Taiwan (台灣) Days (Episode 2)
Day 2 of Taiwan Days
So we’re still at Taipei, all rearing to go even though we have walked quite a bit at the Night Market last night. We woke up early on Day 2, because we have quite a lot of places in mind to visit.
Outside Longshan Temple (龍山寺), one of the most famous temples in Taiwan. As you can see, it’s quite packed even though it’s pretty early in the morning.
A view of the interior of the Temple. Apparently, there’s some procession or event going on that day, so we just mingled in and snapped some shots before heading for our next destination.
A shot of us outside our hotel in Ximen, Taipei, finally.
The Original “A-Chung Rice-Flour Noodles” at Ximenting, Taipei.
Yeah, you have to stand and eat the rice-flour noodles. And while you are at it, enjoy the piping hot handmade noodles with extra-chewy pig’s innards. Oishi.
Sorry, the picture’s a bit grainy and blurred ’cause we are all in the bus speeding its way up to Yangmingshan (阳明山) National Park up in the Northern region of Taipei. The temperature’s dropping as we ascend the mountain gradually. Brrr.
Map of Yangmingshan National Park at the Bus interchange. Apparently, the park’s huge and takes a whole day to explore, including features like extinct volcanoes, hot springs, cherry blossoms, sulfur deposits etc.
The view from Jhuzihhu (竹子湖), somewhere in the middle of the Park. As you can see, the scenery is pretty cool over here. The strong hilltop winds coupled with the altitude makes the weather cold, maybe somewhere around 15 degree Celsius or so.
The couples face off! Introducing the Girls…
And the Boys… (Behind us are the plantations and farms of different vegetables and plants, e.g. Calla Lily)
We found a nice cafe along the road near Jhuzihhu area, and we sat there, drinking hot chocolate and hot tea while waiting for the public bus to ferry us back to the Interchange. We ended up taking a cab down the hill instead because the bus that we waited for about half an hour was full.
Eventually, we took a bus to Beitou (北投區), a district famous for its hot springs and spas. As you see from the picture, we have a lot of options for our well-deserved Taiwan spa. Some of them even have interesting names like Hell Valley (it must be real hot in there) and Lotus-spa Hot Spring Resort.
Ultimately, we chose this resort for our Taiwan Hot Spring and Spa experience. Had to strip aside our conservatives and bare butt-naked for the experience (males and females separate of course), but it was, all in all, a heart-warming one.
We noticed something interesting on our way to our next destination via the Metro. This is a designated Waiting Zone for Female Passengers at night at the platform, obviously designed to protect the interests and modesty of the females traveling via public transport at night. Considerate idea, I must say.
After the sight-seeing and spa treatment, what’s next? Food is on the agenda next, at the Night Market near Tamsui 淡水鎮 station. Once again, we find ourselves swimming in the sea of colours, lights, noises, smells and scents and unfamiliar faces.
Took another short bus ride to Tamsui Fisherman’s Wharf (淡水漁人碼頭). A scenic spot where the Lover Bridge of Tamsui resides. A pretty romantic place to bring your loved ones to.
The Lover Bridge itself. Glows green under the spotlights at night, surrounding strolling couples with an air of romance and love.
If we hold on together, I know our dreams will never die.
We went for a stroll around that area after crossing the Lover Bridge, enjoying the sea breeze and the romantic saxophone music played by both amateur and professional musicians at the pubs lining the harbor.
It proved to be a long night. After returning to Ximen from Tamsui, we passed by the majestic looking PartyWorld (錢櫃) building (I think alternatively called Cashbox as well). Karaoke-ing is apparently the nation’s favourite activity, so we went to take a look as well. I still can’t believe they had a whole building of KTV lounges!
The last activity of the night: KTV! Turns out that besides the grand appearance of the building, each KTV lounge is very well-facilitated as well. You can order food (like dim-sum, which we did), enjoy a private restroom in each lounge, and convenient facilities like volume control panels on the walls and a digital console stand in each room. Not to mention that the much better microphones and padded walls for sound-proofing. Sing your guts out!
With that, Day 2 in Taiwan came to an end. On our next leg, we will be traveling to Hualien (花蓮) for more sight-seeing and adventures. Episode 3, coming up soon.
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