Even though we awoke to a stellar weather day on Saturday, the sun beating down from unclouded skies made us a little wary of a day at the beach. Readers of this blog will remember our beach umbrella being shredded a while back and we haven’t, as yet, sourced a replacement. The fact that the surf was nearly non existent made up our minds.After a latish breakfast we decided to pack a little bag of stuff and take the train to Damshui at the far end of the MRT line, but headed, unusually for us, away from town. Armed with sun cream and a pair of sunnies each (a rare event as the sun rarely blazes away here like it does in Australia…we can step out of the terminal in Sydney on occasions and nearly burn out the back of our retinas, but that’s another story!) The train trip there and back is part of the entertainment. It takes about ½ an hour each way and very quickly the city fades into surprising rural scenes. It never fails to amaze how tiny little farm plots nestled in beside the railway in that little wasteland that’s usually not used seem to be bursting with bounty: very carefully tended by conical hatted folk, much like I imagine has been happening for 100s of years. Yet, as we watch them, we’re cocooned in this slick metal air-conditioned bullet hurtling past to and from a very different reality.
Arrival at Damshui is a pleasure as the station is large and welcoming and leads to a wonderfully re-vamped foreshore park with lawns and trees and wide open pathways leading to the riverbank. One interesting addition since we last visited are the dueling donut megastores trading straight opposite each other on the promenade…Taipei’s latest fad and I’m sure a great money-spinner for Mister Donuts, Dunkin’ Donuts and others. The crowd here is always immense and confronting, but the riverside boardwalk is pretty much able to handle a great crowd these days.
All the fun of the fair is available here and stall and shop after shop were hawking their games and amusements. Shoot the balloons with a very realistic looking revolver, manipulate the claw to get a soft toy or collar a Wii with your hoop…it’s all part of the fevered Damshui riverside carnivale. Many stalls have another curiously Damshui phenomenon: giant inflatable toys! You can pick from a brutal looking mace, a massive hammer or from a selection of human sized bottles of beer or soft drink. The other Damshui staple is the ice cream that is so ridiculously tall that it is about to topple over. Gaggles of schoolgirls try to lick the ice-cream down from silly heights after daring each other to get a bigger and taller one: it’s quite hilarious to watch and many hit the boardwalk to be a melted mess for the passing parade to dodge. We sought some solace from the sun in a brilliant trendy little restaurant bar straight opposite the ferry wharf to Bali (yes, really!: it’s on the opposite side of the river!) and were able to sip some San Pellegrino and watch the passing parade. We had a scrumptious lunch of lamb chops (me) and steak Porcini (Cassy) with various befores and afters. As is tradition for the hordes, we walked to the end of the wharf then cut through to the main street behind which was even thicker with people and events: it’s a struggle just to make it back to the train! We were a bit exhausted by the time we got home but had a very entertaining day. Cassy was sick of her hair and decided she needed a cut: who cares if it was Saturday night?! One of the joys of the big city: it seems everything is always open.
Sunday was a bit dreary in comparison and we hummed and haaed about what we might do before deciding to take a drive to the east coast for a change. Through Neihu and eventually onto the first of three expressways we made our way through that 13 km tunnel amongst other tunnels and elevated road systems. It’s like you’re driving a miniature car through a vein in a body: there’s no way out and no turning back just kilometre markers and an eerie voice from the speakers that tells us all sorts of information we can’t understand: I’m glad I’m not claustrophobic!
Wushi’s surf was terrible but after checking a few spots up the road, we settled on Dasi. It wasn’t very pleasant for Cass, hunkered in the car in the rain, but luckily she’d thought to bring a magazine along so wasn’t too badly off (or so I told myself as I joined the little group out at the point). Check the Pointyhat story here for some details and photos. Our trip home was slow as can be: Taiwanese drivers tend to slow to a very annoying crawl at the first sign of a bit of a drizzle and that combined with the Taipei hordes trying to get back to the city on a Sunday evening made for a long tedious drive. I must admit, I nearly sacrificed doing this blog tonight, but thought if I don’t do it now, I won’t do it at all.
Short week for us this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving on Thursday and Friday (I never thought I’d say this phrase but, “Thank you America”!). We’re looking forward to the break. Photos: Damshui boardwalk pics, the trendy little restaurant, the seething hordes and “Octopus anyone”!