day 3: ain't no sunshine when xi gong (ok, i know, bad joke)
and yeah, we didn't go anywhere called xi gong, if a place named that even exists. our third day in taipei started well. we slept in a little, skipped on a breakfast and headed out to lunch. oddly enough, we went to a sushi restaurant, the kind where the little dishes go around the disney people mover conveyor belt. totally different than sushi anywhere else. they had sushi filled with chinese ingredients, like the dried shredded pork (ro son) and pickles (not takuwan). pretty good. we almost went to a japanese restaurant for dinner too, but i had to remind my uncle that we were going to tokyo, and i think we should stick to the chinese food while here.
anyway, after lunch, we headed out to the chiang kai shek memorial hall. amazing building, near two other amazing buildings, the National Theatre and the National Concert Hall. We came out of the metro looking at the National Theatre, and were stunned. Then we turned a corner, and were doubly stunned by the size of the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. it was ENORMOUS. quite a tribute to a great and interesting man.
we watched the changing of the guards there for a little bit, then headed under the hall to the museum, which had some cool memorabilia and photos. two of the craziest things were these small ivory blocks that had carvings in them of chinese writing. but the writing is so small, they almost look like dots, until you get very VERY close, or look through a magnifying glass. intense how small the craftsmen can get the carvings.
from there, we decided to check out the Taipei MOCA. they had some pretty cool stuff, almost all video installations. we were also just glad to be inside cause as we entered the building it started to pour. inside, we could hear the thunder. it was shaking the whole building, i could feel vibrations when i was leaning against the walls while i watched some of the videos.
when we left, it was still pouring. we made a mad dash for the metro, and got drenched. headed back to the apartment, jason decided to see if he could find this one store he saw at some point somewhere. after 3 minutes of attempting to get there in the downpour, we gave up. we were totally soaked. headed back home, dried off, and cleaned up.
we went to dinner with my aunt and uncle to a nice restaurant where we had shrimp, a steamed egg dish, a fried dish with duck with mashed taro root, lo mien, sweet and sour pork, and veggies with tiny little fish. we ate tons. way too full. headed back up, cleaned up again, the rain finally stopped. we decide to check out the Taipei Pop Music Festival, an apparently huge event that we just happened coincide with our trip. bands that are apparently huge here such as se7en, 5566, K Five, and others that i've never heard of but thousands of young taipei girls have were showcased. apparently the caesers played too (their single "Jerk It Out") but we didn't see them, and i have no idea what they look like.
we only watched about 2 songs of the concert before we realized it was WAY too nickelodeon choice awards and headed to find some clubs. jason grabbed a coffee at a starbucks at New York, New York (a mall) and then we scouted the entrance to Mint, a club at the base of the 101 building. everyone seemed a bit too old for our tastes (we like em fressshhhh (ew)) and we decided to check somewhere else out. headed to luxy, an enormous club on the fifth floor of a building. it cost NT$800 to get in (about US$25). had some coronas at NT$150 (US$5). tried to talk to some people, but it was EXTREMELY difficult. i really need to get better at speaking chinese. although mastering english would probably be a good thing too. met a few nice people, hung out in the two story club, huge rooms, three dance floors. great fun loud place. headed home finally around 3:30am, stopped at a 7-11, bought some tasty american taco doritos (tacos are american?) and crashed in bed. another full day down. I'll post a few pics for this day later...
anyway, after lunch, we headed out to the chiang kai shek memorial hall. amazing building, near two other amazing buildings, the National Theatre and the National Concert Hall. We came out of the metro looking at the National Theatre, and were stunned. Then we turned a corner, and were doubly stunned by the size of the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. it was ENORMOUS. quite a tribute to a great and interesting man.
we watched the changing of the guards there for a little bit, then headed under the hall to the museum, which had some cool memorabilia and photos. two of the craziest things were these small ivory blocks that had carvings in them of chinese writing. but the writing is so small, they almost look like dots, until you get very VERY close, or look through a magnifying glass. intense how small the craftsmen can get the carvings.
from there, we decided to check out the Taipei MOCA. they had some pretty cool stuff, almost all video installations. we were also just glad to be inside cause as we entered the building it started to pour. inside, we could hear the thunder. it was shaking the whole building, i could feel vibrations when i was leaning against the walls while i watched some of the videos.
when we left, it was still pouring. we made a mad dash for the metro, and got drenched. headed back to the apartment, jason decided to see if he could find this one store he saw at some point somewhere. after 3 minutes of attempting to get there in the downpour, we gave up. we were totally soaked. headed back home, dried off, and cleaned up.
we went to dinner with my aunt and uncle to a nice restaurant where we had shrimp, a steamed egg dish, a fried dish with duck with mashed taro root, lo mien, sweet and sour pork, and veggies with tiny little fish. we ate tons. way too full. headed back up, cleaned up again, the rain finally stopped. we decide to check out the Taipei Pop Music Festival, an apparently huge event that we just happened coincide with our trip. bands that are apparently huge here such as se7en, 5566, K Five, and others that i've never heard of but thousands of young taipei girls have were showcased. apparently the caesers played too (their single "Jerk It Out") but we didn't see them, and i have no idea what they look like.
we only watched about 2 songs of the concert before we realized it was WAY too nickelodeon choice awards and headed to find some clubs. jason grabbed a coffee at a starbucks at New York, New York (a mall) and then we scouted the entrance to Mint, a club at the base of the 101 building. everyone seemed a bit too old for our tastes (we like em fressshhhh (ew)) and we decided to check somewhere else out. headed to luxy, an enormous club on the fifth floor of a building. it cost NT$800 to get in (about US$25). had some coronas at NT$150 (US$5). tried to talk to some people, but it was EXTREMELY difficult. i really need to get better at speaking chinese. although mastering english would probably be a good thing too. met a few nice people, hung out in the two story club, huge rooms, three dance floors. great fun loud place. headed home finally around 3:30am, stopped at a 7-11, bought some tasty american taco doritos (tacos are american?) and crashed in bed. another full day down. I'll post a few pics for this day later...
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