Back from vacation V

This is the last of my thoughts on the trip to Taipei. I had wished to do a more detailed reflection, but I guess this will have to do.

Thursday Night: There were still 2 night markets we like to complete before we go but only 1 night left. They are the RaoHe night market and the ShiDa night market. No problem, sez my wife. We will finish one from 6-8 and the other from 8-10. I think she must have forgotten the tired kids. So we took the train from Jiannan to HouShanPi because that is the nearest MRT. At the HouShanPi station, we discover that the nearest road is apparently blocked by a train station. We decided to play it safe with a long detour. Upon reaching RaoHe, we immediately bought this famous 胡椒饼. This is actually one of the famous stalls that I saw on one of those Taiwanese food programs! It was indeed delicious, but also very filling. It is basically a packed bun with beef and lots of veggie, but a peppery crust, YUM! Once again, we ate hotpot for dinner. That was unfortunately again too much food (we had the same experience at Danshui). I think the Taiwanese just have a different level of food intake as a Singaporean. However, my wife did try the pig/duck blood this time, and she loves it. There were also many funny stuff inside the hotpot, but I don't know the names. The shopping area here is much smaller compared to TongHua-LingJiang or ShihLin but it is a buzzing scene nonetheless.

From here, we took a taxi. I told the driver that I want to go to ShiDa night market, and he asked me if I want to go to the ShiDa road one or the Roosevelt road one. According to him, the Roosevelt one is also one street like ShiDa but it has more modern shops. We didn't know about this one because it is not on the map but I have read the cursory mention of this GongGuan night market. Based on the recommendation of the taxi driver, we went this night market instead. I have to say that this night market gave me a good impression. It has an alley type night market area, but it also has a shophouses type shopping area, and if you are bringing a family and needing resting areas and aircons, this is a good place to go. The MRT station is also at the location. The shopping here is also more trendy since it caters to the student crowd from the nearby university.

Friday Day: It is time to go. We are running out of touristy spots, and we decide to go this Children Recreation Park in YuanShan. Big mistake, it either has closed down or it hasn't been completed yet. From there, we went to Zhongshan, since it is supposed to have a touristy place called SPOT Taiwan. It turns out to be an arty-farty place featuring Taiwanese art films. Yawn, sez my less than enthusiastic family. Finally, we ended up with shopping at the shopping centers. Bummer. On the way back to the hotel, I bought the last thing on my must eat list: 肉圆. I have always imagined it to be a giant meat ball, but it turns out to be a medium sized meat ball boiled within a jelly-like outer layer, with generous sauce. It was interesting and juicy.

This wraps up my entire account of my trip. I will surely go again.