Only in Taipei? — The crazy adventures of The Oes

Here are some cool discoveries over the last couple of months:

1. Fabric awesomeness. We went to the Yong Le fabric mart this weekend, and were amazed by how much cute stuff there was. Not only are there fabric stores, but there are also bead shops galore. And yarn shops (we actually MOVED yarn here from the US, so there was no way I was going to buy more yarn to move back). We did buy a bunch of fabric, though (as seen on our coffee table)...to be used for when we go back to the States. We don't have a sewing machine here!

2. Restroom real-time display. Have you ever seen anything like this? This was up outside the women's bathroom in a subway station here. It tells you what stalls are occupied. It also tells you what kind of toilet is in each stall - some are squat holes and others are western toilets. I wonder what "Investigation Alert" really means (too stinky? clogged toilet? suspicious backpack?)

3. Huge spiders just hanging out. Joe and I now regularly go hiking up Elephant Mountain. It's become our "Dish" here in Taipei. Instead of a paved trail, though, there are cobblestone stairs. So many that it actually takes quite a bit of concentration to go up and down them. It's just across the street from our place, and is really quite a workout. It's also very lush and green.

There are a few stopping points up the mountain, where you get some great views of Taipei 101 and the city. And sometimes you just might spot a spider the size of your hand.

Huge spider in the foreground, Taipei 101 in the background

From left to right (chinese/japanese packages): strawberry wafer, green tea ice cream, double chocolate cone, black sugar wafer, milk caramel wafer, green tea ice cream popsicle, pudding popsicle.

4. The frozen section in 7-Eleven. Geez there are lots to choose from. My personal favorite is the Royal Milk Tea ice cream - I have never seen that flavor before in the US. The wafers are also really good - especially the caramel one. I finally got to try a bit of the pudding pop - it's really quite delicious.

5. A sixty-year old Wushu teacher doing splits in her white skinny jeans. Chloe really wants to continue her practice Wushu here while in Taipei, so we went to check out a Wushu studio. I found that the Taipei Wushu Association offers classes, and the director offered to meet us there on Saturday morning. She spoke to me about their philosophy, their way of teaching, etc. It then came time for Chloe and Zoe to show her a form. The director watched quietly. Then she politely commented on their horse stance. And then she broke out some Five Stance herself, as well as some splits at the end. We were all in awe. Turns out she's been doing Wushu since she was nine. Note in the photo that she still has her sunglasses on her head, and her cell phone in her hand.

I think she could have been in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon.

This was in an art classroom, the kids are all lying on the art desks.

6. Cardiac tests in public elementary school. The school offers free tests to all students to make sure they don't have any cardiac abnormalities. Each student gets their ECG taken. I went to school to see what it was about, as I was a little worried that they'd lift up the kids' shirts in public.

7. A dog in a hamper on the back of a bike, with its own umbrella. This guy was awesome. He had a bike with a laundry hamper secured on the back. The dog was the cutest thing: it had a pink scarf on. And it would follow its owner after it did its business.

There's even an umbrella in the back for the dog.

8. Parasite tests. You can figure this out based off of Zoe's expression and the drawings on the form. Joe did it (yay!) At least the procedure was performed first thing in the morning.

9. Loyalty points in exchange for ounces of meat. We went to a restaurant called Butcher's Kitchen, where we ordered two 1.5 kg hunks of beef. Very good meat. Taiwanese love loyalty programs, and this place had a loyalty card that allowed you to accumulate points in exchange for grams of beef. I think that piece of meat was bigger than Joe's head.

10. Very long, hilly, escalators. This escalator is probably the longest one I've ever seen or been on. You'll see that there's a portion that goes flat in the middle, so that it's not too steep. This one is in the subway station right next to our place.