Trip - Taiwan - Day 4 - Free and Easy

Hi Blog,

Today was our Day 4 in Taiwan. We made it into our free-and-easy day which they travelled anywhere they like.

(Credit MZ) Personally, I wanted to visit somewhere but because I have my friend, ZQ and his two sons who are not familiarized with Taiwan hence I decided to bring them out. His two sons wanted to go to the comics shop which we found yesterday.

I can leave my Day 4 emptied but I believed I will come out with something; and true enough, I have something to share.

We found this comics store near Shilin Market. Comics stores especially Chinese translated comics, are disappearing or another negative way of saying, drying. You may google "Comics are drying". Even finding one or two comics stores in Taiwan district (even in Singapore) is considered a gem, as not many stores left.

Personally, even though it got a bit messy and narrow... This place is heaven to me.

I had a strong urge of wanted to tidy this whole place... And I understand the boss is also having a hard time doing that without any assistance. I just had a short conversation with him and he was happy to have someone (Like me the nerd) still wanted to buy physical copy comics from him.

MZ and WH managed to purchase a figurine from him. Can see that smile on his face.

These were what I got from him. I promised myself, I will continue to support him whenever I visit Taiwan. Hope he will make some changes to his stores and I hope others will support him too.

Speaking about Shilin, usually, people will say Shilin Night Market. Have you ever wondered how Shilin Market in the day? It is a just normal street without crowds.

Look at an empty street - perfect for photography.

At least, now we can see the exterior of the temple.

Sorry, I didn't spend a lot of time learning about this place because I was scared to write. Hahaha.

Just a sneak preview of inside when there was zero visitor.

Opposite the temple, we saw a vegetarian signboard pointing towards a narrow entrance and it was under this stage which is 2m in height. There sells smelly tofu noodles! OMG! It was delicious. I didn't take a pic of it because I was enjoying the food.

At night, I doubt I can see the direction of this alley and during the day, it was a long stretch!

I wondered what it looks like at night.

Managed to get peaches in their market but it isn't what I expected. I am looking for a larger, soft and juicy peach.

After taking a good afternoon nap, it was evening time. The group wanted to eat at...

Loving Hut 愛家國際餐飲 台北 和平店 at Da An District. It was raining but that doesn't dampen their mood.

A few pictures of its exterior - greenery

And Cafe style

It seemed like we were their first evening customers for that day.

The space in Taiwan is so spacious, perfect for a dining experience.

Looks like it's a vegetarian Western kind of cuisine but might have to avoid those pungent vegetables.

Wanted to have a blog post focus on the food but nah...

Just to show you, the food which we had ordered and this was my order.

Spaghetti is just too mainstream.

So does pizza. Hahaha!

I almost ordered this but luckily, I didn't because it tasted mediocre... Just meh... I wish to cook such egg style but this is different... As what I expected.

Anyway, it started to rain heavily and I heard that Jon (my Canadian friend who is doing his study in Taiwan) was available to meet up; so I decided to rush down to Raohe Night Market alone to catch up.

Now it was my first official travel alone in Taiwan and find my way to my next destination.

Even though it was raining but I felt motivated to test my direction sense...

...first time overcome my fears of travelling overseas...

...with the help of Google to get me grounded and have a bird-eye view of my position... Speaking of Jon, I told Jon to play a bit of hide and seek at the Raohe Station; let's see who can find one another first but I lost to him.

FINALLY got to meet Jon, my oversea friend and my blog friend too.

At Raohe Night Market, it was still raining.

I wanted to snap more pictures but the rain just dampened my mood.

But at least, the crowd was reduced and I can snap at ease.

(Credit Jon) I guessed I will learn to embrace what it is.

OH YES! Here got fried Mushrooms! :D Yummy! I knew that I was bloated but these mushrooms were welcomed to fill in my fat tummy.

(Credit Jon) Waiting patiently for my order to get ready.

Yes yes yes

My hands were tied, so Jon and I just went to a counter and had a good time chit-chatting. Finally got to see Jon in 3D (another way of saying to see him alive) because typically, I only read or see him in 2D. Now I got to register his voice and his little embarrassment (as an introvert himself) as I had to switch on the extrovert switch in me.

Can you imagine if he is an introvert, and I just behave like an introvert; it will be super awkward and might send the wrong message to him like I am not interested to meet up. Jon can't and won't believe that I am an introvert but I was trying to explain to him; like he came to Taiwan for study, so he will have to be 'extrovert' to work together with people. We had a great chat moment here and finished my mushrooms.

Anyway, I took this opportunity to show him how I took pictures for myself. He just laughed and fully understood why most of my pictures were taken from the ground; not that I did it purposely, it was due to my constraint and limitation. Due to limited time and Jon being very tired, I decided to do a quick shopping around here.

(Credit Jon) While I was trying out the pants, Jon was so playful and selfie himself. Alright alright! Jon, you will be honoured and featured on my blog. Girls out there, here is a keeper. Grab him quickly. Check out his deep dimples. How I wished I have dimples.

The rain started to get heavier than lighter...

I guessed, I will just return home and let him rest early.

Thanked Jon for agreeing to meet this nerd. Sorry to take up your time and we will meet again next time.

When I was back to my room...

...I got KO-ed instantly...

But I needed to show you what I had purchased in Taiwan - three comic books, a jacket and a pair of jeans; and some souvenirs.

Today's free-and-easy was kind of random and I am glad we had such an arrangement; if not, I won't be able to test myself to travel alone and met up with my friend, Jon.

Oh yes! Something extra here. I asked Jon how he felt about our first meet-up. I guessed it is funny and great to keep it in my memory post, and it is great to have a third-person perspective. Here was what he wrote:

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Hello private blog, Jon here.

I get to write a short post about meeting Jeff. Jeff wanted to play a game and surprise me when we met at the night market, but he didn’t know that I was two steps ahead of him. I snuck up behind him and texted him that I saw everything he was doing :) Jeff, as much as he is a planner and a mischievous one, ain’t got nothing on Jon!

Anyways, this was the first time I met up with Jeff and oh boy, he is definitely a 帥哥！ I dunno why no one wants a man like that. Carries himself confidently, speaks Chinese fluently, and so very considerate and kind. Plus, can’t forget that swimmer's body too!

Ok, I digress. It was nice just to hang out and just spend some night market time together. Though it was pouring rain and difficult to take pictures, and I was already tired from a long day, I was just happy just to walk around with a friend and finally get to hear his voice attached to his 3D person. I didn’t have much to ask or talk about… partly because I was tired from the day, but also partly maybe because one of the most basic needs is companionship/friendship, and that’s what I already felt Jeff gave.

I just hope that I was a good enough friend for him…

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Interesting thought, Jon.

Thank you Jon for your thought over our first meet-up.

Jeff