From there, I went two stops to Taipei Main Station and bought an HSR ticket. Note that there are two railway networks, the TRA which runs in a loop around the island, and the newer HSR, which is a high-speed “bullet train” that goes follows the Western coast. The ticket machine has easy-to-use English directions and I was able to book a reserved seat on the last train back to Hsinchu. Walking out from the subway side of the station (Exit 1) across to the main hall, I stopped by the Visitor Information Centre. My friend who lives in Taiwan told me that youth between 15 and 30 are eligible for discounted admission to tourist sites. After filling out a form, I picked up the little rubber bookmark which serves to inform everyone that I am still a youth (barely).
Next stop was the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, or whatever they are calling it these days. Unfortunately, there was nothing much to see, as there were no events going on at the Theater or Concert Hall during the day, and the main hall appeared closed. I wasted about a half hour here before getting back on the subway towards Taipei City Hall Station (blue line).
From the station, I looked up and walked towards Taipei 101, the world's tallest building. The food court had a lot of interesting vendors, but I couldn't read any of the menu, and ended up having a bland bowl of fresh noodles with wontons. Nearby was Jason's Market Place, an upscale grocery with lots of imported items and prepared food counters. After stowing my purchases in a locker, I lined up to go to the observation deck. The elevator ride is fast: 89 floors in 39 seconds! As it was getting close to 16:00, I walked back to the subway, planning to go to the National Palace Museum.I got off at Jiantan Station, then took the Red #30 bus. As the driver didn't speak English, and I didn't know which stop to get off at, I whipped out my brochure and pointed at the museum. The ride took about 30 minutes, and, not surprisingly, the museum was not admitting anyone after 16:30. This was terrible planning on my part, as I knew they closed at 17:00 whereas I didn't check the closing time of Taipei 101. The museum, which I'm told has a collection so large it takes several years to rotate through the exhibits, would have been a much better experience than the skyscraper, I'm sure. Oh well, live and learn.
The bus ride back to the subway station took twice as long, as schoolkids were just finishing some exams, and the traffic jams were heavy. Right outside Jiantan Station is the Shilin Night Market. I wasn't very hungry, so I walked around City Jungle for a while. In the back streets, there was a growing crowd of young shoppers. Whether it was from the humidity, pollution or tiredness, I wasn't feeling too energetic and just sat down on an uncomfortable bench for a while until I got hungry.
Retracing my steps back to the main building, I passed by lots of little vendors selling snacks. One guy was shaving a big block of peanut brittle, then sprinkling it on a thin crepe. After topping it with coriander and ice cream, he rolled it up like a burrito. I tried one: it was texturally interesting, but the flavour combinations didn't work for me.At the main market building, there were a lot of different food items for sale:
And before anyone asks, yes, I did pass by stinky tofu vendors. I was willing to try it, but didn't realize that the rotting meat smell was, in fact, made from a bean curd product. They serve the tofu deep fried and covered in a garlic sauce. I've had natto, a fermented Japanese soy bean product, but this was entirely different.
At this point, I really felt like going home, so I sat around for a bit, eating my Hot Star Large Fried chicken. The HSR train was just like the Shinkansen, right down to how each car is numbered, the diagrams on the seat backs, the announcements, etc.
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