Arrival in Taipei

The last time I flew to Taipei an uncle who was no longer my uncle picked me up at the airport. It was my first solo trip overseas. I was groggy from the flight and was concerned I wouldn't recognize him. He found me and helped me with my bags before leading me out into a night so humid that it felt like walking into a bowl of soup.

Last night, I arrived tired but in good spirits. Approaching immigration I started to wonder whether I needed a visa. I realized I hadn't really prepared for this trip. I said hello and gave my passport to the officer. He didn't respond. He took my documents, stamped a visitor visa in a crowded corner of a page, and waved me through.

I called Sophia from a pay phone. She had been circling the airport looking for parking. She said she'd pick me up in front of the terminal.

We drove along the highway into the city. The ride reminded me of Bangkok and, to a lesser extent, Cairo, with their superhighways connecting the various neighborhoods. The streets were deserted compared to what I had remembered. Sophia told me the crowds depended on the neighborhood.

Almost immediately she started talking about restaurants. She suggested a place specializing in Taiwanese food, and another that had the best soup dumplings in Asia. She called Ed to discuss our options. The hour was becoming late, and restaurants were starting to close. When I arrived at Ed's apartment, he told me of a place around the corner that had the best scallion pancakes he had ever had. He told me that there was always a line in front of the stall. I knew I'd eat well.

We met up again with Sophia on a street of small restaurants. The soup dumpling place had stopped accepting customers for the night. We decided to try a Chinese restaurant called Wind and piled into a cab.

The meal was delicious, including some of the best hollow vegetables I have ever had, served in a soy based broth. We chatted until late; the traffic dwindled. We left nearing midnight.

This morning I woke up early. I walked across Da An park and along an elevated highway to Sophia's house. Her sister let me in; Sophia was still asleep. I met one of her nephews who showed me his collection of stuffed bears, and we whiled away the morning stacking them into pyramids. He refused to go to school, and so Sophia and I brought him along to breakfast. She took me to one of the best fried dough and bread sandwich places in the city, and then we walked Calvin to his school. As we neared, he slowed down, complaining about the heat and how tired he was. We took a bus the last few blocks, and almost had to drag him to the door.

We ran errands the rest of the day, stopping for eel bento boxes at a restaurant famed for that dish. When ordering, we only had to indicate the size of the box we wanted.

In the afternoon, jetlag hit, and I took a nap at Sophia's apartment. We met up with one of her friends at a new Sogo department store and had coffee at another nearby Sogo. I was barely awake. I finally saw the crowds I had been missing. Sophia told me that it was coming towards the end of the department store's annual anniversary week and all the stores were running promotions.

She told me her brother had made reservations at a nearby Sichuan restaurant and we took the subway there. We arrived 20 minutes early, and I was tempted to take a nap on a bench in front of the restaurant. Looking over the menu, Ed was disappointed that they didn't have the true ma la Sichuan food. The waitress apologized and said that the Taiwan palette probably couldn't bear that level of spiciness. Ed settled on a noodle dish with four astrixes indicating their spiciest item; it wasn't so spicy in the end.

From there we went to have grass jelly at a place down the block. A line had formed and as we waited the line began to double back on itself. The grass jelly was placed on a bed of shaved grass jelly ice. I had mine with red bean, peanut, and sago. Afterwards, Sophia's brother led us to a new, well-decorated "art bar." I joked that all it lacked was an infinity pool to feel as if we were in Miami.The waitstaff was uncertain about the menu, and the drinks were weak. We quickly decamped to ReWine, where the head bartender had won regional mixology awards.

The bar was quiet, and we ordered our drinks. The mixed drinks were amazingly tasty. We played a few drinking games as other friends began to join our group. Nearing one, Sophia said she had to meet up with other friends at a club for a going-away party. I was waking up, but still tired. Jet lag was taking its toll. I said I'd be happy to sit in a corner at the next club, but Sophia said it would be jam packed. Ed wasn't feeling that vibe, and so we came home. I told Ed I wished the scallion pancake place were still open. He agreed and said it'd be perfect. I changed and admired the view, and prepared for bed.
Posted by eku at November 15, 2007 11:42 PM