Yet another typhoon, this time Typhoon Dujuan, is lashing the northeastern tip of the island as I write this on Monday evening. It's brought mixed news to us: we were roused from sleep last night as the phone tree lit up, informing us that the Taipei government had deemed it necessary to close all schools and government departments today. So, no school, yay! On the flip side, we'd bought tickets to see Bon Jovi at the Nangang concert hall tonight and this, their first of two shows is cancelled, bummer!

I wound my way through litter scattered streets and squalls of rain to get to the 7/11 to discover whether we could get a refund or a transfer to tomorrow night's show. The 7/11 iBon machine seems to be capable of nearly any electronic transaction on the island, including the purchase of concert tickets. With some rudimentary Chinese, the iBon machine and a couple of 7/11 guys, I think I've discovered that the typhoon (natural disaster) has negated any refunds, but that we can go to Nangang tomorrow evening and exchange today's tickets for tomorrow's. At least, that's what I think I've discovered: the joys of dealing in other languages and cultures! Anyway, we'll have an adventure tomorrow night whatever happens...

On Saturday, we took three trains to get over to Dazhi and a restaurant on the better side of couth. I'd booked a semi-treat for Cassy as a reward for her time at the Fulong campground with the Grade 8s. Despite some minor improvements to the facilities this year, it's still not what anyone would rate as comfortable, so she usually returns home, tired, a little hungry and feeling "unwashed"! As an antidote, we usually take the Friday night to readjust and get some sleep before going out somewhere nicer on the Saturday.

No. 168 Prime is housed in the Victoria Hotel complex. We'd visited before to the Michelin starred La Festa, but this restaurant has a different feel. Despite not being "starred" it served up some incredible taste sensations and we were treated to many courses of tasty and cleverly prepared meals, starting with snails as an appetizer! We both ordered the Australian grain fed top cap steak and various different options for all the courses. It was a magnificent meal and we topped it off with a Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon to boot: where were we again?!

We enjoyed the ambiance of the restaurant, the hotel and the surrounding district and made a short detour to wander the shops in the glittering Dazhi/Miramar complex before hailing a cab to get home. Despite our strange three train journey to get there, as the crow flies it wasn't far in the cab, so we'll probably do that in the future, including as early as tomorrow night to get to the nearest train station heading to Nangang.

Well, I hope I worked that out correctly for tomorrow night: watch this space to hear more about it (or not)! Photos:my cacti continue to bloom with exotic and strange flowers, workmen taking it easy, brilliant weekend drip coffees Japanese style, a nicely decorated train en route to Dahzi, various shots from 168 Prime and the Victoria as well as the start of damages from the latest typhoon. Cass is now reading The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel and I'm continuing to savour the delicious offerings from Franzen's Purity.

We're incredulous that after all this time, Taipei can still guarantee to serve up sweet surprises, on this occasion in the form of yet another twist on the giant, gleaming new mega-mall complex. In the shadows of the Taipei Contemporary Art Museum (or more literally, the MOCA Taipei is in its shadow!) lies the very impressive "Q-Square" designed as a hub and offshoot for the Taipei Bus Station from where sleek juggernauts launch themselves to all parts of the island.

Long, narrow, sleek and shining (much like the buses nestled in its bowels), Q-square is six floors of interesting fashion shops and cafes and restaurants. The ubiquitous labels that can be found in any big city are there, but there are a few Japanese upstarts and more than a few interesting little storefronts like O-bags and Godiva to rival the twin floor monster of Zara et al... Jeffrey Campbell shoes were wild!

We wandered past an unbelievably long line waiting to get into a new Chinese/Japanese buffet restaurant which seems to be, literally, flavour of the month. (The Taiwanese have a strangely Japanesesque fetish for the trendy and new: I read recently that you can expect a seven hour wait to get into the newest fad in town, the Korean BBQ joint, "Honey Pig"!). On our way we passed a stall selling what appeared to be the world's greatest ever range of flavours of mini jelly beans as well as outlets for pizza, Chinese, Taiwanese hotpot, Shabu-shabu, Thai, Japanese cooked and uncooked, and Irish potatoes. We settled on "Le Ble Dor", whom despite their Gallic name, had donned the wait staff in quite unbecoming lederhosen for the upcoming Oktoberfest! Ignoring the fashion faux pas, we were seated in a very generous booth encased in a huge replica of a beer barrel (sounds weird, but it actually worked pretty well: you had to be there!) with other rustic examples of barrels lining the walls. The lights were dim, the atmosphere bawdy and the fare hearty! We each chose a pizza in the end after trawling through their amazingly comprehensive menu. In the end we wandered back through the mall, dived into the bus station and explored the Taipei underground mall complex all the way through to Taipei Main Sation and the MRT home to Mingde.

Prior to our Q-Square experience, we'd visited the latest exhibition at the MOCA Taipei, which is almost universally excellent each time we go. Housed in a Japanese era impressive structure, the exhibition was a visiting Hong Kong one, and many of the works and installations were specifically planned for the Taipei visit. The cities have much in common, and the artists drew attention to some of the lesser known commonalities that the two super cities share, such as housing (non) affordability, the poor getting poorer, workers health and safety and, generally, a heady mix of cultures and languages and ideologies all coalescing in a frantic urban melting pot. On the way to the MOCA Taipei, we wandered through a station forecourt that was littered with fascinating mosaics and mosaic coated creatures...it quite whet our appetite for more quirky art, which we certainly received when we arrived!

Sharp eyed readers might be wondering what happened to our forcefully stated desire to take the car out to the countryside this weekend. The fact of the matter is that despite knowing it was coming up, I think last weekend we were both in denial that the dreaded middle school camp was looming large for this week. Cassy wasn't keen to do anything too enervating, and we decided that some slick, sanitized big city living on the weekend might be a mild antidote to the privations expected at Fulong for the Grade 8 camp! Cass garnered her essential salads from the 7/11 on Sunday night to supplement the yucky parts of the food served during the week. All packed up, we managed to once again squeeze and massage the mid-sized suitcase onto the scooter to get her up to school and on the bus on Monday morning....not a happy camper!

Photos: a quirky but soothing oasis on the way home from work each day, the air-conditioning repairman sent the girls "undercover" mid-week, Cass looked pretty before enduring the parent outreach night last week, and various photos from MOCA Taipei and Q-Square. (including various versions of pepper spray legally available!)

Our poor old scooter, "Blackie", is hacking some noticeably louder death rattles lately after his miraculous near death recovery last year. The mysterious replacement"bladder" was inserted and gave it a new lease of life, but going through the Neihu tunnel at speed on the weekend was a little like wrestling a cat in a hessian bag: controllable, but uncomfortable and a little unsafe. Cass suggested I need to slow down, but then you get slipstreamed and buffeted by others speeding: looks like a case of just taking it easy elsewhere, and gritting my teeth through the tunnel!

We were on our way to the last survivng outlet of Cassy's favourite Aubergine restaurant, secreted away in a quiet neighbourhood street in Dazhi. There are many interesting restaurants and shops in and around this spot and we should explore a little more boldly. The newish train line seems to have swelled the Neihu district's fortunes yet again and all manner of glass and steel monoliths are morphing from the ground, clustering around the new stations. Taipei's insatiable appetite for more and more buildings shows no sign of abating in a hurry.

To segue on, an incongruously tall (for the area) residential tower has been taking shape this year right next to the school. It now overshadows the playground quite significantly, and although its shadow is useful in the blasting heat, it's still a little unsettling to have such a structure looming above you. I was reminded of the dangers when, ironically, we had an earthquake drill on the field and imagined that if buildings had really been destabilised, the last place I'd want to stand would be in the shadow of this, possibly tottering, skyscraper!

I really needed to check on the state of the car as it hadn't been checked or used since we'd arrived back. Despite a healthy layer of dust and grime, everything seemed in working order, so I arranged to take itr for a little spin to get its juices flowing again! I picked Cass up from the shopping and deposited her home again: such a rare luxury over here and something that we take for granted back home. I then went on and took the car through the car wash at the local service station. It costs $60 NT (about $2 Aus) and when it emerges, two guys get on either side of the car and towel it down. Often there is also a special offer of a free product: this time it was a bottle of shampoo. I demurred, as I thought if this shampoo was cheap enough to give away with a $2 carwash, I mightn't be totally surprised if it chemically singed all my hair off too!

We're determined to get the car out for a good old fashioned driving adventure to the countryside or the coast next weekend, so watch this space! Photos: We occasionally get a tiny thrill at the 7/11 or the supermarket when new Australian products are spotted. This week, two different types of Aussie milk hit the shelves. More scenes from the top of the "1,000" steps, the car all pretty again, Cass with a line of pretty palms in Neihu. The fort in the school playground was deemed unsafe, so they built a pirate ship instead! The blue clad giant building beside school can also be seen way up at the top of the steps in the third photo....it's big!

We risked melting into little pools of enervated liquid as we trekked over to the station on Saturday, but once in the air-conditioned carriage, we prepared for the next onslaught of heat when we disembarked down at the old Yuanshan soccer stadium. Nowadays, it's a hub for all things cultural and artistic, as it is settled a hop and a skip away from the Fine arts Museum. After a metamorphosis for an international flower festival a few years ago, it has now been re-badged, re-branded and re-utilized yet again as a boutique collection of interesting indoor/outdoor restaurants and food stalls along with some artisan market stalls and quirky shops.

It's always an exciting stroll through the adjoining park, as a huge Farmers' Market keeps the area humming on the weekend. There were the usual (strange but seemingly ubiquitous) troupes of "veteran" dancing women, kids riding mini luxury cars around and a wide mix of young families and trendy couples and groups. After shopping at the farmers' stalls, you can wander further through a mix of food stalls with wide tables and slatted benches to eat your bites of fancy fare. Further along, stop in for a princess party (for the under 7s), buy a handmade leather satchel or an individually ordered and crafted fixed gear bike! Just a wander on up the promenade, the area opens out to a live performance stage and a gigantic tree growing up to the sky, the roof built around it, the tree itself festooned with technicolour lights and light displays. Radiating out from this central tree hub are various international sit-down restaurants and pubs and the indoor-outdoor atmosphere, the singing and entertainment as well as the vast scope for people watching make it a very relaxing spot for a lingering meal and chat.

We opted for a drink and burger at The Red Lion, a self-styled English pub, with authentic everything really! Taipei with a twist of London....can't be bad, right?! Afterwards, we wandered the quirky fashion stalls on the other side of the promenade and Cassy was able to find a pretty cool hat that fulfilled her criteria for full sun dissipation, along with not looking like a melon head! She didn't even need to go to the night markets afterwards, which is a blessing on a fine Saturday night (infer: 10,000 people in narrow alleys in 35 degree heat!), as she decided to resurrect some sunglasses she had as a prop for a dance some years ago (see last paragraph)

I ripped up the steps in even more critical heat on midday on Sunday yet, despite being quite wooden legged about 3/4 of the way up, I managed to make it to the top. Unlike a couple of weeks ago when it was overcast and spitting, I saw the full extant of the damage from the typhoons on the trails upper reaches as well as a few cleared out view corridors, all the way to 101 if you looked in the right spots. There were more than a few trees blown straight from the ground, roots and all, and various fallen monsters crudely chainsawed apart, the massive pellets left precariously dangling from the edge of the path, looking ready to plummet to the valley below!

Due to the sapping heat, we've been scootering over to do the shopping at Mingde Wellcome in recent weeks. Cass like to do it herself most times, but I can usually find something to entertain me, this time a giant squid, ironed and bagged! We had a great time on Friday night with a few beers and a catch up with Wal and Annie and baby Logan, now a bouncing three months old. I managed to hold him for about 1/2 an hour without him either squawking or getting otherwise discombobulated, so I was pretty happy: Cass had a nurse as well. Other pictures today are courtesy of the complex at Yuanshan, including the dancing ladies and Cassy's hat stall. I captured the "girls" dancing on this video as well!

Cassy is reading Paul Auster's "The Invention of Solitude" and I've started Jonathan Franzen's "Purity"