Walking the Streets of Old Taipei

The old streets and alleys are easy and safe to navigate in Taipei. I found the area was filled with like businesses. One street was all carpentry creating wooden doors, another had shops lined with bolts of fabric or lace and trim and of course Chinese herb stalls and shops were abundant.



Taiwan’s original market with butchers, fruit and veggie vendors was colourful and interesting with its intense smells and sights. You could buy clothing and purses or rice wraps made right before your eyes. Elise Scott and I bought passion fruit which was incredibly fresh and juicy. The top of the fruit was cut off and we drank the insides and crunchy edible seeds up with straws. Another treat was a sweet rice pocket that was formed in a mold with either a bean or custard center.



Temples are located amongst the businesses; each temple honoured a different god or purpose. This picture shows me thanking the business gods for the opportunity to be in business and for continued prosperity.



Dinner was on the street from an open counter featuring Japanese sashimi and sushi. I tried a roll with shiso leaf and umeboshi plum, salmon sashimi and a bowl of miso soup. A woman off the street helped put the order in as she spoke a little English. Edamame was nowhere to be seen.