Shilin & Yuantan

So, using my Zen Method of Navigation, I decided to inspect even further north from where I was staying, taking the MRT up around the Shilin area & crossing two rivers.  Shilin is really well known for its lively night market - its funny, but I never actually went to the night market until a few weeks after I took these photos.  Instead, I wandered around and found a boatload of clothing shops, which is definitely my sort of thing.  I have to admit, Taiwan has some choice clothes & shoes, but overall I found a lot of the fashion lackluster.  I remember one person telling me 'Wow, I didn't know the Taiwanese were so fashionable' and I was a little surprised.  I saw a few people with some real swagger, and a few of the louder Japanese styles that are well known, but for the most part, I thought a lot of the fashion would fit right in back at home.

The MRT actually goes above ground once you get far enough north.  I was going to just head home after exploring Shilin and the river bank, but when I saw the temples at Yuantan I had to stop.  I still haven't explored them in depth - it's on my to-do list when I go back - but Yuantan probably has the highest concentration of temples & shrines in Taipei, including Daoist & Confucian temples.