Tuesday May 7
We took the subway to Ximen, an area that was actually developed during the Japanese occupation as the entertainment area of the city. It is a nice area to walk around because there are a lot of shops along a pedestrian friendly alley/street.
We saw small local cafes mixed with some of the popular American McDonald's and KFC's We turned into a side street and found a theater with restaurants in the lower floors. The theater covered floors 8 to 12. A department store covered the first five floors. The sixth floor had a Chili's and a Universal Tonkotsu Ramen Nagi. While the ramen house looked inviting, my husband's constitution dictated Chili's, much to my dismay.
After lunch, we walked through the street and window shopped for all kinds of merchandise geared mostly for a much younger clientele.
A very popular tourist attraction in the area is the Red House. The octagon shaped red building was built in 1908(?) by a Japanese architect. It started off as a food market, became a theater in the 1990's and has reverted to a market place for local artists and cultural awareness.
It was a very interesting stop for souvenirs.
Rooftop's Life @ Taiwan
Anime Pili puppetry characters
Then back to the subway and on to our next point of interest: The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial. It is dedicated to the founder and president of The Republic of China (Taiwan).
Third stop on our agenda was the Taiwan Handicraft Store and more souvenir shopping--of sorts. The store features art and handicrafts of the country's indigenous people. I had a wish list from my first visit there last year: puppets, a small bag with a certain design, and something with an owl to add to my collection of these wise old birds. Here is a link to their catalog so you can do some shopping, too:
http://www.handicraft.org.tw/catalog
This was a good day for shopping.
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