Tag Archives: Taipei

I think one of our favorite things about Taipei was eating our way around the Shilin Night Market.

We saw a ton of tropical fruits including the biggest star fruit ever!  There were stands selling fruits (and I got to eat my favorite guavas – the ones that are pink inside, I can’t find them here in Manila!)…

And there were stands selling juices.  Fresh kiwi juice?  Incredible!

And the biggest sausages I’ve ever seen (compare them to the woman’s arm)!  Tempting, but we didn’t try them – even if we shared it would make us too full to explore more!

I also had my first peak at fried cuttlefish (I didn’t try it, because I still remember when we saw one diving…)

And I had my first experience with stinky tofu.  The smell was disgusting – in a “I might throw up if I don’t walk very fast now” disgusting.  Karl mentioned he wanted to try it, but even he chickened out when he smelled it.

This roasted sugar cane, however, smelled delicious (and now I wish we had tried it, but one can only eat/drink so much!).

It was raining like crazy on the first night there, but at least the market wasn’t packed.  We went back for dinner on Saturday night, and we could barely make it through the crowds.   But dealing with rain all day wasn’t fun, but at that point we were used to it!  (And before you ask, that arrow was painted on the road, people on FB was asking if it was photoshopped – why would I photoshop an arrow of all things?  Plus, that’s assuming I actually know how to use the thing!)

In Taipei I also saw more mopeds than I’ve ever seen in my life – they were everywhere, on the roads and in parking lots!

And how does one dry their only pair of shoes overnight?  Be creative, of course!  Yay for sturdy AC vents!

And look at the toilet in our room – see the buttons on the left?  You can have it sprinkle water up your bum (or your hooha, if you’re a girl, yes, there’s a girl setting), you can have it blow hot air to dry you out.  I admit I pressed the girl setting then shrieked.  I didn’t try it again.

Our breakfast both days was in this hole on the wall place next to our hotel.  Basically crepe, fried egg, cheese.  We are the picture of health.

Other adventures included having my first encounter with a toilet hole (thankfully, there was a normal toilet behind the next door I looked, so I haven’t tried them yet).

Going up the Maokong Gondola…

Maybe next time we should have taken the stairs?  (Who am I kidding?)

Getting to the top and trying to figure out which teahouse to go to (we went to the first one we saw instead).

Seeing a spider the size of my open hand…

Reading Engrish…

And of course, at some point being able to snap a quick non-foggy picture of the Taipei 101!

Ah, and let’s not forget the love sign.  I’ve seen it in NYC, and I know they have one in Philly, any other places I should mention?

I definitely recommend a trip to Taipei!  We wouldn’t be opposed to coming back here (or maybe even living here one day), and next time we would definitely take a day trip to explore more of Taiwan!

My only disappointment?  (Aside from not being able to go to the top of the 101, of course.)  I started a little collection of these little mugs, and visited at least ten different Starbucks and couldn’t find any with Taipei on it, all I saw was full sized mugs (ended up buying Taichung, but I haven’t been there, and definitely would like Taipei instead…).  And yes, they cost a FORTUNE on Ebay…

I’ll trade a Taichung for a Taipei if anyone has it?