Day 8: Off Day!

Monday was an off day for all crews in Taichung and all but one in Taipei. There were no planned activities during the day, but Corrie, Willie and I set out on a shopping/picture taking/sight-seeing walk after lunch. I got some good pictures and video, but did not buy anything.

We came back to the hotel, and many of our group congregated in the lobby after dinner for our planned trip to the "Night Market." Some of the translators/guides came with us to help us navigate around. We took taxis to this area of town, which was only about a ten minute drive from the hotel. The market is an eclectic blend of food and little portable booths/shops. I would describe it as an Oriental County Fair on steroids. Think Reading or Hillsdale with smaller people (but with more teeth) and food that is even more unidentifiable than what you would find in Ranger-Land. Navigating down the alleys in which the booths are located is difficult, as scooters also use the route. I saw some food for sale here which would be extremely difficult to describe. Fortunately, I did get some good pictures and video. I stuck close with Natalie (our guide/interpreter) who speaks English very well and answered a lot of our questions about what things were as we traveled the streets. She purchased and wanted us to try something she called "Pig's Blood Cakes." I ended up passing on this delicacy. She explained that it didn't really taste like blood; more like some sort of chewy rice cakes. I told her that explanation wasn't helping. We also saw intestines, squid and other things which I was afraid to even get an explanation about. The normal smell was unpleasant but tolerable, but every so often there would be an extremely nauseating stink that would arise and stay around for a while. We were told this was coming from the tofu. I tried tofu in the hotel dining area once and will not be doing so again.

In addition to the food, there were all kinds of little shops -- selling clothes, watches, purses and many other things. At one point we saw some shop owners wheeling their goods down an alley. We were told that there was certain area that was to be kept clear, and vendors using this area were being ticketed. I took a photo of one police officer writing up some kind of ticket. I saw a $10 store, which I was told was equivalent to our Dollar Stores. Natalie told me in hushed tones that almost everything in that store was made in China, as if that explained everything. The Night Market is set right in the middle of a more normal shopping area. We were told that it was open every night until very late, and that for many people, selling food and goods here was their main form of employment. Natalie also told us that the Night Market is very near the university and a good number of students hang out there regularly.

After walking the area for about two hours, we took a taxi back to the hotel. Pretty much the same group from the night before set out for Frog's where we told stories, drank beer and margaritas and had some Mexican h'ordeurves. Queenie, who was the bartender who took such good care of us the night before, was off on Monday but came in just to spend time with us. When that bar closed, we went back to our karaoke bar from the night before, and finished off our night, albeit a little earlier than the previous one. I have the plate at Intercon on Tuesday at 6:00 pm (Chinese Taipei vs Panama). More after returning from the game.