Longshan Temple (龍山寺) @ Taipei

We actually stumbled into this temple by accident and didn't know that it is quite famous in Taipei, something like what Wong Tai Sin temple to Hong Kong. To get to the temple is actually quite easy. Even the MRT station is named after the temple and you definitely can't miss it. Stop at Longshan Temple station at the Ban Nan line. Once you walked out from the station, you will spot this temple.


What we didn't expect that it would be so crowded and smacked in the middle of the town just like the Wong Tai Sin in Hong Kong.

Food to Eat in Shih Lin Night Market, Taipei

Opera going on when we reached Shih Lin night market

The temple in Shih Lin

Temple

Finally, it's the last entry on food in Taiwan. This time, it's all about food in the night market in Shih Lin. Actually, the title kind of misleading as it combines food from Shih Lin night market and also the breakfast shop that we love so much which is nearby to the hotel we stay in XiMenDing, Good Ground Hotel. Not exactly a hotel I would recommend but this shop, I totally recommend it. 

To get to Shih Lin night market, take the MRT and stop at Jian Tan station instead of Shih Lin station.

one of the famous bun

the sesame bun

the famous potato and very long queue too

eating at the road side in Shih Lin

the most spicy curry ever

only Leng can take this

the Japanese restaurant where we had the curry (in XiMenDing)

dessert stall in Shih Lin

our dinner, not too tasty

 The place we had the best breakfast, located in Xi Men Ding near to Good Ground Hotel

If you notice, that most of my food photos were taken from Leng, my travel mate as I was too busy eating than taking shots of the food.

More of must eat night market food in Zi Qiang night market in Hualien and Feng Jia night market in Tai Chung here. 

Beitou Hot Spring @ Taipei, Taiwan

Finally we reached

The trip to Beitou hot spring is a short one, just a day trip from Taipei. It's part of our schedule on the same day we head to Yang Ming Shan and Dan Shui. From Yang Ming Shan, we took a bus back to the MRT and took the MRT red line and stopped at Beitou. From the Beitou station, we changed to another line which reached directly to the hot spring at Xin Beitou stop. 

We didnt get to dip our feet at the hot spring as the area for public is closed. Instead we went to the Geothermal Valley and the Beitou Spring Museum which are free admission. 

walking towards the Geothermal valley

So much of smoke

Inside the Beitou spring museum. No shoes are allowed

Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial

The memorial is built in memory of  former President Chiang Kai - Shek. It is situated at the heart of Taipei and easily accesible via the MRT. There's stop named after the memorial and so you cant miss it. 

 

We only managed to visit the memorial on the last day of our Taiwan trip right before our flight back. And we made a right decision to come early in the morning, I think as early as 8am before the truckload of tourists came pouring into the Liberty square (the square where the famous memorial located). Due to time constraint, we only managed to view the place from outside (anyway I am not a fan of museum or historical places) but for those who wanted to know more about the place, it's worth a visit.

It would be picture perfect if the Malaysian tourist group is not there

One of the four 'entrance'

the memorial

Jiu Fen 九份, Taiwan (25 March 2011)

the crowd


narrow streets of Jiu Fen

Jiu Fen is located about an hour away from Taipei. Jiu Fen used to be a mining town back in the 1950s but today it was considered one of the hot tourist spost in Taipei.

Hence, we decided to join the crowd and went to JiuFen for a day trip from Taipei. To get to Jiu Fen, we took the MRT to Songsan station and took a bus (Keelung bus). Look out for bus going towards JinGuaShi 金瓜石

The winding and narrow streets of JiuFen is full of shops and restaurants catered for the tourists. Some of the famous food here are the taro balls, ice cream popiah and lots of shops selling mochi. JiuFen is also a perfect place for photographers as the town is picturesqure in every corner. It's a pity that we didnt stay on for the night view as it started raining in the afternoon.

To get out of JiuFen, walk towards the 7-11 store and wait for the bus going towards Taipei.

view from the top

a woman selling fried mushroom


the place we had Taro balls


delicious 'kuih'


the famous teahouse in Jiu Fen




every street is a postcard view!

Yang Ming Shan National Park @ Taipei, Taiwan

the pink cherries against the green

I was being told by a friend that Yangmingshan 陽明山國家公園 is a must especially during the cherry blossom season in March. Since we were there during the spring season, we made a day trip from XiMenDing. To get to the national park, one can take the bus no 260 across exit 3 of XiMen MRT station which cost roughly around NTD 30. The journey is about an hour plus. What we didnt expect that it would be extremely cold to hike those trails in the park as the temperature dropped until around the tens.

So instead of walking around the park, we just walked till the place where there's plenty of cherry blossoms. It was quite a sight to see such beautiful scenary although I wished it could be warmer but then if it was warmer, I guess the cherry will die faster..haha

bonzai (L) and lonely bench (R)








capturing the reflection

Anyway, we spend just a few hours walking around and then headed to Beitou from the park.