Sourpuss in Shilin

I wanted to make it to the much-talked-about (at least on tour websites) National Palace Museum, so that was today's destination.  I got to Shilin Station, but wanted to get something to eat before spending hours in a museum, so I explored the food stalls outside the station.  I wanted to ask if this 'Chinese pancake' (according to the sign) thing was vegetarian, but I had to wait in line... for her to tell me no.

I ended up going to the cart next to hers, where a man was selling veggie stuff.  I got a nice green salad (leafy green salads are soooooo rare in Japan) and something mysterious wrapped in corn leaves.  He was also offering this gelatinous white thing with sauce, but I've tried that before  (it's tofu and radish, or something like that) and I really don't like it, so I passed on that.

I sat down on a nearby bench to eat, discovered the dressing packet (homemade thousand island!!) under the salad and started to eat.  The guy came hustling over, looking concerned, but then noticed that I had found the dressing, and retreated while smiling and nodding.  Haha~  A few minutes later, he brings over a bottle and a jug of water (remember - you can't drink tap water here, so this was a gallon from the convenience store), rinses out the bottle, then fills it up again and gives it to me.  THANKS.  XD  THEN not too much later, he brings over a bag of bread crusts (the heel slices), puts a bunch in a baggie, gives them to me, packs up his cart, tells me 'goodbye' in Chinese, and leaves.  O_O  Well... he was nice.

Oh, and the inside of the corn leaves was red bean rice with mushrooms and chickpeas.  I like redbean rice... a little.  It's REALLY DRY.  It's a special-occasion thing in Japan, so I've had it before, but it's just REALLY DRY.  I couldn't finish it.  >.<

My bread and I got on the bus for the museum.  Once there, I tried to get a nice picture of the museum beyond the gate, but had a hard time, thanks to everyone wanting their picture taken with the museum in the background.

Hobbit hole.

If only I'd known... not just one exhibit, but THE ENTIRE MUSEUM OMG

Inside, I had to check my bread.  :I  No food allowed apparently is very serious business.  I paid to rent an English audio guide, and began my battle with the tour groups.

It was horrible.  Tours everywhere and OF COURSE they have priority?!  They push and shove and crow around things.  Horrible.  Tour groups are horrendous.  Well, I did notice a few groups of Japanese tourists.  They were in small, polite groups.  <___________<  In any case, TOO MANY TOURS.  There was no real particular flow to two of the three floors, I tried to keep away from them as much as possible, but of course they wanted to see the most interesting or important pieces, and I figured I should see those too.

After three hours in the museum I had seen about a bajillion bronze pieces (mostly made for holding food) and 50 bajillion jade pieces.  I was done.  I had an enormous headache from the tour groups and the constant dim lighting in all the exhibit areas.  I checked the giftshop too see if there was anything that struck my fancy for gifts.  No cigar.  And I'm starting to thing collectible thimbles don't exist in Taiwan.  They had spoons.

I was getting hungry, so I went to the cafe and ordered some soba and oolong tea.  The soba was cold and covered in sesame dressing.. and PINK!  And there was meat on it, which displeased me because it wasn't mentioned on the simplistic English menu.  The tea was very bitter.

I removed the meat, ate the noodles, and drank part of the tea.  On the way out, I mentioned to the waiter who seated me (who seemed to speak some English) that the menu really should say that it comes with meat, since Taiwan is home to some pretty serious vegetarians, and those visiting from abroad kind of get used to that and if something sounds vegetarian, it probably is.  He told me it was veggie meat.  I left.

I was really crabby, so I didn't seek out the aboriginal museum that was supposed to be 'across the street' and just hopped a bus back to the station.

One of the more famous night markets in Taipei is the Shilin Night Market, but night markets don't really get going until 6.  It was a bit before 5.  Although it's called the Shilin Night Market, Shillin Station isn't the closest station, but the next one over is, so I went there.  I wandered in the general direction of the night market and found many stalls already open in the general area.

I got some red bean soup to eat while I waited.  Some school girls were also there.  Suddenly, one of the girls got a weird look on her face.  I looked where she was looking.  There was a cockroach scuttling around.  O____o  Eventually he ran under something and didn't re-emerge.  Ugh.

I looked around the shops: cute hats, cute socks, cute umbrellas, etc.  I found a headband I really liked, but it was out of the price range I usually go for for headbands (I do have a few exceptions, now that I think about it.  Maybe I should have bought it).

Eventually, I discovered that the aisle I'd been looking down THINKING it led to the night market wasn't really, but the next aisle over did.  Oh, I bought a cool ice cream thing!  There's a popular thing they do here where they candy a big block of peanuts together and shave it into powder.  I've seen several stands for this, but I didn't really get what was going on, so I walked by.  THIS ONE was making littke ice-cream burritos!  XD

First the man took a crepe and dusted a generous amount of the peanut stuff on.  There were five or six ice cream flavors to choose from and his wife plopped on the desired three scoops.  Then more powder and roll it like a burrito. Done!

See the block of peanut to his left?

The crepe shell made it easy to bite into at first because it wasn't cold, but the peanut powder meant the crepe wasn't sticking to anything, so it was a biiit difficult to eat, but I managed.  IT was yummy.

Okay, so I found my way into the night market.  This one is in a building.  I guess it was obstructing traffic or something, so they moved it here (but there is a large area around it full of vendors, so doesn't that obstruct traffic...?  I don't get it).  I explored the ground level a bit (shopping and games) before moving to the underground level (FOOD).  Lots of food.  I'd say if you want to eat, this is a good night market. If you want to shop, not so much.

It's weird that it's in an actual building instead of just the streets.

I guess this place is good.

Catch your own crayfish.  I thought it was a bit odd for a pet...

Then I saw this lady.  It's catch and eat, not catch and keep.  //orz

Fruit.  I bought some sugar apple (next to the strawberries an unpeeled in the top right).  The sample she gave me was sweeter than what I bought.  <_<  Oh well.  It's got a slightly rubbery texture, which is interesting.

While I was there, I visited the ladies room.  I think only a few of you know of my joking aspiration to have a blog devoted to the restrooms of the world, but this time I actually couldn't help taking a picture of something totally weird.

What's that?  Oh, just a toilet paper dispenser.  What it DOESN'T SAY IN ENGLISH is that this one and the one by the door are where you get your toilet paper.  They are outside the stalls, so you have to get some before you go in, or else you're outta luck.  O___________O  wut.

And a few more pictures on my way out.

The street blocked off for walking past all the vendors.

THE END.  Until next time~