Saturday, December 8, 2007

Jake Gill goes Flickr, and goes to Danshui.

It is almost like when Bob Dylan went electric... almost. While typing almost, I wear a grin on my face implying that I fully understand my gross overstatement. BUT, anyway I am on flickr now, an online photo website which allows me to post a slideshow (please see the upper left of my blog) of my pictures from Taipei. If you see a picture you like in the slideshow, or would like to view all the pictures on my flickr page you can just click the picture and check everything out. I will still be adding pictures into my blogs to highlight certain aspects of my adventures. Anyways just thought everyone would enjoy more than just the few pictures I have been putting up. Now on to my recent events.

As I said yesterday, I was planning on going out with some friends from Shida for Mike's going away party. Plans promptly changed when I received a phone call alerting me to the fact that everyone was starting the festivities around midnight. I just didn't have that kind of energy in me last night so I decided to pass on the events. Being a Saturday night however, I was not going to sit in my room so me and two friends decided to head to Danshui for the evening to walk around and grab a bite to eat.

Danshui is a smaller city to the north of taipei as was the center for shipping an commerce in Northern Taiwan in the 19th century. Today it is a popular place to go for seafood, shopping, and just walk around with tons of people. It is the farthest stop on the MRT red line, and is about 30 minutes travel, to the tune of 40 NT (about a $1.15 US). Danshui Old Street and waterfront is where all the action happens. Just walking around you can find tons of things to eat and buy. The most popular was squid, and sausages, along with various other types of seafood, making it a bit difficult to for me to find something to eat. After walking around for a while a terrible smell over-ran my senses and I knew just what it was... stinky tofu. The item has been aptly named, the aroma ommited by this dish can best be described as raw sewage. I knew the second that the smell hit my nose that I had to try it, you only live once, and it is not often that an American finds themselves in Taiwan with the ability to eat such a dish. Once I was able to get past the smell, which was much easier once I walked away from the stinky tofu stand, it actually tasted pretty good, it was a hint of chili, and fried been curd with a kind of moldy past (hence the stink). I am not sure if I would eat this stuff everyday, but I will certainly have it again before I leave.

After eating my stinky tofu me and my friends did some more walking around talking in all that Danshui had to offer. We stuffed our faces for a little over an hour and finished the night off with an ice cream cone that was about as tall as our heads. The ice cream didn't taste as good as the stuff at home, but it still hit the spot. It turned out to be a really nice night. The weather was perfect and the wharfs actually weren't all that busy. It would be nice to go back sometime soon to catch a sunset before grabbing food and walking around. I would add this place to the list of things to see if you are in Taipei for more than a day or two, just remember to come hungry.

And finally a few more pics from the night. The first is Chris and Denise (hostel pals) really enjoying their Agei (basically tofu stuffed with fish and broiled). And the second pic is just a nice shot of the busy wharfs.


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Jake,

As usual for me, it is almost 4am and I am still awake.

Loved the slide show. There are some classic pictures there, you have a good eye though I expect you'll get even better with every picture you take. What was that first thing, a snail? What about those neat red bikes, or did you talk about those in a previous blog (direct me to it if you did)?

Take Care and Stay Safe.

Anonymous said...

So now you've had the stinky tofu! Do try it again, that Andrew guy said it was much, much better at a second 'cafe'. It looks like you had a blast!

Any signs of Christmas there? Are there any Christians?

Aunt Deb, who can't recall her password, so goes as 'Anonymous'

Anonymous said...

Be safe-----keep away from conflicts like the situation at Memorial Hall. Angry mobs are unpredictable.

Anonymous said...

the most traditional form of Stinky Tofu should be on a plate, deep fried but the one you had on the stick should be close to it. You can also find different forms of it (steamed or stewed). Go to the shie Lin night market instead. Take the express rail like you are going to tam-shui but get off on Jiang-Tan (before Shie-Lin). The station as this very distinct long spin for roof, you can't miss it.

I gather you can't eat seafood? Too bad, because you need to try oyster omelet. Pig blood cake should be ok, you can find it in the night market with people eating it on a stick, the cake is black, will have red sauce on it, shaved peanuts and cilantro

George(my wife works for your Uncle Dan), will be in Taipei next week.

(Do pick a street vender with a longer line.)

Anonymous said...

:) I meant SPINE for a roof.

Anonymous said...

I forgot they told me your are vegetarian. There is a word for it, just ask your teacher. (SHU) and where you find that word in a eatery, it will be all Budhhist vegetarian food. Some you can buy and they charge you by the weight. Very economical and the soup and rice are free at times. Perhaps we can point you to the really good vegetarian restaraunt when we are there. George

you can email me at koolfooltattoo@hotmail.com

The difference of budhhist vegetarian is that no meat but also no eggs(most cases) and no onion, garlic, nor green onion. A lot of tofu dishes and mushroom, but they can get it to a point that you can't tell it is vegetarian.

You can't have pig blood cake now, nor oyster omelet. Green Onion pancake you can have, also bubble milk teas and shaved ice with sweet bean topping.

Anonymous said...

I'm getting hungry reading the comments. Keep a "food map" and when we come in March we'll sample the best...I really look forward to the oyster omelets! Pig blood cake--maybe not as it reminds me of the bowl of duck blood soup I had once with near-hallucinary results...

Enjoyed the extra pictures and captions...the flikr and blog pics add a lot to your stories. Hope your second week of school is going well and your appetite for Chinese characters is also good...

As it has snowed for the fourth time (or was it five?) the Gill Clan is counting the days (11) until we get to sample good food, good weather and good times in Mexico. - Dad

Anonymous said...

pig blood cake
http://liaoyusheng.com/archives/food_drink/20040930_my_favorite_street_food_in_the_world.php

Oyster omelet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_omelette

bubble tea
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubble_tea

If these don't get you hungrier, I don't know what would...:)
http://www.flickr.com/groups/taiwanesefood/pool/

....and this is just the tip of the iceberg!