Traveling with the Jones — Sharing Travel Discoveries

Visiting the Raohe Street Night Market in Taipei, Taiwan

by Janis on May 2, 2016

While researching Taipei, Taiwan, prior to our recent visit, we learned from a number of sources that we should make a point to visit a night market.

Night markets are were locals and some tourists head for street food, entertainment, shopping and socializing. Within Taipei, you will find at least nine different night markets (this article provides details and directions to each of them.)

We chose to visit the Raohe Street Night Market, the oldest night market in Taipei. It’s located on a single pedestrian-only street that stretches between two colorful, ornate gates.

Our taxi driver dropped us off at the eastern end of Raohe Street near the Ciyou Temple, which is dedicated to the Black Face Matsu Goddess.

The multi-story Ciyou Temple was constructed in 1753.

If you are traveling to the Raohe Night Market by MRT, the closest station is Yongchun MRT, on the Blue (#5) Line. From the Youngchun Station, you head out of Exit 5 and turn left on Songshan Road, walking about 10 minutes until you see the distinctive Ciyou Temple.

We visited Raohe Night Market on a Saturday evening, and the street was packed side-to-side with people eating, shopping and having a good time. We slowly made our way through the crowd, stopping about half way through for a cold beer to cool off. This market is known for pepper cakes, pork rib herb stew, spicy stinky tofu and steamed buns, but it was too crowded and too hot for us to want to eat food. Next time, we’d try to visit during a week night.

Just a couple of blocks away, we stumbled upon the Rainbow Bridge over the Keelung River, a scenic spot for an evening stroll.

One other night market that we wanted to visit is the famous Miaokou Night Market in the port city of Keelung, a brief train ride from Taipei. It’s said to have the best seafood and people watching, and of course, it’s the night market Anthony Bourdain visited on The Layover in Taipei.

We did not make it to Keelung or the Miaokou Night Market, but since Keelung is the cruise port for Taipei, perhaps we will visit in the future via a cruise ship.

Which is your favorite night market in Taipei?

Check out these other posts on Taiwan:

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook

Or, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.

{ 0 comments }

A Cheers Bar in Taipei, Taiwan

by Janis on April 30, 2016

During a recent visit to Taipei, Taiwan, we stayed five nights in the new Taipei Marriott hotel in the city’s Dazhi District. The hotel is close to the Neihu Technology Park, the Nangang Software Park and the Taipei World Trade Center. It’s also near a Carrefour hypermarket and the Miramar Entertainment Park – a shopping mall with a 230 feet tall Ferris wheel on its rooftop.

We wanted to find a local bar, which was a little tougher-than-expected to find in this area. Through Yelp, we found Cheers, described as a “sports bar & barbeque” place.

Cheers is an interesting place. It is small but has two levels. The ground level is a small bar area, a few tables, and some electronic dart games that the locals took seriously. We grabbed two seats at the bar, ordered beers, and observed the situation around us. There is art work on the staircase to the second floor, where people appeared to be eating the barbeque. We never made it upstairs to find out.

Somewhat surprisingly to us, the beer on tap was the French Kronenbourg 1664 beer. Most places in Taipei serve the delicious Taiwan beer, among other Asian region beers.

After we finished our first pint, with the friendly bartender’s encouragement, we ordered a second pint. This time I tried the Kronenbourg Blanc, a fruity white beer with citrus notes.

Eventually, the locals invited us to join in their spirited darts game. We were tempted but declined.

If you are staying at the Taipei Marriott or one of the other hotels in the Dazhi District, check out the Cheers bar. It’s worth the walk.

Follow us on Twitter or interact with us on Facebook

Or, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.

{ 0 comments }

A Peek Inside Suite 829 at the Taipei Marriott Hotel

by Janis on April 28, 2016

During a recent visit to Taiwan, we stayed at the new Taipei Marriott Hotel.

Here is a look inside room 829, a corner Comfort Suite in the five star luxury hotel.

From the hallway, you enter the living room of Suite 829. It is a spacious area for relaxing, entertaining or working.

Between the living area and the bedroom, you walk through a closet area and a large bathroom. The bedroom features a second flat screen television and good desk space for computer work.

As a corner room, the bedroom has two sides of floor-to-ceiling windows. We appreciate the lights and ample electric plugs on each side of the bed.

This is the view from bedroom window of Suite 829. You can see the Ferris wheel that’s built into the top level of the Miramar Entertainment Park and shopping mall.

The marble bathroom is generously sized with double sinks. The doorway leads to the enclosed toilet.

Not just any toilet but a fancy Toto toilet with many automatic features.

When you enter the toilet stall, the Toto automatically opens its lid. The seat is heated. The toilet automatically flushes as you leave. There are many more features that we did not try to figure out.

Next to the toilet stall is a large, stand-alone shower with a tiled bench. The rain head shower was fantastic. Of course, if you prefer a bath, you can see there is a large tub as well.

This was a spectacular bathroom.

We enjoyed the nights that we stayed in this suite. Compare to a Deluxe King room here.

Take a look around the other parts of the Taipei Marriott hotel here.

Tell us your thoughts on Twitter or on Facebook.

Or, check out our boards on Pinterest and/or our photos on Instagram.

If you’d like to peek into some other Marriott brand hotel rooms around the world, check out these posts:

{ 0 comments }

A Peek Inside Room 1824 at the Taipei Marriott

by Janis on April 26, 2016

We stayed at the new Taipei Marriott hotel during a recent visit to Taiwan.

Here’s a peek inside room 1824 at the hotel, which is a Deluxe King room.

This is the view upon walking into room 1824 at night with the curtains closed. Outside, you have a nice view of the Ferris wheel that’s part of the Miramar Entertainment Park and shopping mall. The Ferris wheel has lots of green neon lights at night but the curtains do a good job of keeping the room dark.

On the small table by the window, we found a welcome treat from the front office. Throughout out stay, we noted that the pastry chefs at this hotel are very talented.

The deluxe king rooms have a large king bed with duvet. Each side of the bed contains a nightstand with lighting. The hotel has plugs for charging most U.S. electrical devices without adapters, but not my flat iron.

This is the hallway from the entrance into the bedroom area.

One side of the hallway has the coffee station (refrigerator hidden below), and closets with shelves / hangers for clothes storage.

Across from the closets is the entry to the bathroom.

The marble bathroom features a single sink and a generous-size bathtub.

On the other side of the bathroom, there are two stalls. One houses the toilet while the other is a shower.

This box in the bathroom keeps the generous selection of bathroom amenities organized.

One of our favorite features of room 1824 was the artwork hanging in the bedroom.