Letters to Taiwan: Day 2

We woke up on the 9th of March feeling well rested for the day ahead. But first, food!

Our cab driver the previous day recommended some dumplings just down the street from where we were staying, so we decided to give them a try for breakfast. Honestly, these might just be one of the best dumplings I've ever tasted. We also found a nice, quiet little park next to the store.

The hearty, glorious dumplings. They looked so plain and ordinary, but the filling, coupled with the perfectly cooked dumpling skin and the sauce made these one of the best 'meals' I had in Taiwan.

Taichung's weather was cool, even slightly chilly, a big albeit pleasant change from Singapore's sweltering heat. We saw vehicles zooming around the streets, but the walkways were relatively peaceful, with lesser crowds compared to the night time. I also discovered how motorbikes were more frequently found on the roads. There are even designated stopping areas before traffic lights, specially for bikes. 

Unknowingly, we spent most of our second day popping by the vast amount of Nike, Adidas and other sports stores around the vicinity near our home. To say I was surprised by the number of stores there were was quite an understatement! It seemed like almost every street we ventured to had at least two Nike stores - just opposite each other at that! If that wasn't enough, there are also dozens of stores that housed a large number of brands such as Under Armour, Vans, Keds and even DC. 

Qi Lun also started hunting for his pair of navy Nike Roshes after we saw them going for just 2,250NT at one of the stores. Roshes were practically in every Nike store there was, so it was just a matter of looking for the cheapest one. And here we were in Singapore searching far and wide (and even online) for a decent pair of Roshes...... Taiwan has them everywhere!

I would soon discover that Taiwan's streets are littered with a beautiful mix of old and new buildings. That, combined with the pretty trees and greenery, made for some amazing snaps! 

Honestly, I can't imagine doing the amount of walking we did under the hot sun, so thank goodness the weather was cooling. 

The only downer would probably be the rain (that we came to experience almost every single day in Taiwan). But that was still alright, considering we were walking around shops. 

We also stumbled across this cute apparel store near our home that had these two little poodles in them! They were really obedient, standing that the store's entrance and not coming out. All they did was look at people as they walked by. 

To end the night off, we went for Round #2 at the Fengjia Night Market, and then went home to pack our bags to set off for Hualien.