Taipei Day 2 | Elephant Mountain | Longshan Temple | Bopiliao Old Street

It was a gloomy day in Taipei. When travelling, one of the most important things you have to consider is the weather. Supposedly, November is an ideal time of the year to visit Taiwan if you are avoiding extremes of heat, rain and humidity. The rain was not extreme during the time I was there but the weather was not as pleasant as I was expecting.

I started my day very late as I was travelling alone, I thought that I would make this trip easy and without pressure. I didn’t have to think of anyone else and no itinerary to follow so I decided to ditch the wake up call and let my body decide when to wake up.

ELEPHANT MOUNTAIN
 

Elephant mountain is located at Xinyi District of Taipei. It is 183m high where you can have the best view of Taipei. It is about 20 minutes of trek, you have to climb the steep stairs up to see the stunning view of Taipei. Along the way there are maps that will lead you to different paths if you want to complete the whole trail, or you can just go straight and directly to the top to see the clear view of Taipei. Once again, you have to consider the weather before deciding on a trek, and it is recommended to visit the place before sunset so you can see the view both during the day and the night. Unlike the view from Taipei 101 Observatory, the view from Elephant Mountain in the evening has its own impressive view. Aside from the fact that you can not see Taipei 101 from there, the panoramic view of the city is just amazing from the mountain.

It is very easy to find the Elephant Mountain. From Taipei Main Station, take the MRT red line and hop off on the last station which is Xiangshan. From Xiangshan Station take Exit 2, and from there just follow the signage that will lead you to Nangang Hiking Trail.

It is called Elephant Mountain because the shape of the mountain looks like an elephant’s head with its trunk. You have to open your imagination for you to see it, but once you see the image, it is very fascinating

 

LONGSHAN TEMPLE

Longshan Temple is the most well-known Buddhist temple in Taipei. Its location is close to the MRT Station - take the Bannan Line to Longshan Station and from there, you can already see the temple. It will only take you a 5-minute walk to get there.

The opening hours is from 6AM until 10PM. Before going there it is best to check their prayer timings to avoid the crowd. I went there around 5PM and it was very crowded because their rituals were ongoing. It was so awkward for me to take pictures and roam around the temples because I didn't want to disrespect and disturb them, as I was not familiar with their culture. This was the first temple that I visited where I actually saw people singing and worshiping.

Just like other temples, I was expecting that revealing clothes would not be allowed inside, but they will provide sarong for the visitors to cover up. Surprisingly, there are no dress codes inside the temple. It feels odd to roam around the temple wearing shorts while people are worshiping, so if you don't want to feel strange about what you are wearing it is better to wear something appropriate if you are going to visit the place.

BOPILIAO OLD STREET

Bopiliao Old Street is just a few blocks away from Longshan Temple. It is a small alley with historical buildings and a creative art wall. If you will spend more time in this street aside from doing photography, you will learn more about Taiwanese History.





Choker Top: Agaci
Short: Teranova
Jacket: Caco

HUAXI STREET NIGHT MARKET

Huaxi Night Market is also known as Snake Alley. It is a two-block long alley that sells traditional Taiwanese food and other exotic foods like snake blood and meat, turtle blood and other more which are not normally found anywhere in Taipei. There are many stores selling snake delicacies, that's why it is called the Snake Alley. It is open from 4PM till 12am.

Quapao NTD40

 When you walk farther from the Huaxi Night Market there are more options of street foods on the different alleys. There are also varieties of clothing and mobile accessories stalls.

Baked Egg Cake NTD 10