Chasamba in Taipei
Cold, rainy and wintry weather isn’t stopping us from exploring the bustling city of Taipei. We really have to thank the Philippine government for making us visit, because it is so expensive to renew visaand flights are so cheap in Asia that it made sense to fly here instead of staying home; so thanks Philippines, it was worth it!
We were lucky to be in Taipei for the Chinese New Year. The temples were full of candles and incense, peole burning pretend money for the ghosts, or ancestors because at this time the division between the spirit world and the real world is supposed to be permeable, and offerings of food heaped on tables and altars. I was surprised to see meat being offered- I thought the temples were partly Buddhist, but other gods are represented too. The temples aren’t really spiritual places; there are people talking on cell phones, people buying things right in the middle and all sorts. I liked that, it is kind of like a secular religion in a way.
Taipei is modern, crowded, 100% online and actually a very pleasant city. The MRT metro system works well and makes it easy to get anywhere around Taipei cheaply and quickly, as well as housing many good shopping areas in huge underground malls which stretch for kilometers and are a nice way of keeping out of the cold outside. It is 14 degrees at midday, a big shock for us after 26 and above in Negros! We have done most of the typical tourist things; Taipei Zoo for the pandas (dejected looking), the gondola for tea houses in the hills (over priced and touristy in the extreme), Taipei Museum ( lots of good pieces, many from the forbidden city), night markets (stinky tofu and sashimi, tasty and reasonable), Beitou for the hot springs ( very very good in this climate and inexpensive if you go to the public one) and both Keelong and Tamsui to look at the fishing harbours. In Keelong we even managed to find a little marina, unfinished as yet and fairly deserted apart from a few local yachts which looked unused and a lot of fishing boats taking advantage of free berths. It would be the best place close to Taipei to stay for a yacht, although Tamsui would probably be possible too.
Taipei 101, nearly the tallest building in the world. We didn’t go up, it was full of tour parties and didn’t look really wonderful enough to queue for an hour.
people burning money at a Taipei temple
a market on a quiet day ( I kid you not!)
Oren having fun in the Naval Museum in Keelong
sea food in Keelong fish market
A sea urchin in Keelong fish market
The sulphur pools close to the source of the hot springs
Beitou hot springs
A new friend?
Smelling in the “Scent Library”, a good way to pass a rainy afternoon
Tamsui harbour
One of the pandas
Taipei Museum
