Thursday, February 02, 2012

Taipei Etc

#travelthursday


I'd like to believe I made the most out of my 2-day stay in Taipei.  Haha!! Don't even ask why I stayed only for  two days!! :P

The Long Shan Temple

Ended up visiting this temple twice, haha!  No matter what time of the day you'd come, you'll always find this temple bustling with a lot of people worshiping or praying for something.  It's quite an experience being inside and observing these people.  I gathered that Longshan is not just a temple or a sightseeing attraction but also a historical site.


During the night tour, the guide explained to me the different deities inside the temple (deity for fertility, for passing the exams, etc.)  The interiors are impressive with delicately carved sculptures, beautifully decorated structures but my favorite part is the waterfall that simply screams ZEN!!


Taipei 101

I think I will make it a goal in my life to visit all the tallest buildings in the world.  Haha!!  Previously ranked as the #1 skyscraper in the world, this elegant structure stands out in the Xinyi Distict with its blue-green facade.  I paid a steep 400NT$ to climb up to the 88th floor Indoor Observatory Deck but due to the weather, I wasn't allowed to go out the outdoor deck.  Phhhhbbbttt!!!  XD  (To make more value out of your money, inquire whether the Outdoor Observatory Deck is available. :P)


The basement houses all the high-end brands you can find in a errr high-end mall (heard they just opened Zara there :p) and up above you'll find a jade antique and souvenir stores.  But again to my disappointment, I couldn't find a miniature Taipei 101 structure for my personal collection.  XD  Also, another gripe is the location of the building.  It is so busy in its neighboring area that it wouldn't allow for a good photo with the building in the background.  Haha, adddddikkkkkk!!!! :))



Night Markets:  Shi Lin and Hua Xi

The most memorable thing that happened to me in Shi Lin night market is being accosted by  Taiwanese girl as if we're good friends who haven't seen each other in a long time and  in return me returning the gesture.  Hahaha!!!  What was wrong with me that day?  After that incident in the morning with the blue-eyed stranger, I ought to be more careful.  But she was harmless, she was just complimenting my Aldo cloche hat and asked me where I got it in the best English words she could muster.  :P


I wasn't able to buy a lot of things in the night markets though as most of the stuffs they sell are winter clothes.  (I think it should be good for me noh?? Haha!!)  Their night markets aren't exactly known for the stuffs that you could buy but rather the xiao chis (small eats)!!  There were even some food where you can find a long queue in order to buy!!  There's no doubt that CNN would charge Taipei as a city guilty of gluttony.  It would be good if you have a companion and since I was alone, I only tried the ice creams and drinks. ;-)


Hua Xi is also known as the snake alley and is noted for its restaurants that serve bizarre delicacies such as snake blood and meat.  Yay!!  No pictures are allowed in these restaurants.  :P



Hsing Tien temple


Another popular temple in Taipei devoted to the patron god of businessmen and with prominent dragon features in its design.  Check out this short video I subtly captured inside this temple.




Food Trip (click read more below)

My over-all Taipei food trip experience can be considered lame compared to others.  Of course being home to bubble teas, I made sure to try out their brands.  I have a friend in FB who tried atleast 10 brands, hahahaha!!!  Crazy!!!  I had a Mongolian barbecue/shabu-shabu/buffet and an intimate shabu-shabu by myself.  LOL!!






All in all, I can say Taiwan is such a charming city.  Lots of cute stuffs to find everywhere and I've mastered how to take a photo with them in the background.  ^^




I heard some famous hot springs as well in that country, I'll make sure to try it the next time and explore more their food stalls in the night markets. :)


This ends my feature for Taipei.  感谢你 for reading. =)





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