Hiking, biking, laughing, crying...it seems I experienced it all when I took a 21-day trip through East Asia from mid-January to early February of this year.
I've taken a few solo trips before, but none were as long and extensive as this one. As day one of the trip approached, I felt a new kind of anxiety and excitement.
Would everything pan out?
What would I learn about and see?
How would I hold up on such a long trip?
Have I finally gone too far?
I planned to travel by train, ferry, and airplane to each destination, just me and a suitcase. Expectations? I can't say I had any. Well, I knew I'd have to change currencies and SIM cards several times! But I truly didn't know what to expect. Comments from others on travel websites can only give a Pollock-style preview of what you might see on your travels. What others see and describe online may or may not be an accurate picture of your destinations. So, even in this technological age, traveling still means going off into the unknown.
Chara is known for her childish "whisper" voice.
At 47, she should also be known for her inability to age! She plays the guitar and piano, and writes nearly all of her songs. (Photo from her Facebook page).
Chara (real name: Watabiki Miwa 綿引美和), is hands-down my favorite female Japanese singer. I discovered her music as a junior high student when I was looking for new Japanese artists to listen to. Immediately, I was mesmerized by her soft, slightly raspy voice which occasionally takes on a husky, almost harsh tone. Chara's speaking voice is actually somewhat deep, yet it often transforms into a light, high-pitched tone when she sings.
I admire the personal nature of Chara's music and her willingness to share her deep inner feelings in her lyrics. Innocence (Sweet), intimacy (Junior Sweet, her performance of this song with TSPO on the left), and divorce (Breaking Hearts) have all been subjects of her songs. I admire Chara because no topic appears to be "off limits" for her when writing music. Chara's creativity transcends her sound; to add a sense of childlike innocence to her songs, she often uses the male personal pronoun boku (僕).
Chara's thoughtfulness in regards to her music hasn't changed since her major debut in 1990, yet her style has evolved through many phases: mainstream with a touch of black gospel in the early 90s; acoustic-heavy in the mid to late 90s; experimental indie in the early 2000s; mainstream pop in the mid 2000s; and mostly popish experimental indies style today. Nevertheless, she has always distinctly remained herself.
Chara peaked in popularity in the mid-90s after her lead role in the successful Shunji Iwai film, Swaillowtail Butterfly. In the film, she played Glico (yes, taken from the snack company), a Chinese immigrant turned lead singer of the fictional Yen Town Band; to accompany the movie, Chara and the Yen Town Band released a record which took first place on the Japanese Oricon music chart for quite some time. On the right is a clip of her gospel-like performance of Happy Toy from the 1997 Asasaka Blitz tour, not long after the movie was released. (A couple members of the Yen Town Band played support on the tour, and TSPO's founder ASA-CHANG was on percussion. He helped produce some of her songs as well). Despite her emergence as a well-known singer, actress, and fashion icon, after the 90s, Chara focused on motherhood and preferred a more indie existence as a musician.
Yasashii Kimochi(やさしい気持ち; Kind Feelings) - one of her most popular songs, second only to Swallowtail Butterfly- was the first song of her's that I heard all those years ago. Still, the dreamlike feeling of the song sounds fresh to me. To my delight, in 2013 Chara released Jewel, a self-cover album which includes Yasashii Kimochi, Swallowail Butterfly, and 10 other songs. I thought it would be amazing to watch her perform after Jewel was released because, naturally, she would be playing several songs from across her discography that she hadn't played in a few years. Little did I know I'd get an opportunity to see her without having to go to Japan!
National Taiwan University, popularly known as Taida (台大), is one of the most beautiful college campuses in Taipei. It was founded in 1928 by the Japanese, and is Taiwan's most prestigious school. On the weekend, it transforms into a park for families and tourists to take a stroll, enjoy a bike ride, or sit down and relax.
Wow, it's 2013! I can't believe it; time goes by fast.
Hoards of people taking shots of
Taipei 101.
I spent my new year's at Taipei 101 to watch the lights and fireworks and be part of the general insanity. There were hoards of people there. Seriously, if you detest crowds or being close to people, this is not a new years destination for you. But it was great to be a part of the atmosphere. It was as if all of Taipei had come to one spot. Awesomely enough, I was able to see everything from a great spot. Between a small live concert, many food stalls, and people-watching, there was a lot to do in order to pass the time before midnight.
Another crowd shot.
There's Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall on the left.
The sign at Taipei Zoo station.
You can never go wrong with cute pandas!
The gondola line is boxed in gold.
I made my first trip up to the Maokong (貓空) area of Taipei almost three months ago with a friend, yet the memories are still quiet fresh. Maokong is a gorgeous area in the mountains with a breath-taking temple, lush greenery, and tasty food to try.
Almost as popular as Maokong itself is the method one takes to get there - the gondola! It's one-of-a-kind and easily accessible depending on where you're coming from. From Danshui where I live, we took the red MRT line to Taipei Main Station, then the blue line to Zhongxiao Fuxing, then the brown line to Taipei Zoo. Then, after getting off at Taipei Zoo, we walked a short distance to the gondola station.
(Note: We went before the red line was extended, so coming from Danshui you should switch trains at Chiang-Kai Shek Memorial Hall, then again at Da'an and stay on the brown line to the end).
When you see this sign,
you know you're close to the gondola station!
Since moving to Taiwan, I've developed an affinity toward shaved ice. Previously, I compared two popular shaved ice locations, Xin Fa Ting and Tai Yi Milk King. Since discovering those two, I've become fond of a third location at Raohe Night Market in Songshan (松山).
Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of this night market shaved ice spot, but it is the only one on the main avenue of the night market. Raohe Night Market is centered around two pedestrian lanes; the shaved ice shop is clearly marked on the right side of the left main street; it will be on your right if you enter the night market from the quieter, rear entrance.
The exhibition sign.
There were so many people attempting to take
pictures by it I was forced to snap on with people
otherwise I would have never gotten a picture!
My friend got a free ticket from work to see Nathan Sawaya's exhibition "The Art of the Brick". I decided I would tag along with her because the ticket price was reasonable at 250NT ($8.33). We went on the second-to-last day of the exhibition s there was a high turned out which made the exhibit difficult to enjoy at times, but the sculptures were amazing. I mean, who wouldn't enjoy art made from Legos?!
This hand is one of Sawaya's many magnificent
Lego creations!
In Taipei, two of the biggest names in the iced dessert business are Xin Fa Ting in Shilin and Tai Yi Milk King in Da'an. Unless you go to either one of these shops during a generally low-traffic time (like late-morning on a Sunday) you're going to meet huge crowds, especially on Saturday night when all the young people are out and about. Although that may sound daunting, the staff at both shops seem to well accustomed to dealing with the high volumes of customers, and although there often are long lines in both places, the wait never seems to exceed 5-8 minutes.
Xin Fa Ting's peanut shaved ice
Tai Yi Milk King's pudding and chocolate ice
Both shops have their own style of preparing their cold desserts, so let's get down to business and compare the two!
(And just so you know - both shops sell more than iced desserts, but I'll be focusing on that since it is their specialty).
(You can read more about Gigi Leung and Donald Tseng here and here, respectively.)
Nope, this was not the concert ticket, it was the flyer, adorably shaped
like a plane ticket!
The concert poster
They clearly put a lot of thought into their music no matter what the tone or language (Cantonese, Mandarin, English, French, or a mixture of two or three) is. So, when I moved to Taiwan and discovered they'd be playing in Taipei, I knew I had to see them!
