Dayuan

Friends, it has been an interesting week. After my conference wrapped up, I was supposed to just stay one extra night near the Taipei Airport and then fly to my next destination. I was scheduled to join a research expedition in another western Pacific country. Things did not go according to plan. 

I got sick and was unable to fly, so I ended up spending an extra week in Taiwan. Tell you what, if you're going to be unexpectedly stuck anywhere in the world, Taiwan is not a bad option. It's safe, there's great public transportation, and you can find ready-made meals in convenience stores on every street corner. Barely anyone speaks English, but I downloaded Mandarin to the translator app on my phone. All in all, I'm doing fine. 

I decided to spend this week doing what I do best: exploring and learning. My hotel is in a suburb of Taipei called Taoyuan, specifically the neighborhood called Dayuan. I have made it my mission this week to explore every corner of Dayuan. The small district is much more my speed than metropolitan Taipei, so I haven't even been tempted by the city. Dayuan is my home this week. Friends, I would like to show you some of what I have discovered in this beautiful Taiwanese town. Check out the photos below. 

First of all, I am kind of falling in love with bao buns. 

A typical street in Dayuan. A lot of shops have merchandise set up on tables extending out into the street. There are cars, but most of all, people drive these little moped scooters.

A fruit stand in Dayuan - watermelon, durian, dragonfruit, something I don't recognize, oranges, and peanuts.

There is an entire secondary network of narrow roads (alleys?) exclusively for mopeds!

A temple in Dayuan. I asked permission to look around inside, and almost every wall and column was coated in gold. There were elaborate altars with statues of humans and animal-like gods. Based on the aesthetic and some internet searching, I believe this is a Taoist temple. 

Residential buildings along the river that runs through Dayuan.

This plant was growing along the shore of a pond in town. The species identification app I use on my phone said it was "white ginger" - not the form of ginger that we eat, but in the same family.