At 4.45 a.m. the streets of Tienmu are very different from their normal hustling, frantic normality. As I scootered up to get the car in the pre dawn gloom there was a slop of Friday night revelers pouring themselves homeward, taxis crawling optimistically along the curb side of streets and a general sense of desolation: Taipei doesn’t do weekend mornings until at least 10 o’clock!

I met Andrew and Dan out at Green Ball before 5, as we’d judged the swell, wind and tide ideal at just this outrageously early hour. It was well worked out. Scrambling down the rock face to get to the jumpoff point in the gloom, the waves had a slight off shore spray and smooth faces. It wasn’t big, but just big enough to be interesting and we all had a great time. I was stoked to get my best 5 or 6 waves since Christmas and it restored my faith a little in what I had assumed were my waning skills. Back home to be greeted by a blinky eyed Cassy who assured me she’d been awake, “For a little while”, a breakfast of champions, then a relaxing morning reading.

After lunch we went to visit a friend of Cassy’s, Rhonda, who was in one of the local hospitals. Cass supplied her with a stack of magazines and stayed and chatted for a while. Cassy could well have saved this woman’s life and I hardly exaggerate. On Thursday night, at her regular book club meeting, Rhonda complained of pains in her calf and Cass asked her to describe them. They were exactly the symptoms that had led to Cass discovering her DVT, and the insistence of all to seek immediate medical help might well have been critical. She was hospitalized on the spot and remains there at least for the next week. Although Cass didn’t want to seem alarmist, she rightly told the others of the remarkable similarities and they acted upon her concerns: very lucky!

Afterwards, we went to the coffee museum down near Shipai station and had a pleasant hour or so chatting over our lovingly roasted ground bean drinks and a piece of cake. As we had lingered a while, we decided to get Spice Shop Indian takeaway on the way home to heat up for tea and subsequently it proved to be quite delicious.

We went to have a brunch at a new place we’d heard of over in Dazhi, near Neihu. The Door is an unreal find and pretty much mirrors the American diner style of café, The Diner, from way downtown. This place is a much more reasonable distance from us, so we’ll definitely be back. It was a pretty lazy day after that, although I did head up the hill to go to an Anzac day footy party, mainly to be there for a little half time presentation to Lewey that I had been worded up about beforehand. After a hit and run mission, and just the one beer, I came back home and Cass and I had a lovely walk along the riverbank where she told me all the news from home. She had been chatting to her Mum and dad and hearing some more about their further adventures in China and Singapore. Back again, I watched some footy, Cass did the grocery shopping and now we’re counting down to one of our least favored aspects of our job: the dreaded professional development day, which we have scheduled for tomorrow. Let’s have the kids any day, please!

My mate Mark has just landed back in Taipei from Japan, where his beloved father-in-law has died quite suddenly. He reckons he has aged a year in just a week, as a result of stress, shock and the burden of Buddhist funeral ceremonies and family support needs. Not a happy time.

Bookwise, I’m just finishing Dark Mirror and Cass is quite intrigued by The Magician’s Assistant. Photos: Cass and the pineapple guy who we often buy produce from in front of Mingde station. Lewey’s party last week, courtesy of Steve, the official photographer. Me at The Door. STOP PRESS: last photo is of Freeway 3 on Sunday arvo, between Taipei and Keelung. This is one of our most frequented roads and we are very shocked at this landslide. Just a couple of weeks ago, we were on this stretch with Chris and Val and we are on it most weekends. Here are some amazing pictures

It was an extremely social weekend, at least in the evenings. The big farewell show for Lewy (or Delbridge Racing, Asia) was on last night and went to the wee small hours. Lewy and Wal and Shaun and I decided to have a few quiet ones on Friday night leading up to the big event and that too turned into quite a celebration! We did do a great trip down the east coast, however and enjoyed some sensational weather and sights and had a surf.

Midweek I had my birthday and was stoked to get so many cards in the mail, along with lots of email messages, electronic cards or messages on facebook. Thanks one and all for your thoughts: even though we’re rock solid over here now after all these years, it’s always nice to know you’re not forgotten and that people think of you from time to time.

I seem to get sucked into the organizing role of various events these days. What started as a voluntary role which I was more than happy to do, in farewelling friends like Ross and then Josh, has become almost my given role. In Lewy’s case, I was really happy to help out a bit as he’ll be greatly missed next year. We’re of a very similar vintage with similar interests (including horseracing), and of a similar political bent, globally, nationally and institutionally. I did a little ground work setting up the venue, getting the invitation done and tracking the rsvps, then making the DVD/slideshow/video.

The night was a spectacular success and we had our fellow book club members, The Craw, Kenny G and Wally H as the major part of live band QvQ, the obligatory visits from the cops to try to close us down due to noise, and the subsequent Mexican stand off as they waited, arms folded, for the band to dare to start playing again! It was pretty hilarious. There were speeches and presentations, and Lewy was kind enough to give me a special print he’d had made up almost 10 years ago of one of the first horses, Drizzle. We’d worked out a great deal with the bar where we could drink Taiwan beer or various cocktails all night for just $NT600, which was pretty cheap. As a result, and throwing in a rocking band and a late finish of 2 am, most people enjoyed a very, very good night.

Our trip down to the east coast started latish in the morning, but we relished the late start and relaxed pace of it all. I was determined to check out Nan Ao’s surf break when I knew there was not much swell around, just to see if it broke at all, and if it did, how. We had a scenic drive down and enjoyed the mountain roads once we’d dropped off the end of the expressway. The vertigo inducing drop-offs were frightening (for me) and the azure colours stunning. The light offshore breeze dusted the surface of the sea to make it picture perfect and we stopped at a few lookouts along the way to drink in the view. Nan Ao was indeed pretty flat, but we’re quite intrigued with this area and wondering why there is no building near the coast. Perhaps, it is just too far away from Taipei to be attractive. Apart from one immense duck farm and a quilt of verdant rice paddies, there is nothing in sight.

Driving back, the beach at Su Ao was pretty but the surf was small and weak. Wushi Harbour on the other hand was strong and bigger, but we were stunned by the swollen crowd: it just always seems packed here. The Taj Mahal (so called for the adjacent mosque) was the choice, and I had a short but pleasant surf there while Cass dozed under a stand of shade trees up on the promenade. An interesting recent development at Taj is a hotel which has sprung up with gleaming white façade and little turrets mirroring its “big brother” next door! In fact the whole rate of development in this area is phenomenal: it’s a far cry from when Ross and I stumbled upon a bucolic backwater after our excruciating mountain drive some seven years ago.

Photos: at the deserted Nan Ao, scenic lookout, koi carp for sale!, me getting a small wave at the Taj.

It’s only when you experience it again that you can recall with any clarity other times it may have happened. I often scoff at literary clichés such as a “fog of pain”, dismissing them as wild exaggerations. After this week, I’m no longer such a naysayer. A week of suffering, at times, the most nauseating bouts of pain and after some dental surgery on Saturday to alleviate it, I can claim to be a fan of all but the most ridiculous descriptions of hurt!

The week started very well, with Taiwan’s Tomb Sweeping Day coinciding with Cassy’s birthday (as it always does on April 5th) and a day off work for all. Cass had already planned and booked her birthday lunch, taking advantage of the day off to have a meal in the middle of the day and also to take advantage of Chris and Val’s last full day in Taipei to celebrate all together.

We took the MRT down and wandered through the forecourt of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s twin department stores on our way to the restaurant. The space was just beginning to come alive, lots of street performers just setting up their magic show, yo-yo demonstrations, straw art stalls, sketching, dancing, singing etc. We ate a mighty meal at Cassy’s favourite Macaroni Grill (which has just been voted Taipei’s number one Italian restaurant by readers of Hungry Girl, a favourite blog of ours) and managed to fit in appetizers, main meals and dessert along with wine! Cassy’s plan was to have a lunch/dinner combo and the mid afternoon timeslot allowed us to do just that: we were still full the next morning!

Daniel the driver had been arranged to pick up Chris and Val at 9 a.m. as they were on their way to Beijing. All went without a hitch and we’ve heard from them since, where they have set a hectic pace visiting and/or revisiting many great spots. They have a guide and a driver all to themselves at some points, not planned that way, but the lack of other customers has worked out well for them.

I’d known for a couple of weeks that I would have a wisdom tooth extracted this Saturday. The trouble was that mid-week the tooth next to it that is the real problem started to ache, at first annoyingly and then almost unbearably. By Friday, I was steeling myself for the wave of pain that seemed to come, rather bizarrely, every hour. It only lasted about three minutes, but I needed to stop everything (walk out of the room if I was teaching, which I was a few times!) then wait it out, tensing muscles, sweating profusely and basically wishing the world would end! By the time Cass got me to the dentist on Saturday I didn’t really care what he did as long as it relieved that rolling world of hurt.

This weekend, after my delirium filled taxi ride home which I don’t remember (!), I’ve just been popping pain killers and lying around. I’ve tried not to be too bad a patient but I’m sure it has been tedious for Cassy. Stitches are not due to come out till next Saturday and then I’ll look forward to the root canal treatment for the tooth that has been causing all the problems….joy!

Suffice to say that after Tuesday, we haven’t done much. Photos are of Taipei 101, now the world’s second tallest building behind the Burg in Dubai, Macaroni Grill, and wandering back down our lane after lunch (like Mr. Lee’s razor wire?!) I’m reading Barry Maitland’s Dark Mirror and Cass is reading Outliers. Cass was stoked to hear from all members of my family, Mum and sisters, along with Aunt V, her sister, Thurza and Lois and a few friends now scattered in other parts of the world for her birthday….thanks!

Taroko Gorge beckoned for our visitors on Monday and all 4 of us were up and about early in the morning, Cass and I preparing to return to work and Chris and Val ready to taxi down to Taipei main station.
The trip was a great success and they were lucky to get some great weather for the three days they were there. The train trip down the coast is always scenic, with the ocean on one side for a good chunk of the trip and the mountains on the other. As mentioned last time, they were staying at the newly renovated Silks Place and it really lived up to its hype.

The Silks Place bus picked them up from Hualien station and took them deep into the gorge where the hotel nestles into the gorge at a splitting of two arms of the river. The rooms offer majestic views of the gorge itself, the river continuing to flow around gigantic boulders of stone and marble. The dining areas have been extensively remodeled to incorporate some outdoor dining and decks overlooking newly planted gardens. They enjoyed the all inclusive dining and many of the facilities, including the three giant heated pools in the basement level. During their time, they went on lots of hikes, including a half day 8km hike, the Sha Ka Dang, where the bus dropped them off and picked them up at the end.

On Friday they set off up the MRT line to Danshui and wandered the streets, Chris in search for an elusive hat stall he’d bought a much loved hat from last time, and generally enjoying the sights, sounds and smell of the river on a full tide. They bought some tickets for the short hop across the river to Bali and enjoyed the riverside park there, a place we have only recently explored ourselves. On Friday night Cass and Val visited Joe the Jeweler to pick up Val’s pearl pendant which had just been completed. I was at a school get-together down at Alleycats for an hour or so, so I got some Indian takeaway for all of us as it had just started to rain and our plans to get out for dinner would have been awkward. We washed it down with some Jacob’s Creek red bought at the Ker Qiang Rd 7/11 store: it’s weird buying that here, just around the corner!

Guandu Temple is a magnificent complex of temple buildings built in 1661 and it occupies a site perched on a hill on the bank of the Danshui River with views to the Red Bridge and Bali downriver. We wandered around here for ages enjoying the magnificent granite carvings on nearly every surface we could see. Some of these carvings are so intricate and three dimensional that we wondered how they could ever have been completed. The gardens are pretty and so well cared for but the sights and smells at the “little eats” stalls below were enough to make us seek our lunch elsewhere on that day! Forgoing our adventurous spirit, we ate some fare from the local 7/11 at the little table outside the shop: it was pretty good!

Suitably fortified, we drove through the underpass below the main highway to the other side and sniffed our way to the Tittot museum and display centre. Tittot is a famous Taiwanese glass blower and artist and his workshop is on site as well. We admired the superb examples of glasswork he has gathered from all around the world, and then both Cassy and Val made some small purchases as souvenirs. We made  a stop on the way home at the incredible temple of 1000 statues that we’d visited not so long back after a tip from Mr. Lai, my octogenarian fellow stair walker. It is a hidden gem and Chris and Val couldn’t quite believe the number of stone men but more importantly, “Why?” I certainly couldn’t answer that question! Alleycats pizza for the three while I met up with Wal and Rourkey for a few beers.

Lazy day today after the weather got a bit frowsy again. We all wandered down to the local Carrefour store and Valerie bought a fantastic little Sony camera with great specs and at a real bargain price: electronics seem to deliver so much more bang for the buck than they used to. Cass is going to make her bon curry for tea and I’m looking forward to it: one of the best Japanese inventions ever! Photos are from some adventures on Saturday and the slide show will appear here when I eventually remove it. Cass is reading Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” and I’m reading the shocking but compelling “City Of Thieves” by David Benioff