the entry where taipei says it all pt. 1

i had the intent to travel out of singapore to escape the dark clouds and rainy weather, only to arrive in taipei drenched every single day from their rain. indeed, the first week being in taipei was a fatiguing, relentless effort to duck from shelter to shelter, finding rainless spots to chuck myself away till the cloudbursts would cease. but nevertheless, albeit this being the 3rd time this year alone, taiwan! taiwan! here i come again!

hours and hours of cumulo nimbus-like clouds at changi airport terminal 3 foretell showery days to come.

pictures of taipei taken from the plane. anyone looking at these pics would have been fooled into thinking the weather forecast for taipei would be sunny 24/7.

this portly gent sure has a way to draw crowds. his big, bold moves are a potent distraction away from the throngs of stalls lining up the streets of xi men ding, a popular respite amongst the taiwanese youth. he wears his apparels so tight that it looks like he's donning on a wetsuit. according to urban legend, said performer and two other weirdoes that roam xi men frequently, one being a wizened, scrawny folk decked in yellow overalls, that is of the taoist garb, are affectionately labelled the 西門三寶, otherwise known as the famed triple treasures of xi men.

ximen by night.

travelling in taipei couldn't have been more convenient with the taipei rapid transit system (台北大眾捷運系統). this guy was probably praying to the heavens above for being granted the expedition of travel via the subway, also known as the mrt (metropolitan rapid transit).

food galore in shilin night market (士林夜市), the largest and most well known night market in taiwan. clockwise from top left: papaya slices with viscous passion-fruit goo, iced shavings with red beans, red bean paste buns, and more iced shavings with chewy matter within.

this particular stall in taipei main station (台北車站) grew in popularity for the mere fact that you pay pittance for an extra generous serving of dough, egg and gaoli vegetable. the outcome of such an equation: having to take a queue number to buy grilled chinese pizza, and an overworked owner and his beloved wife grinning from teeth to teeth behind their oronasal masks. but these folks are real professionals. they even have a screen flashing one's queue number!

my friend roy, the thomas ong lookalike, and i were waiting for our number to flicker on the screen. on the screen, it read 418, and our magic number was freaking 446.

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