A delicious interactive travel journal
Breakfast this morning is a kind of leek dumpling. It's a busy day. We have packing to do. We have to figure out how to safely and securely pack all the snacks, gifts, and souvenirs we have purchased during our trip. I need to do a little bit of laundry to have enough clean clothes for the last day. We will be going out to shop for a few last gifts. And of course, we will be cooking this evening.
Shopping takes us around to some familiar places. We stop by a paper supply store close to Monica's elementary school. While we are in the area, we make a repeat visit to have beef noodles. It's the one thing I really wanted to have twice. You can't find beef noodles in the United States. They are just as good a second time.
Our shopping takes us back near Taipei 101. Surrounding the tower are a number of malls, one of which is arranged as a "shopping campus" with multiple buildings arranged along a pedestrian walkway. Each building is like a large department store, offering clothes, shoes, jewelry, appliances, electronics, and housewares. There are a few odd items among the familiar, such as an exercise machine that mimics horse-riding and rodeo bull riding.
One fixture of the mall that has been a familiar sight here in Taipei are the cow statues. Here in the mall the actually have information kiosks explaining the "cow parade" that decorates the city. Each cow is unique. There are cows in bathtubs, cow's as DJs, cows dressed as bullfighters, cows reclining, cows decorated with birds, and cows painted or decorated in an assortment of styles and colors.
Our shopping also takes us back to the Guang Hua electronics market and the adjacent jade market. Monica purchases some very cute USB flash drives. I once again resist purchasing a camera or a new PSP. This time, we are early enough to see the whole jade market. The merchandise displayed ranges from fairly cheap to far out of budget. The full range of styles and grades of jade are also represented.
We return home early so we have enough time to cook. Tonight I will make my standard pasta sauce: garlic, onion, diced tomato, ground pork and beef, pancetta, and basil. I am using Chinese basil instead of the regular Italian basil, but I have quickly become a huge fan of the Chinese variety. With the sauce we will have rotini pasta. Our dinner will be supplemented with sweet potato greens so that we have a vegetable. The greens are cooked simply but effectively by boiling in salt water and served with soy sauce. It actually goes quite well with the pasta and sauce.
We have a special guest join us for dinner. One of Monica's uncles is in Taipei from Canada on a business trip. He joins us for dinner and dessert. We spend some time socializing in between our efforts to finish packing. Monica also spends a few hours before bed going through some of her old things which are taking space in her parents' storage area. There are old pictures, old VCR tapes, clothes, and books. Monica shows me her old volleyball uniform. Some of the items will be thrown away. A few things will come back to New York with us. The rest will remain stored here in what I like to think of as a little museum of Monica history.
Finally it is time for bed. We have a very early flight, meaning we have to be up even earlier. Our plan is to arrive at the airport at around 5am. The trip to the airport could take close to an hour, so we will be leaving shortly after 4am. Since we will be up so early, we say our goodbyes to Monica's parents before we go to bed.
In 2009, my girlfriend and I visited her home country of Taiwan. During our two week vacation, I wrote daily notes of my experiences and together we took over a thousand photos. Those notes and photos have been compiled into this interactive travel journal.
Design, Text, Code: © Copyright 2009 by Aaron Pinero except as noted.
Photographs may not be used in any other medium without permission. In most cases, we'd be glad to let you if you ask.