Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas here in Taiwan. Especially in Taipei. It's wonderful. There are lights and holiday decorations everywhere. It's hard not to start feeling jolly with so much holiday spirit.

Last week, Rooney and I ventured to Taipei for lunch and to see something worth seeing. Lunch was good and American - Gordon Biersch. It was delicious and it is at the City Hall stop on the MRT. There were Christmas decorations everywhere! It was great. And right outside there was a HUGE Christmas tree that you could take pictures in. It was awesome. There was also a game to play, so we did. We thought we were playing against each other and so sabotaged ourselves rather than working together. Haha.

After lunch we went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall. Originally we had planned on going to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial but it was much further away from our lunch stop.

Yellow scarf was the art director

changing of the guards

hahaha

101 and kites

sys mh

The Sun Yat Sen MH is huge. I didn't realize it would be so big but it is filled with art galleries and historical galleries. It was pretty cool. And the grounds were awesome. There is a lake, lots of gardens, and some awesome views of Taipei 101.

When we arrived at the hall, the changing of the guards had just started. It was pretty cool to see. He was the first president of the ROC and influential in the revolution. The three branches of military take turns guarding his statue that sits in the entrance hall of the memorial. After we had walked around outside, we saw a little boy doing that guard's routine. It was adorable. He was so focused and serious.

Outside there were some old men flying kites. They were so high. It was really cool! We stopped and talked to them for a couple minutes asking who's kite was who's. They were such cute old men. Haha.

But the best part of the day was when we asked a fellow picture taker to take a picture of us in front of Taipei 101. So she took one and then we thanked her. She insisted on taking another one. So we obliged and then thanked her. And then she started directing a photo shoot that ended with a picture of Rooney and I sitting back to back, arms crossed across each other, and symmetrical legs. It was hilarious. I was dying. The pictures are actually cute, but it was something else. I truly felt like I was on some set and she was the art director. She was having people move things, telling us where to put our hands and feet, etc. Hahaha.

Danshui

On Sunday, a group of us went to Longshan Temple and Danshui. It was Ting, Rooney, Cristelle, Alex and myself. Ting wanted to take us to Danshui and then added the temple in as well. It was kind of on the way - in Taipei. 

Longshan Temple is really cool. It is a huge temple in the middle of the city but it is a gathering place for many different types of people. As soon as you come up from the MRT there are swarms of people. Old men playing some sort of game, old women standing around talking, vendors, homeless people, tourists, people coming to pray, monks, and more. In short, it is a great place for people walking. 

When you enter the gates of the temple, there is a pretty good sized waterfall. It was cool. And the temple itself is gigantic. Ting walked around with me and told me all sorts of interesting things about the temple. There are always tables that are loaded with food that the people bring to give to their ancestors. But she told us that when the person leaves, they take the food with them so it is always food that the person wants to eat themselves. Haha. Needless to say there was a lot of fruit and cookies. 

After the temple, we walked around the surrounding area. It was a big day market that sold loads of food and other things - some normal, some weird. At one point, a homeless guy came up to Rooney and started talking to him (in Chinese of course). Then he started doing KungFu and we thought there was going to be an altercation. And then it turned into a dance off. Haha. It was hilarious. We were snapping pictures and thanking the Lord it wasn't us who were forced into the competition. 

After the temple area we hopped on the MRT and headed to Danshui. It is a little port town that is no longer a port but still has a lot of the charm. It was so crowded. The weather was wonderful and it's right on the coast so it's a perfect spot for sunset. We ate "linner" at a Mexican restaurant. It was DELICIOUS. So good. I had a burrito and we had a pitcher of margaritas. It was great! We were all very happy.

As we walked back along the water, there were so many games and so much food. It was like a carnival. There were all sorts of shooting games. Rooney tried his hand at one and to the surprise of us all, except maybe himself, he excelled. He won a toy which he then gave to some passing child. Haha. But he had a lot of fun doing it.

When we made it back to Taipei we decided to walk around the Shilin night market. It is one of the biggest and after walking around it I'm not surprised. It is huge. You can find everything there. And then you can find it all again. It is crazy all the things they sell there. We tried on a lot of crazy clothes and accessories. It was a good laugh. 

Alex, Rooney, Cristelle, Ting, Me @ Longshan Temple

Enjoying the Margs!

Sunset in Danshui

Rooney's dance battle

Longshan Temple

Praying

The offerings

Lights and Candles

Sunset

It was a great Sunday! And it was nice to have some company for once!