Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Raohe Night Market

Location/Accessibility
Raohe Street Night Market is located in Songshan District at Raohe Street. It begins in the west from Bade Road to Tayou Road. This night market is easily accessible by various modes of transportation. Firstly, one could alight at the Songshun Railway Station and make a five-minute walk down Raohe Street. Due to the cost of purchasing a railway ticket, visitors with budget could get the MRT ticket and alight at Houshanpi Station. After which, visitors would need to take approximately a 15-minute walk to Zhongpo North Road. Secondly, visitors could make use of the numerous bus services and alight at the Raohe Street Night Market Stop. Lastly, one could board the ferry at the Dajia Wharf in the Dajia Riverside Park and alight at Blue Highway River Ferries. In our opinion, it is not advisable to use the last transportation mode as there is no fixed schedule for the ferries since it is determined by the sea or tide conditions. 
Map of Raohe Night Market
Entrance of the Raohe Night Market

Nearby Attractions/Amenities
Raohe Street Night Market is relatively near the Songshan Ciyou Temple which seems to serve as the spiritual center for the area. While walking towards the night market, visitors would first see this temple which is brightly decorated with neon lights and it is simply hard to miss this sight. The night market is also located near to the Wufenpu Clothing Market. This wholesale market is about 850m away from Raohe Night Market and it is definitely an excellent bargain place for consumers who like to purchase apparels and accessories in bulk. 
Ciyou Temple located beside Raohe Night Market
Wufenpu Wholesale Centre
Wufenpu Wholesale Centre located about 850m from Raohe Night Market

Specialities
The Raohe Street Night Market offers various kinds of general merchandises, accessories and traditional snacks at reasonable prices. Food include barbequed oysters, grilled mushrooms and sponge cakes with various cartoon characters. We felt that the stall selling such sponge cakes is very appealing to not only the young kids but also the young adults. The stall also offers a wide array of flavors such as honey and chocolate. Besides, there is a traditional bakery shop named, He He Tang, that caters to the pastries lovers. Among the night markets we have visited, this is the only night market that has a halal cafe, Aladdin Cafe, that sells freshly made kebabs. As such, muslim friends may  want to include this night market into their itinerary should they want to expose themselves to the food culture in Taiwan. Other than food, visitors can buy unique product such as the 'magic flowers' which bloom when the surrounding experiences low humidity and close when there is high moisture content in the air. It is interesting to note that such beautiful flowers can last up to 10 years and it is only available in Taiwan hence, they could be ideal souvenirs for tourists.
Barbequed oysters
Grilled mushrooms
Sponge cakes with cartoon characters
Traditional bakery shop
Aladdin Cafe selling yummy halal kebabs
'Magic flowers' in bottles

Layout of Stalls
The stalls are arranged neatly in a straight row between two narrow paths that are also lined with stalls. These paths seems to move in a one-way direction in which the path on the right after the entrance marks the start of the walking direction. On the other hand, the path on the left before the entrance marks the end of the walking direction. As compared to the Shilin Night Market, the food and apparel stalls seemed to be arranged side by side. In our opinion, we felt that visitors may not be that incline to buy their apparels as they may be stained by the strong smell from the various food stalls. In all, given the long historical background for being the oldest night market in Taiwan, Raohe Night Market is absolutely worth to be visited by many people. 
Start of walking direction on the right after the entrance  (visitors walking from the entrance)
End of walking distance on the left before the entrance (visitors walking towards the entrance)