Tuesday, May 18th was a bit of an odd day for me; I was tired from all of the sightseeing! Smile. Anyway, I got some things done on the computer and watch the happenings outside!
One thing I caught was the window washers – kind of a fun sight and they got a kick out of me waving at them!
I also had a good time watching Clueless - I took this video for fun - it's Paul's favorite part - LOL! The funny this is, Paul hates Mentos!
Monday – May 17th - I was on my own and I really had a great day. I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable sightseeing on my own and actually quite enjoy it. Though, I missed Kelly and Paul. The weekend had been great and we saw so much, so Monday a little of a letdown but I made the most it.
I am beginning to realize that going to a place for a week is too short; I used to think that was plenty of time to catch everything and now I really like to see how locals live and see the more unbeaten paths.
Local Lunch (Baked Yams & Pork Buns)
Longshan Temple (“Taiwan’s Forbidden City”)
An “Angel” (Local Gal Helps Out)
Snake Alley (Huasi Tourist Night Market)
Cingshan (Qingshan) Temple
I had heard from a couple of people, including my Pilates Instructor, Jessie, that Taiwanese Street Food is really great. So, I asked a couple of girls that had some yummy-looking food, where they got it?! Once I figured it out, I got a baked yam and a hard bun with a pork patty inside. I really enjoyed the yam – it gives a whole other meaning to “food-on-the-go!” Take a look!
Now that I was feeling ready to deal with the heat I headed over to the Longshan Temple. It’s one of the more popular temples and as you can see from the pictures, it was packed! I have seen one or two temples here in Singapore but the ones in Taiwan are just phenomenal and beautiful. It’s hard to put into words.
The experience of Longshan was wonderful; I don’t know all of the tenets of Taoism or Buddhism but I know that the worshippers were together and were singing, throwing their “lips of God” to find out if God has heard their prayers…fascinating! Although, I can’t explain everything, here are some pictures and video – it was a beautiful experience that I will remember for a long time.
Here's a pic of a kitty taking a nap! On the temple grounds!
Below, you'll see a paperplate with flowers - that's my offering. They have vendors that sell them outside the temple.
After Longshan, I was trying to figure out how to get to the next Temple when an “Angel” came along. Angel, who was going to join her Dad at their Bubble Tea Shop, stopped to see if I needed help. She figured out where I heading and coincidentally it was on her way. So, I got to see her shop on Snake Alley and learn about Bubble Tea, etc. Her Dad, Peter, took our picture below. By the way, Bubble Tea is essentially “Milk Tea” which is actually not made with milk; it’s made with Coffeemate – which, interestingly enough, has no dairy in it. So, the tea has Coffeemate & Sugar in it; then you add the brown-sugar soaked Tapioca – yum or hmmm…you decide!
Snake Alley is a tourist attraction in Taipei; it seems to me just another Night Market, but this one seems a little seedier than the others. I don’t think I would want to be there after dark. As it was, when I left the area, it was just starting to get dark and I think I saw some prostitutes…
Okay, back on topic; after getting directions from Angel, I walked through Snake Alley and then headed to the Cingshan (Qingshan) Temple. WOW! I’m so glad I kept going; other than a few worshippers I was the only person there! I felt so much peace and enjoyed the time to take pictures – I didn’t feel like I was disturbing anyone’s worship. That was a pleasant surprise; I think I spent at least an hour there looking around and enjoying the magnificent murals, statues, carvings, etc. Amazing! Enjoy the pictures; this was one of my favorite places.
To finish up in the Wanhua District, I visited Jia Jhen – as far as I can tell it’s a strip of kitchen supply stores. I had fun wandering through the stores and I picked up a few trinkets. I always love going to local kitchen supply stores; I find it interesting to see what locals use. For example, one of my haunts is Sia Huat in Singapore’s Chinatown – one of my all-time favorites!
So, I was pretty much tired out by this point, so I walked back to the MRT and headed back to the hotel. I don’t remember what we did for dinner that night – think it was room service!
