Taking a break before heading out for a shaved ice desert tonight, wanted to write about the past two days before I forget everything.
Our bodies weren’t quite adjusted to Taiwan time as we found out about 4am on Thursday morning. We decided not to try and go back to sleep and just went for a morning stroll around the neighborhood. One thing I love about this city is that every alleyway is full of great little independent shops. Even when the chains come in like Starbucks, they don’t take over like they do in America. I wonder if rent stays affordable and that leads to this creativity in business, or if its more of a reflection of Taiwan’s people to appreciate something unique over something everyone has.

Anyway, at lunch we had way too much dim-sum with Jessica’s mom, her grandmother and great Uncle and Aunt. I hope I’m as happy and full of life as they are at 89. Lunch was a long affair as is custom with dim-sum. I ate way too much and am already fearing the big family lunch tomorrow.
We then went to the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial and watched the changing of the guard. A very solemn and neat experience. After studying him in college it was neat to see the museum, and even though I still hold my doubts about his legacy, it is evident the positive feelings the Chinese people in Taiwan have for him.
We ended the day having dinner at Sushi Express. Whoever owns this chain needs to bring it to America ASAP. You sit and a conveyor belt brings sushi around for you. You see a plate you like you grab it. At the end of the meal they total your plate number and you pay 30 NT (about $1) per plate. Four of us ate there. Our total bill $17 dollars. Amazing good stuff, and the way I wish Sushi was in America. Me and Jess walked for a while through the neon streets after dinner, but our 4am wake up caught up with us and we headed home.

Today, we got up and took the subway to Sun Yat Sen memorial. It’s a lot like the Kai-Shek one, except devoted to Sun Yat Sen. There was a modern art show inside that had some amazing paintings in it. I can’t wait to show you some of the pictures. Jessicas mom had arranged for a friend to take us on a excursion today, and we headed out of Taipei up the coast to Yehliu. Before we got there we stopped at an oceanside fishing town and had some of the best tasting fresh fish I’ve every had.
Yehliu is a tourist spot in Taiwan that features really neat rock formations on the beach, that have been shaped by thousands of years of wind and weather. The rock that is most famous is the Queen’s Head, which is shaped like a queens head. Its really a cool thing to see and a great park along the pacific ocean, just for walking.
Our guide Arthur next to us to the awesome Juming museum which features the work of Sculptor Ju Ming. Its a neat place nestled in the mountains, and work I’m very interested in learning more about. The sculptures carry a lot of expression and are often funny and sometimes disturbing. Great stuff.
Got back into Taipei a while ago and had some amazing beef noodle soup, at an unmarked, undecorated restaurant. The kind of place that would never make it in America. Good thing were not there. It was delicious.
Im loving the trip so far, and ready for more!

Got up this morning to a lovely breakfast at our hotel, the Deja Vu, which is right in the heart of Tapei. We went for a long morning walk with Jess’s mom & grandmother around the surrounding neighborhoods and through a subway shopping complex. Every alley is packed with stores and signs advertising the wares sold inside jut out of every space possible. You could live here your entire life and never see every nook and cranny We ended for lunch at the Sogo department store, a massive shopping Mecca, with three locations in just about ten blocks. The food court has all kinds of greatness. I got some kind of sizzling beef and egg dish here that was pretty darn good and only cost 5$

After lunch we went to the bank to exchange our money for NT, the Tawainese standard. While there a loud siren went off and all the people hurried into stores, cars stopped and the stores shut their doors, keeping everyone inside, and making the streets strangely empty. A security guard informed us it was a drill for national defense. Seems there is some constant fear of the Chinese invasion, and its better to be prepared than not. Seeing a city of bustling millions stop and go silent for about 15 mins is strange and eerie for sure.

We took the Subway to another area later where Jess hit a letterpress print store MB More. She had corresponded with one of the artists and he took us a few blocks to the last remaining type foundry in all of Taiwan. Jess had plenty of time with the owner and hopes to include him in her upcoming book. She bought some chinese type, but thankfully nothing super heavy.

Before we knew it was time for dinner, and he had another great meal with Jess’s Mom and Grandmother. We parted ways after that and me & Jess just wandered the streets around our hotel looking at all the neon, and buying candy. (I also got a blind boxed Star Trek ship, which turned out to be the Shuttle). The neon here makes Times Square look pretty minor by comparison, lights up the streets, which far as I can tell are busy all night long.

All in all a great first day here. Tomorrow we have a big family lunch to go to, and I have to figure out how to politely decline food, or I will either be super heavy after this trip, or really really full.

So were heading to Taiwan on Monday morning, so my blogging might be eratic during the trip. Hopefully we have good internet and I can post here nightly with some awesome shots, but if not I wanted to list a few things that are preloaded and will happen anyway.
Con-news is ready to go with daily posts for the next two weeks, so if thats how you know me, your fine.

Peas will run as usual on Fridays. Next week we have the final part of the Swamp Couple story and the following week we have a strip that will be posted while I’m on the airplane home.

Placebo will continue every Tuesday right here. Theres only four parts to the story left with the final chapter coming June 7th.

So that’s what will be happening here on the blog. I’ve tried to blog about something daily here, and surprisingly its gone o.k. Might not happen on this trip, but I will try.