I also went to the famous, Longshan Temple. It was a Buddhist temple in Taipei, which was also quite large. I went inside and people were burning incense or something in a fire. My guess it was a type of prayer offering but I'm not sure. After that I walked around a bit and saw some parts of the city. I walked through a street market and there were many vendors. There was a large fountain that shot out water at different intervals. It was interesting and seemed to attract a lot of people's attention.
After visiting the temples and memorial, I headed for downtown. I decided to do some shopping around downtown and there were many places to visit. There was a huge bookstore as well as a music and movies store. I ended up eating dinner at the California grill, an American restaurant but it was delicious. I had a meat pizza to start out with and then I had cheesecake for dessert.
Soon after, I walked around outside and it was packed with people. So many people had come to see the fireworks and watch a concert apparently. There was a Chinese Pop concert right next to Taipei, 101. The 101 building is Taipei's main attraction and tallest building. At midnight, the lights would go out and countdown to the New Year. It was December 31, 2011. So I walked a bit more and came to the place where the concert was being held. I watched it for a little bit but I couldn't understand anything. I didn't know any of the artists so I quickly lost interest. I figured since I had a while till the fireworks, I could go and do some more shopping. So that's what I did and then around 10 pm I sat down at a place near 101 and just relaxed and waited for fireworks show.
At 12 o'clock, the fireworks show started with the lights going dark. Then a countdown began and then all the sudden out of nowhere, lights came up from the side of the building. It was very beautiful. The fireworks continued to brighten the sky for the next five or ten minutes. It was a nice display, one I had never seen before in my life. I even a made a friend in Taipei on the bus towards downtown that same week. Somehow he spotted me in the crowd and we met again. That was cool. It was so crowded afterward that there was no traffic or cars for at least a mile from where the fireworks were taking place.
The next morning I went to a place called Xin Beitou. This place was known for a hotspring called the Geothermal valley. So I went to go check it out. It was amazing to see the vapors rising from the hotspring. It seemed to have that medicinal quality if you just breathed in the vapors. Obviously this hotspring is not one that people are allowed to go in because the temperature is far too hot. It was a great spot nonetheless. There was what looked like a house or temple at the peak of the valley. It was a nice place to visit and it was definitely one of my favorite spots.
I stayed in Xin Beitou for a little bit and walked around the area. There was a park and a little winding river that we passed along the way to the Geothermal valley. So after spending the day in Xin Beitou, I headed toward one of the most famous spots in Taipei, the Shilin Night Market. It was definitely popular on New Year's Day, it was full of people. It was basically a place with games and shops as well as food. Food is the main part of the market. In the main area there are food vendors making traditional dishes and several different foods.
While it was very crowded, it was nothing new and it didn't stop me from trying some very delicious food. I tried some Chinese dumplings but they were the size that could feed a giant, lol. I ordered five of them just to try it out but when I got them, I realized just how big they were. Taiwan was a great trip full of adventure, surprises and delicious food.
It was very nice I could visit my friends since I traveled alone.
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