Taiwan Part II

I feel like I’m describing the entire itinerary out for everyone to know, which is something I don’t usually do, but oh well it’s good sharing so here goes – Part II of the trip review!

On the second day we took the MRT to 淡水, Danshui, or Tamshui, which is North of Taipei, still within Taipei. It’s at the end of the MRT line and the ride there was above ground so we got to see a lot of houses and dwellings the Taiwanese people live in, and the greenery and mountains etc.

Their MRT seats are positioned differently from ours, theirs take up more space. Anyway, I’ve got to mention this – their public transport system and signs all have English names along with the Chinese ones, which makes things much more easier for foreigners or people who are unable to read Chinese (or 繁体字). The signs in the MRT are very big and clear too, and there are maps of the vicinity all around, similar to the ones in Singapore.

Look at this!
 
It’s so interesting. You literally stand in that zone/box I think, and it’s there because some MRT stations are more ulu at night, so to provide a safe environment for females, there’s a video camera aimed directly at that spot/box, so when females stand there, they know that everything is captured by camera, and there’s a greater sense of security.

 

This is the Danshui MRT Station from the exterior. That place is very breezy and quite quiet on weekdays. Danshui’s known for its Old Street, 淡水老街. Actually it seems that most places in Taiwan that are known for their old streets and the traditional snacks/food found there.

 
Rows of motorcycles lined along Danshui Old Street. Many people in Taiwan use the motorbike/scooter as a transportation method. The roads in Taipei even have a little box just for motorcycles, lemme dig that photo out…

 
There! Haha! (:

Danshui’s also famous for the 鐵蛋 Iron Eggs, many stalls sell that snack:


It tastes like braised egg, just that it’s harder and has a saltier yolk. The taste didn’t remind me of century egg at all. The internet says they are eggs which have been repeatedly stewed in a mix of spices, and air dried. Love it!! It would go great with porridge.

And because Danshui is a sea-side district (it used to be a port I think, or centre of shipping and commerce), their fishballs are freshly made and are sold everywhere. Lunch was 淡水魚丸, they’re similar to Fuzhou fishballs, stuffed with meat and garlic and served in 清汤. We ate at 可口魚丸, one of the oldest stalls selling fishball soup in Danshui. The fishballs in Taiwan taste different from those here, theirs are more firm and chewy. I loved the wanton that came with the fishball soup, they were very flavourful.

Another thing to try in Danshui is 阿給 Ah Gei, deep-fried tofu stuffed with vermicelli and sealed with fish paste, served with sweet and slightly spicy sauce. It’s quite interesting, but tastes like what you would expect, tofu + vermicelli. The sauce made all the difference though!

We tried 臭豆腐 over there, my parents liked it but I thought it was okay. My first time trying smelly tofu! It tastes like normal tofu to me, it’s just the smell that makes it outstanding haha (:

Enough of food – there’s this place in Danshui that is popular with tourists, Fisherman’s Wharf or 漁人碼頭. We took a ferry there, but bus-ing is an option too. There actually isn’t a lot to see, just the quite grand Lover’s Bridge, and a building selling Danshui delicacies like crispy seaweed, fish floss etc, and a few eateries including Subway haha and another restaurant. The wind was so strong though, and the sun was so hot. Good thing it’s not humid like Singapore.

 

At night we went to 中正紀念堂, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, a monument erected in the memory of 蔣介石, a key figure who played quite a significant role in part of China’s history. I don’t know much about him except that he’s linked to Guomindang; I remember learning about him during BSP lessons in NY, but didn’t pay much attention to the lessons then.

Anyway the monument stands at the edge of a vast square, and is flanked by the National Theatre and National Concert Hall. It really is grand, and because we went at night, it wasn’t crowded at all, and very nice for an evening/night stroll, or even jogging, yeah there were people jogging there.

This is the entrance, and the building visible in the middle of the picture, at the back, is the Memorial Hall:

The two flights of stairs have 89 steps each to represent Chiang Kai-Shek’s age at the time of his death, according to Wikipedia, haha. I didn’t realise there were so many. We didn’t get to go inside the hall itself, I think it was closed.

This is either the theatre or the concert hall, I’m not sure which, but it’s bustling with more people because there’s a restaurant and bookstore inside if I’m not wrong. Anyhow, the architecture and grandeur of it all is really grand.

Yup, end of Day 2. Till the next post :)