Taiwan
Wan-hua

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    • Day 24

      Temples and Nightmarkets

      October 10, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 26 °C

      Today, a quick visit to Longshan Temple was on my agenda, I saw a few familiar faces from the day before, the world sure is small for tourists in Asia, the afternoon I spent strolling around in the streets and underground. I visited Shilin Nightmarket again for the vibrant atmosphere, by day you could barely recognize the streets, it was very interesting to see it come alive with the diligent preparation of the stall owners, what a life, living for the night, day after day. On my way back I found a different underground mall near my hotel where they had many figure and video game stores, even a retro store where someone was fotographing an old crt-tv and N64, as if it was an antique treasure. I felt a bit antique myself, witnessing that funny scene.

      Google Translate:
      Heute stand ein kurzer Besuch des Longshan-Tempels auf meinem Plan, ich sah ein paar bekannte Gesichter vom Vortag, die Welt ist für Touristen in Asien sicher klein, den Nachmittag verbrachte ich damit, durch die Straßen und den Untergrund zu schlendern. Ich besuchte den Shilin-Nachtmarkt erneut wegen der lebendigen Atmosphäre. Tagsüber konnte man die Straßen kaum wiedererkennen. Es war sehr interessant zu sehen, wie er durch die sorgfältige Vorbereitung der Standbesitzer zum Leben erwachte. Was für ein Leben, ein Leben für die Nacht, Tag für Tag. Auf dem Rückweg fand ich in der Nähe meines Hotels ein anderes unterirdisches Einkaufszentrum, in dem es viele Figuren- und Videospielläden gab, sogar einen Retro-Laden, in dem jemand einen alten Röhrenfernseher und ein N64 fotografierte, als wäre es ein antiker Schatz. Ich kam mir selbst ein bisschen antik vor, als ich diese lustige Szene miterlebte.
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    • Day 150

      Keelung, Taiwan

      June 12, 2023 in Taiwan ⋅ 🌧 82 °F

      We have only till 11:30am today.
      Boris and I went outside just to walk around. Unfortunately, it was raining and the streets are not wheelchair friendly. We stopped at few stores and then had an iced coffee with pastries. That was nice.Read more

    • Day 4

      2.Tag Taipeh

      November 13, 2024 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

      Da der gestrige Abend doch noch länger ging, hab ich lang geschlafen und musste meine Pläne ändern. Bin dann mit nem deutschen und nem Holländer zu einer bekannten Dumpling Marke. Habt dort Nudeln und dumplings gegessen. War gut, aber nicht besonders.
      Danach bin ich auf die Suche nach einem Anzug. Diese sind doch teurer als erwartet. 500-1000 €. Bin dann zurück ins hostel. Sind dann zusammen 5 zu nem nightmarket. Mit dabei war auch ein Zimmermitbewohner, den ich nach 2 Tagen zum ersten Mal gesehen habe.
      Und natürlich ist er aus Balingen 😂😂Dort hab ich nur frittiertes Hähnchen gegessen. Danach zurück ins Hostel.
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    • Day 7

      Donderdag 14 november 2019

      November 14, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Ondanks het harde bed voor het eerst sinds ons vertrek uit Broek een hele nacht doorgeslapen. Dus geen last meer van een jetlag of kwam het door de massage?
      Op tijd gaan ontbijten en daarna de straat op. Ons hotel bevindt zich in een prima buurt om doorheen te wandelen: eind van de dag staat de teller op ruim 14 kilometer. Dit is inclusief slenteren over de markt en door winkelstraten. Met een kaart van Taipei in de hand en ondersteuning van Google Maps lopen we naar enkele toeristische attracties waaronder het Rode Huis, een tempelcomplex, een botanische tuin, een markt en leuke winkelstraatjes. Ook hebben we voor de zekerheid het autoverhuurbedrijf opgezocht, scheelt morgenochtend weer zoeken. Eind van de middag nemen we een uurtje rust op de hotelkamer, daarna met de taxi naar een nachtmarkt. Jammergenoeg begint het te spetteren en hierdoor is het op de markt bijzonder rustig: helaas, het is niet anders.
      Terug naar het hotel om in de buurt wat te eten: geen probleem, eettentjes genoeg. Lekker dagje Taipei dus. Aan het eind van de vakantie komen we hier weer graag terug voor de laatste 2 dagen van onze vakantie. Morgen op pad met de auto voor onze rondreis doorTaiwan.
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    • Day 29

      Lungshan Temple

      November 3, 2024 in Taiwan ⋅ ☁️ 23 °C

      Today is our only stop in Taiwan, due to the tropical storm we had to miss one of our Taiwanese stops.

      Our first stop was a Buddhist & Taoist temple, where the main god was the goddess of Mercy, during world war 2, the main temple was destroyed by a bombshell, but no one was killed even though it was used as a shelter during the air raids, because the worshippers where being bitten by mosquitoes, after the last worshipper had left the temple the bomb fell and the temple burned down, the statue also survived, even though it is made of wood and only gilded in gold.

      There was also beautiful water features outside because they believe that before you enter the temple you must cleanse you body, mind & spirit.
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    • Day 58

      Longshan temple (龍山寺)

      March 27, 2019 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

      Longshan temple is tucked away on a busy street and like many other temples the world over, provides a quieter, more peaceful haven away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. Even so, unlike cathedrals or churches, which are relatively silent (except when Davy and Meg are there), Chinese temples have a bit of a marketplace feeling. There is a large courtyard in the middle, enclosing a central pagoda dedicated to the primary deity. All around are alcoves dedicated to a number of secondary deities. The faithful would pause at various side alcoves to offer their prayers. In addition, we learned that questions may be asked of the sages, saints or gods.

      There was one fat bald dude (statue) in particular that attracted a number of women throwing these strange half-oval objects on the ground. Each time, a pair would be thrown, and apparently if one landed face-up and the other face-down (so 50-50 odds), then the answer to the question asked was yes, otherwise it was no. Great aunt slyly mentioned that this was the god of relationships, and so Davy could ask about his “wife” here. We all astutely observed that one could just keep on asking the same question until one got the desired answer... to which Great aunt just laughed. Apparently people can waste a lot of time and money at temples.

      On our way out, we snapped a few shots of the beautiful scenery outside the temple - really like the way they have tried to make spaces where people can pause and reflect, dream and aspire - while not impressively tall, keep in mind that this waterfall is right on the side of a traffic-filled street in the middle of Taipei!
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    • Day 2

      No. 211, Guangzhou St, Wanhua District

      October 9, 2016 in Taiwan ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      One of the famous landmarks in Taiwan I went to was the Longshan Temple located in the Wanhua District. Before I get into the awesomeness details of such culture that was built in 1738, lets rewind the clock to a few hours beforehand.

      When I think of a normal train station or a building of a train station, my imagination is not far off than the one I imagined at Roma St Brisbane.

      My uncle and aunt's place was not far away from the Banqiao Train Station, which was approximately a 15minutes walk. And for the life of me, it took me about an extra 30min to find the building. Here's the tip: Just because a building looks like a commercial building, it does not mean it can't be a train station in Taipei! It has a huge shopping mall in the building, restaurants, 7/11, shoe shops, surf shops, sports wear.. and many many more. It also has High Speed Rail, normal trains, underground trains, buses, and taxi's... Honestly, that was why I was lost for such a long time. Also mind you, the ONLY time I was lost in Taiwan. Getting to the Banqiao Train Station, and when I was inside it.
      .
      The Longshan Temple was legit one of the most artistic and impressionable landmarks that I've ever been to. Longshan Temple has a miniwaterfall, gardens, along with a lot of people praying and offering their food. It was so cultural and ancestral.. It felt so harmonious. I'm not a religious sort of person, but I really enjoyed it. The atmosphere... It was on point!
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    Wan-hua

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