Japan/Taiwan Day 11
Day 11 - Wandering around Taipei
We woke up and headed towards a shrine which Angie used to go to often when she was a child. We planned to grab food from a street vendor on the way, but that turned out somewhat more difficult than we thought. I guess we were late for breakfast since most shops were closing or closed when we were going by them. Taiwan must have some very specific times for food! Anyway, we eventually found a place which was in the process of closing which we basically just bought whatever they had left. It wasn't bad, but I can't remember what it was since we didn't take pictures.
Anyway, after breakfast, we made our way to "Angie's Shrine" (Zhishan Temple) which is on top of a hill in Taipei. Its a nice, quiet shrine that isn't very touristy. We walked around the temple and Angie did a round of incense and such.
Entry gate thingy (https://goo.gl/photos/Mdbe6AyEcJtnUP3s6)
A view of the path up the hill/mountain. There were many statues which lined the path up which seemed to have stories around them. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZZpVJEmLLCv1NrbN9)
At the top, the temple has a open area which is surrounded by a wall with scenes on it from history or mythology. (https://goo.gl/photos/AUJ5GZG7mLJN1Lvt5)
Expanded view of the wall. (https://goo.gl/photos/xjWL2u2jSR4R1Fhd7)
I liked this tree. (https://goo.gl/photos/aRmL5xUYvzmAYziK6)
After lighting incense and making her rounds, Angie burned some paper money at this structure. Paper money is fake money that you burn for your dead ancestors. I think its called paper money, but maybe it has a better name. (https://goo.gl/photos/FZ5yJWNixaGD4ork7)
Afterwards, we went to QSquared which is a fancy mall to meet up with Larry, one of Angie's cousins (her favorite one). QSquared is a bit too fancy for us, but we wandered around the food court and pastry areas while waiting. We scouted places to eat, and gave Larry and his wife a couple of options when they showed up. They went with a Japanese place were you grill your own food, although neither Angie or I did that like noobs.
I got some sort of fish (which was very good) with rice and soup. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZGXjpKZmnvan86yH9)
Angie had some sort of sashimi bowl, which is sashimi parts over rice with possibly other stuff. (https://goo.gl/photos/M69tnyvjzHARFqZq6)
Part I of Larry's multi-part meal. (https://goo.gl/photos/ByRvX9tUbmZivVKy9)
Part II (https://goo.gl/photos/SMc9HPRaMmoMiEmU6)
Part III, which Angie and I may have eaten. (https://goo.gl/photos/Acqv9nUxpZ8tEKDx9)
Helen's hot pot like thing. (https://goo.gl/photos/PRrDLK9NuzW6bjucA)
Her dangling bits of meat. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZjpkAocVwWwUCGb36)
Larry definitely seems more like Angie's type of person compared to Ronald (his brother). And Helen also seemed pretty easy-going. Although, this is all based on very limited language abilities from me. Although later, Angie said that Larry's English is pretty good, so my quick one-two word answer may have seemed short. When we hang out with Angie's relatives, I typically just sit there and smile. Sometimes, someone will ask me something in English and I guess I don't know how good their English is, so I typically answer quickly and shortly. So I wonder if the better English speakers think I'm weird.
Anyway, after eating lunch, Angie and I went to an ice place that Larry/Helen recommended. We planned to have ice and street food instead of dinner this day. Anyway, we went to the place before the line was very long.
I wonder how many of CNN's top 10 food places are in Taipei since I saw at least 3 or 4. (https://goo.gl/photos/sVatyfNXQdJqDXsy8)
Unamused napkin holder (https://goo.gl/photos/9FDeqLfJ4trbxbCy9)
I got some sort of coffee flavor which came with red beans one the side. It was pretty giant! (https://goo.gl/photos/8iKzjqUcDdYMwdZb6)
I'm guessing this is some sort of chocolate with ice cream. (https://goo.gl/photos/JEqWdjRWdJ59q5Dc9)
We then possibly bought some more pastries or food for bringing back to the US. Dropping them off at the hotel, they had these cute pens, which I wasn't a shill enough to get one (make a TripAdvisor review).
Cute, but not a corportate shill (https://goo.gl/photos/z6KZjMJS8fZFEH7Q8)
Anyway, after resting in the hotel for a little, we went to "Angie's" nightmarket which is the Shilin night market, which apparently is the biggest and most popular one in Taipei. So we wandered around through various spots finding food and browsing shops.
This was actually in the underground portion. Its a sausage stuffed sausage, which somehow wasn't nearly as good as it sounded. The "outer" sausage was kind of rice-like so I think the bigger sausage would have just been better by itself. But Helen recommended it, so we tried it.(https://goo.gl/photos/AW58LDELDV6NtkEX9)
This was a stinky tofu place which Angie said was extremely authentic (she was very happy when she said it). Apparently signs of authenticity include plates wrapped in plastic and being given just bags when you get an order to go. (https://goo.gl/photos/kJiRDyUS9Lb3a7qz6)
Stinky tofu is a food which Angie loves and I could not eat. I think the tofu is properly named and so stinky and foul tasting. I remember biting into one for the first time and the juices almost made me gag. She's had it from various places in the US (NYC and NJ) and Taiwan, but claims to have never been able to find the correct one. So I always thought she was just crazy and its just something that we disagree on. Even when talking to Larry, he asked if I ate stinky tofu and I said no with a sad face. He said I just needed to find good stinky tofu. But I have to admit that this stinky tofu was much better than the previous ones that I had. So I can see why Angie thinks this one is "correct" versus the other ones we ate. I could actually eat and enjoy it (versus just eating to try it and being sad). So I guess this was a bit "event" from this trip: realizing that my wife wasn't totally crazy =P
We also got this at some point and it was a slimey noodle soup which was oyster or clam based. Again, a food that Angie grew up with and it was pretty good. (https://goo.gl/photos/B1M7u2Y2ApXA7q487)
And walking around, there was an arcade with a nice Iron Man display. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZoA5pPE8GftdDDkT6)
An interesting (to me at least) note, Captain America: Civil War released earlier in Taiwan than the US. We actually missed the release by a few days (next time we should schedule our vacations to match releases). That would have been cool to see it earlier by a few weeks. And I do wonder why they don't just release movies internationally all at the same time.
In other news, this weekend was good and relaxing. Neither of the families had a get together so we were able to just be lazy. We did some clothes shopping on Saturday. Unknown to me, everywhere was having sales so that turned out well since I bought a few things for work. I also played a lot of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Oh, on Sunday, we watched X-Men: Apocalypse, which was eh/okay/etc. It wasn't like bad, but neither was it good. It just was. And yesterday, we did some planting of plants which Angie's mom gave us. Also lots of laziness.
And stupid Warriors and their stupid 3s. Just chuck up 3s all day. I'm like an old person who hates on their game, I guess. But I imagine they should be able to at least beat the stupid Cavs.
Also, Lady's on a different mind/brain medication for a week or two now. She was getting worse (pacing and panic) and really had issues sleeping the night. So far, she seems better: less panic, less food/water strikes, better sleep. Since she's been on the new meds, we only had to wake up once a night. But yesterday, she kept getting up, but I think that was more due to the heat. I guess we'll just have to use the AC more.
We woke up and headed towards a shrine which Angie used to go to often when she was a child. We planned to grab food from a street vendor on the way, but that turned out somewhat more difficult than we thought. I guess we were late for breakfast since most shops were closing or closed when we were going by them. Taiwan must have some very specific times for food! Anyway, we eventually found a place which was in the process of closing which we basically just bought whatever they had left. It wasn't bad, but I can't remember what it was since we didn't take pictures.
Anyway, after breakfast, we made our way to "Angie's Shrine" (Zhishan Temple) which is on top of a hill in Taipei. Its a nice, quiet shrine that isn't very touristy. We walked around the temple and Angie did a round of incense and such.
Entry gate thingy (https://goo.gl/photos/Mdbe6AyEcJtnUP3s6)
A view of the path up the hill/mountain. There were many statues which lined the path up which seemed to have stories around them. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZZpVJEmLLCv1NrbN9)
At the top, the temple has a open area which is surrounded by a wall with scenes on it from history or mythology. (https://goo.gl/photos/AUJ5GZG7mLJN1Lvt5)
Expanded view of the wall. (https://goo.gl/photos/xjWL2u2jSR4R1Fhd7)
I liked this tree. (https://goo.gl/photos/aRmL5xUYvzmAYziK6)
After lighting incense and making her rounds, Angie burned some paper money at this structure. Paper money is fake money that you burn for your dead ancestors. I think its called paper money, but maybe it has a better name. (https://goo.gl/photos/FZ5yJWNixaGD4ork7)
Afterwards, we went to QSquared which is a fancy mall to meet up with Larry, one of Angie's cousins (her favorite one). QSquared is a bit too fancy for us, but we wandered around the food court and pastry areas while waiting. We scouted places to eat, and gave Larry and his wife a couple of options when they showed up. They went with a Japanese place were you grill your own food, although neither Angie or I did that like noobs.
I got some sort of fish (which was very good) with rice and soup. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZGXjpKZmnvan86yH9)
Angie had some sort of sashimi bowl, which is sashimi parts over rice with possibly other stuff. (https://goo.gl/photos/M69tnyvjzHARFqZq6)
Part I of Larry's multi-part meal. (https://goo.gl/photos/ByRvX9tUbmZivVKy9)
Part II (https://goo.gl/photos/SMc9HPRaMmoMiEmU6)
Part III, which Angie and I may have eaten. (https://goo.gl/photos/Acqv9nUxpZ8tEKDx9)
Helen's hot pot like thing. (https://goo.gl/photos/PRrDLK9NuzW6bjucA)
Her dangling bits of meat. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZjpkAocVwWwUCGb36)
Larry definitely seems more like Angie's type of person compared to Ronald (his brother). And Helen also seemed pretty easy-going. Although, this is all based on very limited language abilities from me. Although later, Angie said that Larry's English is pretty good, so my quick one-two word answer may have seemed short. When we hang out with Angie's relatives, I typically just sit there and smile. Sometimes, someone will ask me something in English and I guess I don't know how good their English is, so I typically answer quickly and shortly. So I wonder if the better English speakers think I'm weird.
Anyway, after eating lunch, Angie and I went to an ice place that Larry/Helen recommended. We planned to have ice and street food instead of dinner this day. Anyway, we went to the place before the line was very long.
I wonder how many of CNN's top 10 food places are in Taipei since I saw at least 3 or 4. (https://goo.gl/photos/sVatyfNXQdJqDXsy8)
Unamused napkin holder (https://goo.gl/photos/9FDeqLfJ4trbxbCy9)
I got some sort of coffee flavor which came with red beans one the side. It was pretty giant! (https://goo.gl/photos/8iKzjqUcDdYMwdZb6)
I'm guessing this is some sort of chocolate with ice cream. (https://goo.gl/photos/JEqWdjRWdJ59q5Dc9)
We then possibly bought some more pastries or food for bringing back to the US. Dropping them off at the hotel, they had these cute pens, which I wasn't a shill enough to get one (make a TripAdvisor review).
Cute, but not a corportate shill (https://goo.gl/photos/z6KZjMJS8fZFEH7Q8)
Anyway, after resting in the hotel for a little, we went to "Angie's" nightmarket which is the Shilin night market, which apparently is the biggest and most popular one in Taipei. So we wandered around through various spots finding food and browsing shops.
This was actually in the underground portion. Its a sausage stuffed sausage, which somehow wasn't nearly as good as it sounded. The "outer" sausage was kind of rice-like so I think the bigger sausage would have just been better by itself. But Helen recommended it, so we tried it.(https://goo.gl/photos/AW58LDELDV6NtkEX9)
This was a stinky tofu place which Angie said was extremely authentic (she was very happy when she said it). Apparently signs of authenticity include plates wrapped in plastic and being given just bags when you get an order to go. (https://goo.gl/photos/kJiRDyUS9Lb3a7qz6)
Stinky tofu is a food which Angie loves and I could not eat. I think the tofu is properly named and so stinky and foul tasting. I remember biting into one for the first time and the juices almost made me gag. She's had it from various places in the US (NYC and NJ) and Taiwan, but claims to have never been able to find the correct one. So I always thought she was just crazy and its just something that we disagree on. Even when talking to Larry, he asked if I ate stinky tofu and I said no with a sad face. He said I just needed to find good stinky tofu. But I have to admit that this stinky tofu was much better than the previous ones that I had. So I can see why Angie thinks this one is "correct" versus the other ones we ate. I could actually eat and enjoy it (versus just eating to try it and being sad). So I guess this was a bit "event" from this trip: realizing that my wife wasn't totally crazy =P
We also got this at some point and it was a slimey noodle soup which was oyster or clam based. Again, a food that Angie grew up with and it was pretty good. (https://goo.gl/photos/B1M7u2Y2ApXA7q487)
And walking around, there was an arcade with a nice Iron Man display. (https://goo.gl/photos/ZoA5pPE8GftdDDkT6)
An interesting (to me at least) note, Captain America: Civil War released earlier in Taiwan than the US. We actually missed the release by a few days (next time we should schedule our vacations to match releases). That would have been cool to see it earlier by a few weeks. And I do wonder why they don't just release movies internationally all at the same time.
In other news, this weekend was good and relaxing. Neither of the families had a get together so we were able to just be lazy. We did some clothes shopping on Saturday. Unknown to me, everywhere was having sales so that turned out well since I bought a few things for work. I also played a lot of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood. Oh, on Sunday, we watched X-Men: Apocalypse, which was eh/okay/etc. It wasn't like bad, but neither was it good. It just was. And yesterday, we did some planting of plants which Angie's mom gave us. Also lots of laziness.
And stupid Warriors and their stupid 3s. Just chuck up 3s all day. I'm like an old person who hates on their game, I guess. But I imagine they should be able to at least beat the stupid Cavs.
Also, Lady's on a different mind/brain medication for a week or two now. She was getting worse (pacing and panic) and really had issues sleeping the night. So far, she seems better: less panic, less food/water strikes, better sleep. Since she's been on the new meds, we only had to wake up once a night. But yesterday, she kept getting up, but I think that was more due to the heat. I guess we'll just have to use the AC more.