Another Kind of China

Today we left Hong Kong for Taipei. The flights we have been doing seem to be uncommon for non-Asian types like us. The flight attendants never offer us arrival/immigration forms as they seem to think we must just be transferring to some transoceanic flight rather than actually staying. After a lengthy line to go through customs, we took the express train into Taipei. I didn't really spend much time thinking about Taiwan before coming here, so I only had a rough idea of its history and background.

Our first stop after our hotel was the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial area which is like the Lincoln Memorial if Lincoln had made himself a dictator. It's a pretty impressive monument. We were there as the sun was setting, which happens early here so the surrounding buildings and entryways were lit up very shortly after that. Judging by the green landscapes we saw on the train coming into town, it must rain here quite a bit. I used that to my advantage and used this puddle to get a reflection off one of the archways by the memorial.

From there we walked to the Huaxi night market, which is known by a slightly more ominous name of "Snake Alley." Nicole and I both pictured crazed men in dark alleys smoking cigarettes and yelling loudly while ripping snakes apart with their bare hands and drinking their blood on the spot. Apparently that was an inaccurate assumption. In fact, it was more on the lines of family restaurants that just happened to specialize in snake, and served in an unrecognizable form like soup or noodles. I was slightly disappointed.

 We walked around the other areas of the night market and saw all kinds of food, bootleg dvds, clothes, military surplus items, and hello kitty kitsch. It was all very random. We then worked our way to the nearest subway stop which was directly across the street from the Longshan Temple. We decided to check it out. There were prayers going on and many people were lighting incense and candles. The colors at night were very vibrant and the smoke emanating off all the incense and candles created a very dream-like atmosphere.

It's interesting to see how each place we visit is different. Though a short flight from Hong Kong, Taipei feels very different. For one, there are a ton of scooters here, and one is not safe just because they're on the sidewalk. The scooters seem to use these to park, get around traffic, or just because. It's a little nerve-racking. One thing is clear so far, though. Taipei seems to have the fewest tourists of anywhere we've been so far this trip. And I'm ok with that.