Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Tamsui Old Street, Danshui

Tonight, I went with my friends visiting from California to Danshui. At first I assumed I have not gone there before, but once I arrived I instantly recognize it from my 2006 visit to Taipei. However in 2006, I visited it with my parents and it was during a summer day. Visiting it during the winter on a weekday evening is a far different experience. It's less crowded and the view at night is spectacular. Danshui really lights up! They place different color lightbulbs in the trees, so the scenery is really multicolor. The addition to the partially foggy backdrop of the dramatic sky, mountains and sea really paints a surreal scene. Walking around and seeing many couples sitting down enjoying the scenery or "each other", makes me think Danshui may be Taipei's romantic getaway spot. After walking around the market, we decided to have dinner at Waterfront. It's a beautiful open air restaurant with open air huts on the seaside. Continuing with the colorful palate of Danshui they had various colored lights illuminating the chairs, ceilings, waterfalls, pathways and trees. Along with the live music and gentle breeze, was the aroma of my dinner coming.I ordered braised pork knuckle on sauerkraut. The skin was crispy and the meat was fall-off-the-bone juicy, smokey and flavorful. The meal also includes a drink (Café au lait 咖啡歐樂 for me) and a dessert cake. All this for $700. Expensive, but not really that bad for what your getting. I would highly recommend Danshui since it's only a MRT ride away and it's 1 minute walking distance from the MRT station. You have no excuse to not visit this colorfully illuminating place!

Photos by Jeff Parker

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