I had some beers with Gurecki on Wednesday evening before Cass and I had a great sleep-in, followed by a decadent brunch of pancakes (for Cass) and everything that could possibly contribute to a massive coronary (for me)! Undeterred by such a load of gunk on board, we then took the car out to the Pillbox to see if there was a slight bump in the ocean. Despite the howling wind, there were indeed a few little waves and I had a great time in this most exclusive venue: even though Ross and I surfed there regularly together years ago and a few others have made an attempt, I've never had to share a wave here with anyone I didn't know...quite amazing considering the crowded surf culture on island these days. On the way in, we jumped for joy and on the way out we marveled at the chameleon-like qualities of a slothful and gigantic pig (both pictured). Maya Pizza for tea and multiple episodes of high quality police drama, Southland, and we were done for the day.
There are many activities in and around Taipei which necessitate planning and timing, mostly to dodge the crowd of humanity, who are also looking to enjoy the same pleasures. One such well-known crowd honey pot is the much vaunted Maokong Gondola. This cable car ride into the tea hills of the Taipei hinterland is swarmed upon during the weekend, so we took advantage of the weekday to make the trip for just the second time since it opened (our short video here). The ride up is fear inducing, adrenalin pumping fun, especially for the height averse amongst us! The unusual north looking vistas of Taipei city and beyond are spectacular and almost mesmeric at times. Taipei 101 rises like a sword raised aloft on a victorious warrior's arm, piercing the sky high above and erupting from the grey mass of concrete in the eastern Xinyi district below. The city is so vast, that despite our own area of Tienmu, Shilin and Beitou nestled beyond a hill and invisible, it still seems to stretch on forever.
We ate at a quaint tea house and restaurant just at the start of the Camphor Tea Trail and enjoyed the views as we ate. Onward to take in an impressive snaking trail of white granite as it wound its way through the tea plantations and gardens to a temple lightly perched on a ridge overlooking the city. As we made our way back, there were curios and plants, waterwheels and ancient farm equipment strategically placed at points along the trail. It was a fantastic day, made all the more exciting by us electing to take one of the new "crystal cars" back down to the base station: crystal, it is as it has a see-through floor! Talk about testing your fears!
On Saturday, we dined mid afternoon at the famous and fantastic Din Tai Fung. After ordering our feast, I got a text from Dave and Toby inviting us out for dinner. It would have been fun, but I explained to him that our double meal replacing load of food was already on its way....maybe next time. The wait staff, as numerous as always, buzzed around busily, throwing a jet of Chinese tea at our cups from what seemed metres away, but never missing a drop! The xiao long bao and various accompaniments arrived with speed and customary steamy freshness...wow, this food is good!
Afterwards, we went up the 4th floor of SOGO to the new store, Uniqlo. This was the same place we're we'd bought a heap of jeans a few weeks back, but we wanted to get some stuff to keep us warm in the Japanese winter. We both bought premium down jackets and I got a flanno and a lambswool jumper as well. once again, we marveled at the prices: if this place set up shop in Australia, I'd give the big department stores about 6 months before they had to shut down. This place is incredible. Quality gear (pure wool, down, silk, cashmere etc), beautiful subtle Japanese style, and a price that needs to be double checked for accuracy every time...it's that cheap. Anyway, as you can see, we're great fans of Uniqlo! We bought some take home Coldstone creamery creations for our supper: probably lucky we restrict ourselves to just one of these treats every now and then: it could get seriously addictive.
Today, we had our traditional slow Sunday start, caught up on even more sleep, lazily slopped around till breakfast, read some clippings, watched Insiders, then decided we'd better try to do something for the day! Cass made up some curried egg sandwiches, we popped them with a cold pack and a couple of cans of drink in a backpack then we went off to cycle to Guandu temple!
Scootering over to the junction of the Keelung and Tamshui rivers, we arrived at one of Taipei's many riverside bicycle renting huts. A quick transaction with no money (although the guy did keep my "Alien Registration Card"...I need that!), and we were off down the bike path to Guandu with a couple of very reasonable pushbikes, nicely maintained, well-geared and very impressive. We had a ball along the way, seeing the city from a completely different viewpoint and we just kept riding onwards...it was such a beautiful day and the wind was at our back and we were free as the mangrove egrets and hawks that wheeled above us. The trail was very popular and all ages and types were spinning away both up and back. The cycleway was dotted with little rest areas and view points along with some entrepreneurial laid back cafes and little bars. It was a very fun trip and we joined the hordes at the Guandu waterfront to eat our little picnic. We ventured a little further to check out the paddle steamer (yes, really!) and the Bali red bridge before heading back home. Into the wind, it was a little different and I have to admit my bum is not used to sitting on a hard narrow seat for a few hours these days: the mind must shut out all those little horrors!
We checked the bikes in, paid the ridiculous fee of $3 per bike, then wandered over to the little marina and sat on their deck admiring the view in the fading afternoon sun. Back home to shower and relax, Papa Poulet best rotisserie chicken in the world for tea and blissing in front of our recently de-boxed electronic Christmas tree for a while before bed.....I think we're actually ready to go back to work tomorrow: if only every weekend was as long as this one!
Slide show here (or up top for a while) features lots of what I discussed, as do the photos. Cass is still on her David Mitchell book and I'm back reading about Caravaggio. See ya!
