Tag: Transport

  • Maokong Gondola

    Nikki and I made a run for the city limits, and opted to test-out the newly restarted Maokong Gondola up into the hills.  I had attempted twice before to use the service, but prior to the landslide that began to undermine one of the pylons the crowds were simply too big.  Now?  Well, no-one wants to ride it, which is fine in my book as the queues are close to zero.

    Taipei is closer to nature than pretty much any other city that I can think of, and it’s nice to have access that does not involve hour-long climbs on the mountain bike.  A lovely way to spend a late afternoon, and fantastic to go and throw some hot water on some tea leaves and soak in the lovely sunset.  Wonderful.

    Widescreen.

    Shooting into the sky.

    Pensive, while pouring tea.

    Our sunshine account is running into the red.

    Lovely Bugatti blue seats on the underground back to the city centre.

  • Dog in a Basket on a Bike

    Dog in a basket, on a bicycle.  That is all.

  • Trans-Pacific Adventures


    Connections in Dallas

    I just landed from a three week trip to the USA, taking in Miami and Austin, with brief stops in San Francisco and Los Angeles. The last time I was here, was right at the end of my Cambridge University masters; and it therefore offers rather a convenient moment of Texan-style punctuation from which to reflect and digest.

    What a long way I have come. The first time was trans-Atlantic with nothing more than a backpack, a Greyhound ticket via San Antonio, a whim and perhaps a prayer. The next was trans-Pacific, taking in a global design conference, and with an extended stay at the Austin mothership, visiting colleagues that have become firm friends. I have, geographically-speaking at least, come full circle.

    It also allows me to look at my Asian experience and life through a different, Americana, lens. I am positive I could feel myself being ‘reculturalized’ (as our resident Cuban, Pedro, so eloquently puts it) back to Western ways in a way I did not feel when returning to Blighty, perhaps because I am on holiday when I head back there. It’s a good feeling to head back to the office with a bit more confrontational spirit and less of the passive-aggressiveness reticence.

    Usually, I enjoy writing these blog posts on the way through the trip. I think I felt some mild feeling of vertigo, however, as I imagined a virtual life in the USA, and re-imagined my Asian life; which felt more like a daydream, frankly – Kyoto to Taipei to Shanghai to Miami to Texas … what a head spin!

    Jet lag is oozing from every pore of my being right now … time to sort out some photos, unpack and have a coffee. Good to be back to the daydream!

  • Taipei Mega Architecture


    Intersections.

    I live pretty much slap bang downtown in Taipei, and I am forever amazed at the scale of my local motorway at the end of the street. The thing is, they posted it up on stilts, so it really does the double trick of magically disappearing and providing an incredible space right in the centre of the city. It also seems to be lit professionally, although I suspect that was more by accident than design.

    Anyway, on my way back from my semi-regular trips to the computer market, I thought I would take a few photos.


    Stairway to heaven


    Painting on the ceiling with light.


    Cathedral of the Automobile


    Juicy couture. And home.

  • Dopplr 2008

    I have been amusing myself over the past year with Web 2.0 darling Dopplr.com – essentially a set of tools to help plan, track, analyse and prod your travel, and allow you to see where fellow travelly friends are likely to be. It has taken quite some time to find anyone I know that uses it, but it has slowly grown into a nice thing that I believe has some potential, with a similar amount of interaction and intensity as Linked-In. This is actually an advantage in my view – I have a suspicion sites like Facebook that demand your everyday and immediate attention will fade as quickly as they appear. But I might be drastically wrong about that.


    My raumzeitgeist. Whatever that means.

    Along with the ‘social’ aspects of the site, it has some nice tools to make you feel guilty about the amount of carbon you are using (about 7500 kg for me in 2008 – oops!) and one or two fun toys, as you can see. We’ll see how it goes, but do connect to me if you can find me.

  • Taipei Taxi Accessories

    Taipei Taxis usually have some surprises up their sleeves, with multiple DVD players, karaoke systems, and imaginative nicotine delivery systems. Here are a couple of recent ones that made me smile sitting in the back listening to wailing Chinese pop music.


    This one was great – the guy had two cell phones that perfectly squeezed into the space between the steering wheel and the airbag (now that would really be speed dialing if he crashes). The fact that the other phone was a Sony Ericsson made me question which came first – the car or the phone? And what was on the screen when I got in after landing? – a 3G web site of flights landing at the airport.


    Slightly less practical, I admit – but why bother about being able to see out, when it is just so pretty!

  • Lads Bike Ride

    Nick prompted me last Sunday to head out with Justin for a pure fixie riding escapade off into the sunset. It’s another twist on the ‘getting together with friends’ Sundays, that seem to be blending in so well into my life … looking forward to more klicks in future.


    Head of the peleton


    Break away


    Wind in our hair


    Chase


    On the boardwalk

  • Cycle Lanes in Taipei


    Cycle Lanes in Taipei

    The incredible increasing interest in cycling in the last year is encouraging the city government to install cycle lanes along some of the major streets in the city. It’s a great initiative, and I appreciate the spirit, but next time, how about guiding them away from fire hydrants, up steps less than 20 cm and out of the way of oncoming traffic? One step at a time, chaps.

  • Fixie


    The wheels of steel

    One of my unguilty pleasures in the last two months has been the move to cycling to work. My estimation that the DEM office was the same distance from my house as Dell was slightly off, and a 30 minute walk in the Taipei morning heat is not an awful lot of fun.

    It didn’t take too much persuasion from ‘New Yorker in Taipei’ Nick to persuade me to part with 3500 NT$ (about 60 quid) for a brand new fixed gear bike. Yes, it’s a bit of a clunker and needs tightening weekly. Yes 60 quid means it must be very dodgy. But who cares? There is a certain nobility in riding a bike that costs about the same as my seat post on my mountain bike … and if it’s raining? I just leave it outside and don’t worry about it too much.

    The fixed gearing without freewheel means I don’t need a brake on the back, and instead braking is now harder work than accelerating. Sounds stupid, eh, but it makes for a wonderfully involved ride, judging the traffic, maintaining momentum, staying smooth and in general staying out of trouble. Taipei is Taipei, so I did pussy out and stick a brake on the front – sorry Nick and the courier purists, but I don’t want to die.

    It’s a trend from the streets of NY, London and Berlin that I am happy to import here, but I hope, or at least expect they will not be as popular as the folding bike craze sweeping the island at the moment.

  • Tokyo – Some Random Photos

    Some pics, for you, loyal reader…


    Commuting to work – these guys looked super cool as they cruised around, and seemed confused as to why I would find it strange or funny – is this the future of electric transport?


    Meiji Shrine – wetter than last time!


    Cool trains


    I love the Tokyo Taxis – Toyota Crown Victoria, lifted straight from a retro kung-fu movie, and sporting automatic doors in the rear!