Ethnic Deco in Shopping Mall

Last weekend I had a quick peek into my favourite mall to see what kind of deco they had put up for the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration..

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I was not disappointed.  In the center court there was an open shelter with coconut trees. I thought the coconut trees were missing an important feature. There were no coconuts. I would not expect them to hang real coconuts up in the trees but the people who set up the deco could have used the coconut husks and tied them up to make them look like coconuts.

Nevertheless the over all impression was delightful.  The shelter had various woven trays and baskets on display.

Up in the air there were different colorful kites. We call them "wau".  They were very pretty.

Just a few feet away there was an exhibit of kites created with different themes. It was a competition, I believe as there were indications of placings.

Across the other side of the road another exclusive mall also used woven mats in their displays which were quite attractive in a their own way.

Time was short so I did not have the opportunity to scout out what other malls in the city had by way of dressing up for the occasion.

Yeliu Geopark, Taipeh

This is a scenic area along the coast north of Taipeh.  It is also a very popular tourist spot.

As we entered the small coastal town, we saw many shops selling live crustaceans, fish, prawns, etc.

 Before entering the geopark, it is the norm for tourists to have a seafood lunch.

The food that we were served was fresh and tasty and the portions were big.

After a hearty lunch we made our way to the geopark. There were three main areas which were well spread out. As time did not permit us to visit all the areas, we confined ourselves to the closest one.
There were interesting rock formations that resembled mushrooms.

Signboards provided information about the plants in the area as well, although we did not actually see them as we were unable to explore more than the nearest area.

Besides it was a very hot and humid day.  After such a heavy lunch, no one felt up to walking in the heat.

Jui Fen, A Quaint Village Beyond Taipeh

Jui Fen is a tourist “must see” village high up on a mountain slope with narrow shopping streets that sell local handicraft and food.

As we left the city what we saw from the bus was an eye opener. There were more open spaces and the buildings were old.

Big buses could not negotiate the bends that go up the mountain so everyone had to queue for the smaller buses that ply up and down, taking visitors to Jui Fen.

While queuing up, there were road side toilets where one could relieve oneself if necessity arose.

Passenger safety obviously was not paramount as our group of 18 were herded into a bus that was already full so we had to stand all the way for twenty minutes or more, swinging precariously as the bus rounded the bends going up the mountain. Quite unlike the smaller buses that took us up the mountain in Zhangjiajie in Mainland China.

Throngs of people were everywhere and our guide told us where to meet at a prefixed time. Then off we went to explore.

The little shops were full of surprises. The main language spoken was Mandarin although the local Hokkien was also widely used.

One interesting discovery was the ice cream placed on a base of fresh pounded peanuts wrapped in a round thin pastry skin.

Giant white bitter gourd was also on display and there were herbal drinks concocted from ginger, black sugar plus almond and longan.

Taiwanese snacks were ubiquitous and the fishball soup was recommended.

It was a very interesting visit and one couldn’t get lost as there is only one way in and one had to come out the same way, although there were short side streets leading to people’s homes.