Night Markets - A Way of Life

In Asian countries, night markets are a way of life. In these night markets, one can find vendors selling all kinds of goods. However, the main attraction is the food.

Entrance to the Night Market

You can find local food offered by different stalls, each specializing in either one dish or a variety of cooked dishes.

One of the Many Stalls 

Usually it is the aroma of grilled food that makes one salivate.

Sausages

Fresh Sea Food

You can tell if the food is good by the queues of people waiting patiently in line for their turn. Then you see them strolling along eating the food they had just purchased. Everything is so leisurely, despite the crowds.

Crowds Queuing

People come out at night to eat and buy things at the night market, where the prices are lower than those in the high street. It can be fun to be among so many people, listening to their jabbering and watching their happy faces. 

Crowds eating their purchased food

Strolling in the Night Market

Tourists like us peer at the offerings of many stalls before deciding which food to try.  The Taiwanese and the Cantonese people in Hong Kong like the “Chau Tow Foo” or Smelly Soy Bean Cake. However, I found the fried smelly tow foo too stinky to contemplate trying it out.

My sister and I settled for sweet potato wedges and chips. They tasted most delicious.

Sweet Potato Wedges & Chips

Shi Fen Old Street & Jui Fen Old Street

A couple of hours' drive away from Taipeh, these 2 old streets are tourist attractions by virtue of their long existence, tucked away up in the hills.

On way up to Shih Fen

The first stop was Shi Fen Old Street where a train still serves the little village. The train tracks bisect two rows of tiny shops.

Standing on the train tracks

The shops sell Sky Lanterns, souvenirs and vegetables.

Fresh vegetables

Here comes the train

Tourists stop here to purchase these lanterns and they write their wishes on the lanterns before they are let off into the sky.

Shop selling sky lanterns

 Swepa also purchased a lantern and we wrote our theme on one side while our inhouse Toast Masters  Club wrote on the other. Then our lantern was lighted up and set free into the sky, carrying our wishes for empowerment of women and more women helping women.

Our sky lantern with our theme before it was lit and sent off into the sky.

View from end of Jui Fen Old Street

The second stop was Jui Fen Old street which is a narrow 800 meter stretch of paved bricks flanked by small shops selling all kinds of souvenirs, local delicacies, herbs, confectionery, pastries, handicraft, clothing, bags and crockery.

Entrance to Jui Fen Old Street

 

We stopped by a few shops to check out their products. Most of them were very attractive and we could still do some bargaining.

The way up to these two old streets which are at an elevated level is very picturesque.

From Taoyuan International Airport, Taipeh to Hualian

On arrival at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taipeh, we were whisked by train to Hualian to meet up with a group of Taiwanese business women led by Ms Grace Chung. She was our host for lunch.

At the Railway Station

In the train en route to Hualian

In the Garden with Our Taiwanese hosts

Our destination was Laozhuang Garden Restaurant.

Sweparians with our banner

We were treated to a most scrumptious lunch.  As we dined, we were entertained by dances put up by the women. 

Taiwanese ladies dancing for us

 Here are some of the food we had.

Datuk Adeline (in blue jacket) joined us for lunch

Prawns on a base of Sea Salt Cooked over a fire

Steamed Fish

Later we exchanged momentoes and namecards for further networking in the future.

Exchanging momentos

A group photo after the lunch

I found communication a problem because I could not speak Mandarin and my knowledge of Hokkien, a local dialect which the Taiwanese speak, was very limited. They in turn, could not communicate well in English, save for a few ladies. 

Nevertheless, we could communicate with smiles and nods and on my part, a few basic Mandarin and Hokkien phrases to express my appreciation of the delicious food.