Hey everyone! The weeks are flying by here, so every weekend we try to pack a lot in and experience what Taipei has to offer. This Saturday was one of my favorites so far- we went out and explored the Jianguo Jade/Flower Market and, for Robert, Guanghuo Market (computer nerd-heaven).
We hit the Guanghuo Market first, which is an enormous building that houses a maze of computers, video games, and every other electronic device and accessory you could imagine. It had enough technological trinkets inside to keep him busy for a while...suffice it to say that he enjoyed it immensely.

Next up, we eventually found our way to the Jade Market, and it was amazing. It takes place under the Jianguo Elevated Freeway, and there are seemingly endless rows of stalls and vendors showcasing and selling their jade products. There was a wide range of jade jewelry, carvings, stones, teapots, and antiques, and about the same variance in quality. We read a few tips before we went in determining the quality and authenticity of jade, and it was pretty easy to tell what was real and what was fake or low-quality.

In addition, we have found that Taiwan, in contrast with several other Asian countries, is very helpful to foreigners, oftentimes giving them discounts rather than trying to rip them off. We have encountered enough of this Taiwanese friendliness ourselves to know this to be true. It ranges from simple things like helping us to the right bus stop/pointing us in the right direction (when we obviously have the look of clueless Westerns on our faces,) to a man in the flower market trying to give us a giant bag of planting mulch free of charge.

As we perused the jade jewelry section- my area of interest- I noticed one beautiful cream jade flower necklace in particular that I happened to like...hmm, with my birthday in a week, I'm hoping someone may have gotten the hint :)

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The Flower Market is conveniently located right across the street from the Jade Market, and it is filled with gorgeous flowers and interesting plants, my favorites being the orchids. For about 6 dollars I got some beautiful magenta orchids in a ceramic pot.