Buddhism, Blind Massage, and Waffles

So it's Thursday morning now, and I just woke up from an 11-hour slumber. I guess I had to make up for waking up so early yesterday. I'm also pretty disappointed that I overslept and missed breakfast. Which reminds me how yesterday started...

I made it to the hotel's complimentary breakfast shortly before it closed at 10am. I'm expecting your typical continental breakfast. Wrong. "La Brasserie" was a lovely, upscale restaurant with a rather impressive spread. They had an omelet station and fully stocked buffet. I had scrambled eggs with onion and cheese, hash browns, bacon, french toast...ok I better stop because I'm getting more mad at myself for missing it today.

I was on cloud nine after the A+ in grad school and that breakfast. And it was about to get better. I took the MRT to the Longshan Temple. The temple was built in 1738, and is located in the heart of Wanhua, the oldest part of Taipei. It has been restored several times since it was created. In fact, the temple was completely destroyed by Americans, who bombed Taipei in 1945 during WWII. Anyway, I was expecting a big tourist trap, but boy was I wrong.

The entrance to the temple had beautiful fountains, waterfalls, and a pond swimming with gigantic Koi fish. Outside the entrance sat old monks selling beads and women selling magnolias used for offerings. Walking inside to the next layer, I was surprised to find active worship and hardly any sightseers! I was immediately overcome by the strong smell of burning incense offerings. As I looked around, there were offerings everywhere - food, flowers, incense, money. In the center of the temple, there was a shrine with a main Buddha statue surrounded by a few smaller statues. I didn't want to take pictures, as this was the most sacred area to the worshipers. It seemed that each shrine was dedicated to a different purpose. I found a booklet that explained a little- one was for fertility, one was for good grades (I should've dropped some money to that one), etc. You were supposed to go up to a shrine and whisper you name, birthday, and descriptive details of what you wanted. If the wish came true, you had to come back and thank the gods (that's an expensive flight). There was so much to take in between all of the praying, chanting, and intricate gold scenery.
One thing that really interested me was people whispering things and throwing these two red, crescent-shaped blocks on the ground.
I asked around and found out that you use the blocks to ask a specific question to the Buddha. Once you asked your question, you throw the blocks on the ground, and your answer depends on how they land. Also, the temple is multidenominational. People practice Buddhism, Taoism, and other subsets of these religions. I found it difficult to walk away from Longshan. It had such a unique and beautiful vibe that I've never experienced before.

Right outside of the temple was a side street lined with Buddhist shops. I walked in a few of them and was shocked at some of the prices for statues and paintings. It was funny because there was Christmas music playing along the street. People here LOVE Christmas. There are holiday decorations everywhere. Seems a little conflicting if you ask me.

Across the street was an underground market that I wandered into because I thought it was an MRT entrance. The first thing I noticed was the amount of poverty in this area. It was the first time I was seeing homeless people. I looked the area up on my phone and apparently this was once Taiwan's red light district. Right outside of a temple, nice. The underground market contained many interesting shops and restaurants. I walked past fortune tellers, awful live karaoke performances, and photo booths. Then I passed a sign for massages, and I immediately got excited since my neck and back have been killing me since I got off the plane. Well, I was in for an experience. I ended up at a "blind massage parlor." It's exactly what it sounds like. Taiwan has many visually impaired people that practice massage. I walked up to a lady (who wasn't blind), and tried to convey that I wanted a massage. She picked up the phone and called someone, and then walked me over to the menu to pick what I wanted. Thankfully there were a few English words here and there. I chose a 30-minute neck, shoulder, and back massage for 200 NT (~$6). She had me take off my shoes and lay face-down on a massage bed. For some reason, I started to get really anxious and started profusely sweating, haha. Then in walks a few blind people, who the lady had been calling on the phone. One was an older man who walked up to me and started massaging my head. Thankfully he spoke enough English to understand me telling him that I'd prefer my head not be massaged. I mean, ideally I would love it, but I knew my hair would be a disaster afterwards. The man laughed and continued the massage, which was absolutely wonderful. He did, however, comment on how sweaty I was (embarrassing!). A little timer went off when he was finished, and I got up, thanked him, and went to get my wallet. I gave 300 NT to the woman, who at first wouldn't accept it. Tipping isn't common here, but I felt awful not giving extra, especially since the blind in Taiwan have trouble making a living. She told the man what I had given, and his face immediately lit up, as he was so grateful. It was touching. Blind massage, complete.

Next up on the agenda was to find the Hello Kitty Sweets Cafe. I was visiting this place to take pictures for my friend, Hannah. What a tourist trap! Originally, I was just planning on taking some pictures and leaving, because reservations are strongly recommended, the food was rumored to be terrible, and there was a minimum spend amount of 300 NT. A table ended up being available, so I thought "When in Rome..." and followed a woman upstairs into a room that looked like Hello Kitty threw up all over it. I was seated at a table next to a real-life Taiwanese barbie. This girl was killing me. She was dressed in all things pink and furry (she was even wearing furry ears). I couldn't help but stare as she took "selfie" pictures of herself batting her eyelashes and making faces. Strange. After waiting at my table for 30-minutes without any service, I decided to just snap a few pictures and leave. That was enough of Hello Kitty.




I was pretty hungry at this point, so I headed down the street to find Coffee Alley, a cafe with waffles that were recommended by a blog called "A Hungry Girl's Guide to Taipei." Yes, I'm serious. On the way, I walked past another weird restaurant, the Barbie Cafe. I take back what I said about the other girl being a real-life Barbie. Themed restaurants are a big thing in Taipei, so I popped in for a few pictures.

Shortly after, I found Coffee Alley. I loved this place - great service and atmosphere. The menus were printed like a morning newspaper, with lots of helpful pictures and English descriptions. I had an iced hazelnut latte to start. It was then that I had a moment with a plate of waffles. Salted caramel and vanilla ice cream waffles, to be specific.

At this point, my day wasn't even halfway over. But my current day is getting to that point, so I better get going. I'll finish up with a part 2 post of Wednesday when I get the chance. I'm off to the zoo!