At the Night Market

Pipkin and Domo visited this night market in central Taiwan, and sadly Pipkin can't remember the name of it. It was large and took up several streets, and it was filled with people out getting food for dinner, shopping for clothes, toys, and groceries. Although it was closed to cars and trucks, scooters and mopeds often loaded with up to 2 adults and 2 children, darted between the pedestrians on the crowded market streets. This market had everything!

Vendors, casually smoking over a variety of live, raw and cooked food. (How long have those raw things been out under the hot light of day?) The spinning ribbons over the seafood are keeping the flies from landing.

The buckets of fried squid are a tasty snack to share with a friend - if you're not vegetarian like Pipkin.

But maybe the fried squid isn't filling enough. You don't want a snack, you want a MEAL. Well, here's your meal. Whole BBQ tentacle! Domo is pleased.

If it's fashion you're after, the market has you covered from head to toe.

Pipkin got excited when this truck rolled through the street lighting firecrackers. He may have hopped onto the truck and snuck off with one...

Apparently the lighting of the firecrackers was the beginning of some sort of religious procession that Pipkin didn't understand. First went the truck with the firecrackers. Then these two men marched in semi-ceremonial garb and weapons in hand:

...who were followed by a line of people with incense burning and some sort of ceremonial treasure. As you can see, there are varying levels of involvement.

"Yo, can't talk right now, doing this ceremonial thing..."

For reasons Pipkin doesn't understand, the two men would dance about, chant loudly, and hit themselves with their swords.

Until they bled. Not sure how long that went on for, because Pipkin and Domo found something much better than self-mutilation and Harley-Davidson rejects from Red Deer, AB. Ice cream!