Thursday, May 24, 2012

Running and Taipei

I almost collapsed during today's run. I started out at an 8:15 - pretty normal, feel-good pace right? At mile two I started feeling dizzy and, as I described to P, started heaving like a 400 lb man. The air and humidity in this place is just ridic. I thought I'd beat it by running at 7 am but the sun was blazing hot. Zhonghe Memorial Park is about .85 miles around, with a massive amount of cars and scooters idling beside you during rush hour. Pollution on top of pollution on top of thick, humid air, is certainly not ideal for running. It's no wonder people here don't run/wear jean shorts as running pants (evidence they don't know how to run).  I ended up just running 4 miles and then lugged myself to the street market for breakfast.

I decided against taking another five-hour nap today and ventured into Taipei. The MRT (Taiwan rail) is super clean and easy to navigate. I'm also of the mindset that if you can get around NYC, you can get around anywhere. I got off at the Taiwan Main Station and attempted to do some shopping at Q Square Mall but all I bought was a taro mochi ball. So worth it. The mochi here is fresh, not like that hard shit back home. Yum.

Got back on the train and got off at Ximen. Ximen Ding is a district with a ton of shopping and food stalls. And high schoolers trying to sell you ugly pens and then give you dirty looks after you tell them no. I ended up buying this passion fruit coconut jelly tapioca black tea. Sounds really good right? It was okay. Whenever I see passion fruit I always get it then remember that I don't like passion fruit. Sigh. Anyway, so I end up at this shop where the lady kept saying "us Malaysians" and then "us Singaporeans(??)" until I finally told her I was Taiwanese...bitch. I still bought a shirt though. For $10 (350 NTD)...! Weird thing is none of the shops let you try on clothes bc they're afraid people are going to get them dirty. Well for ten bucks, you can't really go wrong. I hope it fits my Malaysian/Singapore bod.

So feeling like a bargain mama, I then went to Ay-Chung -  a pretty popular Taiwanese spot known for their oyster vermicelli noodles. That is the only thing they make and your only option is a small or large. I got the small and brought it home to eat. Definitely worth a stop, especially for 45 NTD ($1.50).

Now I'm on my way to pick up gmonz!! So excited!!

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