On the way up we were surprised to encounter this critter:
We saw at least four more of these wild Formosan macaques on the road or climbing in the trees, just down the road from Chinese Culture University.
Chinese Culture University sits on a hill above Beitou, and offers wonderful views of Taipei.
We drove up to Qixingshan (Seven Star Mountain), and did a short hike to Dream Lake. This small lake is home to a rare species of quillwort, Isoetes taiwanensis.
Afterward, we had lunch, then went to Qingtiangang, a grassy area with feral cows. It was very misty, so we didn't take many photos. There was a good trail here, which we hiked along for nearly 3 kilometers.
Here are 3 of the hikers. In the middle is Katannya, who was showing off her hi-tech hiking footwear! (Crocs!) Kate was trailing behind, taking it easy because of her injured ankle.
We came to this wonderful area and had a picnic.
Then it started to rain. So we headed back. But the rain got worse and worse, until it became a downpour. Despite our raingear, some of us ended up soaked. It was a miserable hike back.
We got in the car and drove back to Town. We dropped Kat off at the MRT station, and the rest of us went to a shabu-shabu place nearby. Very good, but very filling!
Then Kate left, and the Kitty, Patty and I went to the Shilin Night Market to browse around.
This area was also visited by Andrew Zimmern. So I decided to photograph some bizarre foods. Unfortunately I was too stuffed to want to try anything. Another time.
Here's squid on a stick:
Duck tongues
Chicken parts (cocks' combs, gizzards, hearts, and some unidentifiable parts)
You can even catch your own shrimp and have it barbecued.
A little dessert of sweet tofu soup before going home.
Looks like someone took a very literal approach in attempting to translate the Chinese for "valet parking" into English:
