My daily commute I wanted to put some effort into logging some of my (now) more mundane activites, which upon reflection may not be so standard for you folks back home. For those that do not know, I scooter to work each day on my trusty ‘Duke’ and this is one of the places where…
A great weekend! Amongst other nice things, I met Anita from Hong Kong and her friend. I took the time to take them to Shilin night market where we sampled foods, had portraits cut with scissors and where I was persuaded me to get my fortune told. The Hong Kong guys, and their first time…
Smoking stack The Taipei city council are a resourceful lot. Not only do they build a rubbish incinerator, but they heat a swimming pool from the excess energy. Not content with limiting themselves to mere swimming, they also saw fit to mount a revolving restaurant to the top of the multi-coloured chimney stack. Link to…
Kyle had a house warming party to show off his new apartment. It was easily the most impressive and well designed place I have seen in Taiwan so far, and certainly had a toilet with a fantastic panorama view over the mountains and Taipei. As is standard for a Friday night, however, the party started…
Asus held a truly astonishing Chinese New Year party for every one of its employees from all the sites in Taiwan. Figures ranging from 4,000 to 13,000 were mentioned – I am not really sure myself, but it was really cool to be lumped in with senior management, the Thai factory girls (some of which…
The Taiwanese really dig Christmas. I think it gives them an extra excuse to go shopping and certainly to decorate everything with more flashing LEDs. This is the local shop of lights – at any time of the year you will find appropriate lighting systems for Halloween, Chinese New Year, Christmas… or for any family…
Robin Smith from 4C Design in Glasgow visited for an evening – an old friend off my university course, PDE at the Glasgow School of Art. He was doing business in Taichung and swung by on his way home. It was a real pleasure to see him and we had some good fun. He had…
I had a quiet weekend (relatively speaking) and saw the Bienniel at the Contemporary Art Museum. I was quite impressed, and I plan to go back to catch the permanent exhibits as well. The building is pretty mental, in a modern Taiwanese mentally modern way. I’ll take some shots and you can judge for yourselves.…
This week I have made a concerted effort to get back into exercise – it is too easy on this island to slip into a routine of staying until ever more impossible hours at the office. Tonight, while riding on my way home from the gym at work I spotted an old man selling disco…
Just a strange photo of a bike carrying pigeons – surely on the way to slaughter! The range of strange motorcycle – related vehicles you see over here is incredible. Everyday the ride to work yields another permutation on what is seen as possible to carry on a 150cc bike. I’ll gather together the images…