Taiwan Day Four

Sunday was a free day and we opted for an extra tour, we and another couple went to see Chiufen Mining Village and the seaside. The day was slightly warmer than the day before however as we drove out of the city a steady sprinkle of rain began to fall. At the seaside the waves were wicked yet there were still people standing on the rocks fishing. Our tour guide Michelle said that many people die each year by being swept into the sea and seeing how they are precariously perched on rocks while waves crash around them the death toll seemed a bit low. After our view of the Northern Sea we headed to the village of Chiufen. It was quite a drive and as we slowly wound our way through the mountain side we were able to get an idea of the struggle it must have been for the people living in the secluded mountain village. Once we finally got up there, we walked around sampling many of the food products and looking at the merchandise on their market street. On the way back to Taipei City we passed a very large funeral procession, our guide said it must be for a member of the mafia because she’d never seen one with so many bands and floats. Apparently each band or float is sponsored by a family or a business. This particular procession went on for almost a mile. It was truly a sight to see. Once back in the city we went to the Formosa Regent hotel for afternoon tea. It was really more of an afternoon buffet, there was Japanese sushi, Chinese dumplings and 100 other items to eat. The desserts included ice cream that you scooped yourself and a chocolate fountain. Needless to say we were all stuffed by the time we left. Next stop was Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world until a few weeks ago when the Dubai tower opened. We rode the elevator to the top which arrived in 45 nauseating seconds. The view of the city was spectacular and since we were above the clouds we were able to see the bright red sunset. The building itself was quite beautiful, it houses a mall and office buildings. We had a beverage at one of the restaurants to rest our tired feet before the walk back to the subway station. By the way Gabriella is born to live in a city with a subway system. She's loves scanning her token and walking through the little gates. Greg and I imagined her living in NYC taking the subway to school or work, she's a born city girl. On the way back to our hotel we stopped at the night market. Greg was able to get his noodle bowl from the famous noodle house. The noodle house has no seats, a customer orders, is handed the bowl of noodles and eats them standing up in front of the shop. We went to the Risotto stall but sadly I was still too full from lunch to partake in the delicious offering. Greg did surprise me with a coca cola slurpee from 7-11 which made my night.