Day 3: A Free Day in Taipei

I'm starting this post at around 2:30 am local time. Hopefully, you can figure out why I'm up. Go Holland!

Yesterday (Day 3) was a Sunday - a free day in the schedule. With no activities scheduled, we were free to explore Taipei for ourselves. Since this was the first free day, many of us, myself included, took the time to visit relatives. While most of my relatives live in southern Taiwan, my eldest cousin Cheng-yi and his wife Pei-yu live in Taipei. My previous trip to Taiwan was to see their wedding; this time, I came to see their kids, two very cute twin boys.

Finding their house with the address, a general Taipei map and basic directions proved to be more difficult than I had thought. I don't get lost often, but I essentially walked around for forty-five minutes before I gave up and called my lifeline. "Ask the audience" didn't work very well, as many were unsure, and several also led me in the wrong direction. The numbering system in Taipei can appear very confusing and complex. I am sure there is some intricate method of organization that's really quite amazing. I hope I can discover that by the end of this trip. Anyways, my cousin was kind enough to drive by in his motor-scooter and bring me to his house. And here are the twins!

Alex, the elder brother by a minute, is on the left; Daniel is on the right.

(switched places)

For lunch, we headed to the SOGO department store just a short walk outside their home. We had planned to go to Taiwan's famous Din Tai Fung restaurant, but its award winning quality also earned the restaurant a waiting time of nearly an hour, even with reservations. So instead, we went to a restaurant at the top floor that turned out to be very delicious, and a pleasant change from the food at the Youth Center and night market dishes.

Yum!

After lunch, I returned to their home, taking pictures of the babies, and talking with my cousin, his wife, and his wife's cousin (who had also joined us for lunch). They tried to help keep my Mandarin skills in touch through conversation, while I amused them with my Taiwanese/Mandarin/English hybrid speaking.

Once Alex and Daniel had started their afternoon nap, my cousin dropped me off at the Eslite Bookstore headquarters in Taipei, where the store stays open 24 hours a day. Like Chapters in Canada, there is also a Starbucks, while the overall atmosphere is very inviting. The solo piano music playing in the background is also quite calming. One thing I learned today though, books aren't much cheaper than they are in Canada. At least not in a department store like this one. The piano book for Love Never Dies still runs for over $30 Canadian, and many other books are similar (though in Taiwan, you don't add tax). 

After browsing the bookstore, I walked around the streets, filled with shops and department stores. Nearby there were two SOGO department stores (including the one we went to for lunch), both at least 11 floors high (plus 2-3 basement floors), each floor for shopping. And each floor was filled with people, as the department stores serve as popular hotspots in Taipei. Well, air conditioned hotspots. With the heat and humidity outside, any place with air conditioning seems inviting, with the heat difference causing my glasses to fog up when I stepped outside the shopping centres.

At six I returned to my cousin's place for dinner. We had beef noodles (牛肉麵!) prepared by Alex and Daniel's nanny. They were very good, though in a different style than my mom's. The meal was followed by fruit, accompanied with bubble tea that was ordered and delivered! I want to thank Cheng-Yi and his family for their wonderful hospitality.

Mmmmm... homemade  牛肉麵 =)

Order on the Phone. Tastier and cheaper than anywhere in North America!

After goodbyes, I took the transit back to Jiantan Station, and spent an hour or so touring the Shilin night market once again. Being the largest night market in Taiwan, there's always more to see, different lanes to walk, different stores to browse, different foods to eat. Then, I returned to the Youth Center for check in, and to clean up after the long day that left me quite tired. I took a two hour nap 'til around 2:15, waking up for the World Cup Final... to see the Netherlands lose?!? =/ 

Oh well. Congrats Spain. Good Luck next time Netherlands. Hopefully South American teams can make a comeback next time as well. =)