Haven't been posting much because of teaching practice but now that it's over, I guess it's time to resume my updates more regularly.
Have really been enjoying my time not doing anything of particular importance and just lazing around for the past few days; it'll be like that for another week before Boracay, following which will be the opening of a new semester at school. I feel like I've been on the longest holiday of my life, so, I'm really looking forward to the start of school!
Anyhow, I'll be sharing some pictures that I've taken on my short trip to Taipei while I was still away on exchange. Nothing that you've not seen in my Facebook album, but with more in-depth descriptions here. Here goes.
Taipei happened right after my last night of deadline-rushing in Hong Kong. I thought that booking my flight on the day of my last assignment deadline would serve as motivation for me to get my work completed more promptly - lesson learnt: it doesn't really work for procrastinators like me, never going to do that again. I was so knackered at the end of the first day it felt terrible.
#1 HKIA.
After checking in at the hostel (TaiwanMex) on the first day, I took the metro (also known as MRT or 捷運) and headed down to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Mall (國立中正紀念堂). The map looked a little confusing to me initially because it was all in Chinese (not that I couldn't understand, just felt a little disoriented) so I asked for directions from two locals and they were so helpful that I couldn't believe it at first.
#2 National Concert Hall (國家音樂廳) at CKS Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂).
This memorial hall was erected in memory of the former president of Taiwan (or Republic of China), Chiang Kai-Shek (蔣介石), after he passed away in the 1970s.
#3 國立中正紀念堂. CKS Memorial Hall.
The memorial hall has four sides and an octagonal roof.
#4 The Climb. 國立中正紀念堂. CKS Memorial Hall.
#5 國立中正紀念堂. CKS Memorial Hall.
The 89 steps on the 2 sets of white stairs that lead to the monument's main entrance represent CKS' age when he died, according to Wikipedia anyway. And yes, I did feel a little short of breath when I finally reached the top.
#6 Inside the main hall; large bronze statue of CKS.
#7 One of the two guards standing at the entrance of the memorial hall. Changing of guards take place every hour but I didn't manage to see that take place.
A few more pictures of the plaza where the monument is located:
#8 Liberty Square (自由廣場)
#9 Grandfather and grand-daughter duo who were feeding the pigeons just moments ago.
Decided to head down to Ximending (西門町) after to take a look at one of Taipei's most famous consumer district.
#10 Just missed my train.
#11 While waiting to leave CKS Memorial Hall Station
#12 阿宗麵線. Dig in!
Had my first taste of the greatly-famed Ah Zong Mee Sua (阿宗麵線) in Ximending and it was delicious! The vermicelli is broken into shorter strands so that it can be more easily eaten with a spoon, gravy/soup that the mee sua is soaked in is viscous and savoury, and the bits of intestine found in the bowl are really chewy. There were not too many people when I arrived late afternoon so service was really prompt; after all it's pre-cooked and all the stallholders had to do were to scoop them into a bowl to be served. I've heard how friends have raved about it but I had no idea what to expect; I wasn't even expecting the shop to not have any dining tables, not that it really mattered. Plastic stools were provided at the shop front, and there were a couple of rotating electric fans standing around to make the heat more bearable.
Heard from a friend much later that this Ah Zong apparently made so much money with his mee sua that he was kidnapped a couple of times. Disclaimer - I don't know how true this hearsay is huh.
Literally translates to Frog Lays Eggs (photo grabbed from Google Images)
Other than the vermicelli, I also tried this drink with a very interesting name, 青蛙下蛋. Basically, the 'eggs' are very similar to the pearls that we find in bubble tea (tasting slightly less sweet). I had half my cup filled with 'frog eggs' (I thought that was a tad too much), and the other half filled with a syrupy liquid that wasn't too sweet. There was nothing mind-blowing about the drink honestly, it's one of those foods that you try only because the name makes it too interesting to give it a pass.
And that, kinda marked my first day in Taipei.
I headed back to my hostel and concussed in bed after; woke up halfway through the night's sleep when I heard my uncle room-mate shuffling out of the room for a toilet break, but I managed to get back to sleep in a bit so all's good.
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