Well, I seem to have dropped this blog for a while in favour of writing in the beautiful travel journal my good friend Betsy gifted to me when I left Melbourne. But I am now in the mood to again jot down my thoughts in the interwebby realm. Don’t worry, dear Journal, I shall endeavour to ensure you do not fall behind the bookshelf neglected and gathering dust.
Many, many things have been happening for me in the past few months. I have spent some time in New Zealand, catching up with family and friends, swimming most days, soaking up the sun and generally relaxing. Then, I jumped on a plane and come to Taipei (Taiwan) where I have been residing for the last three weeks.
My experiences of Taipei so far…
The pungent and strangely appealing aroma of stinky tofu at our local night market
The blues and greys of the Danshui River
New technology and modernity mixing so perfectly with tradition
People, people everywhere – much of their lives lived on the street rather than in their homes
Skyscrapers abruptly stop where mountains begin (no suburbs here, thank you)
Dancing at a dubstep gig to a DJ from Hong Kong, through clouds of cigarette smoke
Temple dragons peering out from the smallest of laneways or shop fronts
Tofu noodle soups and dumplings, oh how I love you both
Having chilli with everything
Using the pictures on the labels of supermarket products in an attempt to decipher their contents
Runny yoghurt
Fireworks being let off in the street amongst crowds of people
Office buildings holding competitions to see who can let crackers off for the longest period of time
Pulling out a map and collecting helpful locals almost immediately
Public buses being driven like race cars
Never having to wait longer than two minutes for a train
Dehua Street before Chinese New Year
Stone pathways that massage your feet
Butterflies that look like fallen, decaying leaves
I could go on forever but I won’t.
In case you’re interested, I have added my writing and project portfolios to the About page of jar full of buttons.
kate nicholson 