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!