The Taipei Christmas Market (Natalie)
On our first extremely jetlag day in Taipei city Ansel and Mom visited a charming Local Christmas market. They had a pleasant experience that inspired our family to visit a bigger market called Taipei Christmasland.
The day that we set out on our Christmasland adventure was our second one staying in the bustling city of Taipei. We first stepped off the bus and crossed the street. Once across we were met by a family friendly array of vendors and games. It served as a great place for kids to get out energy in the open space. After running around we walked through the Taipei train station. Inside the train station we found a bunch of fun shops. We passed through a store that was dedicated to basically cats, cats, and more cats. That was a big hit with all of the kids. The adults went into the Jack Wolfskin store to their great pleasure. After we finished up in the train station we walked out to the actual Christmas market.
The first thing that caught our eyes, or rather Charlotte’s eye was a unicorn carousel rotating on the other side of the street. After a round of the carousel we all headed to the central area for the market. Tents lined the street and framed a huge stage illuminated by bright screens broadcasting New Taipei Christmasland. The crowd was packed into the space like sardines. On the stage were some community members taking selfies.
Eventually the event started, the narrator was talking animatedly into a microphone that blasted our eardrums. Unfortunately for us, the whole speech was in Chinese only. When she finished she handed off the mic to some cheerleaders who performed a choreographed dance routine to music. Our family’s favorite part of that were all the big lifts.
We visited a street vendor and picked up some delicious fried chicken and squid. For a drink we got milk tea in a cute little bottle shaped like a teddy bear. The rest of the night was mostly more speeches and pictures. One thing that we noticed that was different from the US was that after a performance or speech the applause was way quieter than in the US. Our explanation for that was that the applause was polite, not as loud and casual as in the US.
After we got tired of the performing perspective of the market, we headed across the street via a colorful overpass.
That’s where all the kids got face paint.
There was another ride there, this time a swinging boat, but you had to buy tickets to another market to ride that. After all the festivities we headed inside to a mall and got bubble waffles at a restaurant called Manny’s.
Those were delicious and a perfect way to end the day. Our family agrees that the market was a fun experience for families. We recommend it if you happen to be in Taipei around Christmas time.
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