Day 2: Tzu chi, Tamsui

Now with orientation out of the way, we began our full day schedules with events planned from 8 am 'til 10 pm. Today, and for most of the next two weeks, the mornings are dedicated to both Mandarin and culture classes. As time progresses, I'll explain how it's like and what we're doing.

After lunch, we boarded buses that took us to the Tzu Chi Culture and Communication Foundation for a guided tour. A brief introduction, Tzu Chi is a Buddhist organization centered in Taiwan (Buddhism one of the major religions here) that is deeply involved in humanitarian aid - addressing poverty and environmental issues in Taiwan, and response and long-term efforts in disaster-stricken areas.

Tzu Chi Center in Taipei

Tzu Chi plays a significant role in Taiwanese society, running magazines and even a TV station. Their influence is international. Besides disaster relief, they also run offices in cities worldwide including Toronto. I know a few people in the Taiwanese community that are Tzu Chi volunteers and for one year, I also took part in a Mandarin class run by the organization. 

The tour itself was okay - the language barrier was there and the introductory powerpoint presentation explaining the organization and climate change issues were a little unnecessary. Nevertheless, the tour was very welcoming, and gave us the opportunity to see and also admire their work. The main showcase was their efforts in recycling, personally filtering recycling items (bottles from trash, taking the paper labels off the bottles; taking apart and reselling computer parts; separating different types of papers; stacking newspapers neatly, etc.). 

The recycling area. There are 50 000 volunteers daily in centers across Taiwan.

After leaving the Tzu chi buildings, we headed for Tamsui (also spelled Danshui). Meaning "Fresh Water", the town is about a half-hour drive from Taipei, is connected by the Taipei Metro (Rapid Transit), and lies by the sea. About half-way there, we stopped at a restaurant for dinner, serving us Asian dishes including pork blood soup. That dish wasn't touched very much, but it was a good meal.

Nearer to seven, we arrived at Tamsui as the sun began to set (Taiwan's time zone is set so that sunrise and sunset are both quite early - around 5 am and 7 pm at this time of year). Tamsui is a beautiful place - streets in the area are lined with food vendors and games (essentially, a night market of it's own, though smaller than Shilin, the one I went to yesterday). Standing in front of Tamsui Station, you have a partial Taipei skyline to your left, a mountain in front of you, the sea to your right, and the well decorated station behind, with street performers, music, and the smell of food around you. 

 

Top: Tamsui Station; Bottom: Tamsui's downtown waterfront

We spent the evening exploring the downtown Tamsui. Last time I visited Taiwan, we also visited a wharf, famous for its bridge, north of this area. It's even more majestic and prettier than downtown (a picture is here).

Of course, now we get to food. Tamsui's specialties? My mom emailed me in the morning reminding me of the fish-balls, famous in the area along with a lot (a lot a lot a lot) of seafood, fresh from the sea. Vendors sold barbecued squid, steamed mussels, and deep fried clams among many items. Another specialty is "Ah gei", deep fried tofu that is filled wish glassy noodles, topped with fish paste, and accompanied with spices. "Iron eggs" were sold all over the place, freshly made and packaged. They are chicken eggs that have been marinated, then boiled several times and partially dehydrated, resulting in a flavorful egg that is harder and chewier. It's good for a snack - though among other snacks, I don't love them.

Stinky tofu and bubble tea naturally were there too. Another interesting item was their "tall ice cream". Essentially a very high serving of soft-serve ice cream.

Cost? About 65 cents Canadian. Take that McDonald's Value Picks.

I did manage to finish mine, though with the heat, it was melting fairly quickly, and you could see some of the water in the ice cream subliming. And this one wasn't that tall either =/. A picture on the Taiwan travel website shows one that seems to be more than two feet tall. Pending my friend's permission, I'll post a picture of him with his ice cream across the wharf via the ferry. Claim? 3 feet tall =D. At that height though, not many are able to finish the ice cream, with all the melting and tipping. =P

As the sun set, the lights came alive, and we had a great time in Tamsui! Well, maybe except for the mosquitoes. 

Restaurants and street vendors line the waterfront.

A plate of fresh mussels. $150 NT = $4.80 Canadian

   

Tamsui Night Market