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Willlost no more... January 04 the condensed versionLast week was really busy so here's the recap. I met up with CK and her friends Yuko and Sandra. Tom showed up. Jidesh showed up. We saw fireworks at the 101. We got up to some spots in northern Taipei. I did some things I didn't think I was going to do. Hit a couple different night markets and got a chance to see the energy in them. All in all it was a good trip and allowed me to check out a lot of stuff around. There are still a few things that I didn't get around to doing while I was there but I'll survive without having done them. Perhaps I'll make another trip out there some time but I'm not going to put a date on that.
After a couple of weeks hanging out there it was definitely time to come home and get back to life. All in all I think Taipei is an interesting place. The hot springs were something that I hadn't ever experienced before. The public transportation was great and made it really easy to get around. It was clean, easy to navigate, and ran at frequent intervals so it was all good. There was some really good food around and it was great to make some new friends.
Staying at the Grand Hyatt was a good choice for checking out the fireworks for sure. The crowd that gathered around there for New Years was incredible. It was a good show I guess although I expected it to be longer but still good. Too bad that's supposed to be the last year they'll pull that off. At least I can always look back and say that I was there to see that. If I do go back next time I'm not sure I'd stay at the same location but the hotel stay was great.
The best thing about the trip were the friends I was able to make and the friends that were there to share the experience with me. It was kind of funny as I was coming through customs and I didn't have anything to declare. I think this is the first trip that I didn't acquire something to bring back with me. I'm still not sure whether that's a good thing but it's definitely something. And this concludes this years entries for this blog. I don't see myself making any long distance trips in the near future but you never can tell. December 28 hmm, bored now...Yay! I didn’t waste two days of sunshine. I’m not sure that’s really an accomplishment but it is in my book for now. Now if only I can figure out how to lie out and get a tan that would be an accomplishment. In retrospect I probably should’ve just gone to Melbourne instead but whatever. Today I dropped in on the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. I’m not really sure what to make of it. It’s big. It’s white. It’s got a pretty blue top. It’s roped off. It isn’t my idea of a great time but it’s definitely something to see while I’m in town. There were a few people chilling around there and I guess it was pretty pleasant to just hang out and enjoy the weather. There was a lot of renovation going on so I didn’t get the full effect but I got what I wanted out of there I guess. The Taipei taxi service is definitely better than the drivers in Beijing. They’ve been pretty good about getting me to the places I’ve pointed out but then again most the places that I’ve been to are touristy and the town isn’t really all that big. The place is cleaner than Beijing as well. The air quality is much better. Even though there is some smog going on here there isn’t that terrible smell that comes with living in Beijing. I still stand by the assumption that any place with a weather condition of “smoke” isn’t necessarily a great tourist spot regardless of whether or not that only occurs in the winter. With New Years Eve just a few days away I’m still curious as to what’s going to unfold. I’m right in the shadow of the 101 so perhaps there will be some fireworks. Perhaps we’ll just go straight for the clubs and hole up in a table. Perhaps I’ll be sick again and just ditch on the whole thing and stay in bed the whole time. I really hope the latter doesn’t happen but it’s hard to tell at this point. Last year was very forgettable so I’m hoping for better things this year. December 27 slack dayI figure since I'm on vacation I'm allowed to be a super slacker. With that in mind I slept till like 12:30pm. Well I was actually up by 6am, had breakfast, and then went back to bed at like 10:30am. I eventually woke up at like 12:30pm and it was everything I thought it could be except it was a little too bright. Oddly enough I spent the only sunny day of my visit tucked into bed. But again, it's my vacation so I do what I want! I was going to lie out and get a tan when the sun got around to the pool… but guess what… the freaking sun never shines on the damn pool! WTF!! That’s right… with the way the building is designed the sun never got high enough to shine directly on the pool. So all those lounge chairs by the pool are totally worthless if you want to lie out in the sun. LAME!!
After wasting most of the day I decided to at least go over to the observation deck at the 101 and check out the sunset. For starters I assume there is 101 floors hence the name. As I was sitting in the elevator flying upwards it stopped at the 89th floor. I’m feeling ripped off now. Honestly though, it doesn’t really matter since the place was so smoggy another twelve floors wouldn’t have made a difference. Even still it’s nowhere close to how bad Beijing or Shanghai was.
Sure the building is kind of cool. It’s nice to have that kind of vantage point. However once you’ve been in a really tall building looking down, everything looks about the same no matter where you are. Of all the heights that I’ve seen when it comes to tall buildings, I’d have to say Shanghai was probably the most interesting just because it wasn’t so high that everything seemed miniscule and it had a great skyline. Too bad I never got to check out the Hong Kong skyline from way up high as I’m sure that would be a sight to behold as well. December 26 fine art huh?The problem with traveling around in a place where I can’t really speak the language is that it’s always questionable as to whether or not I’ll make it back home. Sure I’ll end up somewhere but is it going to be close enough to where I really want to be? That’s always an interesting problem to run into. Today I decided to go check out the Taipei Fine Arts Museum.
The museum is located a few miles northwest of where I’m staying at. The taxi driver was pretty good about getting there. Judging by the directions that he took I think he ended up taking the most optimal path to get to the destination. That’s definitely better than 99% of the taxi drivers I ran into while I was staying in Beijing. I may be jumping the gun a little bit, but if nothing else, that makes Taipei better than Beijing. But to be honest I haven’t really ridden in that many taxis so it’s too early to say that it’s really that good here but my sources tell me they’re pretty dependable.
The museum is like many other museums I’ve been to. The temperature is cool, the floors are really clean, things are on the wall, and you’re not allowed to touch anything. There was a lot of anime stuff there which was interesting to see but I’m not sure I understand the huge fascination with it all. Unfortunately I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures inside so I can’t show any of it. It was cool but I’m not sure it deserved a whole floor dedicated to that. Then again, I am in another culture and animation is a big thing so whatever.
After trotting around the museum I decided to walk around the Taipei Art Park which was right behind the building. To say the least I didn’t see anything there that made me go “wow”. It was an interesting contrast though looking at plants and the open area with the backdrop of the old buildings that looked like they missed one too many cleanings. You can easily pick out where I live by looking for the 101 building which sticks out like a sore thumb. There was some cool looking building off in the distance which I was curious about but I wasn’t curious enough to find out what was inside.
At this point I was getting a bit tired so I decided to trek along Minzu E. Road and ended up in front of the Xinsheng Park. It looked like this was just a big recreation area with ballparks of sorts on it. To say the least I was pretty beat already so I didn’t run around to find out. I did however stick around long enough to do a really bad over the should photo shot and I found a pack of dogs just chilling. If it were sunny outside they could get a tan or something. They looked all cute and stuff lying out there but I figured it was probably better not to approach them.
Afterwards I decided to go back toward the hotel and search for the Starbucks. I’m still aching for a Chai Tea Latte. Of course hunger got the best of me and at exactly the right moment, I spotted a McDonald’s. Of course no trip would be complete unless I stop at a McDonald’s for some stupid reason. Don’t ask. Anyhow, after getting some grub I decided to walk down the strip a little bit and of course I ran smack into a Starbucks. Mental note for next time, if you can’t find a Starbucks, look for a McDonald’s and surely there will be a Starbucks nearby. I doubt that’s always true but it might be more true in Asian countries.
Unfortunately after all that hunting I still don’t have my damn Chai Tea Latte. No, it wasn’t on the stupid menu so I had to stick with a Green Tea Latte. Well, a Green Tea Latte is definitely no Chai Tea Latte so of course I’m not a happy camper.
As I’m sitting here thinking about the day thus far I’ve come to realize that I’m smack dab in the touristy part of town. Everything here is pretty, clean, and fairly new. It’s easy to get around and there are a lot of people just chilling. It was interesting to walk around the streets earlier today in a different part of town. It helped me get a better perspective on how upscale everything is around me. I can’t say that I want to run around the back alleys of Taipei but I’m sure there are some interesting stories to be made back there. December 25 Merry Christmas from TaipeiIf you're running behind on your Christmas shopping it'll be alright if you live in Taipei. Walking around the 101 building you'd never know it was Christmas day. There were plenty of people walking around. I wouldn't say people were really getting their shop on but they were definitely out and about. In general I'd say it's similar to what I noticed when I was in Shanghai. It just goes to show that Christmas isn't really that big a deal over here.
And with so much shopping space around I'm surprised I've only seen one Starbucks around. Seriously, I want a Chai Tea right now but I can't find a Starbucks. How ironic.
The sky bridges they have connecting everything is really convenient for shoppers. If I weren't so lazy yesterday I would've just used them to get around and avoided the rain all together. Eh, actually probably not. There's a whole bunch of high end shops here but I don't think I roll that high.
And OMG, what's up with the line to watch a movie (at least I that's what I'm assuming the line is for). Is there a really good movie that I don't know about or am I that spoiled that I don't remember how fun it is to go watch a movie on the big screen? That was a rhetorical question... Anyhow after closer examination the line wasn't really that long as the ticket counters were right around the corner.
I've walked like three blocks on the sky bridges and I think it's quite impressive really. I better clarify that. It's impressive how well thought out the bridges are. It's impressive I'm still trotting my ass around and I haven't acquired some meaningless bullshit. It's even more impressive that I haven't run into a freaking Starbucks. I know I saw one earlier but I can't remember where the hell I saw it at. How annoying!
As I'm walking around I find myself increasingly aware of how much tech crap I have on me at the moment. First there's this stupid Pantech phone. Can't find the calculator on it. can't figure out how to create a new doc using Word (because you probably can't). And by the way, what a pain to type on! Then there's the ole trusty iPod. Perhaps I would be saying "old trusty Zune" if they had what I wanted in stock. Lastly there's the Canon SD750 camera. I haven't really made up my mind on the camera yet but it seems pretty good.
It is Christmas after all so I'll end this note a little less whiny. Christmas is the time of year that should be spent with loved ones. I'm not religious or anything but it's still a good excuse to use to get together with people that you really care about. This is the second time in as many years that I've managed to find myself in unchartered territory But just because I’m not spending time near my family doesn’t mean that they’re not on my mind or in my heart. I spent this Christmas reflecting on the things I have and the things I wish for. Right now I’m feeling fortunate that the wishes I have are fairly trivial and that everything I really need, I already have. |
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