Showing posts with label taipei. Show all posts
Showing posts with label taipei. Show all posts

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Holiday in Taipei (part 5 the finale)

This is the final post on my January trip to Taipei.  Last day was Saturday and I've only got the morning and afternoon to explore before we proceed to the airport for our flight back at 8.55pm.

We planned to check out 龙山寺 since the temples in Taipei seem to be quite elaborately decorated.  We took the subway to 龙山寺 station, which was one station away from 西门 station.

 
The temple filled with devotees



Elaborately carved pillar.

That's what I call a water feature!
After wandering around a bit more, we stumbled upon the venue where "Monga" was filmed.  It was a nice surprise to find this out of nowhere... Though I haven't watched this movie before, I think I will since I've been to the set now.  =)









Just before we left Taipei, I felt my stomach churning.. think it could be the rubbish that I've been eating the last few days.  Here's an example of what Taipei offers... Fried chicken SKIN, hearts and best worst of all CHICKEN ASS!!! OMG. yeah that's some serious shit I know.. they all go into the oil that fries your chicken cutlet.  Its little wonder why I didn't fall sick earlier.. Oh well.. enjoy the pics!



So I ended the trip to Taipei on an upset stomach.. If you asked me whether I like Taipei, I'll probably tell you a) I prefer Hong Kong, b) I will like Taipei better if not for the dreary rain and c) I think I'll bring some of my own food if I were to go there again.  That's all for Taipei..

Holiday in Taipei (part 4)

This is the day we planned to go on a day trip with my cousin and her 2 friends.  Destination: 九份 and 淡水.  Before we started on our journey, we had breakfast at some supposedly dou jiang stall.

KC ordered this salty dou jiang.  Its nice!



Taken from the cab since I was at the front seat

Finally we arrived at 九份.  Took a pic with my cousin as well as the scenery.




This is the streets of 九份. 

Chocolates in very interesting packaging



This is a waterfall to show the copper content in this mountain

Pipes that resemble anacondas line the mountain to redirect toxic fumes away from villagers.

Blue coloured rocks.  A result of oxidized copper.
 Can you see what copper does to the rocks?  It literally changes the colour from black to brown. Scary thought...


Next: 淡水.  Didn't take much pics here.


My cousin told us of this nice restaurant that served BBQ food.  We tried it and IT IS GOOD!




Saturday, January 29, 2011

Holiday in Taipei (part 3)

Finally the weather put up on day 3 and we decided to head to 故宫.  Being a little adventurous and cheapskate, we decided to take a bus, thanks to the locals who provided directions.

The only pic with both of us in it - Kathryn & me on the bus

At the entrance of Gu Gong


Spotted these toilet signs.  Aren't they cute?




Tested some shots with the LX5.  Took a pic of the stone lion with flash.


That night, we went to 师大 night market.  This is by far my favourite night market.  Why?  Its got good food, the things they sell are also quite trendy, mainly due to the profile of shoppers there who are from the university nearby.  


Wrapping our order

The final product. Twist and eat.
 And there was the chicken cutlet.  How could I resist it?  This stall has a baked and deep fried version.  Verdict - I liked it, though I would have preferred it more if there were no bones in it.  Singapore's version doesn't have bones and its a lot easier to eat.  But Taipei's chicken cutlets are sooo much bigger, so who's complaining?  Kathryn wasn't that into fried chicken cutlet, so I pretty much ate almost everything.. By the time I finished it, I was already quite full.


Next, we had these 水煎包.  Damn they're good!  Had to queue a little for it, but I tell you this is worth the wait.  Its nice and juicy when hot.  Though I'm not sure how much oil went into making it so tasty.  Well, its only a few days in Taipei, so I should try whatever I can right?

Stall owners preparing the 水煎包. 
This is how it look like.
  

On our way back to the hotel, we decided to stop by the Red House which had been mentioned in Kathryn's Taipei book.


Saw this old chinese typewriter in a showcase.  Made me wonder how the heck you'll use it.  Aren't chinese characters infinite?  Well at least that's my impression.  I can't imagine having enough keys to use on a traditional typewriter.  


See the keys?  No easy feat typing I'm sure!

 

Saw this uncle using spray paint to create art.  I've seen such artwork in production before in one of my trips, but I can't remember exactly where.


Just before we headed back to the hotel, Kathryn said she was still hungry and wanted some Ah Chung mian xian.  I can't imagine why and how she can still be hungry.  Btw, she had the large portion takeaway and ate it in the comfort of our room.  I must confess I did try 1 spoonful just to get a taste.  Its indeed nice. Definitely much better than the one at Raohe night market.



More to come in the next post as we go on a day trip with my cousin who's also on holiday in Taipei.