The plan for today was to go to Jiu Fen and Shi Fen. I particularly wanted to go to Jiu Fen because the old streets of that area were an inspiration for the movie Spirited Away. Aunt Alice though Shi Fen was fun too because of the giant lanterns. But because of the oncoming typhoon it was not recommended that we go to those areas. Instead we went to Dansui.
There wasn't much to Dansui's Old Street. There were some things I found there that I liked and might return if I don't find them elsewhere because they were more expensive. Dan Sui is also home to the famous Fort San Dominigo but I didn't really feel like going since I'd already seen quite a few forts. As well, due to the typhoon coming there were a lot of sudden rain showers which was annoying too.
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| Don't worry Ga Jie, I'll get a pair for you for sure! |
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| Hello Kitty shaped pineapple pastries! |
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| Huge melon! |
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| Found a penny machine! #5! |
After Dan Sui, we headed back to the hotel. I checked the forecast for the typhoon and saw that it would be hitting the strongest Friday night and Saturday morning. Since I was supposed to meet up with my colleagues Saturday morning at our hotel, I decided it would be best to move all my luggage over there and check in Friday afternoon. Since my colleagues were supposed to arrive at 4am, the rooms were already booked for Friday night so I was able to check in.
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| The hallway |
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| All for me! Whee! |
Although it's been fun going around with my aunt this past week, I've been living alone long enough that I missed my alone time and seeing my new room made me excited to begin work again, being able to stay in one place and going where I wanted and doing what I wanted when I wanted instead of needing to consider another person. I had avoided buying things because I knew I had to cart all this luggage over but now I can!
But since the weather was holding, we decided to go to one more place: the Chang Kai Shek Memorial area. It also included the National Theatre. It was huge and beautiful. It reminded me of a Chinese version of the Washington, DC National Mall area. So big! Funny enough there were a lot of troupes practicing outside. There was an orchestra, a hip hop dance group, a contemporary/pop dance group, and a flag-twirling group. Unfortunately, because of the oncoming typhoon all government workers were told to go home at 2pm and so this area was closed. I'll have to come back another day (especially because I hear there's a penny machine in there!)
Since we were only two subway stops away, we decided to walk back to the hotel and explore the area. Everything was closed or closing but the weather was ok...some scattered showers. We found a nice area on an opposite side of our hotel that I will also be going back to explore. After resting a bit at the hotel, we decided to head out and find dinner before everyone packed up. We chose a dumpling/noodle place in the area we just found. I thought it was delicious! The dumplings tasted like the ones my mom makes, but better skins since they were hand made and not store bought. Must go back before I leave.
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| Pepper bun with meat, recommended by Aunt Alice - great! |
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| Here it comes! |
After that we hid inside our hotel room for the rest of the evening. Poor Aunt Alice had caught a cold so she slept as I read.
So ends my week of non-stop fun. Tomorrow I have to meet my colleagues at the hotel although I'm not sure if they'll be able to land thanks to the typhoon. Then begins my next 4 weeks in Taipei but from here it is time to work so blogging will be sparse. There are still lots of things I want to do in Taipei. I hope I get a chance to do them during my 3 weekends.
End of Day 7!
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