Taipei, Day 1

Taipei's reputation as a city of food is not undeserved. I feel as if I'm always smelling something tasty, no matter where I am. The sheer number of shopfronts is already amazing; add street carts to that, and it is a culinary delight. The Taipei Main Station doesn't just boast a single food court... there are FOUR, separated by cuisine (there's one dedicated to just curry, for example!). In some ways, I am struck by indecision... so much food, and my stomach is so small! I already lament the fact that there is no way I can possibly eat everything I want within the confines of this visit.

I started off the morning in grand breakfast style: a slice of turnip cake, a sticky rice roll, and some fresh soymilk.

Food in picture is larger than it appears. The cup of soy milk isn't in a
measley 12oz container... it must have been at least 20oz.

Wow. I was impressed; the food was simple but absolutely delicious. The rice roll was stuffed with pork floss, pickled vegetables, and bits of 油條... a seemingly odd assortment, but it was actually quite good. The star though was the soy milk. It was so smooth, with no chalky-raw-bean taste that can often happen with fresh soy milk. It will be difficult to force myself to try something new tomorrow morning!

My hunger sated, I wandered around central Taipei. The Taipei Main station itself is huge, a sprawling labyrinth of shops interspersed with train platforms. A few neighboring metro stations are actually interconnected with the main station, forming a giant network.

The main room of Taipei Main Station

I eventually made my way to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial for a little sightseeing. The complex was impressively big, a beautiful tribute to a national leader.

Look how tiny the tourists look!

I made it to the top! The two buildings on the right and left are the
National Theater and the National Concert Hall.

A peaceful park surrounds the memorial grounds.

This evening, I planned on walking to the nearby Ningxia Night Market (寧夏夜市). It was theoretically located about 20 minutes away from where I was staying... very manageable. However, one wrong turn and I ended up far far in a totally different direction. So my night market adventures will have to wait until tomorrow evening. But I don't feel too bad though; I had some yummy noodles (醡醬麵) for dinner instead.

Taiwan is delicious!