2 Days in Taipei

Well, so far Taipei has let me have it.

After my first night feeling overwhelmed and exhausted, I woke up Saturday feeling much more refreshed and ready to go. I had some time to kill before I was set to meet up with my cousin's good friend, so I got some breakfast from the bakery across the street (it was delicious!) and started on a walk looking for somewhere to stop and eat. My meanderings led me quite a ways without much success, but pretty soon I stumbled upon the gorgeous area of Chiang Kai-Sek Memorial Hall.

It's basically this HUGE plaza that has an octagonal-shaped monument replete with Abraham LIncoln-like statue of CKS, a major dictator in Taiwan's history who had a lot of power and therefore a lot of museums and residences and palaces left, but he isn't exactly held in the highest regard here. Regardless, I happened to show up right at 11:00 for the changing of the guard which involved 4 guards and AMAZING drill-team rifle choreography and precision. I, however, was not a fan of the goose-stepping, drag queen heel boots, or the bayonets being pointed directly at my face several times.

The plaza also contains the National Concert Hall and Theatre and they are HUGE andgorgeous. Spoiler Alert: I want to perform there! Big surprise, right? There's also a giant blue and white Chinese gate that I believe is one of the old 5 main gates of the city.

I had to hurry back to the hotel to meet Neev and Damon, and they took me to an amazing feast of Dim Sum for lunch. We had a lovely afternoon comparing countries, swapping stories, and laughing at all the standard foreigners-in-Asia experiences we've had. It was really nice to have some tour guides, and we just let the day dictate itself, which turned out for the best!

As we were walking, we stopped in Da'an Forest Park for a while, where we saw people doing Tai Chi on the stage of the amphitheatre. This usually happens early in the morning, so we were a bit confused, and we were really confused why everyone was gathering at the foot of the stage with pillows...

Turns out, according to a facebook event, it was the International Pillow Fight of 2010 at 3 PM and we showed up just in time to witness the craziness! I caught some awesome footage, though I wish I had caught the Taiwanese teenager screaming "Welcome to Pillow Fight!!!" as he continually whapped his girlfriend in the back as they entered the melee. Seriously priceless.

My favorite part of the whole day was this random woman who was standing on the edge of the stage where people were doing tai chi and right above everyone gathering for the pillow fight. She was just standing there with her umbrella (even though it had stopped raining and she was under the cover of the stage) and a grocery bag, kind of turning back and forth mouthing or singing something along with the music of the Tai Chi. That's what I guessed, anyway. And I just couldn't stop staring at her completely content in her zone. She kept noticing me staring and had this weird little half smile, and never moved from her spot for a good 30 minutes, even after the pillow fight had moved up the hill, been broken up by the police, and people had gone their ways, except for the tai chi session. Simply put, she was crazy, and I was OBSESSED with her.

Next we meandered through the weekend craft fair (where I bought a really nice ring for 10 bucks), the flower market, and the gorgeous jade market. We jumped on the MRT to stop by Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall, where I got my first look at Taipei 101 in the background. It really is GINORMOUS, though the crappy weather this week means I've only gotten a few glimpses at the top and it probably won't be worth my while to go up (I've been thwarted by weather twice already).

I wasn't super impressed by Sun Yat-Sen's building, though the statue inside was awesome. And we happened to be there just in time to watch the young military men take down the flag. The craziest part was when they stopped the awful karaoke happening at a make-shift stage behind us so they could do the ceremony and play the National Anthem, and as soon as it was done, the screeching Chinese ladies continued. And then the young men had to march, and it was in rhythm! Again, priceless.

We jumped on the subway again and stopped over the west side of town at Longshan Temple which was crazy crowded and looked like a market was going on inside. Turns out, many people were gathering to prepare their offerings to the dead for Tomb Cleaning Day, which is the holiday on Monday. It also has had the joy of ruining several of my travel reservations...

The temple was magnificently detailed and it was so cool to see it in the middle of a big service complete with chanting. We also stopped by another temple after we meandered down Huaxi Street, and it was lovely to see the contrast of a neighborhood temple. It had three stories we could climb through, and lovely views of the neighborhood alleys. In short, I loved it.

I did not love Huaxi, or Snake Alley, quite as much... It's one of several night markets within the city, but it's famous for the fact that you can see vendors showing off live vipers and other kinds of snakes. We watched a classic demonstration, which consisted of a man showing us several snakes, pulling one out, killing it right before our eyes (I almost vomited), then knifing it open two times, once to pull out some organ and drain the venom, and then again to cut the veins and drain the blood.

If that isn't gross enough, they offer you the chance to then drink the blood, venom, and/or another snake fluid mixed with water or alcohol or whatever. As brave as I've been, that was one attempt I could not complete. Something about watching the animal get whacked (literally) right in front of me was just too revolting to enjoy. But I experienced it, I guess.

We decided to let our systems settle before eating, which meant we traveled North to Shilin Night Market (the biggest and most famous) for dinner. There were wonderful shops there, where I bought the watch I've wanted from Wego for 3 bucks (seriously!) and had tasty steamed buns, meat skewers, waffles, donuts, fruit, and boba tea. OISHII!

I've figured out what the smells I can't stand are, by the way... Stinky tofu (it's been fermented, tastes much better than it smells, which is AWFUL) and Chinese 5 spice. I've gotten more accustomed to the latter, though my nostrils are still not happy with the stinky assault.

After the market, I said so long to Neev and Damon (and many thanks for being such great tour guides!) and headed out to a bar/club I'd read about in my guide: Fresh. There I met some new Taiwan friends and had a nice time, though my lungs and sinus infection were not pleased with the smoke and booze. Seriously, I gotta kick this darn thing, but the damp weather is NOT helping!

I got to bed VERY late, which meant I let myself sleep in this morning, which apparently happened to be until 1 PM!!!!! Happy Easter to me, I guess. I spent most of the afternoon booking hotels and trains and buses for the rest of week, and I'm really looking forward to my excursions to Sun Moon Lake and Taroko Gorge. Hopefully the weather will cooperate, and at least be more like today, where if it's cloudy, at least it doesn't sprinkle or rain too much.

I had an excellent beef noodle bowl lunch at the Main Station whilst arranging travel, and didn't really finish until almost 6. So I headed up north again to visit the CKS Residence Park, which was open until 7. They have huge, amazing gardens there with some interesting sculptures, but you don't get the privilege of visiting the actual house. I wish I had been able to go in the daylight, but the flowers were still beautiful, even if my pictures aren't as great.

I then walked through the Shilin Market again, which was even crazier tonight, so I got Boba Tea and out quickly. I used my BGP to visit the ridiculously ornate and expensive Grand Hotel, and then walked across the river through the Arts Park (sadly under major construction) to the subway. From there I traveled to Taipei 101 only to see that there was no view from the top, and so I continue on down to the Taiwan Normal University area to the Shida night market. I wasn't as impressed with that market, so I decided to walk the half hour or so back to the hotel and see what was on the way.

I found a lot of really delightful food options that were mostly closing, then re-visited the CKS Memorial Hall area. It reminds me so much of DC and how beautiful everything can be at night. I finally had the time to also stop by the Presidential Building, a random park with a giant-tree-topped mini mountain, and 2-28 Peace Park. I'd been hoping to stop by there every time I've been out, but it was well worth the wait. It's a park reminding everyone the terror of martial law that was as recent as 50 years ago, and the sculpture fountain in the middle is just stunning. I took TONS of pictures and enjoyed exercising my artistic eye.

Finally on the way home I stopped for my favorite, a steamed pork bun, and I'm off to bed somewhat early so I can head out of town to the hot springs tomorrow!

It's been a busy and tiring two days, but I'm having an absolute blast! Happy Easter!

An Incredible Weekend, Part 2

Sunday, August 16, 2009. Day in Nikko and Travel Home to Tokyo.

On Sunday, after a delightfully long and restful night's sleep, we awoke and started our day with another trip to the onsen. Followed by a little relaxation in the accompanying massage chairs. I could get used to that way of life!

Because of our long night's sleep, we were able to easily make our 8:30 AM breakfast, which again was a delicious 11-course meal, and not just the cold fish and rice we could have been served. (Though both the smoked salmon and rice were TASTY). In fact, there was beef cooked cooked right at our table, miso soup, cold chinese noodles, tasty fruits, and hot green tea. The only thing I really missed was a nice cup of coffee.

We immediately started our day with a visit to the famous Shinkyo Bridge, one of the top 3 bridges in Japan (we're doing well with top 3's so far...). Supposedly created when Shindo crossed the bridge on the backs of two intertwined serpents, the bridge was actually rebuilt in 1907 and refurbished in 2005. We got some great views of the crystal-clear River Daiya below!

We then began our day of the touristy-temple tour and saw one of my favorite sites of the day right off the bat. The 3 golden statues of buddha, each 8 meters tall at Rinno-ji shrine are truly stunning! There's the Amida Buddha, the thousand-armed kannon (Blair's fave), and the horse-headed kannon (my fave). Unfortunately you can't take pictures inside (I don't think BGP would even work), but don't worry. I have 331 from the whole weekend. We then visited the overpriced, but rather nice garden attached that also let us see some Japanese treasures in the museum.

Next we visited the famous Tosho-gu shrine, home to the ashes of Ieyasu, Japan's most famous shogun whose era lasted long after his death until the mid 1800's. He's also written about in the popular novel "Shogun". Here we climbed quite a few stairs, saw the famous carving of the Hear No Evil, See No Evil, and Speak No Evil monkeys,

the opulent and exquisite gates and buildings, the Sleeping Cat carving,

Ieyasu's tomb,

and the ringing dragon painting (it rings when you clap underneath him).

We stopped for a delicious and cheap lunch right next door of Curry Pastries and Ginormous Shaved Ices:

After lunch, we began our own personal trek of a hike through the silent and wonderful woods to Takinoo Shrine, a destination for women and those looking for love. We followed the guidebooks words and made our wishes while tossing a stone through a hole in the torii, though it took a few times to get the bullseye! This shrine was my other favorite stop because it was so far off the beaten path (though a stone path took us there), and it was truly peaceful and delightful, even if we didn't understand much of what was there.

We returned to visit the grand, but more sublime, Taiyoin-byo Shrine amongst a grove of HUMONGOUS Japanese cedars. I bet Nikko in the fall is gorgeous. This shrine is home to Iemitsu, the grandson of Ieyasu who built the Tosho-gu Shrine. I really enjoyed the beauty of the torii here and the peaceful setting. But what is it with temples and staircases?

We may or may not have returned to the shaved ice place for another treat (you can decide for yourself).

Then we ventured on another hike across the river and through the woods to the 90 or so statues that line the river near the Kamanga-fuchi pools. I enjoyed the trip though I would rather have rafted through that stretch of the river! We stopped for the best soft serve ice cream I've had in Japan yet, and found ourselves on our way back to the station to get home with some time to kill:

On the train, my seat partner lady was so sweet and offered me not one, but two miso-flavored rice crackers, just because, and I enjoyed them with a delicious beer from the cart. Sapporo = Yummy.

This time around, we knew better how to deal with the awkward Suica transition at Kita-senju Eki and managed to get the station attendant at our transfer at Hatchibori to take care of the mess. He knew what was up right away too!

Thus ended a delightful weekend away in the mountains, which only made me to feel more at home here in Japan!

A Day On the Town/Farm

Despite going to bed rather early, I found myself running late for our 11 AM departure as a group to Asakusa today! Now this is mostly due to a retardedly retarded time waster I have come to embrace on the facebook called FarmVille. Now folks, let's just discuss. I have spent most of my life wondering how my grandparents survived on a farm back in South Dakota. I couldn't really understand the concept of plowing, planting, harvesting, and cow herding for a living. I honestly didn't find much merit in learning about it, and the only time I've found myself desiring a visit is during pheasant hunting season, just so I could walk the fields and be a part of the family. But now, in the midst of all the wonder to explore that is Japan, I find myself rushing home to check to see if my "crops" are ready for harvest yet! What is happening to me? Am I that bored? Or am I finally in tune with my genetics and embracing my inner calling to be a farmer (albeit a digital avatar one)? I don't know, but if you wanna be my neighbor... just send me a little gift of a rabbit or an avocado tree!

Needless to say, I forced myself to get out of the house and enjoy some of the stunningly beautiful weather we had to day. Finally, a cooler, sunny and clear day. For a few hours anyway. By late afternoon it was a bit hot and everybody got a bit zonkered. I ventured with Adam and Blair to Asakusa where we visited the Senjo-in Temple which is the oldest temple in Japan. We had a lot of fun taking pictures, getting our fortunes told (which all turned out surpisingly bad for some reason), and wafting incense over our bodies. We didn't have nearly as much fun trying to figure out whether or not we should put the cleansing water at the temples in our mouths or not (we were split 2 to 1).

We meandered through some of the old streets and had DELICIOUS soft ice cream, semi-delicious candied sweet potatoes with syrup and sesame seeds (i think), and deliciously-made, little hot-off-the-presses bean jam treats. We even found the strange raccoon/monkey/dog god who was supposed to be able to fly around on his huge balls. Yeah. It's that bizarre. We even visited the "golden turd" that is supposed to be the smokestack or something of the building that houses the Asahi brewery. We stopped in for some yummy beer and some not-so-yummy shrimp au gratin in a half-toasted bread loaf with an egg on top. (the egg obviously did me in). Then we slept on the train to Shibuya, did a little shopping (and checking my "farm" in the Apple store) and met up with the other singers sans Joseph at the Hachiko wall/gate.

Side note: I finally figured out that I wasn't crazy; I simply couldn't find the Hachiko statue at the station for the past 4 times I've been there because he was bounded off by construction siding. And we all secretly wanna see the new "Hachi" movie with Richard Gere and Joan Allen even though we think it's going to be really bad.

As a group we were beat and decided to head home where we tried the DELICIOUS Indian restaurant! I'm so thrilled to have a tasty place to eat near home. And then a surprisingly cool walk home before Farmville sucked up a few more hours of my life (as well as the movie channel, planning our Fuji trip, and talking to Jordan). So now I'm off to bed hoping our Fuji trip for this week turns out as planned. And a return to Summer Party and all all my friends tomorrow!!! I'm so thrilled!!!