Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Taipei First Summer Night

The night was still young. No point staying in the hotel. Especially when there was a firework on that day to welcome me to Taiwan! So around 5pm or 6pm,  walked once again to that market I went in the morning. What a waste of steps! The name of the market was Yong Le Market. The building was red in colour. Why is everything red? Were they ruled by the Portuguese? Hahaha, hold that thought for future post!

Spotted two cute cats at the 2nd floor roof of the building nearby. Always take a photos of cats wherever you go! Cause they are cute! 

I walked pass a temple in front of the market. Many young ladies were praying inside, so I too went in to pay my respect. Later I read up that it was a temple where people went to pray for a good love life! Oh goodness! What have I done! Lol.

Further up north to YongLe the street become narrower and looked aged. This was what I think was the old town area. Kinda like Chinatown? Lots of medicine shop, herbs, dry goods etc. I felt at home here. In fact, I came back here again on my last few days. 

Here's another view of the streets. Taiwan has many many many scooters! 

Finally, I managed to reach the destination where the fireworks was going to be held. I was there very early, yet the crowd has already started to form. This is the  main entrance, and it's packed! Policeman was on duty for crowd control too. 

This was what it looked like at the other side of the wall, hahahaha. A row of photography enthusiast with their equipment all lines up ready to do. I felt like a celebrity walking pass them!

I was super early, so I took a scroll around the river side. The fireworks was going to be around the river, hence all the people were gathering around here for the best view. I thought the sunset over the river was the best view :)  Why is it I've never been to such a pretty place before even though I'm always in Taipei for work?

To cater to the crowd, there were also a lot of food trucks! And some are double story too! If you purchase a drink or food, you can go up and sit there with the great view! I love the photo above. It shows the vibe of the place very well. I could almost hear the music playing out loud too, like some music festival arena. Love the lights, the setting, and especially the beautiful summer sunset. I was slowly falling in love with this place, and it's only my 2nd day here!

As the sun set, it got darker, and I walked further and further away from the main gate to the garden area. I could see the trees all decorated with lights. Some part of it even have disco balls hang up glittering. It was so romantic that I almost wished that I was there with a special someone to share this beautiful view with.... 

Unfortunately, I didn't stay till the firework starts, cause it got more and more crowded, and I didn't feel like hanging around for another hour just for fireworks. So I decided to walk back before my GPS runs flat. On the way back, I passed the temple of love again, and I must say, it looks so much more beautiful at night without all the ladies there! Hahaha. The black, red and gold colour looks right for this place. I stopped again to pay my respect at the front door, and made my way back. 

Guess what! When I was near my hotel, it was almost time for the fireworks to start. I decided to linger around a bit, looking towards the river direction. Well, lucky me! I caught the fireworks! I didn't think I would, cause I thought the firework would be across the river. I was hoping to just see a small glimpse of it, but I managed to capture the above shot instead! It was a great start to my summer adventure!