My place in Taipei

For some reason, every time I come back to Taiwan, I feel like I am stuck in Taipei. My family is here as well as my entire extended family. Most people outside of Taiwan don't know this, but there are actually 2 Taipei's: Taipei City and Taipei County. Taipei City is considered the most important center of Taiwan. Taipei County surrounds Taipei City. It's weird I know, to this day I still get confused. Together the Taipei metropolitan has a population of more than 6 million people.

I have a love/hate relationship with the city I was born in. I love it because in a way it is home, my family is here, it's convenient, and it is probably one of the more international metropolitan cities in the world. The selection of food is excellent. You're looking for a certain cuisine? You name it and there is something for you. There is always something happening. This is why whenever I meet Taiwanese people who goes to the States to study, they find the US boring. "There's nothing to do here" is something I hear quite often. So why is it that I just can't seem to stand this city? Why do I feel stuck?

For starters there are just WAY too many people here. Consider this, Taiwan is roughly the size of Rhode Island. The population of the entire country is roughly 23 million with the majority of the population residing in Taipei and Kaoshiung. Also, people in Taipei are arrogant. We the people of Taipei think that we are superior than everyone else outside the city. Anywhere down south (with the exception of Kaoshiung maybe) we refer to them as "people of the countryside", with a pretty derogatory connotation.

In a way I know Taipei in the sense that I want to know it. I go to pretty much the same places, I dislike certain areas, and I fail to discover some parts of the city that I don't know. Why, I would ask myself.

I am currently reading this book called "Traveler" by the Taiwanese author 胡睛舫. There is one line in the book that translates roughly into the following:

Traveling is like a blind person touching an elephant. A traveler living in his or her own city can only see one leg, one ear, and one ivory. You only focus on your usual day to day activities and you're stuck in the same social group. A traveler in another city, however, can pull apart that distance and see the elephant as a whole. He or she is able to see the city with a different vision and go into it without a predisposed bias.

This pretty much sums up my relationship with Taipei. Even though I haven't really lived here for an extended period of time, it is still a place where I have already established my comfort zone. I don't explore the places I haven't been and I don't search for activities that are out there. It's like I already have a pre-conceived idea of this place, and things end up being a self-fulfilling prophecy for me.

I'm trying to change that this time. I realize that my experience is up to me. I am still the same person, and I am going to look for things that I enjoy doing.

I have already gone to a few museums, gone on a hike, biked 2 separate routes in the city, and walked down random streets. I have found that there are film festivals and cultural activities consistently happening. How is it that I haven't noticed it before? Have I always trapped myself in a certain box when I am back here?

I am committed now to finding my place Taipei, the city that I was born, and a place that I still hope to call home.

原點手工烘培: Original Bakery in Taipei

A view of the different bagels and a blueberry filled bread on the middle rack

Who doesn't love a bakery with freshly hand made bread baked and brought out right in front of you? A fellow foodie friend (what a great use of alliteration here) and I decided to seek out a place for coffee and good afternoon snack. She suggested a bakery that has hand made bread, cheesecake, bagels, and cookies near the Chung-Hsiao area. After walking around for about 15 minutes we finally found the place in a random backstreet.

There were a couple of tables outside and a few more inside. As I walked in, the smell of freshly baked bread immediately hit my senses. Different types of bread were brought out one by one. Many were already pre-ordered and put into large sacks waiting for people to pick them up. I walked around the small bakery trying to decide what I want. Everything looked so good. From regular toast to rolls to bread with fillings such as sesame, rosemary, olives and cheese, walnuts, blueberry, curry, ham and cheese, etc. Not to mention another row of deliciously looking bagels. I thought I had already made a decision on what I want when suddenly I saw the baker bring out some mysteriously looking bread. As she puts each of them into sack and sack, I asked her what it was. She told me that it's a type of roll stuffed with sweet taro. HELLO! Did I hear taro? But she said it has all been pre-ordered. Before my spirit sunk too low another person came out and said there are 2 more left. My friend and I took them before she said another word.

My coffee and taro roll, yummmmm!

We took our seat, waiting anxiously to dig into the roll. The best part was that it was still nice and warm. I tore the roll into 2 pieces and took a bite. The ouside dough was nice and soft while the taro filling was chunky, flavorful, and not too sweet. It was needless to say, satisfying to the extreme. I ate each bite slowly, wishing that I would never finish it.

A view of the freshly baked bread!

It was seriously not the best place to sit and chat. I was constantly distracted by the different types of bread that were being brought out. The smell was also just as overwhelming. When a type of cinnamon bread was brought out, my friend couldn't resist and decided to buy another loaf of bread.



Other than bread, the bakery also specializes in cheesecake, tiramisu, as well as other varieties of cake. I only wish I had enough room in my stomach to try them all.



I brought back a list of the stuff they sell so the next time I can call ahead and reserve what I want before they run out! I highly recommend this place as it is harder and harder to find a independently owned bakery in a competitive city like Taipei.



原點is located in 大安區四維路22巷7號. It is open on Monday to Saturday from 12:00-8pm with freshly baked bread coming out starting from 12:30pm and fresh bagels starting from 4:30pm. They also sell homemade jam and cream cheese too! You can call ahead and reserve the bread you want at (02)2706-4368

My First 10 K race in Taiwan

The start

When I sort of had an idea that I would be back in Taiwan in October, I signed to up to run a 10K race in Taipei sponsored by the Ministry of Finance. The race would start in front of the Presidential Palace en route to Shin-Sheng bridge, which has never been opened up to pedestrians before. Needless to say I was excited at the opportunity to race in my home country and have a family member there to see me cross the finish line for the first time.
The race started promptly at 6am, which meant I had to wake up at 5am. This was after having celebrated my birthday 2 days before. I was out the door by 5:20am and arrived there 20 minutes before the start. I was a little annoyed to see that there weren't different wave starts. Having about 5000 start all at once is a little chaotic not to mention it affects the finish time. There were also people that you could see have never raced in their lives before. Those people need to stay in the back!!!
The weather was perfect. I was a bit worried because when I went to bed it was rainy pretty hard outside. The morning was cool and a bit cloudy. It took me about a mile and a half to finally get my heart rate up and rhythm going. It was almost surreal to run on the bridge and see the surroundings in a different perspective. The humidity and air quality though was a bit hard on me. I had thought the DC area was humid, but Taiwan takes the level up another notch. Pollution has always been a problem in Taipei. These 2 factors affected my breathing about half way through the race. But in the end I endured and finished in 50 minutes. Racing in Taiwan was definitely different. Even though there were people cheering on the side, they just didn't seem as upbeat. I tried to pump myself and the crowd up as I pass through them.

What a facial expression

I passed through the finish line and was able to find my mom in no time.
I had previously predicted that I should be able to finish in the top ten of the female 20-29 age group. So I stuck around to wait for the results for the different groups. I went up to the volunteers by the stage area and found out that I had finished 6th in my age group! I was to wait around for the awards ceremony. I hadn't expect to get anything other than maybe a small monetary reward.

In front of the Presidential Palace

With my finish certificate

They had us line up and finally I got up to stage to collect my trophy and reward of NT$1000, which is about US$30. I felt really excited, cause I have never been on stage for an award or anything. I couldn't have given myself a better birthday present. It was also great that my mom was there to see me. I hope I made her proud.

Waiting to get on stage
With my fellow top finishers
The trophy!

Day 2: Out in Nature

After crashing the night in a ridiculously nice room, I woke up at around 6:30am to see the beautiful mountains. I can't describe how great it was to be out around nature after being trapped in the city with seas of people everywhere I turn.

While the guide took the older folks for a bird-watching activity, I decided to venture off on my own hiking excursion. I went off on 3 different hiking trails, each taking me about 45 minutes each. Since it was an early Tuesday morning, I was the only one on the trail. It was the peace and quiet that I've longed for all week long.

The trip finished off with a visit to the Long-Nan Museum of Natural Lacquer Ware and a local Taiwanese factory that produced a new type of health product called "Innorchid" which can be made into tea, cooked into a soup, etc. Overall, I would say it was nice to get out of the city, but I felt like this is a doable trip on my own, and I could've seen a lot more and gotten a lot more accomplished had I been by myself!

2 Day trip down to Central Taiwan: Day 1 Puli

A few days after I arrived, my parents signed up for us to go on a mini trip down to central Taiwan. It was with a group that they have had good experiences in the past, so they decided to take me along this time. The only catch? Everyone on the trip was over 60 years old...except for me. Well, I thought, might as well go with an open mind.

We met up at Taipei Train station at around 7:30am, and got on the tour bus, or as I would like to call it, a senior party bus. The bus was equipped with 5 flat high definition TV screens, a killer stereo system, AND strobe lights. I can already picture a bunch of old people starting to karaoking around me as I stepped on the bus.

We arrived in Puli, which is almost the central point of Taiwan. It is mostly known for its passion fruit, Shaosing Wine, and rice noodles. We got lunch at 金都restaurant, which is more or less a tourist destination.

Lunch consisted of traditional Taiwanese fare. Dish after dish was set on top of the lazy susan as everyone digged in with chopsticks around the the table.

After lunch we walked across the street to visit a tea shop. On the way I caught sight of a place where people where cleaning and preparing the leaves for betel nuts. This is a rare sight that can only been in in the smaller towns of Taiwan!

I was excited to visit the tea shop. I've always had an obsession with tea and

the traditional art of making tea. There's so much knowledge about the temperature of the water, the amount of tea leaves (depending on the type of tea), the tea vessel used, and then the tea cups. Everything affects the way the tea can be enjoyed.

To the right is a collection of the different tea vessels.

Below I am holding the thingy that is used to dry tea leaves. It is only used for some of the best teas out there, since a lot of production now is done by machinery.

There are 2 tea cups. It is first poured into the taller one shown on the right. The tea drinker then pours the tea from the tall cup to the shorter and wider one on the left. The drinker then smells aroma that is left by the tea in the taller cup. This is a tradition that is not widely practiced nowadays, but it is so comforting to see people that are still so passionate about it.

Our next stop takes us to the glutinous rice bridge. Yes you read that right, and I had the same question when I saw the name. Why is it called the glutinous rice bridge?

This bridge was built in 1940 by layering square stone bricks which were bounded with a base of glutinous rice mixture. This one seen here is the most complete and well-preservered glutinous rice bridge in Taiwan. It has experienced and survived numerous severe storms as well as the devestating 921 earthquake. Today it is a protected historic site in Taiwan.

Back home in Taiwan

After a serious of unfortunate events, I have finally arrived in Taiwan. The decision to come back is anything but well thought out. It was like an impromtu deicision. I had beeing feeling like I've hit a wall and wasn't going anywhere back in Washington, DC. My apartment lease was up and I thought why not go back to Taiwan for a while and figure some things out?
After 2 weeks of fun and fetivities with my friends back in DC, I am now in Taiwan. It was weird spending almost everyday with my closest friends, and then all of a sudden be on the other side of the world. It has been about a year and a half since I have been back. The feeling is sort of ambiguous. I feel like everything around me is a familiar sight, yet I feel so out of place in my home town.
The first week consist of endless family time. Everyone seems to be just like they were since the last time I saw them. I on the other hand is the one who's changed. A lot happens in a year, and I guess they're more evident than I realized.
I want to take advantage of this trip back to Taiwan. I will probably never have an indefinite amount of time. I have already signed up to run a 10km race this Sunday, October 17th. This trip around will also be the first time that I will celebrate my birthday in Taiwan since I was 8 years old!
One of my biggest goals this time around is to tour the entire country on my bike. It will be a 1000km trip around the coasts of Taiwan. The coast is flat enough and has some of the most breathtaking sights of the island. As of right now I am planning on leaving on October 25th, and estimating about 2 weeks to complete the trip. Which means that I will be biking about plus or minus 100km each day.
I don't know when I'll be back in the States, but I hope when I go back I will be able to say and feel like I have made the most out of this mini vacation.