Just a few quick things to share for this week. I’ve been busy with tests and stuff lately, but I will try to write a more substantial post this weekend! I’m also working on changing up the website so it (hopefully) looks a little less drab.
Nothing too exciting happened during the week (sorry!), although I did have the greatest ramen of my life at a place right by my apartment. I ended up waiting over an hour but it was totally worth it.
On Friday, a couple of friends and I decided to check out a bar / live music venue my roommate recommended to me. For whatever reason, it was one of a couple of bars in that area that seem to be popular expat / Westerner gathering areas. That night there was a local Taiwanese band playing… some kind of subgenre of rock? It was unclear. But it was wild and ear-splittingly loud (and fun!). I definitely want to see more local artists while I'm here! I want to get a better sense of the music scene here, there are a lot of cool groups around but unfortunately I've yet to find that feels less like "Western-style music with Chinese lyrics" and more distinctly "Taiwanese" (although I'm not sure what that might mean musically).
On Sunday I also went for hiking with a friend at 金面山 (jinmianshan) in the northern part of Taipei. Not the easiest hike (some parts required ropes and a bit of climbing), but had some super rewarding views of the city and the surrounding mountains. If you’re looking for a short day hike in Taipei, I highly recommend! Apparently there’s also a really cool temple somewhere along the trail.
Afterwards, we made all of the calories we lost back and went to a Pizza Hut buffet for dinner, which was sinfully decadent. I would have (should have!) taken pictures if I hadn't felt so bad for indulging in such a guilty pleasure.