Up for an early breakfast before packing up ready for a day at the coast, I wondered how the poor old “Aubergino” would go. We love our dinted and bashed little car, Ross dubbing its indeterminate colour aubergine many years ago, with its mismatched hubcaps, permanent acid burn stains in the duco on the bonnet and the boot and many quite significant dings and depressions all over its body. Lately, the air conditioner has needed to be regassed, the plumes of smoke choking the general populace have been only momentarily arrested and its front suspension appears to have almost collapsed completely, the tiniest aberration on the road causing the most alarming clunking “bottom outs” you could possible experience! I’ve tried to be a little tenderer with her as we traverse the mountain roads, her tyres are never squealed and she is caressed into all corners but somehow the deterioration continues. This car has taken us around Taiwan on one of our greatest ever holidays and we’re reticent to admit her days are numbered.We, did, however, make it to the north coast and a quick inspection of all the spots was a little disappointing. All the surfers had been anticipating great things this weekend as a typhoon lurked off the coast moving slowly towards Japan. It wasn’t exactly flat, but the decent size waves were spoilt by a howling onshore wind. Cass and I made the best of it and she enjoyed her perch high on the Jinshan cliff as I attempted to get a few waves out the back after surviving a ferocious shore dump to make it out. We travelled to Jinshan proper after that, but it just wasn’t good enough to tempt us out and the swim wasn’t even an option with hulking pieces of driftwood being tossed around like matchsticks in a very turgid shore break.
Our drive round to Green Ball and Baishawan (both flat) was delightful, the day really a cracker, not a cloud in the sky as the typhoon had sucked away all the extraneous atmospheric muck. As we’d never done it, but often talked about it, we stopped for lunch at one of the increasing number of very cool restaurants fronting the protected beach strip just near Sanjih town. Some readers familiar with this area of Taipei county will remember the futuristic, "Jetson" style houses fronting the beach here, a terrible folly that seemed to last just one typhoon season. A little sadly for us, they have recently all been demolished...there goes a good talking point! Our choice called “We Love” had a very interesting menu (pictured) as well as some very funky elements including egg chairs, cool music and a Harley Davidson Sportster taking pride of place in the front window. The food was good and we enjoyed the air-conditioned comfort as we watched a succession of friends take trips on their new jet ski through the huge floor to ceiling windows at the back. Onwards and homebound, we eventually pulled the poor old aubergino into her garage for another weeks rest in the mid afternoon.
Yesterday we went to the movies in the middle of the day and saw, “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. I was grumbling a little bit about the prospect of a “chic flick”, but it was surprisingly good for its genre. We like both the leads, Eric Bana and Rachel McAdam, but found Aussie Eric to be a little wooden. Cass said it was quite faithful to the book, which is one of her favorites of recent years. We lunched at one of our all time favourites, “Aubergine”, (now that’s a weird coincidence which I didn’t even realize till I typed it just now!) and then moseyed on home and had a very relaxing evening.
All the boys are getting both excited and apprehensive as the next couple of weeks approach. The football finals of both codes have given us great opportunities to socialize and enjoy the games, but we all know that as the grand finals approach, so does the dreaded “sports hiatus”! Now hjust how long is it before they bowl the first ball in that Brisbane test against the West Indies?!
Photos: sign to Little Yeliou on the north coast, Cass at Jinshan, me with the Spider Girl, a crazy sight of an emu in a north coast yard (!) and some classic “Chinglish” on our restaurant menu. Cass is now reading, and thoroughly enjoying “The Day at the Races” and I am reading a motorcycle travel recount, “Silk Riders”.
