The Evergreen bus has a stop very near the hotel I booked in the Nanjing East Road MRT Station and Chungsan Road area.  Even if I already told the driver where I would like to alight, it was a good thing that I have utilized Google maps prior to my arrival to Taiwan.  I was already familiar with the street view of the area based on the pictorial representations provided for by Google maps.  So, finding the hotel was such a breeze.  And Google maps helped a lot with the other places I visited.

     After leaving my bags at the hotel, I had a quick breakfast (bagel and coffee) at a nearby Dante Coffee.  Afterwards, I bought an MRT Easy Card pre-loaded with NTD 200.00, a bad mistake on my part.  I should have bought a Taipei Pass instead since I used the MRT quite extensively during my three-day trip.  I could have saved a couple of bucks.  Anyway, I headed to the Nanjing East Road MRT Station and after asking directions from the Information booth, I successfully found my way to Longshan Temple.  It was already past 9:00 in the morning as the LCD clock reminded me of the time, and the sun was starting to sting.  But it did not deter me from roaming the temple premises.  Besides, I came prepared: I had a three-fold umbrella and a fan with me.  I noticed that I was not the only tourist; there were quite a number but they were all Asians.  I asked some college-aged Asian boys to take my picture, only because one of them had a dslr camera like mine, aside from the fact that they were all cute, very accommodating and polite.  They spoke very good English, too.   

     Before I get sidetracked, I entered the incense-laden temple and saw a multitude of faithfuls praying and paying their respects.  I uttered a short thank-you and keep-me-safe prayer in my mind, something that I always do whenever I visit a place of worship abroad, irrespective of religion.  Anyway, the solemnity and steadfast prayers of the people in the temple deterred me from taking more pictures.  I didn't want to be a nuisance.