Taipei: Day 1

We began our 1st day in Taiwan with breakfast at our hotel. Their breakfasts are similar to Koreans' in that they don't eat sweet things for breakfast. Rice also seems to be a staple food. We were on our way by 8.15, where we jumped on the subway and arrived at the Chang Hai Chek Memorial park. He was instumental in the formation of democracy in Taiwan, and they have a nice museum dedicated to his life. We then walked to the Longshan Temple, which is ornate and quite lovely. It was very crowded with Buddhists partaking in a form of worship. Next we went downtown, where we stumbled upon a parade in honor of Buddhism. It was interesting to be a part of the festivities. We grabbed a tasty lunch and were on our way again.
Next we saw the "Red House" which is a Western influenced octogonal building. We also passed by the president's home, which was heavily guarded. We tried to visit the observatory to get some views of the city, but learned that it has closed down. Instead we wandered thru an electronics market.
This evening we plan on getting some dinner and then heading to a night market or two. They're supposed to be lively and fun, so hopefully we'll have a good time! As long as the rain holds out, we'll be ok. The temps are hot here, and since the sun was out all day we got pink. No certain plans for tomorrow; it all depends on the weather.