Tag Taoyuan
I’m armoured against the weather, warm jacket, rain jacket, rain pants with little built in shoe covers, helmet, and mountaineering gloves. Despite all that I know this is going to be hell, it is cold like it can only be in tropical weather, when normally comfortable temperatures chill you to the bone; and the rain is coming down hard. There is a kind of duality to this; the reports about low water levels in the nation’s reservoirs that I saw in the paper a few days ago had me worried so this is a good thing, but did the government … Read the rest
My boss has sent me to the head office on the other side of town and I need to be there shortly after two which behooves me to set out right after lunch. I’ve only gone the short distance from the door to my parking space at the far end of the lot but I’m already sweating from thr midday heat, and despite being protected by my jeans, the seat of the scooter feels like sitting on a frying pan. Normally the slipstream would be enough to cool me down a bit but as I speed up, even the wind … Read the rest
Big drops are falling from a leaden sky, pitter patterning against the visor of my helmet. The low clouds have made the backstreets of my evening commute even more dull than normal, nothing but wet asphalt and grey buildings all the way. I mount the steep slope of the bridge across the highway, and just as I reach the crest, the world opens up in front of me. In the distance, visible only because the rain has cleared away the smog of the city, I can see the mountains; layers upon layers of ever darkening shades of green against the … Read the rest
At the end of the Chinese New Year the Taiwanese celebrate the lantern festival. Colorful lanterns in all shapes and sizes are put on display on some suitable piece of land for about a week. People come from all over the country come to admire the creative designs, watch the light show and try some tasty snacks at the night market. It moves to a new city each year, but me and the wife were there a few years ago when it took place here in Hsinchu. This year it takes place in Taoyuan, close to where I work, so … Read the rest
It’s just pouring down, heavy drops patter incessantly on the visor of my helmet and although I’m dressed for battle with elements, rain jacket, rain pants, and big floppy shoe covers that are impossible to walk in, there is till considerable discomfort. The drops sting my lips every time I accelerate, my gloves are already wet through and through, and there is a coldness in my crotch which I sincerely hope isn’t water soaking through my pants. Sometimes, on a good road in good weather, riding a motorcycle can be thoroughly enjoyable; swooping smoothly from turn to turn as you carve your way through a … Read the rest
The view in front of me is the same as every day at this time: in the distance a jumbled row of apartment buildings; in the middle distance, a deserted parking lot; in the foreground, an unused train platform, weeds sprouting from the the cracks and a pedestrian walkway suspended above it. The sky is a pale, listless blue, intermingled white and grey clouds scuding across it. The light from the setting sun, filtered through a light drizzle, steeps the world in a strange yellow hue and fills the air with a vague sense of foreboding. Foreboding of what, I … Read the rest
Taoyuan is not all that far from Hsinchu, about an hour and a half by country roads. Having ridden the scooter to Hsinchu on Friday afternoon, I had to bring it back on Sunday because I need it for work. Me and Yini decided to do this as a small trip, going eastward through the mountains instead of the straight road. It turned out to be a bit of an adventure that, including several stops, took us most of the day.
Riding along the winding mountain roads, we first came to a mountainside cafe where we stopped for tea. From … Read the rest
I am in the most incredible bathroom I have ever seen. The toilet is situated in the middle of a small platform of grey stone with an assortment of plants, bamboo rods and yellowish lights all around. Sitting on the toilet seat, my feet are only a few centimeters from the wooden edge of the platform and a small pond. In the pond rises three small pillars supporting slate stepping-stones leading to the sink and then the door. The pond is filled with small fish and plants and is lit from below with a turquoise luster. A hidden pump is … Read the rest
I’m sitting at a table in a garden drinking tea, it is dark, the ambient light from the nearby cafe building spilling out on the people sitting here combined with a small oil lamp is the only thing that illuminates us. The early december air is verging on cool and in the background I can hear the noise of the nearby motorway as the walls around the garden do not block it out completely. Three women are sitting around me having a lively discussion is Chinese and one of the women’s son sits in front of me fiddling with a … Read the rest