International Flora Expo in Taipei

11/10/2010

Ian's parents, Tony & Fen Lee

Ian's parents invited us to go with them to the International Flora Expo in Taipei on Wednesday. We rode the MRT train to the station near the expo site, and the Lees met us there. We stood in line for entrance a good while. There were a lot of people, including several school groups; the students were dressed alike, usually in bright-colored sweats.

School children

This wall is covered with plantings, and we have seen many like it all over Taipei in preparation for this expo.

The other picture is of the entrance to the expo hall where you wait in a LONG line for your turn to go in.

Once inside the expo building we found a magic place full of flowers. I wish Ilona could at least see the pictures. It made me think of the way the Rose Parade is supposed to be--everything made of some kind of plant material. There was a picture-taking opportunity just inside the doors, and most people were taking advantage of it. The walls were covered with designs made of petals and leaves.

Floral wall

As we walked through the exhibit hall, booth after booth was filled with floral displays of every kind. I just couldn't stop taking pictures. One of the prettiest was full of purple flowers and clear glass tubes of water.

Gardens were often set up in stylized ways like Japanese gardens. One had trees made of roots. We got to see a few bonzai (but not as many as I would have like; they were at another venue). I would like to try my hand at that.

Root tree

I saw a method of planting that would be useful, something called EcoBoxes. I could never have imagined the numbers, kinds, and colors of orchids displayed. Mr. Lee said he was an orchid grower at home.

Orchid showers

Tiny slipper orchids


Prize-winning lilies

Colors

Pressed flower picture

Fan quiltLunch

Everyone wanted to eat lunch at the same time, it seemed. We finally got some lunch boxes and sat down, but at different tables. Afterwards we walked over some more of the exhibition grounds. My feet were killing me! When we got back to Mark's house, I discovered that they
were very swollen and I had a rash above my ankles.

Garrett and Mr. Lee on bridge

Traditional house

Aboriginal dancers in traditional costumes

Arena

Mr. Lee gave a party at a Japanese restaurant and invited us, Mark, Ian, Vicky, and Ethan, their daughter Sabrina and her husband Randy (they had also been students at WT). We had a very delicious dinner. and took some pictures.

Mark, M. and Mrs. Lee, Sabrina, her husband, Vicky, Ethan--Ian took the picture

Monday and Tuesday

11/11/2010

On Monday Mark had the day off, so we went to a city north of Taipei, I think: Tan Sui. It is on the ocean, so we walked on the boardwalk and watched the fishermen. Tan Shui bridge

Fishing from breakwater

Sleeping Confucius Mountain

Fishing boats from bridge

Boat ride ticket

Later we took a boat to the old street with the market. We saw lots of small stores and ate lunch in the Red Castle. That is an old house built by Portuguese. It's really beautiful in a functional way. I think the restaurant specializes in hot pot. We had several things to !eat. One was a kind of stew, very spicy, that had (I found out later; it is better not to ask, just eat and enjoy) pork tripe and blood. We also had a vegetable soup and rice. I loved the fried bread. It is similar to a bagel but a little bit sweet. Everything was very good. When I went to the restroom, all they had was traditional facilities. Oh man!

Red Castle restaurant

View to the sea from restaurant

Playing a game

Buddhist nuns from boat

Checking the trash

We rode the boat back to the boardwalk and left to see an army museum. After a very twisty ride, we discovered that it is, like many Taiwan museums, closed on Monday. We looked through the gate and saw some figures dressed in fatigues--statues. It was getting dark, so we returned to Mark's house.

Statues at army museum

11/09/2010

On Tuesday, Mark had several classes, so Joyce and Aileen came from Hsinghu to take us out for the day. We had breakfast at McDonalds while Mark went on to school. They got through the traffic to meet us there.

It was still early, about 8:30, so we went to a national park near Neihu. It was up a very twisty road on the mountain. They wouldn't tell us what we were going to see; they just let us smell it when we got near enough: a sulfur spring. As we got nearer, we could see a cloud coming up from the moutain. We walked up the path, and there were dozens of openings in the rocks with steam and sometimes water coming out. It was a very beautiful and peaceful place. On the way down we went through a nature park.

Sulphur springs park

Then they took us into Taipei where we made several stops. One was a street of fabric shops. I found a few things to take home. We went on to a place where they make a meat snack. The pork is sliced very thinly and dried as thin as paper. The street where we parked was so narrow there was only room for one car at a time.

Making steamed buns

We went into a department store for lunch at a bun chain restaurant. They make a large variety of buns. We had pork soup buns and pot stickers in a spicy sauce, a green vegetable, and a sticky rice and red bean cake. It was all delicious. Before we went in, we watched the chefs make buns. I took some pictures. We also went to a bakery.

Election banners

Afterwards we went to Garrett's favorite, the Eslite 24-hour bookstore. The collection is more varied than a Borders or Barnes & Noble, and lots of people were browsing there. We also went downstairs to the children's bookstore. Aileen and I talked about the Caldecott medal and some of the books we have in common. (She is a kindergarten teacher.)

It was time for Mark's dinner party. He invited some of his school staff and some of the students we knew: a math teacher, a Chinese teacher (Mark teaches history), Michelle and Gian Carlo, Joyce, Aileen, Vicky and Ian, and another student we had not met, Tony. We had so many foods I can't remember them all and had to resort to just taking a small amount of each.

The main dish was roast duck. We were served the crackly skin dipped in a sauce and folded into a rice tortilla. It was exceptional. Later they brought in slices of the duck to dip in the sauce and eat. I'm not a big fan of dark meat, but duck is so delicious I can't resist it. I think I will gain 10 pounds on this trip. We also had some soups and shrimp and spicy celery.

The men from the school brought us cups engraved with out names and a paper weight made of crystal. They seemed to understand some English, but were reluctant to speak. I think that is frequently true here. They are taught English like we used to be taught foreign languages, reading and writing to pass a test, but not much listening and speaking.

Mark's house

11/9/2010

Let me tell you about Mark's house. He lives in a gated community just outside of Taipei. The high school where he teaches is in Neihu nearby. The homes here are in twos with a parking garage undeneath. He drives into the garage and backs into his space which also contains a motor scooter. You open the door and climb 4 short flights of stairs to his door. The other home door is one flight down. If you climb one more flight, you will come to a door that opens to the front, but it is not his front door. I think it just gives access for mail and services.

When you come in the door, there are more stairs, up and down. The top floor is his bedroom and bath. The next is a study and and a small extra bedroom. The next floor down is the main floor: living room, his son's room (18 and in college), big bath and laundry. Then down another floor to the guest room and kitchen.

Our bedroom is Japanese style with tatami mats and futons. There is an armoire on one side and a low table beside it. On the table is a shelf unit with a Buddha, teapot, and several things that are probably special to him. There is a low lamp in one corner. One wall is a closet with large, deep drawers for storage of the bedding and other things. The room is a step up and closed off with sliding screens. It is very comfortable.

Doors to guest room
Futons

There is a living area outside the guest room. He has a big screen TV and an audio setup with a CD player, vacuum tube receiver and a radio. The sound is very nice. We can watch children's programs, CNN in English, National Geographic also in English with Chinese subtitles, and other channels in Chinese.

Armoire and chest with display shelves

I am sitting in the dining area, divided from the rest of the room by an antique carving about 4' high and 5' long. It is gorgeous and interesting. The table looks to be made of walnut and has a lazy Susan and 6 chairs. Behind me are 2 small tables with the hot water pot and some other things.

Dining table with lazy Susan

Through the door behind me at the table is the bathroom. It includes a large lavatory, a shower stall, and the toilet area. The shower has a a spigot, a rain showerhead, and one on a hose you can hold in your hand.

The kitchen is through the other door in the dining area. It has a sink, dishwashing apparatus, fridge, microwave, convection oven, and a stove top with 2 burners. There is a door to a storage area.

The carvings are remarkable. There are 3 of them, all about the same size 4' x 5', made of a wood I cannot identify. It is about the color of walnut, but with a a different grain, and must have come from huge trees. I can't say what the carvings are about. They are probably Chinese legends. Mark says they are old.

We are going to the floral exposition today wih Ian's parents, so I need to get ready. We had a full day yesterday with Joyce and Aileen.

Taipei

11/8/2010

On Saturday Mark gave us breakfast in a traditional Taiwanese shop. We had warm soy milk and dumplings and a fried bread. It was a very busy shop. Mark said they used to have a picture of G. Bush 41 eating there. Afterwards we went to the National Palace Museum. Last time we were in Taipei the main building was closed for repairs. It is a beautiful building and includes treasures Chiang Kai Shek brought from the mainland in 194. The PRC would still like to have them back.
Ticket for National Palace Museum

Garrrett and Mark at the museum

We saw some amazing things. There is a cauldron with writing inside and a bronze bell. Mark said they both are very old. In that room there was a power-point type presentation of the development of writing. I really liked that. We saw paintings and calligraphy and poems, statues and carvings and things made of bamboo, a huge statue of Buda, the belongings of an emperor who loved tiny things. There was a box of jade and ivory treasures that were 1/2 to 1 inch tall. The amazing thing is that they were intricately carved. We saw a couple of things that had magnifying glasses with them so you could see them: a tiny boat, a bug made of an olive pit, a basket made from a walnut shell. There were several items of one piece of ivory carved so that one was inside another with no seams or way they could have been separately carved and then assembled. One of the prizes of the collection is a Chinese cabbage (think bok choy) carved out of a piece jade that ranges from white to green. It has a couple of grasshoppers on it (http://online.wsj.com.article/SB118549131061379569.htmlwsj.com.article/SB118549131061379569.html).

There were absolute herds of mainland Chinese who had come in buses.

Afterwards Mark took us to a nearby town which has a pottery and porcellan street. There was one vase that stood about 8' high. One shopping area looked like a kiln--that was the entrance. I bought a celedon green vase.

We had been invited to a party in a restaurant that specialized in Taiwan-style food. Some of the things we ate were squid, fried rice, conge (rice and yam pudding), hot and sour soup, fried oysters, pig's feet. sweet & sour shrimp, I can't remember everything. There were about 1.5 dozen of us there: Gian Carlo and Michelle, Grace, Chen (we didn't know her), Joyce, Aileen, Ivy and Tim with Max and Luke, Ian and Vicky with Ethan, Lan Li, Ally, maybe others. Ian, Vicky, Ethan

Michelle and 2 others

Ally and Lan Li

Ivy and Max

Michelle and Gian Carlo

Michelle, Aileen, and Joyce

Tim and his son

There is an international floral exhibitien,n here for six months, and a lot of preparation has gone into getting ready for the opening this weekend. The center islands and medians have been planted with colorful flowers and coleus. There are 6 venues all over Taipei. We plan to see the bonsai and some other exhibits on Wed. One of the venues is set up in a funny yellow tent that reminds me of a children's TV character on Chinese TV.

Elections will be held in about a month, so there are lots of flags and billboards.