We had a bit of a lie in to sleep off the cocktails and woke to the sound of fierce winds and panicked that the typhoon had arrived early. I sat up and looked out of the window and realized that it had only been the sound of the air conditioning. Phew. The flight home was a bit bumpy due to the approaching storm, but we arrived on a China Airlines flight that stayed intact. This is more than can be said for the China Airlines flight that arrived in Japan 3 days later…
Friday, August 17, 2007
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Night out in Zhongxiao Dunhua
Tonight we took a train out to Zhongxiao Dunhua where all the trendy bars are reputed to be. We had arranged to meet Dino and Viv one last time at a place called “Sofa”. We went to a place called “Detail” first which had lovely retro décor, leather sofas, funky lamps and 60s wallpaper. We had a drink and some food there and then moved on to “Sofa”. This place had similar décor, but was darker and busier. There was a DJ and an alternative record store inside. It was a very cool place. We asked the waiter about a song that was playing and he said it was by a band called “The Runaways”. I have since Googled, iTuned and MySpaced them, but I am yet to turn anything up. Anyone heard of them?
Viv and Dino turned up with a card and a huge canister of tea for us to take home. So sweet of them. The card was actually one of their wedding invitations and some photos (we had asked them to show us some of their wedding pics – they got married in June). The pictures are amazing! They look so glamorous, like a couple of movie stars. I must get permission to add one of the pics to this blog. Our wedding pictures couldn’t have been more different.
After a few rounds in “Sofa”, we thought we’d try “Bed”, another bar on the same street. New Order were playing on arrival which seemed promising, but the place was weird. There were no beds and hardly any people. There was not enough light to read the drinks menu by, but luckily our friendly waitress was on hand to explain how you could get a jug of vodka or whisky and lime for a good price. We told her that none of us were actually drinking whisky or vodka and she seemed amused. Apparently these liquor jugs are the most popular feature of Bed. Well it certainly wasn’t the beds. Or the music which had turned into Run DMC at an earsplitting volume. We weren’t impressed and went back to Detail and ordered a very girly cocktail each. The music there was good until we realized it was on a loop. The second time they played Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John we decided to call it a night and got the second last train back to Ximen.
Viv and Dino turned up with a card and a huge canister of tea for us to take home. So sweet of them. The card was actually one of their wedding invitations and some photos (we had asked them to show us some of their wedding pics – they got married in June). The pictures are amazing! They look so glamorous, like a couple of movie stars. I must get permission to add one of the pics to this blog. Our wedding pictures couldn’t have been more different.
After a few rounds in “Sofa”, we thought we’d try “Bed”, another bar on the same street. New Order were playing on arrival which seemed promising, but the place was weird. There were no beds and hardly any people. There was not enough light to read the drinks menu by, but luckily our friendly waitress was on hand to explain how you could get a jug of vodka or whisky and lime for a good price. We told her that none of us were actually drinking whisky or vodka and she seemed amused. Apparently these liquor jugs are the most popular feature of Bed. Well it certainly wasn’t the beds. Or the music which had turned into Run DMC at an earsplitting volume. We weren’t impressed and went back to Detail and ordered a very girly cocktail each. The music there was good until we realized it was on a loop. The second time they played Young Folks by Peter, Bjorn and John we decided to call it a night and got the second last train back to Ximen.
Determined to find a bargain
We somehow ended up back in Ximen. We spent way too much time there, each time forgetting that it’s not the place to find good restaurants, indoor cafes or teashops, or malls in which to keep cool.I was determined to find some fashion bargains so I sneaked off to another neighbourhood off "camera street" on my own leaving David reading in the hotel. I found a shopping area full of shops where middle-aged women rummaged for cardigans in cardboard boxes. Is this the only alternative to teen trash? One shop specialized in linen and I am a bit of a linen fan. I didn’t care that everyone else in the shop was dumpy and over 50. I came away with a great summer suit for 590 Taiwanese dollars. I just did a currency conversion. That’s about 9 UK pounds!
Staying cool
We kept hearing that there was a “typhoon a-comin” and we hoped that it held off until we were safely back in Japan.
Today was a day for staying out of the heat. We started with the National Taiwan Museum. It’s the oldest museum building in Taipei – built in 1908 by the Japanese. It looks like a European monumnent with columns, a domed roof and various wings. It was a lovely museum and I especially enjoyed the sections on Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples. An artist called Chen Chi-iu had been commissioned to do sketches of various artifacts from aboriginal communities around the country and I really enjoyed these. Made me want to dust off my sketch book.
It was all about staying out of the sun today so we had lunch in the underground mall at the main train station. We chose a lively teppanyaki place and had piles of lovely fresh food. We wondered why we had never found a teppanyaki restaurant in Japan – do they exist there?
The mall under the train station is quite good fun. There is a section were you can get massages while everyone walks past you on their way to the next boutique. People were getting massaged with what looked like meat cleavers! I am pretty sure that they weren’t actually meat cleavers, but seriously – that’s what it looked like. We weren’t in a rush to try it.
Today was a day for staying out of the heat. We started with the National Taiwan Museum. It’s the oldest museum building in Taipei – built in 1908 by the Japanese. It looks like a European monumnent with columns, a domed roof and various wings. It was a lovely museum and I especially enjoyed the sections on Taiwan’s aboriginal peoples. An artist called Chen Chi-iu had been commissioned to do sketches of various artifacts from aboriginal communities around the country and I really enjoyed these. Made me want to dust off my sketch book.It was all about staying out of the sun today so we had lunch in the underground mall at the main train station. We chose a lively teppanyaki place and had piles of lovely fresh food. We wondered why we had never found a teppanyaki restaurant in Japan – do they exist there?
The mall under the train station is quite good fun. There is a section were you can get massages while everyone walks past you on their way to the next boutique. People were getting massaged with what looked like meat cleavers! I am pretty sure that they weren’t actually meat cleavers, but seriously – that’s what it looked like. We weren’t in a rush to try it.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Shopping fix
After dinner we took the MRT to Woofenpu Market. I was excited about this trip as I had read that it’s the place where clothes shops buy stock at wholesale prices. There are hundreds of shops tightly packed close together selling cut price garments straight from the factories in Hong Kong and Japan (apparently labour prices are too high in Taiwan). The best time to go? August/September for the new collections. Perfect. I had visions of putting together my autumn wardrobe and being the envy of all my friends. Perhaps I’d buy my girls a few items if I spotted something suitable – I’d also read that you get bigger discounts if you buy in bulk. How I managed to persuade David to go with me, I’ll never know.
We came out of Housen Station passing people carrying cheap carrier bags full of goodies. I quickened my pace.
I must say that I was very disappointed. There were hundreds of shops and they were very cheap, but they were pretty much all the same. T-shirts, shorts, jeans and t-shirt material tunic dresses. All very casual, bordering on trashy and pretty boring. Most things were very cheap-looking and obviously aimed at the teen market. Items like these on a 30-something professional like me would be just so wrong. I wanted good fashion for grown-ups. I did buy a couple of t-shirts so that I didn’t go home empty-handed. The type that the dye comes off really easily. Despite the lack of purchases, the market was highly entertaining. The plastic models looked really lifelike which was sort of freaky. I couldn’t help noticing how badly dressed all the shoppers were. Nancy tells me that they dress even worse in Canada. I guess I am used to being around immaculately dressed Japanese girls.
We took the MRT back to Ximen and had a look in NET (NEXT rip off) in an attempt to fulfill that shopping craving. I picked out a few items to try on and then I realized that NET stands for New Era Teen. This made me feel incredibly old and sad so I put the clothes back without trying them on.
What an exhausting day! We went back to the Wonstar and slept for 9 hours straight.
We came out of Housen Station passing people carrying cheap carrier bags full of goodies. I quickened my pace.
I must say that I was very disappointed. There were hundreds of shops and they were very cheap, but they were pretty much all the same. T-shirts, shorts, jeans and t-shirt material tunic dresses. All very casual, bordering on trashy and pretty boring. Most things were very cheap-looking and obviously aimed at the teen market. Items like these on a 30-something professional like me would be just so wrong. I wanted good fashion for grown-ups. I did buy a couple of t-shirts so that I didn’t go home empty-handed. The type that the dye comes off really easily. Despite the lack of purchases, the market was highly entertaining. The plastic models looked really lifelike which was sort of freaky. I couldn’t help noticing how badly dressed all the shoppers were. Nancy tells me that they dress even worse in Canada. I guess I am used to being around immaculately dressed Japanese girls.
We took the MRT back to Ximen and had a look in NET (NEXT rip off) in an attempt to fulfill that shopping craving. I picked out a few items to try on and then I realized that NET stands for New Era Teen. This made me feel incredibly old and sad so I put the clothes back without trying them on.What an exhausting day! We went back to the Wonstar and slept for 9 hours straight.
BYO water
We ate at the ShinKong Mitsukoshi food court near the station that night. Food courts are great. I wonder why we don’t have them in Japan? We went to the Korean counter and were served by the dimmest girl in Taipei. The stall had only 6 items. We asked for beeb em bop and pointed at the picture. The girl got her knickers in a knot because we were foreign so naturally she wouldn’t be able to understand us. She went out the back to get someone from the kitchen to help. Fortunately the chef was able to understand the order even without looking at which picture we were pointing at.
I went off in search of water, but kept being told that I should go to the supermarket for that. Hmm. We brought our own from then on.
The food was good, but I have never had beeb em bop with cheese and corn in it before…
I went off in search of water, but kept being told that I should go to the supermarket for that. Hmm. We brought our own from then on.
The food was good, but I have never had beeb em bop with cheese and corn in it before…
Bathtime in Beitou
So, it’s a boiling hot day and we’ve been dripping non-stop for hours. We should be spending the rest of the day inside a mall or museum but strangely, we had made other plans. We were going to visit a hot spring!
We took a train to Xinbeitou, a spa town. We made our way up the hill to the outdoor public baths to find that they were closed for cleaning. Not to worry, they would be open again in an hour. In the meantime we walked back down the hill to the town museum where 4 little old ladies armed with brooms scowled at us and told us to take our shoes off. They stalked people as they looked at old photographs and exhibits in the museum. If one toe accidentally brushed the antique tatami mat a granny would spring from nowhere and shake her broom at you ferociously.
I admit I didn’t take much in. The heat was frying my brain, but I do remember signs everywhere starting with “DO NOT…”. Friendly place then. The only air conditioned section of the building was the video room and a Chinese movie from the late 60s was being screened. The movie was set in the town of Beito. The quality was terrible and looked like it had been made in the 1920s. There were hand-written Chinese subtitles for Cantonese speakers.
Museum link
The last thing I really wanted was a hot bath, but as we were in Beito, we may as well give it a go. We had enjoyed the baths in Hungary in summer afterall.
The showers were in individual cubicles with doors which was a good start. I’m never keen on public scrubbing. We chose this particular spa because it was for both men and women. People wear swimwear and it was a very relaxed place. The swimwear was a bit odd though. Men wore biking shorts and women wore very conservative (bordering on Victorian) one-piece swimsuits. I was the only foreign slapper in a two-piece bikini. Note to self: next time bring sensible cossie. There were mostly old people in the baths. The alpha-males up in the hottest pool or perched on rocks looking down on everyone else. We’ve seen macaques in Indonesia doing much the same thing.
We stayed in for about half an hour and then got too hot (wimps). We walked back down the hill and into a convenience store and bought salty nuts and sweet fizzy drinks and stayed there until our body temperatures had returned to normal.
We took a train to Xinbeitou, a spa town. We made our way up the hill to the outdoor public baths to find that they were closed for cleaning. Not to worry, they would be open again in an hour. In the meantime we walked back down the hill to the town museum where 4 little old ladies armed with brooms scowled at us and told us to take our shoes off. They stalked people as they looked at old photographs and exhibits in the museum. If one toe accidentally brushed the antique tatami mat a granny would spring from nowhere and shake her broom at you ferociously.
I admit I didn’t take much in. The heat was frying my brain, but I do remember signs everywhere starting with “DO NOT…”. Friendly place then. The only air conditioned section of the building was the video room and a Chinese movie from the late 60s was being screened. The movie was set in the town of Beito. The quality was terrible and looked like it had been made in the 1920s. There were hand-written Chinese subtitles for Cantonese speakers.
Museum link
The last thing I really wanted was a hot bath, but as we were in Beito, we may as well give it a go. We had enjoyed the baths in Hungary in summer afterall.
The showers were in individual cubicles with doors which was a good start. I’m never keen on public scrubbing. We chose this particular spa because it was for both men and women. People wear swimwear and it was a very relaxed place. The swimwear was a bit odd though. Men wore biking shorts and women wore very conservative (bordering on Victorian) one-piece swimsuits. I was the only foreign slapper in a two-piece bikini. Note to self: next time bring sensible cossie. There were mostly old people in the baths. The alpha-males up in the hottest pool or perched on rocks looking down on everyone else. We’ve seen macaques in Indonesia doing much the same thing.
We stayed in for about half an hour and then got too hot (wimps). We walked back down the hill and into a convenience store and bought salty nuts and sweet fizzy drinks and stayed there until our body temperatures had returned to normal.
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