Day at the museums

Time really flies! Today marks the first week of my time here in Taiwan. The first activity of the day was a visit to Shung Ye Museum of Formosan Aborigines. It opened me up to the history of aboriginal tribes and indigenous people in ancient China and Taiwan. What particularly impressed me was how the men in the past inserted two stick-like structures in their ears to carry seeds for planting. It was indeed ingenious but I'm surprised how they managed to endure the pain of piercing such large holes in their ears. Everyone cracked out in laughter when Randy guessed that they were chopsticks. Unfortunately, there are no photos to show as photography is prohibited in the museum. The lunch that followed the museum tour was fantastic. The phenomenon of having Western-styled cuisine in a Chinese-dominated country just serves to depict how much globalization has resulted in the crackdown of international boundaries, where different cuisines are now readily available across the globe.

Lunch

Next up was a visit to the National Palace Museum. It was, in my opinion, the most majestic museum I've seen to date in Taiwan - and it was really crowded! A foreigner would have thought it was owned by the aristocrats. I got to see many ancient structures, equipment and sculptures that are both exquisite and exotic. This can be said so for the souvenirs in the gift shop. They had a Taiwanese feel to it and I felt convinced enough to purchase a box of 32 Chinese Chess cakes for friends back home. Despite the prohibition of photography, I still managed to get one with a statue outside the main exhibition hall.

The evening segment was spent at Shilin night market. I can only exclaim in excitement: WOW!!! It is really humongous! As for the food that I tried, I shall let the photos do the talking. I will probably visit the place again before I leave the country. And alright, tomorrow is our only free day! Hurray! Looking forward to it!!! :) :D

 Coffin board

Escargots

 Smelly tofu