A Broad Reference

BaoAnSi Celebrations from Misty FahYing on Vimeo.

The Bao An temple holds an UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage award. It's the only site in Taiwan to receive such an honor and is well worth the visit. The neighborhood is called Dalongtong, and the 200+year-old Bao An temple lies at the heart. Take the MRT red line north to Yuanshan Station, Exit 2. Turn left and walk up Gulung St, it's sign posted. Turn right at the 2nd light (Dalong St) and walk up to Hami St, you should be able to see the ornate temple gates and courtyard from the intersection. The deity housed there is Baosheng Dadi, a medical God; other Gods include Shennong (Farm God) & Mazu (Sea Goddess). The Confucius Temple is right next door but it's undergoing renovations currently and thus not open for viewing.

My friend Samson invited me to attend the Baosheng Cultural Festival. It a series of celebrations at Bao An Si that last a whole month (centering around the 15th of the 3rd lunar month) culminating in fireworks, procession of resident deities, street performances, religious ceremonies and fire walking.
In the video short above I've tried to give you a flavor of the number of people crowded into a relatively large space (so think LOTs of people), the sounds of the various celebrants and the street performers-martial artists, cherry blossom dancers & paper mache masked umbrella toting maternal ancestors , and the giant Shenou (God puppets) that dance and whirl thru the area. Frustratingly, everywhere I stood, someone taller than me (I'd like to be a tall person) came and parked right in front, so my views are slightly obscured, but I was pretty lucky and managed to get up front & see most everything.
Everyone has the most amazing cameras and telescopic lenses. I felt kind of dorky using my little point and shoot. Both sides of the courtyard had stairs or scaffolding that permitted a significantly larger number of people to take shots of the courtyard activities. At one point I had maneuvered in to position with an excellent view, only to find that the reason the area was unoccupied was because of firecrackers piled there. Pretty exciting moments to have all those explosions happening so close at hand (or foot rather). I could feel the percussions pounding thru my shoes, paper shreds hitting my face, and the billowing smoke chokingly acrid and smarting.

The floats are covered in flowers and lights for both day and nite processions. The shenou wait patiently for people power, while the martial artists demonstrate their prowess by breaking as many weapons as possible. Each musician is a soloist in their own right. Gods stride past on their way to the temple main doors (only opened on special days for the Gods to enter thru). Inside the temple itself, there were so many offerings that they had to add rows and rows of tables. The special day was extremely lucky and meant good health for supplicants, so it was crowded and busy. The air was heavy with the incense and burning joss paper.

After sunset, a large paper lion was installed in the courtyard and massive numbers of firecrackers/fireworks strung up around the square. More and more people cram into the space until it's impossible to move. Then when the TV stations signal the go-ahead, the firecrackers & "cascading" fireworks are set off, each strand setting off another couple of strands till it's impossible to hear, all you can feel is the pulsing impact from explosions. Suddenly the paper lion erupts into flames as fireworks cannon out, whizzing off to shatter into showers of multi colored sparks that rain down cinders & ash into the crowd. All the people who originally jockeyed into the front for a good view, surge backwards from the cacophony, while the people at the back press forward, determined to see the most of the display. Having learned from the earlier exploding moments, I was safely ensconced on the temple steps, with a relatively decent view altho again all the tall people seemed to have banded together. I think my eardrums aged a couple years from the overload on sound. If you're suffering from Post Traumatic Stress this would not be a recommended activity.
Shutter speed is still too slow for good pics in the dark. I'll ask Ange is she has any good shots.

A fun and interesting day.

Posted by Misty at 02:10 PM | Permalink

photo by WIM ROBBERECHTS Copyright © 2007

What's this? How did I become an internationally infamous movie starlet? you ask.

Well not really famous or distributed in any way so far. My room mate Angelica has a friend- Jack, who needed some (let's say) "international" looking/sounding people to appear on a short for a bushiban (cram school where they teach English/Chinese/Japanese/Korean). Initially I had plans to attend a Taiwanese Temple Celebration and I said no thanks.
But halfway thru the day, Ange called- they were desperate and would I re-consider doing it? As a favor to Ange, I agreed to show up and recite some lines.

I had to say "Chinese culture is so rich and complex. I wish I could understand the language, then I would really appreciate Chinese art! But where can I learn Chinese?!!"
and then really frustrated "Where can I learn Chinese?!!
Things they never tell you about the glamorous world of film:
Look into the camera without shifting your eyes- apparently mine were shifty and squinty.
Don't "overact" just talk like you would with a friend- My eyebrows were working too hard
Put some "real" emotion into it- I was kind of... too stiff (make up your mind huh?!)
Don't laugh at the end of the take- it really makes you seem not professional/sincere ;^)
Acting is mostly waiting around for everyone else to flub their lines- for close to 1 1/2 hours and then finishing my lines in 10 minutes (6 takes)!
and for my pains- NT$1000 kuai (US$30)
No pictures coz my memory card was full from the temple stuff. Altho now I wish I had ditched some of the old ladies dancing to record my taste of fame and glamor.

Posted by Misty at 11:31 PM | Permalink

The Taipei Weekend Flower market is located under an elevated freeway on Jianguo Lu section 1. It's normally parking during the week, and during the weekend the space is converted into various markets where vendors can sell things out of the oppressive sun/rain that makes being outdoors a challenge here in Taiwan. On the north end there is a Jade Market, then the Flower Market, followed by the Gallery Market (where you can buy "art"). I was pressed for time so will have to explore the other markets another weekend. There are 2 stops that are pretty close by, Blue line Zhongxiao Xinsheng Exit 4 puts you out on Zhongxiao East Lu. Continue east on Zhongxiao Lu & turn right onto Jianguo Lu. Keep walking, you should see the Jade Market under the freeway. It's pretty crowded with people buying jewelry, but it looked like a lot of fun (I'm definitely going back to check it out). A few blocks south, the Flower market starts. From the Brown Muza line, take the Da'an Park stop (not sure what exit sorry) and walk west on XinYi Lu till you see the south end of the flower market. Note: all the green bits you see in this shot are brought in for the flower market. Normally this space is just bare concrete.

You can buy almost anything plant related. Pots of all shapes and sizes, potting mix, fertilizers and ground cover. I'm inspired to dig and hoe and scatter the good seed on the ground. To that effect I bought (of course) edible plants- basil, rosemary and mint, as well as some interesting decorative plants to keep on the porch outside my window. It's really amazing how much better I feel having some plants to look out at instead of the concrete and iron bars (it's like prison). So many apartments look like mini jungles- I guess it's pretty easy to grow things with the high humidity and tropical sun.

The market was packed with people thinking about green things and gardening now that spring has arrived. You can get hi-tech hydroponic/sprinkler systems, and more orchids.
You can even get trees!

Posted by Misty at 02:36 AM | Permalink

ShiLin Nite Market is THE Nite Market to visit in Taipei. It started out more than 100 years ago centered around a local temple. It's very popular and in recent years experienced enormous growth- now a massive warren of alleys and lanes filled with people swarming the food carts and pawing thru the clothes and nicknack's. There seem to be a large number of roving vendors, that operate under the radar, since if the police wander by checking licenses, they all dodge away down little back alleys and trundle out after the police are past. They set up their carts in the middle of the street forcing the crowds to swirl and eddy around as people to stop to sample and buy the treats. Apparently this is quite a tradition, dating back to immigrants from China clashing with local aborigine villagers forcing them to flee into the Yamingshan mountains. In order to sell their goods they had to "ghost" in and out of the ShiLin area to avoid notice- Ghost Market is another name for the area. There's a massive food court area built that was supposed to control food sanitation and crowding in the streets. But its a fairly well acknowledged fact that the best stalls are still in the older section (altho the popular ones also maintain stalls in the new food court) it just hasn't achieved the critical mass the planners had hoped for. The most excellent tasty Chou Doufu (fried/stewed stinky tofu) stall is near the intersection of the temple street and the main strip altho I can't tell you the name of the stall or the streets? Just walk till you see a long line of people facing towards the stinkiest spot in the area. Sahm Shung Di (tofu pudding) doufu hua is packed all the time. Near the movie theater, there is a long line of people waiting for the deep fried chicken fillet. Again you notice the line around the block for one stall and the almost lifeless neighbor (victim to the ruthless Taiwan foodie standards).

Earwax? Eh? speak up I can't hear you. If you've had problems with your hearing the first place to stop is the earwax removal stand. for a couple hundred kuai, you can have a paper tube inserted into your ear, set alight and wait patiently for the wax to get sucked out into the tube. Afterwards the paper tube is cut open to reveal your collection of ear wax for you to gasp in astonishment (and your friends' to laugh & take pictures) over what was housed in your auditory canal.

The first cart we stopped at was rectangular duck blood sausages cooked in a steam box, dipped in spicy sauce, peanut dust and green onion. Dense and chewy this is a hearty meal in it's own right. Good thing Jenny and I are sharing everything. Ginormous sausages and special squid ink sausages are porkly rich and tasty. Definitely cholesterol on a stick... We pass on the gelatinous stuffed dumplings in favor of the ubiquitous oyster omelet- crispy egg outside stuffed with oysters, veg & amoeba like filling smothered in spicy sauce (aka booger pancake according to Jenny). These are the specialty of the area, and everyone has their own version. I can't get over how few oysters there are and how accurately booger describes the experience. Next on the list Frogs' eggs drink (you can see the green frog with eggs coming out of it's ass)- delicious tapioca pearls stewed in brown sugar, with milk and ice. For an extra $10 kuai you can add Lime "jello" made from the spongy white stuff that used to be a small brown ball. Altho a fantastic concoction, it seems to succeed despite the marketing (it really does look like frog's eggs). Other tasty treats are shaved seed & nut brittle, BBQ'd chicken butts, deep fried pastry- rolled in rice flour pancake. An interesting candy is a zillion sugar threads stretched out, then wrapped around peanut or sesame fillings. On the way out we pass a stall where you can tell that cooking corn over the grill is hazardous- the guy has a burnt red face and singed eyebrows. Stop at the shaved ice stalls and fruit stands for a traditional Taiwanese summer treat of fabulous fruit snacks.

Altho it's called the ShiLin Nite Market, the best MRT stop is JiantanZhan. Stalls are open from about 5:30 pm till well after midnite and the last train home. Start anywhere and wander till you overload on the crowds.

Posted by Misty at 12:03 AM | Permalink

It's rained pretty much every day that I've been here. Before it was a kind of drizzly
cold rain with gray skies interspersed by hefty downpours, all in unbelievably cold weather. Seriously!
It's still raining but the rain is now a more sideways torrential bucket poured over your head type, so loud that I can't hear the construction going on next door. I realize now that I miss (by comparison) the gentle freezing rain of winter (not to be confused with actual frozen precipitation such as snow, sleet or hail). Now the rain is warmer but then everything gets kind of mildewy smelly very quickly and there's mold growing on the walls. Yuck. I've wiped down the walls with bleach using Wendy's patented method for mold abatement, let's hope that works.
I'm not complaining actually, but this is my reality right now. The only other place where I lived that rained as many days (altho not as torrential) was England. Along with the water comes the hot weather, and I am such a delicate wilting flower. I've started walking around under an umbrella even when the sun is out, coz when it's sunny it's HOT- the sidewalks steam.

You can still find some winter holdovers- like the random roasted chestnut cart. I'd always read in books about roasting chestnuts by the fire. Sung about them in carols, but never actually really eaten one. So I plonked down my NT$15 kuai ($0.50US) and bought a bag of toasty warm brown smoky chestnuts. The lady selling them could tell I had no idea how to eat them, so she gave me a quick demo. And then I found out why they always say "as brown as chestnuts"... Roasted chestnuts make your hands black!

But as the weather gets hotter, the cherry trees all blossom and look so pretty! Up in the Fern Garden they got a spectacular display.

Last spring my cousin Monica invited me and Gwynie out to Dry Creek Peach and Produce to thin the peach crop. It was tough removing all of the perfectly formed baby peaches on many levels. I felt like each peach was a summer moment waiting to happen, so I was very reluctant initially to choose which one got the axe. But if they all stayed on the branch, they wouldn't get enough nutrients or room to grow and would break the branches that were mostly skinny new growth. It was also very hot and hard work to stand on a ladder with your arms raised for what seemed an interminable age. Our instructions were to reduce the number of peaches on a branch to about 4-5 (on alternating sides) depending on the strength of the branch. We just dropped the green fruit on the ground, they were too green and tough to eat. After about 2 hours of work we'd finished off about 4 trees in a 10 acre plot. It really gives one a new respect for farm work and where our food comes from. The result of all that hard work is ambrosia!
picture courtesy of Dry Creek Peach and Produce

Here in the Taiwanese markets, of course there's a use for these discarded baby green peaches (which are a sign that summer stone fruit is just around the corner). Brined baby peaches- taste like salted plums crossed with crab apples. Crunchy and slightly sweet salty from the brine. The first time I ate some I got the worst stomach ache from the green fruit. But that thankfully has subsided and I've happily added these to the breakfast rotation.

Posted by Misty at 11:12 PM | Permalink

This one is for Kelly and Gwynie who both spend their days trying to make things safe for the rest of us.

Taiwan has a much more relaxed attitude about safety requirements. It's generally possible to wander thru unsecured building sites, stepping over tools and building debris. Sometimes it's not clear where the job site starts and the sidewalk ends... I'm not sure what the accident/injury rates are?

I snapped this one near my little lane, where there is a gas supply company down the way. They're pretty busy and get shipments of tanks of gas for fuel every other day or so. If your tank (think BBQ gas tank on GIANT steroids) runs out of fuel (used for heating your water and high BTU stove), you just phone down to the store and they'll run over another tank in about 5-10 minutes or so. The turn around is very fast and is made possible by the form of transportation they use.

It's pretty common to see up to 6 tanks loaded onto a scooter with the guy smoking a cigarette as he zooms past. However they're always too fast for me to get a good shot. So I made sure to get a stationary pic of unattended bike. The delivery guy was away dropping off a tank.

Anyway the other thing I noticed is how many people do some form of arc welding without protective gear, this is also a fairly common sight.

I've seen teams of construction workers on the side of a building using blowtorches to remove metal gratings. No one was harnessed and there were no safety lines preventing the gratings from dropping on the heads of people nonchalantly walking directly underneath (the area was not secured). I didn't think to take a pic so you'll just have to take my word.

Posted by Misty at 06:09 PM | Permalink

Here's a picture of Danshui fishing village. After the terminus of the MRT was completed in Danshui, there's been quite a change from this original maritime scene to that of Taipei locals' weekend destination spot. Known for it's good food, historical sites, and pleasant riverside bike path, families spend their Saturday or Sunday afternoons wandering around or cycling the area. It's surrounded on all sides by mid-rise apartment blocks, and housing prices rocketed in the area, since now you can commute easily into the city center in about 35 minutes.

Kind of nice to be able to get away from Taipei, altho it feels like Taipei has followed you there.

I loved the juxtaposition of the Earth God shrine and the high power electricity pylon.

I went with Samson and Yi-Ling to the Mangrove Interpretive Center behind Hongshulin Station. Then we walked along the boardwalk/bike path thru the mangroves to Danshui. It was pretty sunny and warm- one of the few days so far! We saw a ton of birds and crabs (but those pics didn't turn out so well).

See my previous post for food options.

Posted by Misty at 05:46 PM | Permalink

boomp3.com

Today I had total brain freeze in class. We're doing possessive "de"
and it's not the same as Spanish "de" (of course). Somehow my brain
really got freaked out by that and just shut down, so I couldn't
recognize any words at all. Kind of frustrating since normally I'm
doing ok in class.

I've started dreaming in Chinese, altho I can't understand what
they're saying yet, i guess it means my subconscious is trying to
process my experiences.

My apartment is not super well insulated for sound so i can hear the
neighbors, and just the other day I started to understand their
conversation. which at the time was cool, but prolly later will
become annoying.
haha

Posted by Misty at 10:33 PM | Permalink

The title is a quote that Gwynie has posted on her G'IM. It's from an old favorite of ours, the Wombles who were environmentalists before it was trendy.
They had a great vinyl album 'Wombling Songs' that we would sing along with all the time.
Here's a classic episode,

I wish I could find the song itself...
Exercise is Good For You (Laziness Is Not)

Standing on your tiptoes, running on the spot,
Exercise is good for you, Laziness is not!

Up in the morning for a five mile run,
Down to the river for a swim:
Biceps a-bulging, it's all good fun,
Chest out and keep your tummy in!

I just discovered the local municipal gym. Right across from Chiang Kai Shek memorial, the multi story facility is accessible to anyone who has NT$50 ($1.60 US) to spend on a workout. They have a 50 meter pool, steam room, sauna, heated pool for babies and old folks, and a fairly well equipped cardio room in addition to the weights, weight machines, yoga mats, balls and stationary cycles. I'm pretty excited about this discovery which means that I can maintain my workouts for relatively low costs.

My roommate Dee and I walk the backstreets down to the river with the dogs. Then Dee runs and I walk till we meet up and then turn around.

I also found a fabulous set of slides all polished up and great fun. I could do the stairs all night if the reward is a good 30 foot drop on luge style slick concrete. I can't believe they're for kids, it's pretty intimidating. As close to walking the pipe as you get in a tropical country.

A large adult male at the very top of the slide (for scale of reference)

Just in case you wanted the rest of the lyrics

Exercise is Good For You (Laziness Is Not)

Standing on your tiptoes, running on the spot,
Exercise is good for you, Laziness is not!
One, two, three, four, bouncing on your feet,
Where is Orinoco? -- Probably asleep!

Up in the morning for a five mile run,
Down to the river for a swim:
Biceps a-bulging, it's all good fun,
Chest out and keep your tummy in!

Jumping in your gym shoes, skipping with a rope,
If you haven't got the energy you haven't got a hope.
Running in the morning, (good for the thighs)
Running in the evening, (good for the eyes).

Physical exertion makes you strong,
Keeps you alert and slim:
Just keep skipping and you can't go wrong,
You'll be sound in mind and limb.

Left, right, left, right, up down, stop!
Is anybody tired yet? -- Tomsk is not!
Puffing like a steam train, running like a horse,
Is anyone for tennis now? -- Tomsk of course!

Poetry in motion, legs in line,
Pressing up and pressing down, four-four time.

Posted by Misty at 11:37 PM | Permalink