Pictures from Taipei

On the streets

                                                       

On the streets

Just like Mom used to make

So pretty

Shilin Night Market

End of the Brown Line

Taipei Zoo

A real Giant Panda

Taipei Zoo

Taipei Zoo

Taipei Zoo

We are all a long way from home

The sign behind says "No Crossing". Too bad they closed off the shortcut through the elephant enclosure.

Taipei 101

Taipei 101

Floor 91 of Taipei 101

Bringing it all together

We are becoming experts at public transit

Great zoo, cheap to get it

Taipei at Night

Following what has become our new tradition, dinner at Shilin Night Market, Meagan and I ventured out again into the wet night in search of delicious food and cold beer. Tonight at the market did not disappoint. We took a seat at the counter of a seemingly busy restaurant being careful not to touch the filth the coated the floor. Ordering food was easy with the helpful pictures that accompanied each set of characters. Using a grill that makes the ones at Waffle House seem clean, our cook chopped chicken and onions in a sweet and spicy sauce as he smoked cigarette after cigarette. The chicken mixture which was served on a greasy piece of tin foil tasted exquisite. After tipping 1NT (no one else tipped, but my reputation as a great tipper will continue around the world) we wandered from stall to stall. We decided to sit at another stand for some shrimp dumplings and cold beer. The dumplings which were served in a sweet broth covered with chili flakes were excellent. Washing it all down with a cold Taiwan Beer (think of a crappier, watered down PBR) made for a perfect meal.

On the way back to our hotel, we decided to become more adventurous and take the long way back. That was one of the best decisions all day. As we walked down the wet streets an alley caught our eye. Lined with restaurants and shops on both sides, the ten foot wide alley snaked back to reveal an entire network of shopping alleys. Everything from ugly Nikes to frog eggs were sold in air conditioned stores to tarps laid out in the alley. Stuffed with food, feet tired from the day and the rain beginning to fall again, we strolled back to our hotel ready to do it all over again tomorrow.

Matt

LI Ho

Day 3- Li Ho (Hello!)

So after roughly 13 hours of sleep we have recovered from jet lag. We awoke early and went down to breakfast at our hotel. I was a little nervous after watching travel shows. They say if you are going to get sick it will probably be at the hotel restaurant. However it was DELICIOUS. They had eggs, bacon, ham, hash browns, toast and fruit, all the normal breakfast items. They also had rice soup with an assortment of incident’s to top it form vegetables, squid, to  hard-boiled eggs, and some other stuff we could not even identify.  I am very happy to inform you we did not get sick from any of it.

We walked to the subway and bought a day pass which was 200NT per pass. Which is roughly 6.50 USA.  After three transfers we arrived at the Taipei Zoo. (Which is the largest zoo in Asia)We saw some amazing animals including a couple panda bears. There were also some animals neither of us had seen before. We stopped for lunch at the zoo McDonalds thinking we would be in for some odd Mc-Food. However all we got was some serious stomach aches. Luckily we had purchased some Tai stomach powder, which tasted like ginger and salt, yet worked wonders. (We will be bringing some home J)

Next we hopped back on the subway and went to Taipei 101. The world’s second tallest building at 101 stories; it was the largest until a few months ago.  It takes 40 second to go 88 floors in the elevator, and makes you a little woozy in the process. We did an audio tour and took a ton of pictures. We could see for miles at the top, and got to see all that Taipei has to offer.

WE decided it was time to head back from some rest and a snack before one again venturing out to the Shin Lin night market to sit at a stall and get served some of the most delicious food we have ever eaten.

Best honeymoon ever, and it is only day 3!!!!!

-Meagan

FOOD!

The food in Taipei definitely lives up to all expectations. After arriving in the city early (via two different subway lines and one friendly 7-11 employee) we stashed our bags and headed out to explore the capitol city. Hungry from a 12 hour flight, the first objective automatically became food. The streets, which bustle with mix of people, cars and Vespas, are chocked full of small shops and eateries. Sidewalks are almost impossible to traverse due to congestion and restaurants. People who sell their food from the carts that line the sidewalks and streets have make-shift dining rooms where anyone can sit down to enjoy their delicious, hopefully safe food. At first, ordering food simply meant pointing to the thing the person in front of us got. Eventually, we became frisky enough to point at the different Chinese characters that lined the menus. As we sat together, at a table, in the middle of the sidewalk, a nice lady served us a bowl of everything she offered at her cart. Feeling adventurous and not wanting to insult our gracious host, we consumed every last bite of four pieces of mystery meat and gelatinous noodles. Tasty!

Dinner was an excursion to the famous ShinLin Night Market, where they are known to serve the best fried chicken (thanks Loren) and almost any other fare one could want. Though the market is open-air, the thousands of people crammed into every nook, prevent the air from circulating. Wafting through the market are smells that are unexplainable and unidentifiable.

Matt

Day 2

Day 2- (7-13-2001)

Our plane ride- Air Asia is one of the nicest air lines that I have ever been on. They let us move seats so we would have more room. We were served two meals. Also periodically they came by to give us water. Very pleased.

After a 13 hour plane ride we arrived in Taiwan. The airport was empty because it was 5 in the morning, although we were wide awake because it was 3 ish in the USA.  We quickly found an English speaking person and figured out how to take the public transportation to our hotel. So the U bus, the HSR, and express train( MRS) later we were in Taipei. All of it costing about 15.00 us. We found our way to the hotel, changed close and went out to explore. It was 9:04am and we stumbled Upon “Day Nice coffee and Tea”. They didn’t speak English so we got the same thing as the person before us. We got what I can only describe as an egg sandwich.  It had a fried egg, some sort of veggie patty, thinly sliced onions and a pepper sauce.  It was less than a dollar per sandwich, and it was DELICIOUS! After that we went into the local Family mart, something like a (corner store), and I got a rose tea, and matt got a coffee. We walked around the city taking in the sights. Dead  skinned birds hanging from hooks, live animals in cages in front of stores, Vespa’s everywhere, and I mean everywhere. We happened upon one of the most interesting parks I have ever seen. There were groups of men sitting talking, a ways down were the women who are cooking, chatting, or doing some sort of exercise. The elderly are accompanied by family members for leisurely strolls, and it is here that I sit typing this, under the shade of an India Loral Fig tree.     -Meagan

Day 1

So its official we are married!!! After a full day of running around town like crazy we have a marriage certificate (with an amendment). Someone put the wrong date, and two people used a pen that was out of ink to sign our marriage certificate. Thanks guys J I would be coming after you all right now, but we fixed it!

                Our honeymoon is starting out great. We are right now sitting in the  SF airport waiting for our plane. We have a drink in hand, My HUSBAND is reading a book on Thailand, and we are both incredibly happy to be where we are right now. For those of you who are following this, thank you so much for the help and support that you gave us on our wedding. We had the most amazing night of our lives, surrounded by our closest friends and family. A night neither of us will soon forget, and some of you are probably still trying to remember ;)

Next stop/ Post will be Taipei, Taiwan.

                                                                                -Meagan