ADAPT OR PERISH

Coffee.

Taipei being a relatively developed city, there is plenty to go around (in contrast to Lanzhou which had none.)

That being said, it isn't exactly what we're used to. The options:

• Starbucks
• Taiwan versions of Starbucks
• 7/11 and numerous other convenience stores (surprisingly popular)
• American brand chains (Dunkin' Donuts etc)
• Independent cafes (a mixed bag)

I'm just working with what I've got here. The safest thing to order is the always reliable Americano, iced right now as the weather has decided to become unbearably hot again...

It always comes with various substances one can add, I would recommend foregoing the fructose and creamer... goodness knows what is in that!

Rejoice! It is the weekend.

SORTED

photo: NY Mag

I've found myself a bit ahead study wise this week, so today I stayed home late and spent most of the morning watching the SS12 shows. 

I've found my wedding dress!

 Premature yes, but this Jil Sander gown is simply perfect.

QINGDAO ALL OVER AGAIN..

Look familiar?

We read in a guide book that watching the sun rise on Hualien's beachfront is a must, so at 4am on a Sunday, we pulled ourselves out of bed, hoped and the scooters and made for it.

TAROKO GORGE

Nearby Hualien is a spectacular marble walled gorge called Taroko. We rented scooters in the city and after a few close shaves while puttering around the block of the rental place, we were on the highway.

The gorge itself is 18km of road winding around the cliff side going through plenty of both man made and natural tunnels. There were definitely some tense moments involving enormous buses and disrespectful cars, but I'm still here to tell the tale thank goodness.

The scenery was spectacular though again, not unlike anything we have at home...

HELLO HUALIEN

Just got back from a weekend trip to Hualien, a small city south of Taipei on the east coast of Taiwan. It was lovely to paddle in the Pacific Ocean, I felt closer to home than I have in a while! We spent the weekend on scooters, taking in some of Taiwan's natural beauty, a nice change from the city scenes.

SIGNS

The sign on the wall of the restaurant we had dinner in today -  "New Zealand Beef" - there are a lot of NZ imports to be found around town. I quite like it :)


During my first days here, many people quite naturally asked where I was from. These exchanges usually resulted in a lot of confusion. After a week filled with many of these encounters I began to think it was very strange that no one had heard of New Zealand. I know it's small but it's not that small right?


One day, a very patient taxi driver finally explained to me that in Taiwan, New Zealand is not 新西兰 (xinxilan) as it is in mainland China but instead 紐西蘭 (niuxilan). Problem solved.


There are quite a few differences language wise between the Mainland and Taiwan that have taken some getting used to. 

COMFORT FOOD

The last few days have been all about comfort food.

When we ended up at a pasta restaurant for lunch yesterday, (I cannot believe it has been almost a month and we are still clueless as to where to eat... the shame) Beef Lasagne called my name. Wow, inadvertent rhyming, I must have a cold! The lasagne really did remind me of the St Matthew's days though.

There is also comfort food of the Chinese variety (which I am eating as I write!)