A nascent cafe culture in Taipei city is spreading beyond the inner city trend zones. It is nosing its way up through all the major arteries in the city from its birth in the new eastern district about 5 years ago. Our northern suburb of Tienmu has had its own little "enclave de cool" happening for a while, but the vibe from downtown has spread up Chung Shan North road all the way up to the floral park/art gallery district in very short time.
We experienced the Farmer's Market area around the old Yuanshan soccer ground on the weekend, as well as a massive international bonsai exhibition in the new space built inside the cavernous stadium. Beyond the exhibition space is an equally gargantuan semi-outdoor dining and shopping district with established international restaurants with indoor/outdoor seating. They were vying for trade with a phalanx of matchbox style food court booths selling all manner and taste of goods from shopfronts. Punters could then take their wares to eat at the many table areas dotted in and around the central space.
A three piece Japanese folk rock trio provided some syrupy harmonies in the background as people of all ages wandered the eclectic mix of shops and stalls. There were retro clothes and furniture stores, arts and crafts, leather and wood, high end chic and trendy, industrial junk. There were children's party palaces with resident fairies and princesses, and even a shop selling replica Eames chairs on a tiny scale for very pampered kiddies!
The biggest draw-card for us, however, was the string of cafes with a whole host of different vibes and flavours. We ate at an Argentinian one after passing an English pub, an Italian gelateria and pizza parlour, a Thai restaurant, a Taiwanese beer-house and a "butcher's kitchen" no less! It was great to eat in the semi open air (the place had roof sails soaring way above the crowd to ward off the weather) and do some massive people watching on a weekend afternoon at our leisure. The food was superb...Cassy's spinach ravioli and my lamb chops, the passing parade amusing...a very calm cat on a leash, and the vibe just perfect...we could while away time and enjoy the stellar autumnal weather in the big city!
The bonsai exhibition in the space next door was a tip from Wal. It was hard to believe that it was free, because even though we have only a very limited knowledge of the art, the size and scale of the show had to be seen to be believed. Up to 300 of the most incredible specimens were on show, from the standard cloud clump shapes all the way through to twisted and stained trunks defying gravity with their asymmetrical waterfalling out of the pots! The president of the National Taiwanese Bonsai Society, Wal's friend Jack, insisted that we sign the special attendance book: we did our western signatures sideways in the traditional vertical book meant for Chinese characters!!
After being more than slightly overwhelmed by these magnificent plants, we wandered on the periphery of the Farmer's Market back to the station which sits right on the square itself. The huge vaulted pavilion built for the flower expo last year, is really doing sterling service now for the citizens of the city: even an outdoor cinema now runs each evening. The structure took on an ethereal glow in the sharp, golden vespertide, and we left most satisfied with a gorgeous end to a perfect day.
Earlier on, taking advantage of the re-invigorated scooter and the superb weather, we'd ridden up to Yangminshan and beyond the fumaroles all the way to the ridge line of Mount Datun. We'd discovered a most delightful, gently winding country road some time back, and and wanted to experience it again. It is almost devoid of any other traffic, the sun was shining and the birds were singing, so....why not?!
Motoring through the caldera valley, the temperature dropped a few degrees as we climbed beyond. It made the ride a touch less pleasant, as we'd forgotten what a sharp temperature change there can be up there, and forgotten to bring any jackets. Nonetheless, we enjoyed the blissful ride, found a trail which we'll investigate further on another trip, and arrived home quite exhausted after a few hours astride the "Taiwanese Harley" which offers none of the power, speed, shock-absorbing or comfort of its Australian brother!
All in all, another fantastic weekend! We've got a Thanksgiving long weekend coming up (God Bless America is all we can say!), so we need to spend a little time thinking about our trip to England and getting a new camera to replace our stolen one...it's less than a month away.
Photos: a shot we just received of Cass and Annie at the wedding, Cassy doing some grading at school, shots of the scooter ride up the mountain and eating and viewing at Yuanshan Stadium and environs.
Books: Cassy is reading Loving Frank by Nancy Horan, after devouring the incredible Winton classic Eyrie. Dave has finished the Booker prize winning gem, Narrow Road to the Deep North and is recuperating with the far less grand Lee Child easy reader, Worth Dying For.
