Freedom

Hey, Andy here to fill you in on more of our busy day. With the closing ceremony finished, we had our first unplanned afternoon of the trip so far, and there were plenty of choices of activity on offer. While many teams headed to the nearest beach, we decided to commute into Taipei's CBD to find some markets and places to eat, and also just to experience downtown Taipei, which, surprisingly, we have had little opportunity to do thus far. We visited the 'Taipei centre for Promoting Taiwanese Handcrafts' which was essentially three storeys of relatively cheap, handmade goods typical of the region. After numerous purchases, we caught the MRT to the Shilin night Market, which we had briefly visited on our first day in Taipei. After dark, the market came alive and we made the most of it: attempted bartering, tasting some new foods and just soaking up the general atmosphere of Taipei's renowned nightlife. As I'm writing this it feels really late, despite being only 9 30, so to me this almost felt like our busiest day yet.