Avisala!
We are still in my Taiwan series and I'll share our first night exploring the streets of Ximending. We were so tired and still lacked sleep after the flight, so we decided to sleep through the afternoon and roam around to find something to eat during our first night.
We visited Taiwan during the culmination of its Lantern Festival, so the streets were livelier than usual and adorned with colourful decorations. Our hotel was located somewhere on Xining Road, so we got back to Ximen Station Exit 4, where the Rainbow Pedestrian was located. We walked along Zhonghua Road from Ximen Station to explore where to eat in that part of Ximending. We only stopped to take photos and then turned left on the second corner, where we found Ay Chung Noodles. I'll share our food on our first night in Taiwan in another post.
We haven't ordered any food yet because we wanted to explore the area for more options. It was still supposed to be winter, but I was disappointed when it was so hot on our first night. Since some of the streets in the area are permanently closed to vehicles and are designated as pedestrian walking areas, there were many tourists sightseeing and shopping.
Street performers were at one intersection, and they became tourist attractions in the area. I'm amazed by Taiwan's support for these kinds of entertainment. I can only wish the Philippines would also designate some streets to be permanently given back to pedestrians. I observed that even if there were a lot of people walking and eating at the corners, there was no garbage littered on the streets. The only litter I saw were the fallen leaves of Madagascar almond or African talisay trees that are lined on each side of the streets.
It was such a lively scene, and even though we were basically in the Ximending Night Market, it was very far from the usual night markets that I've visited. It felt like the whole of Ximending was the night market. It was such a great first impression of my second international travel and made me so excited for the food and the tours.
For the best experience view this post on Liketu
Hi Kim, looking forward to reading about the food you had there on your first night. I agree with closing some of the roads for pedestrian use in the Philippines starting with Moalboal, Panagsama area from Basdiot court to the beach to be a strict pedestrian street. Haha maybe we'll write a petition and submit it to the local government.
The pedestrian alleys are also designed differently with various patterns judging from a few photos.
Hi Arni! Oh diba karon pa kareply. HAHAHA
I'll share the food trip in the next blog. It was so nice seeing you, Yohann, and Anais! We didn't meet for almost three years and yet it felt like it was just a week ago. Glad we catch up on our interesting lives. Yohann still won in terms of plot twists.
If Panagsama road will be closed to vehicles and will be used solely for pedestrians, it would be awesome. I love the idea as it will definitely decongest that part of Moalboal.
Hi Kim, it was great to spend time with you and Claire @indayclara during your visit. Can you believe it's already been almost three years since we saw you here? Haha, Yohann's career change was quite unexpected! 😄
I will do my best to convey the closure of Panagsama to the relevant parties and some contacts who might be able to help. While I prefer to avoid politics, I will highlight this request to those who may have the ability to assist.
It would be awesome to have some political will in there to affect some changes. If it happens, I will really attribute that it started with you. If not, at least we did something that might help disrupt the current status quo.
What a lively and busy road, that's a perfect place and time to take a walk outside to go sightseeing or whatever. I feel like i'll enjoy having a walk in there too with mama.
It's indeed a great place to walk. There's a lot to see there.