The Raconteur in Me: Taiwan 2011 : Around Taipei

We started our day by making full use of the goodies we got from the Taiwan Tourism Office in Singapore. After redeeming free coffee and masks from 7-11 convenience store, we visited the National Palace Museum. To get there, we took a train down to Shih Lin stop and took a public bus. Unfortunately, it was a wet day and we didn't get to visit the grounds of the museum which is very green and vast.

Entrance of National Palace Museum

Within the museum, visitors are not allowed to take pictures. However, this museum is famous for few of its exhibits such as the miniature toy boxes which was used back in the era of the various dynasties in China as well as the well-known carved cabbage and 3-layer pork. It's definitely worth visiting if you've some time to spare in Taipei.

We went to a nearby noodle house for lunch thereafter. It was just a quiet afternoon and the store was relatively quiet. The owner was practising calligraphy and I thought it was a really interesting sight. Had a bowl of simple beef noodles and pork lard rice!

The uncle practising calligraphy in the restaurant

Following that, we took a train towards Dan Shui to visit the Fisherman's whaft. This place is more like a fishing port, so if you've not been to any, it is definitely a great sight as you will see many fishermen. I realised many buildings in Dan Shui were built like the old English buildings, all in red bricks.

The fishermen association building

This is the famous Lovers' bridge at the wharf. Apparently, the myth is that if you were there with your beloved, you will be married in the next 6 months. Personally, I don't buy this myth but I'm not sure about you!

Getting a jump shot at the bridge and I have a few more jump shots during my 2013 trip

There were some kiosks around the wharf for people to get souvenirs and food. So we had the usual fried chicken and some octopus balls before heading off to the Lao Jie (old street) to get the famous Dan Shui souvenirs like 鱼稣 and 铁蛋.

Our humongous fried chicken

Something about Dan Shui's railway station really caught my attention. Perhaps it's the size or the old building structure, unlike those in Taipei city. Too bad it was still drizzling outside so I took a picture from the inside.

Dan Shui Railway Station

For dinner, we went to this old establishment in the city where we had some appetisers sort of food. It was really tasty. I'm not sure if it is very costly but we paid around RM 20 each for the amount of food we had. The place was packed on a weekday, surprisingly. I guess it must be rather famous.

The chef who prepares the rice and noodles to go with the dishes at the entrance of the eatery

After dinner, we went straight to a coffee shop for supper! Coffee Alley is really the new hype in the city especially with the young crowd and brisk business. The catch is that everyone needs to order at least a cup of beverage on each visit. I wouldn't say that the things are cheap but the concept is definitely interesting. I like the interior design of the place and how they used a newspaper concept for their menu.