In a rather strange decision in the aftermath of all this cinematic carnage we chose to voluntarily board our own train for a ten stop trip to Danshui! Taipei's mass rapid transit system is a far cry from the runaway train however, in fact so languid is its roll that the guy opposite managed to rock himself to a wide mouth open, drooling sleep in just a few stations! The train was packed with leisure seeking tourists and commuters and we had to stand all the way. Off at the end-of-the-line, we walked away from the river and up the narrow footpath following the main artery through town. The window shopping was interesting all the way and we were blasted with the air outlets of various, not so appetizing food outlets all the way up the hill. Our destination was the famous "Eddy's Cantina", regularly rated by the foreign contingent here as the most appetizing, delicious and authentic Mexican this side of Taipei!
We were quite early for dinner, but that didn't stop us enjoying the empty restaurant and the beers and salsas to start. We both ordered the slow cooked enchiladas and when they arrived we were just ready for them. What a feast! It is ceratinly a top shelf Mexican restaurant and a welcome find in this furthest outpost of Taipei life. It's a bit of a haul to get there, but the ambiance of Danshui just can't be beat: it's a very happening little community, especially on the weekend.
Cassy is a superstar! Her advertisement has hit the small screen here in Taiwan, running on multiple channels. Many people have seen it, including Taiwanese colleagues at school, our hairdresser and others. I decided to record every show on one of the channels then review the footage later and very quickly came across it. It's very slick, and although Cass only features for a few seconds, she looks gorgeous and quite professional! Unfortunately, the production company has yet to post the ad up on Youtube, so we'll have to wait a little longer before I can embed it up here. Exciting times!
Back down the hill we investigated a bag shop and ended up getting a sports bag that I'll take to India with me over Christmas. My old one is in tatters and not surprisingly as we figured out that it is 25 years old! I really doubt if they're supposed to last that long. It's almost an exact replica, ceratinly in size and features...I suppose they broke the mold when they got it right.
We probably should mention officially our plans for the two week break coming up. Cass is reprising her trip to France accompanying her mum that she did 11 years ago. They will catch trains around some unseen areas of the country (hard to believe there are any unseen areas after all these trips I reckon!) and visit Paris (of course), Nantes and Bordeaux. Travelling to exotic locales was apparently alright for some, but when I suggested a few places I could go, Cass was very keen to point out that she "wanted to go there....". ASfter whittling down my list quite considerably, I am now off to India, where Cass feared to tread. I will stay in Delhi and do some travel from there, including of course, the majestic Taj Mahal. I've already started to investigate some traveling medicine for the possibility of, euphemistically, "stomach ailments"!
We're both getting very excited!! Photos: temple shots from last Sunday, photos at Eddy's, a train decorated to celebrate Taipei's International Floral Festival and a close up of Virgy.