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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd">
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<title>We Ate Taiwan: 98年 3月 9日 – Shìlín</title>
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<h1><a href="index.html">We Ate Taiwan</a></h1>
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<h1 class="tyfont-size-h3">98年 3月 9日 – Shìlín</h1>
<figure class="tymedia tymargins-off" id="palacemapcontainer">
<img alt="The National Palace Museum" src="resources/photos/palacemap_ch.jpg">
<img alt="The National Palace Museum" src="resources/photos/palacemap_en.jpg">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption"><a href="http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/home.htm">The National Palace Museum</a>. This illustration is a scan from the museum map which is available for free to visitors. <em>Click on the image to toggle between English and Chinese labels.</em></figcaption>
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<p>The next morning we visit the gym. Monica and I are feeling quite fat from all the amazing food we have consumed over the past week. After a light workout (we are also now out of shape), we (ironically) have breakfast. As in many hotels, breakfast here is served buffet-style. This buffet includes many common Taiwanese items. I have 燒餅油條, Taiwanese style cold noodles, and a few other (atypical, for me) breakfast items. The meal turns out to be nothing special – as in many hotels.</p>
<p>After digesting our meal and before the noon checkout time, we enjoy one final soak, this time in the public springs outside. I don my new swimsuit and we brave the drizzle of another cloudy morning. Perhaps because of the weather or the fact that it is a Monday morning, we are two out of only four people enjoying the spring.</p>
<p>The benefits of the public springs are the variations in pool type and temperature. We first warm up in a waterfall pool (35°C). In this pool, a hard cascade of spring water massages the back and shoulders. This pool is actually quite comfortable – not too hot at all. Next is a floatation pool (40°C). Here, strong bubbles of spring water forced up from the floor of the pool help suspend the body. Metal bars (like swimming pool rails) are placed to divide the pool into personal units where a person can float in place. After acclimating to the water temperature, I find this spring to be quite relaxing. My favorite soak. After that, we try a very hot (43°C) ultrasonic pulse pool, but it’s too hot for Monica and the heat quickly makes me dizzy as blood escapes the heat by rushing to my exposed head. When I step out, I have to steady myself as my body equilibrates. Instead, we try a “sleeping spa” where currents of spring water are designed to relax the body and promote good sleep. The spa is built with a wooden cradle in the bottom to hold bathers in place, but it’s a bit small for me. Still, I found it very relaxing.</p>
<p>Our checkout time approaches, so we quickly rinse and pack our belongings. Our time in Běitóu has come to an end. Walking back down the hill, I reflect on the visual contrasts. New constructions grow into the skyline while older, smaller, abandoned buildings and homes decay. It seems that land here would be valuable due to the springs and the resulting tourism. Monica thinks that the area is not a popular location for people seeking a permanent residence because Běitóu is so far from the center of Taipei.</p>
<p>Drizzle continues as we walk down the hill, so we do not linger. We briefly stop at the Hot Spring Museum, which is closed because it is Monday; and the public springs, which are also currently closed. A sign on the wall in front of the public spring says the water comes out of the ground at between 90 and 97°C, hot enough to cook eggs – something Monica tells me people will do on occasion.</p>
<p>It has been a very relaxing if brief getaway. Now we have a busy day. First, we take the train to Shìlín where we can find a bus to take us to the National Palace Museum. The NPM in Taiwan is regarded as having the world’s best collection of Chinese cultural artifacts. When Chinese Nationalists – the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuomintang">Guómíndǎng</a> (<a href="http://www.kmt.org.tw/english/index.aspx">國民黨</a>) – retreated to Taiwan back in the 40’s, they brought with them some of the best of China’s cultural treasures. I am very much looking forward to the exhibits of painting and calligraphy.</p>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/museumplaza.jpg" alt="Tourists milling around on the plaza at the entrance to the National Palace Museum" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Tourists milling around on the plaza at the entrance to the National Palace Museum.</figcaption>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/museumticket.jpg" alt="Ticket for admission to the National Palace Museum" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Ticket for admission to the National Palace Museum</figcaption>
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<p>The NPM is located on a huge campus that includes exhibition halls, a library, a workshop, a restaurant, administrative offices, and a very fine tea house with a terrific view. Just getting to the museum entrance requires us to cross a long courtyard and ascend a few flights of stairs. The building has a “modern Chinese” feel about it, similar in my mind to the Sun Yat-sen Memorial. Inside and out, tour groups of elderly visitors are gathering for photos or preparing to enter the exhibition hall. The equipment for the audio tour is very popular; people everywhere are wearing headphones. Monica and I pay our 160 NT admission, decline the audio tour, and join the crowd.</p>
<p>Our first stop is the third floor and the precious stone collection. The items on display are all from an 18th century imperial collection. Unlike the gold and gemstones you see in the collection of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the precious stones here are primarily jade and quartz. There are also a variety of other stones such as lapis and a Tian-huang stone (which is actually a kind of yellow soapstone). Two curious pieces in the collection are jadeite figures that look like food; one is a stone that looks like roast pork, and the other is a large piece carved to look like Chinese cabbage. The jadeite cabbage, oddly enough, is the most famous piece in the collection. A flock of tourists jostle for position around the display case.</p>
<p>In adjacent rooms, we view beautiful ceramics from roughly the same time period. The craftsmanship is incredible. There is a helpful presentation demonstrating, in a general way, how these ceramics were decorated.</p>
<p>Down one floor are the exhibitions of painting and calligraphy. Of the two, I’d say the painting exhibitions are superior. There are scrolls representing various styles and periods in Chinese art and culture. Fore me, the landscapes are less interesting than the representations of daily life or ritual occasions. I also admire the bright colors of the more modern paintings.</p>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/museumsnack.jpg" alt="A photo of cake and tea from our museum coffee break" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Cake and tea during our museum coffee break.</figcaption>
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<p>After a coffee break, we tour one of the more interesting collections: <a href="http://www.npm.gov.tw/en/collection/selections_01.htm?catno=12">curios</a>. Curio boxes were designed to be clever, containing hidden compartments where tiny treasures could be kept. They were also designed to open in a way that resulted in an artistic and elegant display of the curio’s contents. Several very creative examples of these treasure boxes are presented. The ingenuity involved in their design is enviable.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, photography is not allowed in the museum, or else I would have taken some photos of the final exhibit we viewed: an interactive replica of the <a href="http://techart.tnua.edu.tw/eTaiwan/contents/chingming-hotspots_e.html">famous handscroll</a> “Along the River During the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qingming_Festival">Qing-Ming Festival</a>.” The museum created a very interesting presentation for this piece. Pressing on specific areas of the image surface triggers an animation on one of three screens mounted behind the display. The animations are based on the images of people and activities depicted on the scroll. This is a very good interpretation of the scroll. Handscrolls are illustrated stories that unfold linearly as the the viewer reveals the artwork "frame-by-frame". Scrolls were not viewed all at once; instead, they were viewed a section (or a frame at a time. In this case, a frame is a single unrolled section of the scroll, about a shoulder’s width in length.</p>
<p>Leaving the NPM, Monica and I ride the bus back to the MRT station and walk to one of the other “don’t miss” destinations in Taipei: <a href="http://eng.taiwan.net.tw/m1.aspx?sNo=0002090&id=154">the Shìlín Night Market</a>. The official night market is contained in an area near the Jiantan MRT stop, but the associated commercial area stretches almost all the way to the Shìlín MRT stop. Crowded into a parking garage across from the Jiantan stop and flowing into the nearby maze of alleys are all manner of prepared foods, fruit, drinks, trinkets, clothes, shoes, crafts, souvenirs, and anything else that can be bought and easily carried or consumed. The streets, walkways, and alleys are choked with people. Vendors eagerly compete for attention.</p>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/onastick.jpg" alt="Anything you want... on a stick!" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Anything you want... on a stick! <a href="#stick" class="zoomin tybutton">Zoom In</a> <a href="#_" class="zoomout tybutton">Zoom Out</a></figcaption>
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<p>For me, it is convenient to separate the night market into three parts. First, there are the alleys behind the main streets. Here you find most of the goods and souvenirs. You can also purchase tea, coffee, juice, and easy to cary snacks: buns, meat and other items on skewers, fried chicken, grilled meats and vegetables, bread and pastries, and takoyaki. Here, Monica and I have a hot pastry filled with a butter cream, spicy fish balls on a skewer, and buns – small braised flour pastries filled with pork and cabbage. Monica also enjoys some barbecued items: heart, intestine, and green bell pepper.</p>
<p>The next section of the market is a kind of carnival. Games, game machines, cheesy photo booths and other enticements appear directed at the schoolgirl crowd. On the periphery of this pink and noisy menagerie are a number of street vendors, including some fresh fruit vendors. I have some fantastic fresh strawberries. Monica has green mango with brown sugar and spices. The carnival attractions have no interest for us.</p>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/nightmarket.jpg" alt="The Shilin night market" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">The Shilin night market <a href="#market" class="zoomin tybutton">Zoom In</a> <a href="#_" class="zoomout tybutton">Zoom Out</a></figcaption>
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<p>The final, and perhaps most challenging section of the market is the main (indoor) food market. In this area, there is an opportunity to sit down for a meal. We are nearly assaulted by vendors waving menus when we enter. Among the many available items, fried chicken and oyster omelets are the most common and popular. I see at least five oyster omelet vendors and two fried chicken vendors. The Taiwanese definitely like their fried chicken. KFC is has a strong presence around the city.</p>
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<img data-lazyimage="resources/photos/duckblood.jpg" alt="Stinky tofu with duck blood in soup" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Stinky tofu with duck blood in soup. <a href="#duckblood" class="zoomin tybutton">Zoom In</a> <a href="#_" class="zoomout tybutton">Zoom Out</a></figcaption>
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<p>Later on our trip there will be other opportunities for these items. For now, Monica settles for something more bizarre: spicy duck blood soup with stinky tofu (<a href="slides/Taiwan 2009 Edited - 148.jpg" class="enlarge">photo</a>). Unlike the stinky tofu I tried before (which was fried), this tofu is cooked in the spicy broth. As a result, the stinkiness has cooked out of the tofu and into the broth. The tofu itself tastes okay. The broth is a combination of spicy and funky that I’m not especially fond of. The duck blood is a reddish gray jelly that is also not my favorite thing. At least I can say I tried. After Monica finishes, I pick up some spicy wontons from another vendor. They are good but not particularly spicy.</p>
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<img border="0" alt="The Ice Monster’s business card" src="resources/photos/icemonster.jpg" />
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<p>At last our night market adventure comes to an end. We have been walking all day and it is time to get some rest. Tomorrow we have to get up early to travel to Huālián. On the way home, I stop for one final treat: strawberry ice with mango ice cream from the Ice Monster. The Ice Monster is a famous vendor located a block from where Monica’s parents live. They offer crushed ice desserts that include fresh fruit and/or jelly with ice cream or custard. Crushed ice desserts are very popular here, probably due to the warm climate. The Ice Monster is supposed to be the best, and I am not disappointed. I get a huge container of ice, fruit, and cream for 160 NT. The fresh strawberries are wonderful. I am freezing by the time I finish (it is cold tonight) but it is worth it.</p>
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<h2>Journal Entries</h2>
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<li><a href="98-03-01.html">98年 3月 1日 – Arrival</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-02.html">98年 3月 2日 – First Outings</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-03.html">98年 3月 3日 – Beef Noodles</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-04.html">98年 3月 4日 – Dànshuǐ</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-05.html">98年 3月 5日 – College</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-06.html">98年 3月 6日 – Yángmíngshān</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-07.html">98年 3月 7日 – Sightseeing</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-08.html">98年 3月 8日 – Běitóu</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-09.html">98年 3月 9日 – Shìlín</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-10.html">98年 3月 10日 – Huālián</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-11.html">98年 3月 11日 – Taroko Gorge</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-12.html">98年 3月 12日 – 101</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-13.html">98年 3月 13日 – A Taste of Home</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-14.html">98年 3月 14日 – Return Trip</a></li>
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<h2>About My Trip</h2>
<p>In 2009, my girlfriend and I visited her home country of Taiwan. During our two week vacation, I wrote daily notes of my experiences and together we took over a thousand photos. Those notes and photos have been compiled into this travel journal.</p>
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<p>© Copyright 2009—2020 by <a href="http://www.aaronpinero.com/">Aaron Pinero</a> except as noted.</p>
<p>Photographs may not be used in any other medium without permission. In most cases, we’d be glad to let you if you ask.</p>
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