taoyuan’s graffiti alleys stole my soul maybe
woke up late and decided to wander taoyuan today because i needed inspiration or maybe i just wanted to escape my thoughts. either way the graffiti alleys looked interesting. *graffiti alleys are basically a muse for street artists right? the walls were screaming stories and i couldn’t stop snapping photos. took 127 shots before i realized my phone was dying. genius.
i just checked and it’s 6 celsius right now hope you like that kind of thing. not exactly beach weather but somehow the cold made the graffiti pop. local market was a good call earlier-fresh veggies hot soup but the vendor kept muttering about something in mandarin. probably not worth asking. their life choices i bought a frozen mango smoothie and it tasted like a regret i’d rather forget.
someone told me that the park’s statue has hidden whispers if you listen close. i didn’t believe it until i stood there for 20 minutes. maybe it was just my head full of half-remembered dreams. whispers or not the statue was cool. bronze thing looked like it belonged in a noir film. i took a selfie with it. my life is a series of selfies now.
yeah i heard that the coffee shop down the street serves ‘ghost lattes.’ you know what a ghost latte is right? it’s like espresso poured into a haunted teacup. i tried it. it tasted like ghost. or maybe just bitterness. unknown barista was either a Joker or a genius. they kept handing me lemon zest like it was a secret code.
so there you have it. taoyuan’s weirdness in one messy post. pics attached for proof. first one is a graffiti wolf that’s definitely not real. second is the market with sunlight through the stalls. third is me looking confused at the bronze statue. you’re welcome.
i saw aLB on a bus that said ‘taoyuan’s best secret is yilan, 45 minutes away.’ yilan? i think that’s a place with temples and maybe bad decisions. if you get bored yilan is just a short drive away. heard they’ve got a temple that’s 500 years old. seriously ancient vibes. i’m gonna need a time machine.
reviews? heard that the hostel’s showers are haunted. i didn’t ask. somehow it seems like a rumors that work. someone told me that the river here has ‘mystery creatures.’ i didn’t see anything but i’m gonna say it’s probably turtles. or maybe the city’s way of saying ‘relax, we’re all here’.
if you like this kind of chaos follow me somewhere. i’m vague on purpose. maybe tomorrow i’ll write about a skatepark that’s also a dairy farm. taoyuan for real*.
links because why not:
- tripadvisor taoyuan market
- yelp local coffee shop
- city board graffiti tours