Night Markets: A Nightly Fair

 The night markets in Taiwan are my favorite way to spend my down time, whether it is 10 minutes or several hours.

You can find everything in the night market. From food to games to toys to smoothies to clothing to jade jewelry, to incense to undergarments to bedding to fake eyelashes and beauty products--they are all shoved together in no particular order onto a street closed for this particular event every night from 6:30 to around midnight.

Pet booth: birds, rabbits, mice, hamsters, fish, ferrets and hedgehogs

Jewelry, lucky frogs, trinkets, jade and other good luck charms

smoothie stand

one of many kinds of games for the kiddies

I Live a block away from one of the Zhongli night markets--one that is considered one of the best in Taiwain--so I spend quite a bit of time there. While the shopping is cheaper than the shops and more unique, I am generally there window shopping whilst I search for dinner. You don't get any more authentic than street food, and that's just what the night market is: a collection of street food vendors. It is always an interesting experience because you will never have the same one twice. While many vendors are in the same spot almost every single night, there are others that come and go and rotate spots so there is always new things to discover.

Turtles

Fruit

Doggie clothes

Sometimes I find a rather large fresh sushi bar, and other times in that same spot is cut fruit. When I have a hankering for a Mango smoothie or sundae I go to my favorite spot, but sometimes I find that it has been replaced with baked goods.

While I enjoy exploring new stands, I do love going to some of my favorite vendors regularly. The baked clam stall has amazing clams and sauces for only 50 NT, I am in love with this stop. The ham and egg sandwiches in sweet fried dough make fantastic snacks for 35 NT.  Quail eggs on a skewer are also a delightful snack for 30 NT. There is an Indian food cart that sells authentic rotis with lamb, beef or chicken as well as chicken burgers all for around 50NT each served by a very pleasant Pakistani man who speaks fluent English and Chinese in addition to several other languages. When my sweet tooth bites I go either to the Mango stall which sells mango ice cream, smoothies, sundaes and other desserts varying from about 40 NT to 100 NT. Or I go to the Polish cake stall. This is a treasure that you won't find in any other night market. Paco moved here from Poland and married a Taiwanese woman. He then found his niche in the night market making the most unbelievable cakes that he was taught to make in Poland. They are ever changing flavors of double chocolate, peach cinnamon, apple mouse, vanilla mango and the list goes on and on. the cake is filled with fresh fruit and topped with a semi sweet frosting and more fresh fruit. Sometimes I find that he has blackberries and raspberries--rare treats on this side of the world. He sells 3 very large pieces for 180 NT. 3 is the minimum but I find it is always worth it. Or, if you are more adventurous, try the many many stalls that sell chicken feet, pig intestines, and stinky tofu--favorites of the locals.

Polish cake!

Candied fruit

Quail eggs-yum!

Fried squid!

Chicken feet, intestine, stinky tofu and more

 I still haven't figured out if the vendors have very good memories for faces or if they just happen to remember me because I look funny but they always seem pleased to see me and greet me with a "hello again." It is a great comfort to a girl from a small town. I have many Taiwanese vendor friends who are always cheery, always remember my favorite things, and enjoy cultivating my knowledge of the Chinese language. While my studies at home are the base for my language learning, speaking to the vendors is the best way of giving me confidence enough to use my new skills, and they seem just as excited to be a part of that experience.

Taipei: A Suprisingly Diverse Capital City

I hopped on a train from Zhongli to Taipei and was giddy to have successfully made the transfer to the MRT (subway) blue line and then another transfer to the brown line without getting lost. I got off at the Taipei zoo. For only 60 NT I got access to the entire zoo. While the zoo was quite extensive (ranging from tigers to koalas to pheasants), the en-closers are smaller than any zoo I have seen and all of the animals sat in the back corners far away from the people and just seemed so sad. And the giant panda that everyone was going gaga for was asleep without a good view. It didn't seem like the fun zoo visits I used to have in the states, it was much more melancholy.

The bears broke my heart...

I also was super disappointed by the food choices: 7-11 and McDonalds (and they were busier than the actual zoo part). I loved the animal themed fair food in the States and was disappointed to find the only real food was overpriced food that I didn't need to travel halfway around the world for. I still couldn't help but get excited when I saw the tiger and the leopard as I love jungle cats, and the monkeys and elephants still seemed so happy that the entire zoo excursion wasn't lost. While I was entertained, I still wouldn't recommend this trip unless you have children.

These guys loved the attention. They would puff up and fly from tree to tree to wherever the group was the largest.

The tiger kept far away from the people but he was still beautiful.

Elephents and hippos.

Monkeys always seem to be happy.

Next I met up with my friend Daphne outside of the zoo and we hopped on the Maokong Gondola. It flew us in a glass cable car compartment above the mountain to the top. The sights were beautiful and it's still amazing to me that such beautiful rough mountains exist within the capital city itself. Although it is mandatory to share a car if you are not a group of 5 or 6 but it is cozy and friendly. The other couple we shared the car with was friendly and took our picture but we kept to ourselves throughout most of the trip. It's not a long ride, but not too short to wait a half hour in line to get on either. 

Daphne and I.

The view of Taipei from one side...

The view of the mountainside from the other...

The crystal cabins have glass floors as well.

 At the top of the mountain there are a ton of tea shops, a few trails and temples and plenty of food. We wandered around for a bit and ate wild boar sausages. It was dark when we started back down the mountain and got on the MRT to the Da'an park station (we had no idea it was the first night this station was open) and I would recommend if you want to go anywhere in the da'an area,  go to this station and walk from there.

At the top of the mountain.

One of the many mountainside restaurants.

The food is amazing.

The station itself it like a park and it's actually connected to the Da'an park, so the atmosphere is great. We went to the amphitheater in the middle of the park. There was a free traditional drum performance at 7:30 by Utheater (www.utheater.org) and we were dumbfounded to find how big of a deal it was. The mayor of Taipei introduced them and it was a beautiful professional show. There was very little speaking and I was able to follow the storyline fairly well, but luckily my Taiwanese friend Daphne was there to help me along.

The mayor is the one in the white shirt, kicking off the show.

These guys were phenomenal!

The lead role.

Before heading home we stopped by the Shida nightmarket not far away (although we took a taxi partway there) to get some fire and ice bread and milk tea and browse the shops. Fire and ice bread is perfect for the foreigner who is homesick. It is a large warm bun filled with a cold custard that tastes like butter. It's just like grandmas dinner rolls. This night market is awesome. It is indoor botiques that line the tidy brick alleyways in a European fashion with the food carts placed throughout. It is highly organized and spacious and a nice walk, even if you aren't in the mood to buy.

Although I've been to Taipei many times already this is the first time that I have made a trip out of it and am happy to have found that it is a very diverse city. From the jade market to the flower market to the gay bar district to the vastly different nightmarkets and the mountains with hiking trails located within the metropolis, it is a place that you cannot make just one trip out of; there is always something new to find!

An Adventure in Chia-yi with Typhoon Usagi Approaching

After a very full morning of climbing Tashan mountain, exporing a few temples and incredibly large trees around the area, having a nice local breakfast followed by a hot shower, Ella and I hopped the bus back down the mountain to an odd little city called Chia-yi, where we would be staying another night before returning home. Buzz had been stirring about Typhoon Usagi for a week or so, and many had cancelled their trips. We decided that we would rather sit in a hotel room watching movies and drinking rather than in our homes watching movies and drinking, and often times talk about typhoons is just that: talk. Luckily there had been no signs of a typhoon yet in the mountains and since it had deterred many tourists from coming it wasn't unpleasantly packed either.

We checked in to the Shin Kao Hotel about two minutes away from the train station. We soon concluded that we had gotten quite the deal with our cheap find of 830 NT (about 28 USD) for the both of us. The shower pressure was astonishing, the bathroom was large, the A/C was new, and cable and internet were included. The bed was a bit hard but both of us like hard mattresses and both woke well rested.

There are some good things about Chia-yi and some not-so-good things. For one, I don't believe that they are very accustomed to foriegners. We are both living in places where we rarely see another foriegner and so we are accustomed to cellphone shots, cars stopping in the middle of the road, and people calling out to say hello to us. What we are not used to is virtually every single person we pass stepping in our path to say hello. However, the parks are enormous and always seem to have music or perfomances on the corners. Chia-yi offers a multitude of free to cheap things to do. We stopped at the cultural center to look at the pottery museum (free). And hit a few of the largest temples I have ever seen before taking a break to watch some old people exercise in the park.

A sculpture are the Pottery Museum. The details were incredible!

Chengyuang temple.

The shopping in the nightmarket is great, but it wouldn't be my favorite night market. The streets are not closed to cars and scooters and it makes it diffucult to navigate, and there were smoothie stands and stinky tofu but little other options for food. The city lay out as a whole is very easy to navigate as all of the roads seem spread out like a starburst with a big fountain in the center.

We didn't spend much time in the night market as we were on the look out for dinner. But between the nightmarket and one of the large parks we found an acclectic burger joint named Cato with an American theme and delicious, although unique burgers. I had a squid burger. It was phenomenal.

Cato. Great burgers!

I am happy that Bogie is one thing that represents the US in Taiwan...not so happy that the other is Will Farrel...

The day started with the best coffee that I have found in Taiwan. We actually passed the place thinking it was someone's home, and I'm still certain it doubles as a living space. The man did not speak English but he understood what we wanted and bustled away, with his young daughter helpfully near and curiously watching us.

Love my coffee!

I really thought it was someone's house!

Then we were off to Runyar lake, thinking it would be a nice little walk. Wrong. Once again we were lost, although this time we both maintain that it was the misleading map. It made the trip seem as if it were a 20 minute walk. After 20 minutes we were wandering around Chia-yi University with no idea where to go. We made friends with a security guard who spoke a little broken English and he got us into a car. We drove for about 15 minutes before we found the Cafe that we were looking for. The name is "Cafe" and it is completely hidden unless you are looking for it. But if you have a sweet tooth you should make this a stop. Or if you like good coffee. Or if you like breathtaking views. Or if you enjoy eating outside on the roof or patio (something that is a rare gem in Taiwan).

The view from the Cafe roof.

I love eating chocolate waffles with this view!

Again I state, I love my coffee!

Our last stop was the 100 year old park. This has to be the most culture that I have seen in one space in Taiwan. The architecture was stunning, the gardens were beautiful, Paintings and sculptures were placed throughout and wildlife lurked quietly in the bushes. We even watched the sword dancers practicing for a while. This is a must see for visitors of central Taiwan.

After some research, I think this little guys is and Asian Dowicher. He let me get super close although he kept an eye on me!

I loved this park, it was so beautiful!

And enormous!

As we were walking back to our hotel we got a call from a friend. The typhoon that they had been talking about for days had turned to a level 5. She told us that we had better get home. In a panic we grabbed our bags from the hotel an hopped on the first train back. Only once on the train and almost home did we realize that there were no signs of a typhoon. Not even sprinkling. Finally we looked it up and found that the typhoon had hi only the southern tip of Taiwan, about 100 miles south of us and was curving right around us and was going to slam into China. So while we were in no danger of the typhoon we definately felt the butterflies that come along with travelling in one. With the destruction and flooding that it had left in the Phillipeans and southern Taiwan, were were grateful to not have any confrontations with Usagi.

Climbing Mountains Before Breakfast Time

Ella and I were up and dressed before 4 AM. In the lobby I poured enough coffee to make the locals look at me wide eyed. We were already on the trail by 4:10 with a camera, some water, an umbrella, a blanket and about 6 mooncakes stuffed into a backpack. Our plan was to have a nice breakfast at the Alishan Mountain viewing platform while watching the sunrise--the thing that Alishan is most famous for. I had seen the pictures of the sun rising above a sea of clouds that completely engulf the mountain tops. The way the sunlight bounces off the drops of water sets the entire sky ablaze. We were going to hike up there early to get a good spot instead of taking the train with the 100+ Chinese tourists--we wanted a good view.

And so we departed from the manicured walking paths of the tourist trails of the Alishan National Forest Recreation Center and entered into the rugged paths winding through a forest in the dark with only a cellphone flashlight. As we passed the eerie and silent Elder Sister pond we both had goosebumps up our spine. We refused to acknowledge how creepy the thick forests were when you could only see a few feet ahead of you. The darkness was so thick that I mistook the deck to the gondola in the middle of the completely still pond for a bridge and came far too close to falling off the end and into the pond. We listened for noises of animals that would be unfamiliar to us, but really, what could we have done in the dark if a wild boar charged at us in the dead of night? But we pushed those thoughts to the back of our minds and continued onwards. This was going to be worth it.

At least that's what we thought when we started. At 10 to 5 after climbing endless stairs (and with endless complaining) our hearts sunk as we realized that we were going to miss the sunrise. It was befuddling. Everywhere that we had checked said that the hike would only be 20 minutes long, how were we still on the trail? At every bend of the staircase we would say "It must be just around that corner!" and after every corner our hearts would fall to see more stairs. After an hour and a half of climbing straight up a mountain I was angry at the forest, angry at the stairs, angry at the guidebook and angry at myself for believing the guidebook, and for the past half hour I had been only moving onwards so that we could take the train back because I knew that there was no way that I was going to be able to make the hike back. I'm not fat by all means but I swear I'm allergic to exercise and Ella and I were literally lifting our shaking legs up the stairs one by one with our hands because they were refusing to rais high enough to reach the next step on their own. I sat down and told her I would catch up. I was done; ready to take a nap in the middle of the trail in the the Alishan forest.

Then I heard her yell "You should come see this!" So I hauled myself up and slowly made my way up the mountahin to where she was. I was past believing that the platform was anywhere near us so my curiousity moved me forward. I had yet to see the rising sun but I noticed that it was light enough to turn off the flashlight. I was on the edge of a cliff and looking down at the smaller mountains against a pale sky. I even identified the little town that we were staying in, just barely as it was only a cluster of white dots, but it is the only town on the mountain with a train stop so I was sure it was our town. I was dumbstruck buy the beauty and the distance we had walked.

This is the town that we were staying in in the Alishan National Forest Recreation Center.

I found Ella only a little farther up the trail on a bridge between two mountains with a sign reading "The Panoramic View." And was it panoramic! All of the trees were cleared with a view of mountain after mountain below a pale pink sky! I looked at Ella and said "I take it back. This was worth it." We were alone on the side of Tashan Mountain with a breathtaking view at 5:15 AM, before most people have even woken. As if on cue, the sun rose. It broke above the mountain in quick, bright splendor. It was not above the clouds like the view we had set out to see but we wouldn't trade that pure, crisp, golden sunrise alone on the side of a mountain for a sunrise above the clouds while packed in a viewing platform with hundreds of Chinese tourists for anything.

A panoramic view!

A golden sunrise

By now we had accepted that we were on the wrong trail and decided to hike back rather than become incapacitated. We were fueled by our excitement of the view our fatigue died; we knew we could make the trek back--especially since it was all down hill this time. And our delight grew as we walked home. The darkness had shielded amazingly beautiful landscapes of woods, railroad ties, mountains, and bridges. We were amazed that we had trudged through this forest in absolute darkness. Those moss covered stairs in the first hour of sunlight were gorgeous--we hated to love them. As we crossed the bridge above the railroad, we heard the train. We watched it approach, felt it pass beneath us, watched it leave and saw the man running the signals on the ground hop aboard as it passed like he was jumping over a mud puddle.

Once halfway down the mountain we found a map that we had passed unseen in the dark. We realized that we were on the wrong mountain to find the sunrise viewing platform.

Passing Elder Sister pond in the morning light was like a picture from an ancient Chinese storybook. It was something that I wouldn't have believed was a real sighting if I didn't have the pictures to remind me. It was not at all like the still creepy vision we had seen only hours ago.

Elder Sister pond

Once we got back to the hotel we read the guide book. It clearly stated that the bus to the train that would take us to the viewing platform was only 20 minutes away. Oh, that group of people standing in front of the building that we passed shortly into our journey who seemed to be waiting for something? Yes. There was no trail that led all of the way to the viewing platform. Instead of feeling bitter at our folly, we were grateful. Once again, Ella and I had stumbled into something that nobody else had the chance to experience. And I maintain that our sunset was the better of the two.

And then, we finally ate our breakfast of bacon cheese dan bing around 9 AM. What an experience!