Monday, October 14, 2013

SHILIN NIGHT MARKET IN TAIPEI, TAIWAN IS A HOTBED OF FUNKY, FUN AND QUITE FAB FASHIONS AT OK PRICES! NOT CHEAP BUT AFFORDABLE---RM 80 TO RM 120 PER SHIRT, BLOUSON, DRESS!

KEE@FSWMAG.COM
SHILIN NIGHT MARKET IN SHILIN DISTRICT OF TAIPEI, CAPITAL OF TAIWAN IS A MUST-VISIT ATTRACTION IF YOU ARE IN THE CITY OF 101 BUILDING.

Shilin Night Market opens around 6 pm but it is best to come around 8pm when all stalls are up and running. Mind you, there are plenty of normal shops selling the same stuff so you can come at 6 pm and start by exploring the brick and mortar shops before heading for the stalls. 

I suspect many makeshift stalls are owned by the shops and they sell similar items at identical prices. Even in the Night Market area, there are still normal shops very similar to KL's Petaling Street and Bangkok's Patpong area. 

Haggling is the norm but not too much. No point asking for half the quoted price. I did on various occasions and got a rebuke from an exasperated woman who said, "This is Taiwan not Thailand" in Mandarin which sounds even more dramatic.

Still, I managed to buy several shirts and a pair of adidas toe-shoes which I could not find in London which was just as well as my friend who has a pair said it cost him RM 450 whereas I bought mine for RM 160! And from a proper, full-fledged adidas shop too so they are genuine.

Food constitutes nearly half of Shilin Night Market with around 500 hawker stalls and a smaller number of restaurants. The food stalls sell all sorts, from the usual cakes and pastries and noodles to weird stuff like frog eggs but I didn't see fried grasshoppers as in Beijing night market.

Shilin Night Market is the biggest and best so if you are pressed for time, this is the one though there are several more. 

As for prices, they are amazingly identical. So either the hawkers are honest or they have formed a cartel! I saw a shirt I liked but not loved so I asked for discount. The opening price was 1,650 New Taiwan Dollars (around RM 170) and was reduced to NT$ 1,300. I did not buy. The second time I saw the same shirt it was NT$ 1,500 but again the final price was NT$ 1,300. Just before I left, I saw the same shirt in another area and again the last price was NT$ 1,300! 

Like all night markets, cash is king so bring notes as only the shops accept credit cards but will insist on smaller discounts for obvious reasons since the profit margin is small unlike Hermes. Lucky for us, they prefer to sell in quantity though the quality is pretty good for what you pay! 

Most shops and stalls open till past midnight and I left at nearly 2 am! 


THE ENTRANCE TO SHILIN NIGHT MARKET
BUSY OR WHAT
LOCALS SHOP HERE AND I HARDLY SAW ANY MAT SALLEH TOURISTS SO THIS IS A GOOD SIGN SINCE LOCALS ARE NOT TO BE FLEECED AS EASILY AS INNOCENT TOURISTS
FOOD FOOD FOOD
I DON'T SEE WHY FROG EGGS SHOULD BE CLASSIFIED AS 'WOW'


THIS IS A REAL MONK!
A MAT ON THE ROAD IS AS GOOD AS A SHOP
WALKING IS DIFFICULT AS THIS LADY USES THE ROAD AS BUSINESS PLATFORM

I DOUBT IF THIS SHOP SELLS EVERYTHING 50% OFF!
HOT GEAR! GOOD PRICES!
SNAILS! I HATE THEM!
SCARY DECORATIVE ITEM!
MORE WOW

DUNNO WHY THIS IS QUITE POPULAR!
I LIKE HER HOT PINK BACKPACK
I HEARD OF COWBOYS BUT NOW IT IS COW BOSS, SAME SAME
THESE HANDSOME HUNKS WERE ADMIRING ME
OH THE DARLING DEDIONE! OF COURSE MINE BETTER LOOKING BUT I WAS STRICKEN BY HOME-SICKNESS AS I MISSED DEDIONE WHICH IS THE SAME COLOUR AND BOTH LOOK ALIKE SINCE THEY ARE POODLES
THIS POODLE IS SO WELL BEHAVED AND JUST SAT THERE WITH ITS OWNER NEARBY
IT IS TIED TO AVOID DOGNAPPING!
POODLES ARE THE GREATEST BREED EVER! GO GET ONE NOW!




THESE SHOPS SELL SIMILAR ITEMS BUT I PREFER ROAD STALLS
FOODIE HAVEN


LOOKS GOOD
HMMM
PEOPLE QUEUE AS IF THE FOOD IS FREE! AMAZING!




BACK MASSAGE USING STICKS
I WON'T DO THIS SINCE MY SHIRT WOULD BE DAMAGED! 





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