Taipei, the rest

I have blogged now about the Taipei Zoo and the amazing temples that we found there. I've blogged about the delicious food and how I ate almost every meal while on the street, because the street food was so incredibly delicious and cheap. So allow me this little catch-up post to write about all the rest, and then I can move on to the Philippines!

I really want to emphasize how much I enjoyed Taiwan. The people were so friendly, the prices were reasonable, and it was very easy to get around as a tourist. English signage was everywhere it should be, and quite well-written as well. Everyone I encountered spoke English well enough to handle me, even the little ladies selling street food, and quite a few had an incredible grasp of the language. I could even joke around with the kids who worked at the 7-11 and sold me all of my delicious coffees. People were excited and curious about us, but without any of the pointing-and-staring that I too often get here in Korea. It's funny, because the concept of Taiwan as a tourist destination had never even entered my head before I came to Korea and started hearing everyone talk about how great it was.

And, really, it's great. Go to Taiwan. The food is amazing, the people are lovely, and you'll feel safe and comfortable. There are big bustling cities to explore, and also incredible amounts of seemingly-untouched nature just a hop away. I can't recommend it highly enough. Go before the whole world discovers it, because it's a pretty much perfect destination, and they're bound to soon.

Night markets are incredible and also very weird. They definitely have the potential to be stressful, with the throngs of people, shouting vendors, and heaps and heaps of items available to purchase. They were also super fun, with lots of strange things I'd never seen before, shirts with funny English on them, well-tempered shop assistants that dealt with all our questions, and (of course!) all that delicious food. Many shops seemed to employ little apricot poodles to model their wares or simply draw in customers. Seriously, the apricot poodle is the official working dog of the island nation of Taiwan.

Here, children fish for shrimps using safety pins tied to string. This was a popular night market game. I'm unsure whether they get to keep the shrimp they catch.

We visited the hot springs in Taipei city. (There are other ones outside of the city, but these ones are in the city at Beitou.) We didn't go into the springs, as it was frankly pretty chilly and windy. It was still January, after all. I still enjoyed walking around the area, taking in the steam and enjoying the peaceful quiet of this little oasis within the big big city.

Near Beitou hot springs there was a museum dedicated to the different aboriginal tribes of Taiwan. For such a small island, there are a ton! They are also very snazzy dressers, for the most part. The museum was free, and the ladies working there were very excited to see us. I'd definitely recommend dropping in if you're in the area; I had never even considered how varied and interesting the native culture of Taiwan could be.

We visited the Red House, a quirky gallery full of art, some really awesome and some incredibly strange. A lot of it was available for purchase, and I picked up most of my souvenirs here (foldable paper dragons, cards, and pins). The area around it is pretty interesting, too: an openly gay neighborhood in East Asia is a rare sight to see.

Another stop was the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, which was part of a huge complex of awesome buildings and parks. (The rest of today's pictures are all from that complex.) He led the Republic of China (not to be confused with the mainland/Communist People's Republic of China) for most of the 20th century.

the Gate of Great Centrality and Perfect Uprightness
(Man, do I love Chinese names sometimes.)

me in front of the National Theater