taipei in pictures

view from nanjing st. subway station

national palace museum

motorcycles in danshui

dragons outside temple in danshui

fish outside temple in danshui

vew from danshui pre-storm

shilin night market- fried oysters & eggs

taipei 101 - tallest bldg in the world

mall outside taipei 101

On cabbages, museums, and mullets

I’ve wanted to visit the National Palace Museum in Taipei since my freshman year of college when my Asian Art History professor talked about museums featuring renowned Chinese art. Given its extensive collection, I had assumed that the most popular art would be the scrolls, bronzes from prehistoric times, or even the pottery. I was wrong, so incredibly wrong. The piece of art that everyone flocked around was. . .a bok choy cabbage made of jadeite. A cabbage that with a bug on top, no less. This was the one piece of art in the entire museum where people were pushing others, jockeying shall we say, for an opportunity to stare through the glass at the cabbage, so they could behold the wonder of the jade cabbage. I'm not exaggerating. Here is the cabbage

On the subject of visiting museums, I would not recommend the National Palace Museum on National Museum Day. Being frugal must be a universal trait, not just one associated with cheap grad students and truth be told, I didn't even know it was Museum Day when I went. I have never seen so many people in one museum. I kept looking around for the emergency exits because there were some serious fire code violations going on. In addition to the hordes of adults, there were tons of kids on school field trips. I even had one as a personal shadow. I think I was the first Chinese-American person this little girl had ever seen because she could not get over the fact that I spoke English and started following me around the museum. I could get used to a little hero worship. :)

On Sunday, I walked around Ximendian, an area where “young people” go during their free time. I’ll leave it to you to determine if I still qualify as a young person. Ximendian is definitely where the hipsters hang out. And what is the most popular haircut for hipster teenage boys in Taipei, you might ask? Mullets. Yes, mullets are making a comeback. I so wish I had taken a picture.

on my way

arrived in taipei during morning rush hour. besieged by motorbikes and japanese-made cars with a few european ones thrown in for good measure. i almost forgot what it was like to be in asia, yet it all comes back. the multiple high rises in the same color. laundry hanging on balconies to dry. slowly acclimating to a different environment. my adventure begins.