The Taipei Zoo
Today, Lebron, Antetokoumpo, their daughter and I are heading to the Taipei Zoo! Seeing different animals is always a thrill so I’m looking forward to this visit. We meet up in the morning to hop in an Uber and head to the Zoo. We arrive a little before the main entrance opens so we hang out outside (in the shade). Soon the doors open and we make our way into the Taipei Zoo.
Animals at the Zoo!
The Taipei Zoo is pretty expansive with different areas dedicated to the different regions of the world. We spend our time wandering through a lot of the different areas checking out some of the unique and not so unique animals on display. It’s a bit difficult to go through every exhibit, so I’ll only try to highlight a few that stands out to me!
Meerkats!
I’ve seen Meerkats at zoos before, but I’m always fascinated by their mannerisms. The way that they often stand at attention makes them pretty adorable to me. The ones at the Taipei Zoo are no different. It’s almost like they know they’re being watched and want everyone to see them in all their glory!
Taipei Zoo Giant Panda House
What is probably the main attraction at the Taipei Zoo is the Giant Panda House. It’s a large facility that’s in the centre of the Zoo. It’s home to some very adorable giant pandas. It’s also a large indoor facility with Air Conditioning, which makes it especially attractive on a day like this! We pop in to shelter from the heat and see if the Pandas are out and viewable. Thankfully for us we’re able to see both Pandas snacking and wandering around. As you can imagine this exhibit draws a crowd so when word that the Pandas are around the viewing area gets pretty crowded. Fortunately, we get there fairly early and score front row seats to some cute Pandas!
Taipei Zoo Snacks
Along the way there are a few places to stop to pick up snacks. One such snack is an automatic smoothie maker. Seeing as its a hot day this Watermelon smoothie certainly hit the spot. A little later I stumble upon this “Minion” potato cake snack. I feel honor bound to give them a try so I order some. Sufficed to say what I get is something that’s slightly Minion like. But also a little disturbing to eat haha.Â
Taipei Zoo Penguin House
Another stop is the Taipei Zoo Penguin House. Penguins are one of my favourite animals and I’m happy to see them whatever chance I get. The penguin house itself has several tanks and places to see these animals along with some others. One thing that also makes this visit especially appealing is the Penguin house is air conditioned. So along with seeing these lovely birds, we also take the time to cool down from the outside heat.
Taipei Zoo Panda Cafe
Eventually we make our way back to the Panda House where on the second floor is the Panda Cafe. It’s already the afternoon so we decide to have a late lunch here while also getting a great view into the Panda habitat. The food isn’t particularly unique but it’s a good opportunity for us to rest, refuel and enjoy some panda views!
After lunch we slowly make our way back to the entrance where say good bye to the zoo and head back to our hotels to rest and refresh. I end up taking a short nap as the heat really takes a lot of energy out of you!
Raohe Night Market
In the evening, Lebron and I head to the Raohe Night Market. It’s one of the more popular night markets in Taiwan and we spend an hour or two walking through the market and checking out the booths. There’s a lot of delicious food on offer and we leisurely grab anything that interests us. The Taiwanese sausage and the watermelon juice are some of the highlights of the different food options. I also pick up a few extra items to go and have back at my hotel. This includes a pepper bun, grilled king oyster mushroom, soup dumplings and papaya milk. Even thinking about some of those items now makes me a little bit hungry.Â
With food in hand, I make my way back to my hotel. King and I part ways and I head back to my room to enjoy my night market goodies. After a long day in the sun I’m happy to settle down and call it a night. Tomorrow we head to Jiufen for the day to explore the old town on the cliff.