Today was my first full day in Taipei! I am staying in the Ximen neighborhood my first few nights.
In the morning I was hungry and disoriented, and attempted to order breakfast at a local spot, but chickened out when I realized there might not be any vegan options (and otherwise became socially anxious).
I noticed I was putting a lot of pressure on myself to effectively navigate social situations in fluent Mandarin, despite knowing full well—but perhaps not accepting—that my current speaking (and listening) abilities would make this impossible.
I decided to check out 上頂皇家, a vegetarian to-go spot just around my hotel. I simply asked “what’s good” in English, and I was obliged. With some pot stickers in my system, and having successfully used cash to pay for food items, I was emboldened. I ate like a 豬🐷 the rest of the day.
Next stops included Ximen Mango Shaved Ice where I grabbed some warm Soy Milk and a bready thing whose name escapes me (both of questionable veganity). I continued my rampage at Popcorn Chicken King Ximen 台灣鹽酥雞 西門直營店 where I ordered vegan fried chicken and fried oyster mushrooms.
I continued wandering around Ximen the rest of the day.
I accidentally stumbled into a cute market (東三水街市場、新富市場) on the way to Longshan temple.
I found my way to Lungshan Temple after navigating the closure surrounding Bangka Park (I needed to go underground; not sure if this is normally required).
After Lungshan, I wandered through the Bopiliao Historical Block (剝皮寮歷史街區), where the most notable sight on this rainy afternoon was a mob of children breakdancing, which I watched in delight for a few moments with a handful of other onlookers.
Some more wandering through the streets, making my way back to the hotel for a brief rest before dinner. I happened to pass through yet another night market as well (Huaxi Street Night Market 臺北華西街夜市)
TODO — Cute moment in music store
For dinner I returned to a Sichuan cold noodle place I had surreptitiously stumbled on earlier (Sichuan style cold noodles 四川涼麵).
I took a brief nap at the hotel after dinner and then decided to check out The Red House (西門紅樓). I felt quite out of place as most people there were in groups, and it was less the fluid mingling vibe I had come to expect from my Travel guide (Gemini), and rather a bunch of pre-existing groups mingling and (presumably) pregaming for more happening spots later in the evening.
It was also still raining (and more heavily now), so I concluded my night early and got some much needed sleep at the hotel.
I woke up around 4am and grabbed some snacks at the 7-11 nearby, before heading back to sleep.
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