XINAN TEMPLE

Welcome to Xinan Temple! This place is found at the middle of our cable car journey, from Taipei Zoo Station to Maokong Gondola. 

THE BEAUTIFUL TAMSUI

This superb place is located on the northern tip of Taipei. The name "Tamsui" means "fresh water", a lot of people go here to enjoy the beach view, specifically the sunrise and sunset. Restaurants and stalls are also around the riverbank. You can bring the whole family and enjoy different cusines. You can also buy foods including varieties of snacks, tea, ice cream, barbecue, and a lot more.

One of the highlights of tamsui is you can take a boat and ride around the river. It was my first time to ride a boat, at first I felt dizzy, but after a couple of minutes I had fun. The smell of the river and the feel of the air gave me a wonderful feeling. It was really stress relieving. 

If you will go to Taipei, I recommend this place! 

GLIMPSE OF TAIPEI FROM ATOP: CABLE CAR EXPERIENCE

THINGS ABOUT CHINESE NEW YEAR YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN

Firstly, I want to greet you all Happy New Year!!

恭喜發財！！ 祝你大吉大利，萬事如意！！狗年旺旺來！!

A big part of the world celebrates Chinese New Year that is why my blog post for today are the things I have learned about Chinese New Year and I am sharing it with you.


🎇Chinese New Year is based on Lunar Calendar. Every year the date varies, it always falls between January 21-February 20. It is according to the movement of the moon. The day of the New Year falls when the moon is full.

🎇It is also called Spring Festival. It marks the end of winter days and start of spring season.

🎇Family eats dinner together om New Year's eve. Lots of foods are served on the dining table.

🎇The color of New Year is red. Houses and establishments are decorated with red couplets, streets are lanterned with red, people wear red clothes, and children are given red envelopes (紅包). For Chinese, color red signifies wealth and happiness and it brings good luck.


🎇No matter what month and date is your birthday, everyone gets a year older during this season.

🎇People thouroughly clean their houses before New Year's day so that to remove "dirts" from the old year and to bring luck for the coming year.

🎇Lion and dragon dances are performed to drive away bad spirits and welcome good luck.

PS. Photos were taken at Dihua Street, see my previous post about my visit in this old street. In the photo is an Uncle (阿伯) who was calligraphing my Chinese name (珍妮佛) which is read as Zhen Ni Fo.

*All photos in my blog are taken by me.

恭喜發財 福要到了!

When I was still in Taiwan, this was the season I went to an old street called Dihua Street located in Datong District, Taipei City. It is the place where Taiwanese buy goods for the preparation of Chinese New Year. As I have described earlier, it is one of the oldest streets in Taiwan.  According to my lady boss, the buildings are more than a hundred years old. That idea attracted me to pay a visit to this place.
Though the distance from the nearest MRT Station was relatively far as I have walked for around 20 minutes, I think everything is worthy about this place. But a simple reminder, this place is a bit quiet during ordinary days.

Here you can find a lot of big and small stores and stalls that will provide your needs for the coming Lunar New Year. There were foods of different kinds like fish eggs or caviar, candies, pork, tea, Korean kimchi, sausage and a lot lot more. Street foods like sausage, dumplings, and corn were also available. I remember I bought Taro Jam home.

The place was crowded as people were all busy finding their needs and making good deals for things they need for the coming Lunar New Year. Vendors were friendly that I was able to photograph them.

Today, a week before Chinese New Year, surely this place is once again busy and crowded. If you are nearby, don’t forget to see and shop at Dihua Street.

PS. The title is read as KONG SHI FA CHAI, FU YAO TAO LA! Which means "Happy New Year, blessings are coming!"

HOW DID I GET THERE?

On my first blog post, I have talked about Fo Guang Shan (Buddha's Light Mountain) which is certainly one of the best places I've been to. After a few thoughts, I realized I should have told you beforehand how did I get to like this place?

I have gone around Taiwan by either bus or train. There were many times I walked and biked but those are of course for nearby places. Most of my destinations were far from the place I lived (my employers' home). My lady boss gave me a day a month, a chance to explore the beauties of their country and she would give me suggestions and reviews about the places I might want to visit. She had been to these places so she thought I would love to see them. On the night before, she would give me a map and instructions on how to get there.

By public bus
From my boss' house, I would ride a bus to MRT Station (Banqiao Station). Taiwan buses are labelled with numbers (ex. Bus 232 heading Taipei Main Station) which have designated routes. You should know your bus number first if you don't want to get lost. Don't worry, there is a guide found at the bus stop wherein you can check the bus numbers and their routes. These buses stop only at their designated bus stops, therefore you should take and alight only on these stops. The bus driver won't pick or drop you off just anywhere. This is one of many things I like about Taiwan transportation. Regular fare is NT$15 (P24.00)

Anyway, taxis are also available inside and outside the cities of Taiwan. It is just bus is more affordable for me. I would take a taxi only if I am late on my curfew which is 8PM because there is a grandma waiting for me to give her a bath and put her to bed.

By MRT or HSR
Thanks to MRT as it made my go-round-the-city more accessible. I can go to any point of Taipei City by subway trains. Taiwan's MRT stations are so clean. You can also find stores of different kinds inside. You will never get bored walking down the platforms.

Another kind of transportation which travels across Taiwan is the High Speed Rail. It starts from Nangang (North) and the last terminal is Zuoying (South), for about 1.45 hours. It runs at a speed of about 300 km/hr. I feel very lucky to experience HSR for a couple of times. It was like an airplane ride experience.

These are the transportations I used to ride during my travel across Taiwan.

ALL GOOD THINGS TAKE TIME

On the South part of Taiwan, there is a place you will be surely amazed of. This place took nine years to build, proving the saying "All good things take time."

Fo Guang Shan ( 佛光山) or  "Buddha's Light Mountain") is an international Chinese Buddhist new religious movement based in Taiwan. It is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung and it is called
Fo Guang Shan ( 佛光山) or translated as  "Buddha's Light Mountain", the largest Buddhist Monastery in Taiwan. The organization is also one of the largest charity organizations in Taiwan.

I strongly recommend this place when you down South. It was more than an hour bus ride from Zuoying. You will surely be in awe when you get to this place. Everything is nearly perfect.