Day 1 - LungShan Temple 龙山寺，Ximending 西门町，Choosing of Wedding Gowns at 瑪格麗特婚紗
Day 2 - Wu Lai 烏來，錢櫃PartyWorld
Day 3 - Wedding Photography Day
Day 4 - Taipei Underground Shopping Mall 台北地下街，Ma La SteamBoat 天外天精緻麻辣火鍋，Choosing of Wedding Photos, Shilin Night Market 士林夜市
Day 6 - Cingjing 清境農場，Cingjing 小瑞士花園，Taichung 台中逢甲夜市，Ningxia Night Market 宁夏夜市
Day 7 - Yilan 宜兰 傳統藝術中心，Yilan Night Market 宜蘭羅東夜市
Day 8 - Yangmingshan 阳明山，Beitou 北投温泉, Collection of Partial Wedding Materials
Day 9 - Din Tai Fung 鼎泰豐, Back to SG :(
We (literally) scoot to Taiwan via an overnight flight, which meant that we have the entire Saturday to spend traveling around Taiwan. The downside to an early morning flight landing, apart from the droopy eyelids, is finding a place to deposit our luggage. We had booked a minsu 民宿, called 台湾猪窝, which is located right above Taipei Main station. Yay to convenience! But this meant, unlike a hotel, we couldn't access the place till the check-in time :( Lucky for us, Taiwan has lockers available at their main station. phew~
Our first destination was the famous Long Shan Temple 龙山寺. My third visit to this place, and yet I'm still in awed by how elaborately decorated and magnificent it was given the space constraint.
Some facts:
The statue of Kuan-in in this temple survived the bombing from the allied aircrafts on 8 June, 1945. The whole main hall and a part of the right annex were burned out during the air raid, but the statue of Kuan-in in the center of the main hall left intact.
Being a masterpiece of traditional Chinese architecture and a
well-established Buddhist temple in Taipei, the Lungshan Temple of Manka
has become a center of people's religious life and a heritage of local
culture. The government assigned Lungshan Temple a historical site of
second grade on 19 August, 1985, so that it will be preserved for future
generations.
We tried Chow’s Porridge 周记肉粥 in our last visit, and it's distinctively traditional taste meant that we had to get our family to try it as well. Apparently, it has been around for ages and is highly recommended by the locals.
I especially love the porridge, which is of a brownish hue and surprisingly delicious. Their deep fried pork is a must try. We noticed that the food were mostly served cold, or slightly raw, but it could be a signal to dip the foods in your porridge before eating it.
Next was Ximending 西门町 , a popular hang out place for youths. Interesting, this place reminds me of Myeong Dong in Korea.
One of our must try in Taiwan! Ice cream, with crushed peanuts and coriander leaves, wrapped in popiah skin. Refreshing as a summer treat.
We then proceed to the bridal studio, 瑪格麗特婚紗, bridal studio at around 5pm to try on the gowns. The hubby-to-be only has a few suit choices to choose from, while I get to try on a number of gowns. But much to my disappointment, I couldn't fit in most of the dresses as the previous few brides-to-be apparently had done a lot more in keeping slim and pretty, while I was still happily eating away. We were glad that we could take photos of all the gowns we tried on though! Very unlike the preconception I have of of bridal studios.
HOW TO GO:
龙山寺
Alight at Longshan Temple Station (Banqiao Line).
周記肉粥
Add: No. 104號, Guǎngzhōu Street, Wanhua District Taipei City, Taiwan 108Tel: 02-2302-5588
Operating Hours：06:00~16:30
Alight at Longshan Temple Station (Banqiao Line), turn right to Guangzhou Street as you see Longshan Temple right in front of you. Walk for 5 minutes.
Thank you for reading!
♥ Skye Tham & Kim
