Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: Nightlife

  • Johnnie Wa*ker

    We do quite a bit of work for Diageo at DEM – something I rarely complain about. Friday saw a large party in aid of their ‘Centenary Blend’ Johnnie Walker Gold product. The result was a large amount of free Whiskey and a storming hangover which seemed to last the duration of the weekend. I would say I have learnt my lesson, but that is blatantly untrue.

    My crazy new white shoes – one-offs from HK

    The dance floor at the end

    Nelson & Christina give it the attitude … and next weekend will be a bit more healthy 😉


    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • 45 Hours in Hong Kong

    Friday Night
    I had been looking forward to meeting Ele in Hong Kong for the last month, ever since she gave me dates for her visit to Beijing and Xiamen. The planning, unusually, was perfect and I landed 5 minutes behind her, probably trailing her plane in on the final appraoch. It was, however, a touch late but we managed to make up for lost time with little difficulty.

    The hotel was amazing. Reasonable price, great location in the Mid Levels, and a jaw-dropping view of Central and accross to Stanley Bay and Kowloon. The 23rd floor bay view premium was worth every penny. Michael joined us on the 14th floor, lining up for a great weekend of meeting friends and family in the South China Sea.

    I felt pretty proud heading out there, with so many different groups of people that I knew. Plus, the fact that I had already visited Hong Kong twice meant that I had no need to do the tourist attractions. The eleation of landing there last year was replaced somewhat with the feeling of visiting a London, or perhaps Frankfurt. No surprises, but a pleasure to be here. What a different perspective a year provides!


    The stunning view from our hotel of Central, Hong Kong

    We met Lorenzo in his new apartment, ironically staying in Sun Yat Sens old hideout on Staunton Street, right in Soho but away from the bustle of Lan Kwai Fong. A nice little pad with balcony / boudoir. We sank a couple of glasses of wine and went off to meet Nick and Rich from the ‘Keep’ boutique store in Taipei, plus Anita and Pamela that I had the pleasure to meet a few weeks ago. Somehow, I seemed to have networked myself into the Hong Kong social scene remotely, since we hardly paid for a drink all night, and we got into three clubs for free. The homework paid off! The highlight was surely Dragon-i – packed with models and apparently celebrities and the jewel in the crown of the HK scenes to see and be seen.


    Party people at Dragon-i

    Saturday
    A rather blurry start to the day, but Ele and I went off to meet Anita + Michael and we pootled off to the equivalent of Wufenpu clothes market in Taipei, except for young clothing designers. Four floors of edge, attitude, and glamour. I picked up a pile of pieces plus shoes and felt pretty pleased with myself.

    In the evening we went off to rather a splendid Shanghai restaurant in the ‘Money’ building called Nan Guo (more or less). Anita had selected the dishes remotely for us so navigating the menu was not too intimidating. The cool thing was allowing the waiters to prepare the food in front of you – stuffing parcels, cutting bits of meat, mixing things – adding to the feeling of a ritual. Similar to the experience I have had with Japanese food. All part of the theatre.

    Of course, we had to go out after. Several bars turned into several clubs – the best of which was Lamaya (or something) which had a German deejay on hand dishing up tight house and techno to a dancing crowd of foreigners and locals. The scene is certainly different here. They seem far more ready to dance to music they have not heard before, unlike Taipei where pop / RnB floor fillers are the safe norm. Equally, fashion here is more developed and western. Less need to flash well-known brand names and more desire to have things that only people in the know will get.


    Michael in Morocco, it seems

    Sunday
    Waking up to the sound of apes howling is a little disarming.

    Cracking open my eyes, I realised that of course our hotel was located 23 floors above the monkey sanctuary of the zoo. The one Ele and I saw last year! It certainly confused me for a good few seconds before the pain of the alcohol hit me as a mosquito would a motorbike helmet – if I am the mosquito. We trundled downstairs to eat breakfast and wait for Lorenzo and the beach!


    One more view of our view – the bulk of my photos had the lens pointed between our curtains! If you close your eyes, you can hear monkeys…

    Repulse Bay – surely the coolest name… there must be good songs written about it – is on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. Rather developed, I realised after an hour there that this was exactly the afternoon I needed – not only for Hong Kong, but for the previous months in Taiwan where I have not left the city except on two wheels. I realised that I have not really been out of Taipei since I was in Thailand – such was the pace of change of my social life.

    I managed to drift off while lying on a floating deck moored 50m out, Lorenzo impressed his German architect girls by writing swear words in the sand, Ele looked pensively off into the distance, and we all watched the sun set while sipping Smirnoff Ice – surely what the stuff was designed for.


    Ele stares into the middle distance, feet in the South China Sea


    Lorenzo on fine form


    Run for the beach!

    Arriving back in Taipei was a wrench, especially to say goodbye to Lorenzo and Anita. I have a feeling I could be back at some point. You never know. I certainly like the place (could you tell?). After some Beijing food, Ele and I rolled to the airport and bid farewell – really, very tough for me. Not seeing her in 10 months and having her snatched away again was a bit rough. Such is the decision of living abroad. And as you can see, the lows come with very good highs. It’s rarely easy, but nearly alwaysrewarding, ultimately.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Guns and Roses London Fan Club

    Guns and Roses London Fan Club

    The old days in London! I’ll be seeing you rockers in the new year.

    “Slippery When Wet”

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Dior Dahling

    We had been looking forward to the Dior party for some time – held to commemorate the launch of the ‘Crystal’ ladies’ watch and hosted in the new stadium on Nanjing and Dunhu. A handsome building.

    Dior – Crystal

    The show’s invites instructed guests to be sure to wear warm clothing – it cryptically stated that the temperature could go as low as 18 degrees Celsius (positively Baltic!). Entering the stadium, it became immediately obvious why – the event was being held on an ice rink, with a strip of ice for the runway. Imaginative.

    The show started out promisingly enough, if rather Taiwanese. A very elegant ice skater gracefullty pirueted (check the spelling on that later!) her way up and down the strip in time with soothing music, indicating some kind of narative. No such danger.

    She departed and a pair of striking models strutted down either side flashing the watches, making for what turned out to be the pole dancing stage. Sadly / hilariously one fell over on a patch of melted ice and this introduced us to the remainder of the show, which was really rather naff – models pouting on next to pole miles away from the VIP / celebrity area (where I was enjoying the sports bottles of Champagne). Comedic value of models showing off the same watches for twenty minutes waned rather, but the Champagne took the edge off the boredom.

    The DEM guys – Rick, Charlotte, Rachel, Berti and I

    The next section completely baffled me. A man in a dark cape entered the ice arena, clearly tip-toeing for fear of his cranium. The chandalier at the centre of the stage descended and he dropped his cape to reveal he was a HUMAN DISCO BALL. Every inch of his skin was covered in mirror tiles, and the laser beams simultaneously pointing at him made sure your could not forget that fact. It also turns out he was incredibly flexible, and walked around very slowly flexing and bending. And then he left. And then I drank more Champagne. The End.

    The Human Disco Ball!
    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Maywa Denki


    Maywa Denki – Utter Insanity

    After a dangerously quiet weekend of staying in, eating well, avoiding alcohol (mostly) and mountain biking I got a tip from Michael to check out Japanese art rockers Maywa Denki at Luxy. Quite seriously, I have never had my mouth open for more at a concert – either in disbelief, awe or laughter. However, I am not quite sure which was stranger – the Japanese band, or the reaction by the Taiwanese, who predictably spent the concert sitting on the floor, as if at school.

    School Assembly

    Summing up the band is quite difficult. Indeed, the pictures fail to capture the charisma of the lead singer, or the stern, steely gaze of the ’employees.’ Stopping in the middle of the performance to explain that their musical instruments shed some light – “MANY MANY SWITCHIE, 100 VOLTIES, KA PAAANG!”


    The employees, with products behind… note my favourite star-shaped xylophones

    Maywa Denki used to be the lead singer’s Father’s company. Passed onto him, he deemed that art and rock were more important, but maintained a tight focus on product. As such, the musical instruments are controlled by the aformentioned switches and replicate guitars, percussion or exploding dolls. Goods can be ordered from theire web site here. Hard to sum up, perhaps these photos do a better job!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Absolutely Fabulous


    “Over here, Viv!”


    “Ta Dahhhhh”

    Dahlings,

    My social life took an explosive turn for the better this weekend, as a result of some special golden tickets and rivers of free booze.

    Friday:
    21:20pm Vivienne Westwood launch. Rather!
    12:30am MOS to see Crystal Method and dance my booty off.

    Saturday:
    19:30pm Japanese food at Dozo – Tarantino style joint.
    21:30pm Prada Launch. 86th floor, Taipei 101. Celebrities. Champagne. FABulous views.
    01:30am Room 18 club event … and I am almost falling over from too much expensive booze.
    04:30am Meet U2’s lighting designers and agree to get more smashed at Vibe.
    06:30am Continue session at Hyatt suite overlooking the mountains.
    08:30am Roll into cab.
    17:30pm Wake up with my face stuck to the pillow.

    … next weekend I will be more healthy. Promise.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Same Same … But Different

    A rather nice view from my bungalow overlooking the bay – so pleasant I fell asleep in my chair.

    Here I am on Koh Pangan – home of the Full Moon beach party. Well, it would be but it is not the time of the month so the place is a bit more chill. Though that is relative – techno music pours out of the beachside clubs til dawn and fire spinners and pyrotechnicians provide the special FX.

    Sadly, my time on the island is all too short, but I feel I have a good impresson of the place. The weather has been a bit crappy – resulting in choppy seas and a need to were a decent jumper in the wind, but I don’t really care because it is more pleasant than the stifling heat and humidity I left behind in Taiwan.

    My original plan had been to make it to the diving Mecca of Koh Tao, but that plan was scuppered by the fact that the plane on Koh Samui landed too late for the last boat out. All was well, however, as I got two dives in todayby taking the cat out to the island to join a dive boat for the day. The diving was okay – but buouancy problems as a result of the BCD slowly inflating constantly and a dive master that was less than fully attentive added to problems lowish vis and building confidence. It was okay, but overall a bit mediocre.

    Tomorrow, I have most of the day on the beach, and then I catch the plane back to Bangkok for a last night in the city. It has definitely been worth staying out here. The beach hut clinging to the cliff overlooking the palm tree sandy bay, the fantastic fresh food and fruit drinks and joining a different stream of people with their minds a thousand miles away from work.

    For now, though, I join the fire dancers and full bottles of beer on the beach!

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Mods ‘n’ Rockers

    What started out as a quiet night yesterday turned into an alcohol / petroleum fueled jaunt through Bangkok…

    I had a final walk along Koasan Street and got a wee bite to eat at the food stall at the end of the street. Quite surprised how early all the bars and clubs shut, I was pleased to get chatting to some local guys sprawled over some of the most beautifully preserved original Vespas I have seen. My enthusiasm clearly rubbed off on them and they quickly took me under their wing feeding me beer and banana pancakes before taking me on the most kinetic of Bangkok tours … on the back of a fire breathing, screaming mustard yellow Vespa scooter.

    Somewhat different from Taipei, these machines can wheely and smoke tyres at will. Screaming through the streets, stopping at secret night markets selling ‘borrowed’ items, and whistling at girls, boys and whatever in between gave me quite simply the widest grin that my face could handle. Adrenaline and alcohol stoked an overwhelming feeling of being very fortunate to be living in Asia.

    The guys hang out waiting for the action

    Beautiful machines looked even better at night time

    Today, I did the tourist thing and visited the obligatory Grand Palace (shiny), Temples (glittery), and food markets (tasty). I stay one more night here in Bangkok before jetting off to Koh Samui and then Koh Tao for some diving and hot beach action. I’ll land back in Bangkok on Wednesday ready for my flight back to Taipei on Thursday lunch time. But for now, I think it is time to go and join the music rattling by the window and crack open a beer. Enjoy!

    The Grand Palace in Bangkok

    Guards mark the entrance of the inner Palace

    While others seem more pensive…

    A ‘Wat’ (temple) on the south of the river

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • Thai Green Curry

    So now i am in Bangkok! I guess. Well, I know.

    It still totally amazes me when I land in another Asian country not so far away from Taiwan. Taiwan is strange, but I have got used to it by now, so coming to a place like Thailand is totally like falling off a log! But then I am like,”whoa, i am in Thailand” because I am in Thailand.
    The same thing happened to me in Hong Kong. I was like “whoa, I’m in Hong Kong”. Similarly, the root cause of that was because I was in Hong Kong.

    But it is funny to regress. I walk down the main strip (pun intended) in Bangkok (pun intended) and it is cool. But there are so many Beckham haircuts and guys with hair styled to within an inch of its life! And sweat bands. Lots of them. And plenty of skinny red bull t -shirts. And drunk people. As a result, there is a part of me that feels like I am back home in, like, Leeds or somewhere. Maybe it’s because there are not so so many bars in Taipei and certainly less foreigners.

    I think I like Thailand. Reading up on it (okay, opening the wrapper of the Footprint guide on the airplane) gave the impression it was some archietctural nightmare. Well, frankly, I feel that things being relative Bangkok feels just fine. Taipei is, after all, one of the most ugly cities I have ever been to. But it does have its many many charms of course.

    And the kids! The kids here rock. Maybe because the place was never colonised (remind me to find out why) there seems to be a certain confidence in the air. Like in europe. Something that does not exist in the same way in Taiwan. There, the hip hop / goth / rocker / prep kids seem to get their styles from a magazine. Here it seems a bit more flowy. Natural. And the motorbikes are way cooler. No need to display wealth and status – just coolth. I just walked by a bunch of guys with immaculate restored beemers. You would not find that in Taipei. Just the newest / most expensive / rarest.

    The only thing I feel uncomfortable with is the very visible sex industry. I have friends who are clearly into this, but I do not get the link. But it is amazing to see girls who look like boys who look like girls. Enough to make you drop your falaffal. The perhaps positive side of this (stretching a point) is that the girls not involved are very self-aware and switched on. I have only walked up and down one street and had two beers, but there is not this cutesy cutesy hello kitty tendency I see in Taiwan. More strut yo funky stuff and give boys the eye.

    And it is funny too – I think that when I get to a closer, warmer atmosphere I will meet some more people, but for now I have basically leaned against walls watching the world go by. Amazing and slightly abstract that I am here after such a bizarre week (moved house, got a new job, organised holiday – normally three things that I would count as stressful individually). Amazing that I actually made it and managed to squeeze so many abstract messages through my tiny brain. But I did it and next month will have some severe life upgrades. Looking forward to it.

    Well well. I am in Thailand. One hundered bobs and I am here! Yes. Just looked outside and it is the same. Related to Malaysia. Different totally. Interesting.

    For reference, I am staying at the Chart Guest House and will probably have another night there before heading out for some island action.

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…

  • July

    I had a fun night out with July, bumping into several friends on the way. Slowly but surely, I am fashioning a wee scene for myself. It’s slow, but it is happening! July and I continued on out and I thought it would be a good opportunity to show off a photo of the lady!

    She is rather amazing – able to speak German, Japanese, English and several dialects of Chinese. She is beginning French, and I have no doubt that she will also do well in that. “What does she do?”, I hear you say – she co-owns and runs the city culture website UrbanPeople and edits the events magazine Mini 14. She also works in a rather classy hotel full of Japanese businessmen in the centre of the city. So visit the site, sign up, and get involved!


    July & I

    The story of a British Industrial Designer in Taiwan…