8 March 2017
Tomorrow is all new
Eating ramen in Ximending
This is my 4th time in Taipei. I think its awesome. However tomorrow I am going to Hualien, on the east coast, a place I have never been to before.
Actually for the next week I will be on the remote Eastern coast staying in cities smaller than anywhere I have stayed whilst on holidays before, locations with a large Taiwanese Aboriginal population. So I imagine it would be quite different to Taipei but also I imagine it might be exactly the same, I have no idea.
Before that, I had to celebrate the fact it isnt raining by going for a huge walk, 35,000 steps today in case you are as boring a person as me and wear a watch specifically to see how many steps you take and how fast your heart is beating.
I dont really know where my walk went, I just followed the bright lights, and there were many bright lights, and even more scooters.
Along the way I noticed a lot of shop cats, I think Hong Kong has some too, but they are much more common in Taiwan. Even flash western clothes stores have a shop cat, as you will see below.
I then went back via the main station to buy my ticket for tomorrow, and proudly strolled up to the window and explained what I wanted in Chinese, I even understood what she said back to me. But then she said, in perfect English, and I quote 'Hope you enjoyed practicing your Chinese with me, needs more practice!'
Oh, and before I forget, this hotel room is excellent, but full of ants! On day one it was just a couple, but now theres lots. They seem interested in the kettle but it looks clean inside and out to me. It reminds me of my old house in Adelaide which had so many ants tunneling up through the foundations that I dont know how the entire house didnt sink into the ground.
If you dont get enough land for a big temple, just go vertical.
Random street crossing, turned out well for hand held moving photography in the dark.
Antiporno, coming soon! I am guessing its Japanese due to the sailor moon girl who has been disembowled and has teddy bears and kittens coming out of her.
Virtual Reality is big in Taiwan. I have seen several places. They look a bit more industrial and violent compared to the one in QV basement in Melbourne.
However you can watch a video of the game you can play, which seemed to be shooting basketballs from a moving car into a basket on a moving truck whilst half naked girls jump off motorbikes to try and block your shot.
More random steet corner.
Blow torch beef is back! Its small cubes now in a box, not as good as the time I saw a whole steak get blow torched and shoved in a paper bag.
These girls are protesting something with song. Their signs depict diamonds, hand bags, lipstick, and the King of Thailand? I cant read the traditional Chinese writing.
Falun Gong posters are very artistic in Taiwan, which is a very lucrative Falun Gong territory.
This temple has LED scrolling screens, as many do, an ATM, as many do, and a new addition, god like warriors that shoot lasers from their eyes.
Shop cat, in the Adidas store.
My dinner was ramen, the thing on the right is an egg. It was good, 'black' ramen whatever that is, noodles were very good texture but the whole thing needed more chashu, and black fungus would work in black ramen.
The large and impressive looking Taipei main station.
Underneath the station I found another huge mall thing. This one is a bit upmarket, so has no people.