So, today, I went to another night market. This one was called the "Tourist's Night Market," but I didn't get the sense that tourists frequent this place near as often as the locals do. For one thing, there were no western stores. It was also neatly tucked away in side streets and off the beaten path. It was more like being in another world than anything I have experienced thus far. In the other street markets that I have been to, the crush of people was what prevented you from walking freely amongst the stalls, whereas this one had the added challenge of mopeds weaving around the crush of people in the narrow spaces between the stalls. It was very different, let me tell you, and wholly fascinating for it. Here are some pictures:
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| This is the entrance to the covered part of the market |
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There were two blocks that were covered like
this, and they were full of shops and restaurants |
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| The entrance to the second block |
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| The second block mostly consisted of restaurants |
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| This was a juice place |
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| Out on the streets, there were stalls where vendors sold their wares |
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| Those are roasted nuts |
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| Fruit |
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| There were places that had games set up, like a mid-way at the fair |
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| Even an impromptu manicure parlor |
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| Dried fruit |
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| More food stalls |
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| See what I mean about the motorcycles |
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| I think that these are moon cakes |
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| That is a huge bowl of noodles |
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| Packages of mantou and bouzi |
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| roast chickens |
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| 3ft. tall bags of nuts and beans |
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| There were bakeries as well |
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| a flea market was set up in a side street |
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| nick-knacks |
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| Jewelry |
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| teapots |
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| There was a park nearby the flea market, and it had this water fountain |
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| There were street performers as well |
This woman is playing the saw.
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| More food for sale in the streets |
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| Dried fish |
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| various meats |
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| various beverages |
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| This is a stand selling sugar cane juice |
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| This is the machine that juices the sugar cane |
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| more bouzi |
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| meat |
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| a cook preparing food outside |
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| The white bundles in the foreground of this picture are uncooked noodles |
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| fish |
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| more games |
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| These are Mah Jongg tables |
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| these are the prizes for winning Mah Jongg |
Nearby, there was also a large temple:
That is all for tonight folks, I hope you enjoyed it.
So, did you buy anything Tues. night? Did you WISH you could buy something? What did you eat?
ReplyDeleteThis is so fun seeing the sights with you. BR
I actually found a store that had a variety of candy for sale, fill a bag for 100NT. So, I bought a bag of that to take to the little bros. I didn't end up buying anything else, or eating anything. I was just playing the role of the passive journalist. I did think about buying one of the moon cakes to try, but I figured that I am almost certainly going to have some for Chinese New Year, so I saved the money for something down the road.
Deleteyou sure are getting to see a lot of the city. Are you feeling more confident, now that you've been there for a while?
ReplyDeleteI am getting to see a lot. There are four major metro lines in Taipei, and after my trip to 101, I can now proudly say that I have been on all of them. I am feeling more confident in my knowledge of the city. The more I go out, the more places that I recognize from my previous trips, and I keep adding to my mental map. I also recently figured out how to best utilize Google Maps, so my bus trips are no longer fraught with peril. Did you know that it will show you which buses to take, and how frequently the buses run in that area? I'm incredibly impressed.
DeleteYou called this a Night Market but I believe you were there during the day. Does Night Market just mean they are open at night, also? I am astonished at the great amount of prepared food. Do you get a sense that they sell a large portion of it? Seems like there would be a lot of waste. Just overwhelms me!!
ReplyDeleteI was there between three and five O'clock in the afternoon. The vendors were just setting up for the evening when I got there, and by the time I left, the night market was starting in earnest. A lot of people in Taiwan go to the night markets to buy dinner, because it is cheaper and easier than cooking at home. Also, around the holiday season, a lot of tourists come to Taiwan and frequent the various markets as well. During the school year, the students are targeted because schools in Taiwan typically don't end classes for the day until around 4:30 or 5:00.
ReplyDelete