**written by Kel**
Taipei City is full of Night Markets. Some are big, some are bigger. They best way to describe a Night Market is to picture a ton of food vendors and clothing shops lining narrow streets and then throw in a hoard of people. Some also provide games to play which give it more of a carnival feel. They are the central hub of Taiwan's night life and usually provide one with a good experience. However this past Saturday night I went with two friends to one of the biggest Night Markets in Taipei, Shi Lin Night Market. After throwing baseballs and darts, we decided we were hungry and quickly decided we wanted some Ji Pai (deep fried chicken) and Chua Bing (shaved ice with fruit and condensed milk on top). Great combo, right? Well, it all went down nicely but into the wee hours of Sunday morning we all (unbeknown to each other since we were all in our respective beds) had  the familiar "some-night-market-food-is-making-my-stomach-very-unhappy" feeling set in. First your stomach starts to gurgle. Then the pain starts shooting. Then you know you better hit the bathroom before it's too late. Unfortunately, our choices of deep fried chicken and shaved iced turned out not to be so good and we all wound up with food poisoning, I with the most severe case. Not sure if it was the chicken or the milk poured over our ice was bad. Either way Sunday was rough and only after many trips to the bathroom, sleeping for 16 hours, and re-hydrating my body with fluid did I began to feel better. Oh, the joys of eating in a Night Market. Would I eat there again? Most definitely :)

Shi Lin Night Market

Mango Shaved Ice - yummy!!

Another typical Night Market scene in Taiwan

A huge piece of fried chicken!