Eslite

07 Aug 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taipei Tags: , , ,

I decided to reward myself for having  cleaned house and having made it through a particularly tough week. I haven’t found a library yet but I did pay a visit to the 24-hr bookstore off of Renai circle: Eslite (otherwise known as tons of shopping fun!). 5 floors of all sorts of made (or designed)-in-Taiwan items – oh and they sell books too.

I thought I’d try my luck to see if I could find anything (clothing-wise) that would actually fit me. It gets old walking into a shop where no one speaks much English, filled with cute clothing designed for what I like to call “tiny people”, and having the sales person (usually one of the aforementioned tiny people) answer “sorry no” when I ask in English whether they have anything that will fit me. (Guess they understood my question.) I find if I start browsing the inventory and hold something up, asking, “Do you have this in my size?” I have a better chance of actually finding something.  The first store I walked into had a saleslady that spoke English! She very sweetly walked around with me translating when needed.

On the book floor, I found a very detailed city map – let’s see if I’m better able to navigate the streets of Taipei with it! I browsed the magazines because certain issues (mostly the British and Chinese versions) have “free” items shrink-wrapped-ly (is that a word?) attached to them: tote bags in all shapes and sizes, cosmetics, and other items in colorful boxes (no clue on the ones with no pics since it’s all in Chinese).

First night/morning in new apartment!

21 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taipei, Taiwan Tags:

View from my bedroom window

No internet or cable TV (Chunghwa is scheduled for Thursday morning). I also discovered that several outlets don’t work. No worries, my johnny-on-the-spot landlord arranged for the electrician to come over first thing (which he did).  I made my first breakfast since being in Taiwan (oatmeal, yummy!) and cleaned the place. Ah, that feels good.  Chunghwa arrived as scheduled (this never happens Stateside); I now have both internet and TV. Now I just need to lug the bedding I bought (too small) back to IKEA and exchange it, plus order a desk and chair. I’ll keep adding to the furnishings a little bit at a time…

Day 25 pm Everything Yingge

17 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan, Travel Tags:

Sunday morning at breakfast, the hotel’s restaurant was crowded. I was sitting alone in a 4-spot when a nice young woman asked politely if she and her companion could sit with me. Certainly I said. When I heard her companion speak, I asked if he was German (he is). We had the nicest conversation and I invited them to go to Yingge today and they agreed to go! While waiting at the Taipei main station to meet my co-worker and his girlfriend, I watched a group of “oldsters” in matching uniforms doing TaiChi in unison. Suddenly we could hear a raised voice: a man was upset, saying (in Chinese) that he’d waited too long in the ticket line. Talk about both ends of the “peaceful” spectrum!  Next, we took a 30-minute TRA train ride to Yinnge. Total cost of trip: 14 + 31 = 45NT (1.50 US) one-way.

In Yingge, the section of town where most of the pottery shops are located is a 15 (steamy) minute walk from the railway station.

Walking to Yingge

On the way we passed little stores, fruit stands, and the ever-present parked scooters. Mostly we walked like locals (on the street vs. the sidewalk) mainly because there are no sidewalks! The pottery area is like a Disneyland for art lovers! Tea shops with pots and cups in every shape, size, and color, shops with all sorts of plants and the pots to put them in, pottery flutes, plates and bowls of every type, mass-produced items from Japan and items created by well-known local artists.

Everything pottery related can be found in Yingge!

Yingge Pottery

I managed to find some plates, bowls, and cups in one shop, and a wonderful large pottery bowl I’ll use to hold fruit, in another. Our last stop of the day was a lovely shop selling both higher end pottery pieces and coffee, tea, and cheesecake. Soothing music, interesting discussion, with two delightful couples, on all sorts of topics, and then…sigh, back to the hotel on public transportation. NOTE: At the MRT station I noticed that there were all sorts of live plants adjacent to the escalator, with 3 employees literally washing each leaf on every plant! Amazing!

Masks and umbrellas

12 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan Tags: ,

One thing you’ll notice immediately as you travel anywhere around Taiwan is people wearing what appear to be surgical masks. Some are fancied up, colorful and others are just plain…plain. They all seem to serve one of two purposes: to keep something in or to keep something out. I asked and apparently some folks wear them when they are feeling ill, so as not to infect anyone else (thoughtful, if they can’t stay home) and others wear them to keep any pollution from the traffic at bay. (I’ll have to get a pic of this without seeming rude about it.) Personally I’m not sure that re-breathing your own breath is advisable but the practice has caught on here.

Taiwan Masks

Also, I notice the widespread sale and use of umbrellas (mostly when it’s sunny outside) among women of all ages. I even saw a women, her bicycle LOADED with stuff, gripping a ‘brella firmly in one hand as she navigated the crowded sidewalk! Many of the umbrellas being sold along the street have a silvery lining (let the puns begin) that is designed as a reflective shield against UV rays. You may recall that Asian women the world over prize white (fair) skin and do all they can to keep it light (I haven’t seen a single tanning business here yet.) Most of the beauty products (even those brands sold in the States) are advertised here as containing some sort of “whitening” properties and labeled as such. I suppose the umbrellas also keep the intense sun off of the users although I’m fairly certain that the sun’s rays reflect off of the sidewalk,  making a device held overhead useless for protection. Hmmmm….I’ll have to think on that a bit.

Taiwan Umbrellas

Taichung part 3

10 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan, Travel Tags: ,

After lunch and shopping in Taichung, my hosts took me to the Taiwan National Museum of Fine Art where Marc Chagall’s work is the feature exhibit. It’s FREE to see the other collections and 250NT (8.00 USD) to view the Chagalls. And man, were there Chagalls! What a wonderful collection of his colorful fantasies! Here’s the entrance to the museum:

Entrance to the TNMFA in Taichung

When we exited the museum, it was amusing to see children and their parents playing with….the smooth white stones used to pave paths. All that amazing artwork  just a stone’s throw away and the kids would rather pick up rocks! And then another amazing sight: a DIY tea stand!

DIY Tea Stand

Day 16 pm

08 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Shopping, Taiwan, Travel Tags: ,

I’m in sticker shock! I went looking for a desk for my new apartment. Nothing too fancy, but nothing IKEA either. I took one of my co-workers to see the new place and then shopping on the furniture street – nothing but furniture for blocks, and blocks, and blocks.  The first store had lovely Restoration Hardware furniture. I asked the price of a desk and chair….(are you sitting down?) over 200,000NT  (nearly 7K USD). Yeah right! So after I picked my jaw off the ground I said “So what’s your real price?”. The salesman did some more calculation and came up 175K (5800 USD). And he was completely serious. Come on, now. They had the RH catalog sitting out; you could buy the same thing Stateside and have it shipped over for less than that! So either that’s what they did, and passed the outrageous customs bill onto unsuspecting consumers OR (more likely) they have craftsman who create repros of the expensive US stuff and charge outlandish fees for it! Definitely an eye opener. One kind shop owner stayed open until 11pm just letting us look at photos and check out leather and veneer samples. Guess that 14000NT teak table from Tealit is looking better and better and that price includes delivery and two guys to cart the thing up 5 flights of stairs! (Tealit is sort of like Craigslist.)

Speaking of Tealit, I saw some paintings for sale and started talking to (emailing) the guy who was selling off some of his collection. Turns out there is a big festival in Taiching (south of Taipei) this weekend, LUVstock, and I got invited me to attend! My camera and I will be taking the HSR (high speed rail) tomorrow into truly uncharted territory! Stay tuned for the pics!

Crossing the street, trash cans, and drinking fountains

07 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan, Travel

Two weeks here and the sight of Taipei 101 no longer has the same affect on me. Once inside it’s still thrilling but outside I pay attention to more immediate events. For instance, I nearly got run over by a taxi this morning on the way to work. I was in a CROSSWALK with at least 30 seconds on the green light (they have digital counters to let pedestrians the time between light changes) when a taxi made a right turn into my path. I stopped, held up my hand in a “STOP” motion, and the guy stopped! Unfortunately the folks he was ferrying, they got tossed around!

I went with my boss to look at my new apartment (pics to be posted shortly); he helped me figure out the best route there. At the Tong Gua market I bought a fresh juice drink (cucumber, carrots, apple, and lime) and looked for a place to toss the empty cup – nada, zip, zilch – nothing! Apparently no one wants to pay for garbage removal so there are no public trash containers – also surprising: there isn’t a lot of trash on the ground.

Oh, I forgot to tell you something: at the gym yesterday I wanted some water in between sets. What I found was a water dispenser with flat (yes, that’s what I said) cups. Kinda cool, actually. You have to open the “cup” and hope you don’t overfill it. When you’re done, you simply fold the cup back up. I saved mine!

Day 14 pm

06 Jul 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan, Travel Tags: , ,

Come on, WordPress, answer your email! I’ve attempted to insert a photo into one of my posts (just like I did the others) and for some reason, after half a dozen tries, it wouldn’t take.

On another topic, I went to the gym today and got a little shock: I went into the “dressing room” to change and found that there were two types of stalls. One with a shower (which flooded the other stalls in the same row) and one with a toilet in the floor (say what?).  Needless to say I was rather perplexed and definitely disgusted. Ugh. Live and learn….

On a happier and healthier note, I found a little “Organic Mart” close to the hotel. They have a wide assortment of fresh fruits (most of which I recognize) , organic fresh juices,  and take out bowls. The bowls consist of various veggies and seaweed – tonight’s offering was some sort of grape vines, enoki mushrooms, shredded carrots, and a form of seaweed in a light dressing. YUM!

Day 7 am

28 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Foreign Food, Taiwan, Travel

Ah, apartment hunting in Taipei! In addition to absorbing a new culture, language, and workplace, I’m about to begin the search for a place to live here. I checked out Craigslist Taiwan prior to arrival but it seems their ads cater to “foreigners”, with correspondingly higher prices! I checked out (or attempted to) a website recommended by the locals; the choices are so overwhelming it’s daunting! What should I look for? What do I read into the (translated) wording of the ad? One of my co-workers (fluent in Chinese) has been reviewing ads and sending me those that fit my criteria (walking distance to work, under NT 20,000.) Another has offered to call potential landlords to verify that they do indeed rent to foreigners and to schedule a viewing. Good advice for what to look for abounds! I think my first appointment is tomorrow evening; I’ll let you know how that goes….

Yesterday at breakfast, there was an unfamiliar item on the fresh fruit table. It looked a little like a melon (green rind, pale greenish flesh) so I tried it – OMG, delicious! I asked it’s name: baa-luh (phonetically). I must look for that at night market (when I go!). On my way home from work, I passed a vendor selling cherries – lovely! When I stopped to look, he gave me a sample and said they were from WA state! I bought a small box NT99/unit of measure (NT 500 total = yikes, 16.00 USD ) and he gave me a “discount”. I probably should have bargained but it was worth it for a taste of home! Speaking of taste, tonight I’ll share with you what I’m learning about the restaurant/lone diner experience.

Day 5 pm

27 Jun 2011 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Culture, Taiwan Tags:

I knew I was in trouble when the taxi driver pulled out a MAGNIFYING GLASS in order to read the 1/2″ high characters indicating the address of the Taipei Zhongshan Hall, where tonight’s screening of “Three Sparrows” was to be shown. He tried to drop me off at the police station (across from the Hall) but eventually asked some passers by where the venue was! (I’m sure the local constabulary would also have been happy to direct me but, best not to chance it!) After opening remarks from the film’s writer/director/producer (in Chinese) and annoying technical difficulties (20 minutes of screeching feedback drowning out the soundtrack) the film played (in Aussie English, thank goodness, with Chinese subtitles). The theater is beautiful inside although I should have asked for a “bulkhead seat” in order to stretch my legs. Sorry, no pics; I wanted to enjoy the show. Afterwards we received free vouchers (I’m guessing to compensate for the late start and audio issues). Taipei at night is quiet colorful: lights, signs, high rises next to ancient temples. And the traffic! Mark my words, NOTHING would induce me to take a chance on a riding a scooter , especially at night!

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As for me, I will take the road less travelled…