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holiday in Taiwan couldn't be complete without experiencing the world famous Taiwanese night market. And where best to try it then in the Taiwanese capital Taipei city. Taipei city itself is home to 2.7 million people and greater Taipei - or now called New Taipei - is home to 6.7 million Taiwanese. Serving such a crowded city, the Taiwanese have come up with an ingenius way to entertain themselves - night markets.
Night market in Taiwan started way back to the days when the villagers would sit by the old evergreen trees after a day’s hard work on the farm and catch up with each other on village affairs. This usually takes place by the village temple where it is well-lit. As time passes, some people came up with the idea of setting up a drinks trolley to quench the thirst of the growing crowd. From there, other trolleys came with hot foods, refreshing ice lollies and even selling household items.
In time,
Taiwanese night market grew into the size it is nowadays which, the largest ones in Taipei city, takes over dozens of streets in the surrrounding neighbourhood. You can find almost anything you need at one of these night markets; from cheap shoes to branded clothing. You can also pick up a set of quality bed sheets or even a pet dog or cat!
And of course lets not forget the mouth-watering dizzying array of Taiwanese world-famous street food. Be warned, there is no escape from the mixture of aromas - but you don’t tend to notice it once you’ve tried a few delicacies. Ask for stinky tofu, oyster omelette or go with your fancy once you get there!
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| Umbrellas of all sizes, colors and patterns |
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| Souvenirs and lucky chains |
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| Made-in-Taiwan bags |
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| One of many cheap shoe shops |
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| ... of course, no night market is complete without street food! |
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| Lots of it |
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| Clothing, watches, scarfs... |
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| More clothing |
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| The girls at the bubble tea shop insisted we took a photo of them |
