Blogs from LongShan Temple, Taipei, Taiwan, Asia
Two Little Piggies went to Taipei.....
Published: March 15th 2012Asia » Taiwan » Taipei » LongShan Temple
March 11th 2012
K- As you may have realized Mark & I are basically just eating our way around the world. We have had some great food experiences in many countries but Taipei, Taiwan has just jumped right to the top of the list. This place lives and breathes food. I managed to eat one of my favorite foods, chinese dumplings, 5 times in 4 days. In fact I seriously over-ate and will always remember Taipei for a slightly uncomfortable feeling and an inability to walk fast. Taipei is a very modern, clean and calm(ish) City and despite the wintery grey weather we explored the center on foot as we addressed some necessary jobs such as buying me some new shoes (flip flops not being really appropriate for the 6C temperatures to come in S Korea!) and also purchasing ... read more
July 21st 2009
I didn't do too much this past weekend, but I was able to get some of the places crossed off my sightseeing to-do list. On friday, after class, a couple classmates and I went to Ximending (think the Taipei equivalent of Times Square of Picadilly Circus, except with more teenage girls) to a Shisha bar. Going at about 5:30PM ensured that we were the only customers, which was kind of cool. After the bar, we hit up a McDonalds, which over here is a popular hang out spot, and then went back to the dorms to get ready for a night of clubbing. The club we went to was called Luxy, and its one of the biggest clubs in Taipei. I only know these things through word of mouth though because, being the scatter brain that ... read more
July 9th 2009
Hey All, This is my first entry on this new website. I am still learning how to use it so if things appear slowly that may be a reason. I should first enter some pictures from recent travels like India, Lijiang and Tiger Leaping Gorge, then on to Taiwan. I am staying in a rental right now and have lots of time to sit and relax. In between John Wayne movies I am studying Chinese and enjoying Taiwanese cuisine. Yesterday I met with a Chinese tutor and will begin to take classes with him twice a week. Hopefully when I meet Jeannie's parents again, communication won't be such a roadblock. In the evenings I have begun to exercise. Jeannie belongs to a fitness center and I have joined for the year. It is good to get ... read more
May 27th 2009
Last day in Taipei. Went to Chiang Kai-shek Memorial and Longshan Temple. Ate American type food and... something else. Then took the 4-hour bus to Tainan and saw just a little of the Dragon Boat festival trials.... read more
Taiwan: Taipei, Kenting, Tainan and Taroko Gorge
Published: November 25th 2008Asia » Taiwan » Taipei » LongShan Temple
November 25th 2008
Contrast and travel tiredness in Taiwan How fed up can one be with noodles, rice and sweet bread; that’s what we are contemplating these days. Travel tiredness comes and goes in waves, it doesn’t seem that much related to the country we are in, it is just part of having all the freedom you ever longed for and then being tired of playing the tourist every day. Taiwan is not yet a very popular tourist destination, yet that might change. The Portuguese used to call this island Ilha Formosa, ‘beautiful island’, and that’s what it is. The first and foremost pleasant surprise in this country is the immense hospitality of the Taiwanese people. Everywhere we go, people greet us, smile at us, help us, look proud when we compliment them on their English. Our first taste ... read more
October 8th 2008
Hey everyone today was my second day in Taipei, i went to the Longshan Temple which was utterly amazing! The courtyard before you enter the temple has an awesome waterfall on one side and a spectacular fountain on the other side, the building itself was probably one of the most beautiful things i have seen (so far) every bit of it is covered in carvings and statues, inside there is smoke bellowing from incense scattered around the place and offerings of food, sweets and magnolias to Buddha and the 165 or so deities that are worshipped here including Guanyin (goddess of mercy) who is the central Deity worshipped here who also is the deity for safe travel so i payed my respects with an offering of wine gums!!!! which happened to be the only thing i ... read more
Wanhua -Taipei's old, down-at-the-heels district
Published: October 4th 2007Asia » Taiwan » Taipei » LongShan Temple
October 4th 2007
The Wanhua area of Taipei City has got to be one of the shadiest areas on the entire island. I was shouted at several times for taking photos, drunken taxi cab drivers were puking in front of their cars, and prostitutes were burning incense in front of temples asking the gods to please send more customers. ... read more
January 19th 2007
Tired in Taipei, I guess you could say. I did get a good night's sleep last night, although the bed was a bit hard. I'm not used to pounding so much pavement, I guess. Today I went to the Chiang Kai-shek memorial hall. I took a bus to get there from the hostel, and it took me pretty close. It was raining at that point, but not too hard, just steady. Walked up to the memorial and they were just doing a changing of the guard, so that was cool to watch. There was a giant CKS inside the memorial (see pic). So I puttered around there for a little while, and went downstairs where they had some CKS historical items including a Couple of shiny Cadillacs. After a while I got hungry so I went ... read more
