After breakfast and enjoying our hotel it is time to start exploring Taipei. And the first stop is relatively nearby, the Lungshan Temple. Nearby means we have to walk through the mall to the subway station, find the right one and then go two stations to the temple. That is if we can buy the ticket, it is cash only, no way to buy by credit card. We make it and then soon we are at the temple station and now we have to follow the process in reverse, find the right exit to get to the temple.
The exit is right next to the temple and soon we are at the entrance, it is quite popular in contrast with the park on the other side which seems a bit on the delapidated side.
Before entering the temple we enjoy the entrance gate, it is quite impressive. And surreptitiously we try to understand if you have to pay to enter the temple, it seems not so we bravely enter it and the guard doesn’t even bat an eyelid.
As we pass the Outer Gate we are now facing a new gate, which we call the Inner Gate and this one is closed and cannot be entered directly. On both ends of the plaza are some nice waterfalls which we assume are artificial.
There are some interesting sculptures that we enjoy and an actual red collared dove, our first one of the trip and a lifer.
While the Inner Gate is closed a side gate is open for people to enter the inner courtyard. Here is the main temple, very impressive and quite a few other smaller side temples to explore and admire.
The details on the buildings are quite impressive from the many dragons to gods and patron saints represented everywhere. We don’t know any of them but that doesn’t stop us from appreciating them.
One of the special things about the temples in Taipei are the many flowers, they are likely offers to the gods and are plentiful and beautiful.
The temples themselves can’t be entered but can be viewed from outside. There are many icons all of them golden and we try to understand if it is one god in many stances or maybe many gods or many saints. We are still not clear even now…
We continue exploring the interior courtyard and the many interesting shrines and temples. Some of them we can get close to and see the interior and some are closed but it is quite interesting, as our first temple in Taiwan.
When we can see the interior they are always intricately detailed with lots of golden details. It seems that gold, as a color at least, is a favorite of the gods here.
The courtyard is full of other visitors and we are quite surprised at how many are praying actively, it is quite a religious country it seems to us.
Some of the doors have paintings at the entrance and even though most are well maintained some are faded, not a surprise with the sun and the heat here.
And then it is time to leave and walk towards the Huajiang Wild Duck Natural Park, the second major area we wanted to visit here and described separately.
Returning from the duck natural park we are quite exhausted and thirsty and are looking for a place to buy a cold drink and maybe even some lunch. However we cannot resist stopping whenever we see an interesting temple so it takes a bit for us to make our way to the night market area.
We know when we approach the more commercial zone as there are balloons everywhere and we see some of the ubiquitous claw machines.
The night market is a covered market, a boon to us and luckily even though it is midday there are stores open. including our selected one, a Michelin rated restaurant, Wang’s Broth.
We are here to try some traditional specialties but it takes a bit to understand how to order, you actually don’t order inside but have to take a sheet from the entrance and fill it out.
In fact this is common practice here at the more popular restaurants and soon we learn what to do. But this is the first time we encounter it so it takes a bit to understand what to fill in and what not. We are rewarded with some nice lunch, the bonus being that it is not that overwhelming as at American lunch places. In fact afterwards we are able to eat some additional food at the hotel lounge, quite a feat and probably the reason we gained some pounds while in Taiwan. And then after cooling off at the hotel it is time for Da’an park, the afternoon portion of our exploration of Taipei.
