Monthly Archives: January 2017

Mango

If there is one thing I took away from Taiwan it is that mangos make everything better.  Mango cotton ice, mango sherbet, mango rum drinks.  Everything.

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Shanshui V

I took the Makong Gondola up to Maokong in the rain.   In my experience, there are different kinds of gondola rides.  They can be awe-inspiring, blissful, or they can be filled with existential dread like this one was.  It was … Continue reading

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Rival

Literally around the corner from the original Din Tai Feng is their rival, Kao Chi.  I had the best bbq pork bun I’ve ever eaten and a delicious bowl of beef noodle soup.

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Wisdom III

I wondered if the nightstand of an Asian hotel room would have a Gideons Bible or some sort of Eastern equivalent.  The answer, as it turns out, is that it has both.

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Padre III

The National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall is the Taiwanese counterpoint to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing. The sign is written in Traditional Chinese, but I’m able to guess that the first two characters (from right to left) mean “Father … Continue reading

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Megatall IV

I let the kid at the front desk at the hotel upsell me to a suite with a balcony.  Per usual, I used my Can-I-put-my-elbow-on-the-ceiling? test and confirmed that, yes, I was still in Asia. In the hotel elevators, I … Continue reading

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Megatall III

Taipei 101 held the title of world’s tallest building from 2004 to 2009, but at a “mere” 509.2 m (1,671 ft) it is still considerably shorter than Shanghai’s tallest towers. Unlike those, however, it has impressive views of the neighboring mountains.  One of the building’s … Continue reading

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Rust

I’m sure it’s all the rain here, but the amount of rust on these girders makes me worried about the future structural integrity of this building.

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Gnarled II

The old, gnarled trees of Yongkang Park around the corner from Din Tai Feng.

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Original

Din Tai Feng is a chain of Taiwanese restaurants specializing in a Shanghai favorite called xiaolongbao.  Like Mongolian barbecue, it started in Taiwan in the 1950s.  I was on a mission to eat at the original Din Tai Feng. The … Continue reading

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Forbidden II

This is the Taiwan’s National Palace Museum or, as Xioahan called it, “The real museum.  The real Forbidden City.” I’m always fascinated by timelines comparing Eastern and Western history.  The Greeks overlapped with the Spring and Autumn Period and the … Continue reading

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Hollywood

As per usual, the first day I arrive in any country outside China, I go see an American movie. I finally had a chance to see La La Land.  To be honest, I feel guilty I didn’t love it as … Continue reading

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Mongolian

At Burbank’s Media City Mall, my favorite place to eat was a Mongolian barbecue place.  I had no idea “Mongolian” barbecue was invented in Taiwan in the 1950s!  My hotel was a block away from one of the originals, a … Continue reading

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Formosa

I decided to visit Taiwan before President Trump has a chance to start a war with China over it.  This is the capital, Taipei (with the Taipei 101 tower in the distance.) My hotel room looked out over a Kangle … Continue reading

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Donkey

Out past the Gold Sand River on the Apricot Mountain Road (aren’t Chinese street names poetic?) there is a little shop that sells cured donkey meat.  You can guess that first character on the lantern 驴 (lǘ) is “donkey” because … Continue reading

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