Me and Adaora started our Asia-trip on Friday the 4th of March, and our first stop was Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Arriving there in the evening, we were greeted by Adaora's friend Lois and her brother, which by the way have been so kind to us. They have showed us around the city and made us taste a lot of special Taiwanese food (though Adaora don't want to admit it after knowing what it was, I'm pretty sure she liked that snake-soup deep down inside.. Hahaha:p).
First thing we did after arriving in Taiwan, was to check out one of Taipei's many street markets. In the street markets you can find anything from clothes to strange food, and among others we got to try the so-called "stinky tofu", which basically is fermented tofu.
The things they sell in the markets are really cheap, and most clothes costs between 100 and 390 Taiwanese dollars. I guess we will be doing some shopping before we leave for Thailand..
A temple right next to the Raohe St. Night Market.
Our second day in Taiwan was spent in the city center, where they have a lot of fancy stores and stuff like that (and an area called Shibuya, just like in Tokyo..). Again, a lot to see and new food to try out.
One thing we have noticed here in Taiwan, is that the influence from Japan is strong. We see a lot of Japanese products, food, manga characters - and maids in the street.. For some reason we haven't seen any Japanese-styled hosts though:p
Adaora in front of Chingshan temple, which even has a digital clock built in it.. Practical, huh..
Flowers inside the temple
A local lady in Taipei making dumplings, which we had for breakfast on Sunday. After breakfast we drove out of the capital, heading for the city Tainan, which is the fifth largest city in Taiwan.
The city of Tainan is among others known for some alleys with this special style of the houses. Above the entrances the name of the owner used to be written, but nowadays people prefer houses in western style so only a few houses like these remains.
The Daxi bridge is also known as the Valentines Bridge. If you cross it together with your loved one this is supposed to give you a strong and lasting relationship.
Later that day we visited a small park where statues of the late President Chiang Kai-Shek in Cihu. The statues has been collected from all over the country, and there are basically hundreds of them.
Right by the memorial park there is a place called Daxi Flower Ocean Farm Ranch, which is known for beautiful flowers and not to mention a lot of Taiwanese dramas. Personally I haven't watched a single Taiwanese drama, but Adaora was really happy about visiting this place.
Now we have five days left here in Taiwan before we leave for Thailand, and I'll probably be back with another update before that.
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About Anette
Anette came to Japan as an exchange student in 2010, met the love of her life and got stuck. From her base in Tokyo she writes about her experiences as a full-time worker in Tokyo and about her travels in Japan and abroad. She's a free-spirited adventurer who enjoys both the great outdoors and her urban lifestyle.
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