(Today is the third day since I got back and I’m catching up on my Taiwan travel entries. I came back to F1 weekend in Singapore and it’s all been very exciting!)
Initially my plan was to visit a second museum after the Taipei Fine Arts one but it was already almost 4pm when I left and the museums close at 6pm. So I changed my itinerary and headed for Songshan Cultural and Creative Park instead.
4.09pm
Everytime I emerge from an MRT station in Taipei, what greets me can be very much of a surprise. It seemed like everywhere I’d gone so far looked vastly different. In this case, when I came out from the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, it was a clean, wide, modern-looking street with swanky new buildings. Like a very quiet CBD area, which is slightly weird.
4.12pm
About a 5mins’ walk later, I arrived at my destination.
I love how Taiwan repurposes their old buildings with history and make them into creative zones like this one. While Huashan 1914 Creative Park was an old winery that opened during the Japanese rule, this one was a tobacco factory constructed in 1937. Old buildings are so full of character.
This is the kind of place where I needed a camera with that vintage effect.
I wasn’t sure what I was expecting to find here, but I soon found that it was basically a bunch of different shops that featured local designs and crafts.
This was the first shop I entered and I was immediately enamored because this is my kind of place hey!
So tempted to get one of these to build at home but didn’t see anything I liked.
Being able to take photos without anyone bombing is so precious.
The white ikea tables are visually jarring honestly.
Found this interesting cube crayon thing in different mixes of colors. But it’s $13 a crayon. I would buy a bunch if they were $5 a pop!
If M (human) were here, he be sitting here waiting for me because I’ll be taking so long.
The second shop that I walked into…
*Hyperventilates in cuteness*
I really, really, wanted to get this taiyaki/붕어빵. I didn’t care how much it cost.
I brought it to the counter but they said they don’t take credit cards! 😭😭😭 And I didn’t have enough cash left. I left part of my heart in 붕어빵 Taiwan that night.
Rehow Living Lab takes discarded materials and gives them a new lease of life.
These corridors – aren’t they so gorgeous? 😍
I walked into a camera shop. So dangerous…
I just knew it. I came out with a new camera.
Holler if you think your camera is more cool than mine.
Test shot with the camera. I didn’t know it looked like this then. I had to come home and check the photos on my laptop because there is no LCD screen on the camera.
I fell in love with the camera a second time.
There was a European looking fountain in the middle of the courtyard.
The whole place was just really peaceful, very pleasant and it just felt really amazing to be here. I cannot find this kind of emotion in Singapore anymore because we’re just too populated and too fast-paced. So this is why people travel.
I wish I had taken this picture with my new camera instead.
This corner sells handmade leather goods.
This one repurposes old basketballs.
Isn’t it such a meaningful initiative really?
He’s $120! Thanks but no thanks! I have the real deal at home waiting for me! 😌
No doubts about it, this Songshan place is indeed one of the highlights of my trip.
An arfie and a meowie!
Trash Kitchen takes waste plastic and makes them into something else!
I sneaked a picture of the “kitchen” inside. Actually no need to sneak, there wasn’t anybody around at all.
Plastics recycled and repurposed into these bowl and plate sets. The lid is a plate when turned around.
This is just absolutely gorgeous.
There was some kind of a library here too.
The back of the old tobacco factory.
6.03pm
The sun was setting when I was leaving.
Tonight’s dinner was from the 7-Eleven near the entrance to my hotel. I was craving pasta for some weird reason so I got one, and just because come Taiwan should eat local food I got some 卤味. Both were very tasty! Convenience store rocks! And can use my Easypass some more.
Because it was my last night in Taiwan, I decided to feast a bit so I also got some cookies from the shop across 7-Eleven.
Strawberry oatmeal, matcha white choc and dark choc with sea salt. They looked so good but tasted so average. Like really average. There were no distinct flavors between the strawberry or the matcha. Only the dark choc tasted slightly better. So disappointing. Didn’t finish.
This trusty one though, always delivers.
And that was how I concluded my last night in Taiwan. 🙂