Coasting in Tamsui

Hello! Yesterday we took the train North to Tamsui which is on the coast and basically just spent the day wandering around and taking in the sites. The streets were full of people mostly because it's the weekend and EVERYBODY comes out, but also because there always seems to be people out all the time anyway. I'm assuming this area must be a great couple retreat because I saw quite a lot of young couples as well as groups of couples and families. After working our way through the busy streets we found ourselves by the seaside where boats were pulled up along the side and taking people around to visit other parts of the area. We boarded one of these boats and cruised along the water feeling the breeze blow by and occasionally being splashed by the water. It was a little bumpy for me but I made it to land without getting nauseous thankfully.  The boat fare was a little over $2 I think and it took us to what looked like a seaside resort area. There was a Giant hotel cleverly designed in a ship-like manner and many people out singing and selling food. I'm not sure what's up with all the musicians here and why so many people sing on the streets or play weird harmonica music..but I like it. It brings a really fun atmosphere and the children were skipping around dancing while the families walked their midget dogs. We walked up onto a very long pier, that greatly resembled that one scene from Sweeny Todd, and we sat and watched the ocean for a while. It was rather windy so my eyes were drying out as usual but it felt very relaxing when my eyes were closed.
Attached to the Giant hotel we found a chocolate wonderland that sadly was not free to enter so we walked around the gift shop looking at all the chocolate products and then took pictures of all the funny chocolate characters outside.
   After our chocolate disappointment we made our way back towards the boat area and stopped by a food vendor to try their chicken. They sell these HUGE pieces of chicken that they give you in a little wrapper and you just eat it like that. The boat ride back was less pleasant and more cold, and it was dark by the time we got back to the otherside.  We walked through an array of lights and street performers back to the train station and our current residence. The trip was short but we saw a lot and it was simple enough to get there, no long bus rides or confusing train transfers. It was also very inexpensive which is great in case we wanted to make a trip back down there by ourselves (we had a guide for this trip).

Night~