KOREAN SPRING

Our third day in Taipei was the most laidback one; we'd woken up way too early on the previous two days, and so decided to sleep in this time. The day was rainy as usual, and our first destination was breakfast at Yong He Dou Jiang Da Wang (Soy Milk King), a very local, low-priced fast food joint specializing in soy foods. I read somewhere that you should go to this place for a true Taiwanese local breakfast experience, so we went a full 8 subway stops to Daan station and walked about 10 minutes to a bustling little 'restaurant' already with a line of people. To be honest, I've actually visited this place once when I was in Singapore (I think) when a friend took me to for the real Singaporean 'local' food experience. There I also tried similar dishes, though I didn't know what I was in for. So although I knew it wasn't a first, I still figured I'd go again to try other things, because who says you're only allowed to visit a place once wh

I'd say my second day in Taipei was half food and half sightseeing, which is why I've separated this into two blog posts. Our original plan, as is always the case, was jampacked with many stops that were nearly all cancelled out due to my (and my friend's) pathetic stamina as well as the depressingly cold and rainy weather. However, I still believe our trip was quite a fruitful one, filled with just as much rest as walking, which is fine by me because it gave my feet a break and I felt a lot more energy to enjoy the places I did manage to go. The first stop after brunch was the Lin Family Mansion and Garden, a once-private wealthy residence that dates back to the 18th century. The garden is a ten-minute walk from Fuzhong station and houses beautiful examples of traditional Chinese architecture as well as an abundance of plants placed strategically and harmoniously alongside the buildings. Half the place was under construction when we went, and we couldn't avoid the dr