Day 2: Jiangguo Market and Eslite

I met up with Mom and Simone for breakfast at the hotel. After stuffing ourselves with goodies from the buffet, we walked down Xinyi Road to the Jiangguo Market. We enjoyed a leisurely stroll through the plant market and thoroughly enjoyed getting "misted" a number of times! From there we entered the jade market. Less than half of the vendors were there, which was fine because the jade market is overwhelming when it's at full capacity. Simone fell in love with a bracelet made with clear yellow gemstones, but it was extremely expensive so she opted not to buy it. Later, as we walked back through the plant market a tea set caught her eye. It was also incredibly expensive - something like CAD$250. We joked about her expensive taste.

We crossed over Xinyi and went into the craft market. I explained to Mom and Simone that all of the vendors in the craft market are disabled in some way. For example, most of the painters are deaf. They have hearing "buddies" who help them communicate with customers. One vendor who sells hangings is mute, and uses evocative self-taught hand signals to "talk" to customers. Other vendors are in wheelchairs - and one "laoban" (manager) was a little person who used crutches to get around.

From the Jiangguo Market we walked to the Da'an MRT station and then to my favorite restaurant, Pho Savoy. We all had "bun" (cold rice noodles with veggies and sauce) topped with deep fried veggie spring rolls - yum! After gorging ourselves, we walked to my office because I forgot to print out the itinerary for our "Tour de Taiwan." I introduced them to Mr. Ye, the security guard that I always wave to when I arrive at work and leave for the night. I told them that he reminds me a lot of Dad, and they agreed.

Tired from walking, we caught a cab to the City Hall MRT station and I introduced them to the magic of Eslite. They were overwhelmed with all of the little shops and the vast array of products for sale. When we got to the book levels they were amazed at how many people were reading books in the aisles and at reading stations. Anywhere there was a perch, there was a person reading.

We caught a cab back to the hotel, freshened up, and then went back to Din Tai Fung for dinner. We had more xiaolongbao, shuijiao, and red bean paste baozi. We also ordered house fried rice to add a little variety to our meal. Once again the staff were amazing and we left feeling very satisfied.

It wasn't raining so we had another walk around the Yongkang Street area. This time the neighbourhood was full of people socializing, shopping, and walking off their dinner. The weather was perfect and we wanted to stay longer, but we were walked out. So, after 30 minutes or so Mom and Simone went back to the hotel and I caught a cab home.