Vancouver Banshee: Taiwan -- Day 11 Sun Moon Lake, and Taipei, Shilin Night Market

Bev at the marble wall The Wen Wan Resort

The next morning our group relaxed and blogged our experiences before heading back into town to rent an electric scooter so that we could explore the road along the lake again. This time I thought it would be done in a nice relaxing ride with some stops for photos. At first it was just myself but the idea caught on and eventually our

Taiwan

5 group was at the store getting our scooters. We had to rent electric scooters due to the fact that the Vespa rentals need an International Drivers License.

View of the The Wen Wan Resort Grounds

Giant Spiders in Sun Moon Lake

My electric bike in Sun Moon Lake/

I had never ridden a scooter before but for some reason it didn’t look hard and I thought I could wing it. They are a little harder to control then they look but once you manage to balance your feet on the platform in front your fine. The only negative with the electric scooter is that you have to keep the throttle on all the time to maintain speed. If you ease up then you slow down. We set off at a lovely leisurely place like five little ducks all in a row. As fate would have it, a quarter of the way around the lake Wireless Mark had more bike trouble. This time his engine cut out and wouldn’t restart. Kate, Bev and I rode to the next bike store to order a replacement bike for Mark. Then with time running out we couldn’t finish going around the lake so we had to head back to the hotel to check out. We met poor Mark back at the bike rental. Sun Moon Lake sure hadn’t been nice to him and his bike(s), pedal or electric. His ride with the pros and the leisure ride both were ruined due to poor mechanics.

Riding around Sun Moon Lake

View of Sun Moon Lake

Sun Moon Lake

We raced back to the hotel, showered and repacked everything before setting off on a three-hour bus ride back to Taipei.

Count of mishaps by Day11/12:

2 pairs of Sunglasses washed away,
1 HTC phone went for a swim and but was saved by “Magic Rice”
1 iPhone 4 lost, but found again
1 GIANT bike – chain broken
1 Electric Scooter, engine blown
4 pairs of shoes that had to be thrown out due to wetness
2 plunges of a bike and onto the ground
2 iPhone 3 slightly damaged by water but saved by “Magic Rice”
and last but not least,
1 DSL camera so waterlogged not even “Magic Rice” could save it.

Once we got back to Taipei we checked back into the Grand Victorian Hotel. Our plan for the evening was dinner and finally a visit to the Shilin night market. I had brought an empty suitcase to Taiwan in anticipation of all my shopping and so far the only store I had really been in was a 7-11. Our bus dropped us off at the night market and we had an hour of free time to wander around before meeting up with John and heading to a local hot pot restaurant.

Shilin Night Market

Wow, I didn't try it, but I wonder, what is really frog eggs?
Shilin night Market

Shilin Night Market Fruit Stall

Shilin Night Market -- Clothes Stores

Another food stall in the Shilin Night Market.
I wish I had of tried it.

The hot pot was a new experience for me but it was delicious. Basically you sit at a table for six that had an empty hole in front of each place setting. The hostess came along with six metal pots filled with stock and placed them in each hole. She then turned on the induction heater below each pot. Next came along plates of meat, seafood and vegetables, noodles and a variety of mushrooms. You then placed your selection of food into the broth till it was cooked and ate heartily. It was a great way to wind down our Taiwan trip and converse with each other over a leisurely meal.

Hot Pot Restuarant, Shilin Night Market

Cola Mark, Wireless Mark and Bev at the Hot Pot Restuarant
Shilin Night Market, Taipei, Taiwan

Food for the hot pot

After dinner we did a little strolling through the night market. I picked up one or two things but I would have needed hours to properly browse and bargain my way through the market. Exhaustion was quickly laying claim to our little group and we headed back to the hotel.