Taipei

We arrived in Taipei late Wednesday afternoon to start our next adventure.  Taipei is the capital city of Taiwan and has a population of 2.6 million people.  The city is a mixture of old and new architecture with an abundance of high density housing with very few individual houses anywhere to be seen.  There are several night markets for which the city is well known where one can wander about a myriad of stalls selling delicious smelling foods.  The number of massage parlours is simply amazing.  We did try out our first Taiwanese massage on our second day and it was a first in a couple of ways.  First of all you are given a pair of shorty pj like clothes and the entire massage is done with these on often under the blanket as well which was probably just as well as I do believe my masseuse had the strongest hands and elbows I have ever encountered. Not exactly relaxing.  Secondly Eric had his first male masseuse so that was an experience for him.  I could not help but laugh silently when he walked into the room.  Must say I wish we could get massages for the same prices at home.  We spent the first day doing the hop on bus so we could get a general ovr view of the city.  During our stay here the weather has been lass than stellar so was good to have some cover.  Asking for recommendations we lunches at a local restaurant and had some delicious dumplings, spicy fried chicken and prawn noodles.  In the evening we took a tour to the Huaxi Night Market and Snake Alley.  Apparently Snake Alley used to be much more actively displaying live snakes and animals but this has fallen off greatly in recent years as it it no longer acceptable to most people.  We also visited Longshan Temple which is the oldest temple in the city and then went to Taipei 101 which is the second tallest building in the world at 101 floors of course.  Had dinner in a popular restaurant in the building with our tour companions who were from Japan.  As Caucasians we definitely stand out here as most tourists are from other parts of Asia.  For example we have only seen one other Caucasian in our large hotel.  Having said that everyone is very polite and welcoming. On Friday we went on a full day private tour with our guide Henry. He has an MBA from the states and this is his second job.  He was full of information and we learned so much about the way of life.  That alone made the tour worthwhile. We were a little restricted as to where we went as the rain was wicked but we visited the National Palace Museum, the Presidential Office Building and the National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and the Grand Hotel.  We went to a small local restaurant for the most delicious beef noodles, marinated tofu and shrimp dumplings.  We also went to a traditional bubble tea stand as Taipei is where bubble tea originated.  Despite the weather it was a great day. 

Off of every Main Street in Taipei there are a multitude of narrow alleyways that are lined with small businesses.  This is where you find most of the massage parlours and may of the small restaurants.

The stoplights and walk signals all tell you how much time you have.  Great idea. On main streets one usually has at least 60 seconds to cross.

The number of scooters is mind boggling and even the police ride them for ease of getting around.

Fresh food for sale displayed at the night market 

One could do all their shopping at the night market if they were so inclined

Tempting delicacies for those passing by

Seafood sticks ready to go on the grill

Longshan Temple at night

Inside the temple

Taipei 101 against the night sky

Presidential Office Building built by the Japanese during their rule of Taiwan in 1919

Gates to the National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial site which is also the site of the National theatre and the National concert hall.

Building on Liberty Square on the Memorial site

The actual Memorial Hall with 89 steps leading in which was his age at death

Our bubble tea awaits

A ceramic pillow from the museum collection.  Centuries old.  Reported to be comfortable but I cannot imagine how that could be 

This is a century’s old wine decanter and I think it would be a welcome addition to any wine lovers home as well as a great conversation piece

The Grand Hotel sits high over the river and has wonderful views of the city 

Cloudy view of the city from the Grand Hotel with Taipei 101 rising above the rest

Our appetizer at dinner last night. Beautifully presented and absolutely delicious