台北の旅 2007 - Day 2
10月22日 - 我的台湾朋友，小P

woke up at about 9am cos i wanted to go online to update my blog and mixi. was very pleased to find that the hostel has 3 PCs which can be used anytime. also found a phone and tried to contact my Taiwanese friend, Xiaopi, but i didn't know how to use it. =P decided to try calling him again using the public phones outside. btw, Xiaopi is a Taiwanese dancer whom i had met in a dance studio in Osaka 2 months ago. he came Japan to take dance classes and we were happy to be able to communicate in Chinese! so before coming to Taipei, i contacted him and he was very kind in recommending mi the good dance studios to go. we also arranged to go for supper that night, but i was supposed to call him to confirm the meeting.


about 11am, i set off from the hostel and walked towards Ximen station. along the way, i couldn't help but notice the number of motorcycles parked along the road.


saw a little of Xi Men Ding in bright daylight too.


anyway, my first destination for the day was 中正纪念堂. was thinking of walking there initially, but i wanted to catch some marching parade at 12noon so i decided to take the metro instead. was glad that i did so cos i found a NT50 coin in the ticket machine! (the fare itself was only NT20) however, i reached 中正纪念堂 and discovered to my dismay that it was under renovation! couldn't go up the main building itself and there was no parade too. nonetheless, i found the place quite majestic and took many pics with my tripod stand (what i always do whenever i travel alone).




was glad that the main gate wasn't under renovation too. think the structure of it is very nice, but it was infested with pigeons! the wind was very strong too. i had to take a lot of shots (running to and fro the tripod stand with the camera set on timer) before i finally got a satisfactory picture.




bought a drink from the vending machine there cos it featured a drink endorsed by S.H.E. then tried to call Xiaopi but he didn't pick up. started to get a little worried about not being to get him in time.


after that, i walked to another two seemingly interesting places in the vicinity. the first one was the President's residence, and the second one known as 228 Peace Park. only took some pics of the main landmarks and left.


i then took the metro again to a station called Houshanpi. was told by the hostel people last night that this was a good place to shop for clothes. but before that, i needed to settle lunch first. saw this Beard Zhang restaurant which is famous for its 鲁肉饭 (recommended by my Chinese student, who has been to the branch in Kobe). i went in and ordered rice, vegetables and chicken soup. it's been such a long time since i last had such original Chinese food! really enjoyed it!


then off to shopping in Wufenpu! it is actually like a clothes distributor center where many people go to order clothings in bulk for their stores. the place seems like Bugis village to mi, but bigger and with many street hawkers selling various kind of food too. i spent like 3 hours there just to walk through the various little lanes of shops! saw so many nice autumn and hip-hop clothes that i had a hard time deciding what to buy. in the end, i bought a cap, a pair of dance pants, and a long jacket and a mini jacket. the girl in the shop where i bought the 2 jackets really knew how to sweet-talk. so i ended up spending more much than expected on just my first day!


by the time i finished shopping, it was already dark! i was shocked to realise that i had overshot my intended time and rushed off to the dance studio where i had planned to take lesson. managed to get to there at 6.30pm just nice and the class hasn't started yet. so i made my payment and went to change. when i came out, the class had begun and i wondered where to put all my stuffs. i saw a room beside the studio which was filled with bags and left my stuffs in there. but soon, the staff came over to tell mi it was the instructors' resting room actually! so paiseh~ =P found another cupboard to put my bag after that.


the class i took was "Freestyle" by an experienced instructor called Ah-Zhang, recommended by Xiaopi. his dance steps were really cool and sleek and i enjoyed doing his choreography. however, he seemed a little cold and unfriendly, keeping a straight face throughout the class. after the class, he began to talk happily with some female students. at that time, i comtemplated asking him to take a picture with me for keepsake. but dunno why, i was so chicken and didn't dare to talk to him! loitered outside the studio for quite a while... the people there must have thought i was so weird! in the end, i was still too coward and left without saying anything. so yeah, no picture here.

anyway, i realised the studio is located very near 华视 TV station, at Sun-Yat-Sen memorial hall station.


i took the metro back to Ximen, and planned to call Xiaopi again at about 9.30pm, cos he had told mi he had to teach dance until 9.30pm that night. while looking for a public phone, i walked around Ximen. it was very lively and bustling with activity! also with many street hawkers and trendy-looking shops.




i also visited the shop opened by Xiaozhu! it's located a few streets behind Xi Men Ding, and the exterior of it was so dull, with not even a signboard! inside, there were only a few pieces of T-shirts and accessories with exorbitant prices. in the basement, there was a gallery showing Xiaozhu's shoes collection. photos were not allowed in the shop so i only have a lousy shot of its boring exterior.


next, went back to look for public phone and finally got Xiaopi. *phew* but i think the phone was kinda spoilt cos i had a hard time figuring out what he was saying. anyway, we arranged to meet an hour later in front of Ximen station. so i went to walk around a little more, and spotted many idols!


i then went back to the hostel to put down my things first before going to meet Xiaopi. at almost 11pm, he appeared from exit 6 of Ximen station. felt happy yet strange to see him, cos i didn't really know what to say but lucky he's a very chatty person! =P Xiaopi suggested letting mi try the local Taiwanese food, so we settled on 卤味, which involves picking your own ingredients, like in yung tau foo, and then the stall-holder will heat them in the soup again before serving. Xiaopi picked like almost everything, ended up with 2 big bags! meanwhile, the stall-holder a middle-age auntie, kept calling him "帅哥" and said that i "很漂亮". -__-"


then, Xiaopi brought mi to a tea shop where we could sit down and enjoy our food. i ordered plum tea, and it came in the biggest glass i've ever seen! so we ate while we talked. Xiaopi gave mi guidance about all the good food that i should try in Taipei, and also shared his dancing experience with mi. he's actually a master degree holder, working as an engineer now, but he also teaches dance like 5 days a week cos he needs money to clear his parents' debts. now the interesting thing is that in his dance group, everyone has either a master or phd degree, and are juggling between dancing and working. gee~ they are all geniuses!


anyway, after hearing Xiaopi's story, i suddenly felt that my contribution to my family is really nothing in comparison. yet he's not complaining at all. what a nice person! also, it was all his treat that night, and after eating, he walked mi to the hostel. am really glad to know such a nice Taiwanese friend!

spent the night MSN-ing and sending emails before i went to sleep in my 6-bed mixed room, shared with some Americans/Canadians.