Must See's...

Yesterday I set out on another tourist adventure despite the rain. Suppossedly the National Palace Museum is the "must-see" location in Taipei (according to my Lonely Planet book), so since I've been here for 4 months I figured I'd better go see it! It was a beautiful place and very impressive, but I think it's a little overrated. The museum was interesting, but I got a little weary of seeing exhibit after exhibit of Chinese pottery, ceramics, scrolls, and old stones. My favorite thing though was the miniature ivory carvings from one of the ancient dynasties- they were so ornate and cute because they were so small. I also really enjoyed the garden adjacent to the museum- the Garden of Benevolent Prosperity or something like that. It was beautiful, peaceful, and so lush, like most of Taiwan's vegetation.
Later I went to a famous night market nearby since night markets are suppossedly the "essence of Taiwan" and I've only been to one really small one. It was quite lively and interesting. I got some barbequed chicken and freshly "squeezed" passion fruit juice. It was a fun experience. I almost tried the Taiwan delicacy- "stinky tofu," but chickened out because I was afraid that I'd gag or worse and didn't want to do that in public. Someday I'll try it. There's a vendor right near my house so I can try it anytime...I just have to work up the nerve!
I felt very successful after my day out because I had managed to use the in-city buses successfully for the first time and was able to order my dinner without too much trouble and earlier in the day I successfully transferred money from my Taiwan bank account to my US one. Yay!