong Dong.
This is my last night in Taiwan.
We haven't turnt up at all.
- And I'm saying,
maybe it's a good thing to just have a nice trip,
that we can remember all of the details.
- Yeah, where we just cycle and eat and cycle and eat
and then blackout.
Of course knowing us,
we had to try all the food in the area.
- [Gunnarolla] All of it.
- Including stinky Tofu.
- I can't see it but I can smell it.
Their stinky Tofu is somewhere nearby.
(gags)
- [Sylvia] I've never tried it, should I try it?
- You know I love food.
- Alright.
- This is one of those thing I can't eat.
- [Sylvia] Let's get that sauce on there
- I have a very strong sense of smell.
Sometimes I can't eat Parmesan cheese.
I'm not breathing, it tastes great.
- (Man) Eat it with the veggies, it'll taste better.
- Yeah, okay.
I can't.
(laughter)
- Probably some of it is psychological.
I just remember how it smells and instantly I can't eat.
- [Sylvia] It's trauma - Yeah.
- [Sylvia] You have to heal that wound, Andrew.
- I did eat the Trylobite, so.
I didn't like it.
I tried, twice.
Now, I know for sure.
Maybe the first time was the food.
The second time was just as bad.
It's like if you took gasoline
and put vinegar in it and garbage.
That's what stinky Tofu is.
But to make up for it,
we did have my favorite Taiwanese snack.
- The scallion pancake.
And I did this
because that's exactly how they
[Together] fluff it up.
- [Gunnarolla] You can have a lot of different filings.
Today, we're doing egg and basil.
Pretty basic but delicious.
So good!
You have to try it.
A little spicy sauce in there too.
- Oh my God.
And of course, no night out is complete without Karaoke.
- Listen, they don't have English songs,
I'm gonna sing English lyrics to Taiwanese music.
But it seems like everyone in Taipei
had the same idea
so while we waited for our karaoke room,
we went across the street to get massages.
- And honestly, we really needed it.
After cycling, after walking around, all day.
- [Sylvia] You good bro?
The sweat from-- ow!
Ow!
Ow, we're getting punished.
We finally got a room.
It was, again, Baller.
- [Sylvia] The urinal in our karaoke room.
- [Gunnarolla] We got our own private bathroom.
♪ I just met you ♪
♪ And this is crazy ♪
♪ But here's my number ♪
♪ So call me maybe. ♪
So many snacks, they could not stop feeding us.
(Karaoke singing)
But what they didn't have,
- [Together] Was all or nothing.
- Our favorite karaoke track .
- That's the only song we wanted to sing really.
So we ended up singing it over every single other song.
♪ Cause I want it all ♪
♪ Or nothing at all ♪
- [Gunnarolla] It was pretty odd,
we always ended up with the mics in our hands.
It was almost like no one else wanted to sing
- [Sylvia] Or the mics just never left our hands.
- That's probably more likely.
Good morning.
- Good morning.
- It's time to get breakfast.
W Taipei has the best breakfast buffet
of any hotel I've ever been to in the world.
- [Sylvia] It truly made them five-stars.
- [Gunnarolla] This was not your continental breakfast,
they had every type of cuisine,
hot dishes, cold dishes, noodle soups.
- [Sylvia] They had fresh fruits,
juices that you can make on the spot and even Gelato.
After breakfast, we had a chance
to check out the amazing amenities of the hotel,
including the outdoor pool,
which made it the perfect location for a
[Together] Photoshoot!
(funky music)
Then it was time for us to live our best,
crazy, rich Asians life.
We had afternoon tea at the Yen bar
on the 31st floor of W Taipei.
(soft,jazzy music)
- [Sylvia] The real Taipei 101
and the better Taipei 101 (laughs).
(soft, jazzy music)
- Listen, to be able to enjoy such a diversity of treats
in one of the most spectacular venues,
look at the view over there,
incredible experience. - Yes!
It was really nice to have a taste of
premium, elevated life.
So if you're in Taipei,
make sure to try out the afternoon tea here
at W Taipei.
- Crazy, rich Asians.
- And then it was time to say goodbye, to you
because I was staying for a couple extra days.
- It was so hard to leave.
I did not want to leave you or the hotel.
- We had a really good time.
I was not sure what to expect out of this trip.
I just wanted to get to Asia
and I thought that cycling would be a cool thing to do.
It was really cool,
it was also very hard.
- [Sylvia} It was a true testament
to how strong our relationship is.
Cause they always say,
a trip makes or breaks a friendship or a relationship.
- [Gunnarolla] Yeah, you get to see someone at their best
and their worst.
How they cope with change,
how they are when they have no responsibilities.
- [Sylvia] In their most uncomfortable state.
- [Gunnarolla] I mean, we did pretty well together.
- [Sylvia] Yeah, honestly,
I think we respected each other's space as well
when we needed it.
Our down time, we kinda took to ourselves,
it was nice.
We were together when we were together
and we had our alone time.
We also have the same tastes in everything.
- [Gunnarolla] We do!
- [Sylvia] We wanted to eat the same things,
we wanted to see the same things,
we wanted to sing the same songs.
- [Gunnarolla] So, if you're thinking of taking a trip,
go to Taiwain.
And try cycling there too.
- Yeah.
- It's built for cyclers.
- Beautiful.
Scenery, food, people.
- Vivian.
- Vivian, booches.
- [Gunnarolla] Don't forget some booch.
See you next time.
- à la prochaine!