Solo Trip - Taiwan (July 2023) - Taipei Wandering Around Dihua Street and Market Area

 

After my breakfast, I just wandered around the area. It was a super old area. Some of the shops are so retro too! Like the above laundry shop that also sells ice cream. There is always a hint of Japanese culture in Taiwan, there , but not quite there. I appreciate the effort. 

I also found a local market, and spend almost an hour wandering around it. I think it was near a place called Taiping, or Taiping Bridge. It was Sunday, so the market was crowded. Lots of aunties with trolleys like everywhere else....

Giant bamboo shoots? I am not really a fan. If it's fresh, I would eat it. But I hate those fermented ones cause I can't stand the smell of it. The like to put it in their bento lunch boxes a lot. I would still eat it if it comes with it, but I really hate the smell of it!

Locals selling pickles. 

Small dishes and meat balls.

A park nearby with an old lady having a conversation with a giant statue, lol. Looks kinda comical, right?

On the way back, it was starting to get hot again. I walked up and down Dihua Street doing some shopping, and finally stopped by this dessert shop. What caught my eye was they serve yam in their soya bean curd, and boy do I love yam! This was also the shop where the lady rolled her eyes at me when I asked if the soya bean curd is served cold. It was freaking hot outside, of course it was served cold! Again, I splurged on unnecessary luxury food, ordering a soya bean curd with yam and black sugar. OMG, so good!!!! It was quite filling, so I actually had it as lunch and didn't eat anything else till evening since I was meeting my friend for dinner.

To walk from my hotel to Dihua Street or Dadaocheng Area, I try to walk underground as much as possible since it's hot in the open. These are some sights from the underground walkway. Sometimes I walk here at 6am :P  Not really advisable since it's quite deserted with some homeless people around. 

But they have cute anime like decorations all over the place. Mainly cause there were a lot of toy shops there, as well as video game shops. So leaving you with this cute cat poster I found there. Ngah!