Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Tag: Travel

Hong Kong Birthday

Since last weekend was Yuyin’s birthday, she was already in Hong Kong on business, and I had 12,500 air miles from Cathay Pacific gifted to me (a trip to HK needs 15,000), the stars aligned and I jumped at the chance to have a weekend away from Taipei.

We have both been to HK multiple times in the past, so it was a nice opportunity to meet some good friends (Michael, Tanja, Edgar, Sam), do some birthday present shopping for each other, and explore some little corners of HK that we had not been to before. HK is good like that; you can just strap on a camera, pack a credit card, and go; and everything works itself out.

Yuyin looks over at the island from the Ocean Centre

Taking the Star Ferry never gets old.

Yuyin steals my camera as I sniff out a new passport cover in Lane Crawford. Luckily, I managed to avoid the overpriced stuff, and found a simple leather Tumi one.

… and now the view from the IFC, looking over at the ICC Tower in Kowloon.

Dinner in the evening was courtesy of Nha Trang; one of the freshest, tastiest meals I have had in a while. Here we are, waiting in the queue, looking up at the surrounding buildings.

I think this photo rather sums up Hong Kong; steep hills, Ducatis, Mercedes, and people plying their trade in between.

Shopping for rainbows.

Couples having their wedding photos taken in front of Louis Vuitton; classy.

Desert was provided by Sevva; overpriced, less than exceptional drinks and deserts, but a view to die for.

Yuyin, I hope having a nice evening!

Sevva; recommended for the view.

Without really realising it, we decided to walk from Central (with some help from the ferry), via Kowloon, back to the hotel in Harbour city.

Taking in the scenes at night time.

Strange angles from the Kowloon Cultural centre.

Weaving our way over roads and between buildings (and sometimes through them), we slowly made our way back.

The walkways linking together Hong Kong are really an amazing thing. They stretch for miles, and offer a sort of pedestrian freeway network. In a city that seems so cyclist-hostile, pedestrians (or at least those not on wheels) are amazingly served.

Getting close to our destination, and back into normal streets.

The next day, we opted to hang out by the rooftop pool for a while, and cruise over to an exhibition documenting the life of the ‘King of Kowloon’; Tsang Tsou Choi.

The King claimed to rule the whole peninsula of Kowloon, regardless of whatever treaties bound the sovereignty of Hong Kong to the British and the late Qing governments. Tsang issued his royal patents and decrees with his black ink and brushes on lampposts and walls. Some called it graffiti and the King kept toddling across the streets in Hong Kong to make sure his messages were known to the public.

It was a fascinating look at Hong Kong’s previous British rulers through the eyes of rather an eccentric local person. It would be interesting to know if his decrees and demands reflected a wider resentment about the British rule; my impression is that people look back at that time with fond memories, since the handover to China. Something to read more about. Information on the exhibition can be found here, and a review is here.

Looking down the strait between Hong Kong and Kowloon.

Walls of residential apartments line the waterside. Land is at a premium here!

Waiting for the ferry to the island. In contrast to the main Star Ferry, the side spur seems full of Indonesian workers and poorer locals; maybe it is different mid-week.

I wonder if people in these apartments stare out at the fabulous views, or if people avoid views in the same way as Taipei.

Said exhibition from above; even his passport was annotated with protests.

Riding the trams in Hong Kong.

Squeezing on… I heard rumours that they were phasing them out?

… and here is a nice detail; we stumbled across one of Tsang's protest murals at the Star Ferry pier!

A great weekend … next time I head back, I bring my mountain bike!

2011/05/08
Tongli – Water Town

Escaping Shanghai is always a challenge, but as I have highlighted in previous posts, the HSR service heading out to Nanjing is opening up the entire Yangtze corridor.

This time with my manager, Paul, in tow, we headed out on Sunday to Suzhou station, and a cab to take us out to Tongli, a so-called ‘water town‘. While I supposed it would be similar to Zhouzhuang, which I visited last year, I enjoyed that trip enough to warrant another try.

Claiming 1000 years of history, the town is criss-crossed with canals and viaducts. It does not claim to be the largest or most famous of the water towns, and as a result the level of tourism does not quite meet the levels of Zhouzhuang, at least when I visited. And while there are no doubt touristic areas, it’s striking how many people still live and work in the town; it naturally gives the place a different vibe. Unlike many places in China, there seemed to be an uncanny amount of cleaning going on; after a few minutes of shooting photographs, I realised that almost all my photos featured mops or brooms somewhere in the background. Sipping a beer by the banks of the river, we also amused ourselves as we watched old ladies sweep fallen leaves into the river, and then the men fishing them out again to be disposed of.

First of a series of photos I call the 'Mop Project'

As I have said before, I am a sucker for all graffiti in China and Asia.

At first, I thought the piles of wood outside the shops might be for sale, but then I realised these were the shop shutters; rather more charming than electric roller shutters that will no doubt replace them some day.

I call this 'Mops & Shutters'

Afforementioned shutters, before a store opens.

A very fancy blue bike.

Waiting for the end of the day.

Organisation

Mops were hung, cantilevered, and propped up in all manner of ways.

I really did take a lot of photos of shutters. I like that there are both Chinese and Roman numerals on these boards.

Several times, groups of giggling local girls asked for our photos (convinced we were brothers); we naturally obliged, but not without taking some 'meta photos' first.

Running back to Mamma.

Roofs, augmentation, nice building materials.

I couldn't resist this one. How kind to choose a completely non-matching piece of fabric to patch the hole.

More mops; modern this time.

Waiting for … something.

Shoes stored neatly away.

I rather liked this non-recycle sign.

Restaurants lined the canals. Perhaps as a result of the cool, sunny weather, I was rather taken with this place.

Back passage.

Umbrellas provide shade in the summer.

If I had been a bit quicker, I would have caught this policeman handling a plastic gun. Next time.

The town was definitely a bit sleepy, but all the more pleasant for it. I wonder if their children, no doubt working in Shanghai now, will return here any day.

Grumpy.

This guy was terribly proud of his bird collection, and was delighted that I might take a photo of them.

One more for the road.

One of the local boats, plying their trade on the river.

So that was it – a great escape from Shanghai!

Getting To Tongli

[mappress mapid=”4″]

Basically, take the HSR out to Suzhou (about 40 RMB, 24 minutes), run past the hawkers trying to sell trips to the sights in Suzhou, wait in the line for a taxi, take the 30 ish minute trip out to Tongli (about 90 – 100 RMB) and enjoy. We also did not have any problems getting back.

2011/04/10
Austin Gun Club

Ladies welcome.

I have never in my life shot a proper gun before. Air rifles, yes. But never anything of the sort that could do anything more than kill a pigeon.

It was therefore with some trepidation that I joined the guys for a team off-site, shooting an assortment of guns at one of the local ranges. Interestingly, my trepidation was matched by the guys originally from New York, Boston and Chicago; basically anywhere without straight lines on their border maps. America really is two places, and our team is split neatly down the middle by who packs heat, and who chooses not to.

While I suggested this event, I actually expected someone to come up with a better plan. Turning up, I and my boss both looked more than slightly concerned by the other guys unloading cases of weaponry from their cars / trucks. Several levels of insight were unpeeled by our team members, as guys I would never has pinned as NRA members pulled out huge rifles and packs of pistols. Truly amazing, and a look into a different culture.

Stepping into the gun shop itself, we definitely left Austin city limits. The guys behind the desk eyed us as we made our way to the rental counter, and grudgingly agreed to my suggestion of being allowed to take photos of the team. Nothing unfriendly; but I guess when both parties could take out a small town with their weaponry, you are likely to look at people twice.

After being being pointed towards one of the pistols and walked through the finer points of loading, I was invited to disarm the safety, aim, and fire. Somewhat like the first moment you hit your first surf wave, it’s all so familiar, but at the same time terrifyingly alien. Squeeze the trigger, grip as hard as you dare, try to predict how hard it is going to kick … and … BANG. Just like that, I shot my first bullet.

Guns work in ways that you can’t immediately appreciate in a movie. Semi-automatic pistols have collections of moving parts that can easily (and did) cut your finger as they explode backwards. Revolvers require an amazing amount of travel before they finally fire. The amazing elk rifle that one of the guys brought could easily bruise your shoulder if held incorrectly. The plethora off different bullets, accessories, optics, holsters and storage boxes was to peer into an abyss of expense. And the vintage rifles that some of the people were firing were really rather magnificent to behold.

After all that, two groups of people met to shoot some bits of paper; those without guns, and those with. While I still don’t agree with the gun laws in place in America, and I don’t understand why someone would want to own a device that is specifically bought to maim or kill another human, I came away humbled, pleased that I had the opportunity to learn something about my other team members, and hell, had one heck of an enjoyable time blasting away.

Before.

Insert movie quote here.

The first of several victims. I was actually quite impressed with myself; by the end I was able to group my shots together surprisingly well.

One of the guys’ travel guns. Yes.

Taking stock after the event.

2011/02/12
Enchanted Rock

West of Austin is Texas Hill Country; an area of rugged hills that reaches as far as the suburbs, and provides access to some pretty splendid hiking and biking. One of the tourist honeypots of the area is Enchanted Rock, an enormous granite rock dome, rising 130m above the surrounding area. We thought it would be a grand day out for the Bogners, Lattos and, well, Biddle. Perhaps due to the ‘snowpocalypse’ of the previous week, there were fewer people venturing out – and this combined with the fantastic weather and cool air, made for a great day.

ENCHANTED ROCK. YEAH!

It was steep!

Skylar has different ideas on the route. “Should we stop him?’

Les Bogneurs

The girls were on fine form!

Rugged, yet thoughtful. The designer’s designer.

Flyin’ high!

Which way?

Whoa!

Eric gives me the thousand-yard Texas stare. The children’s clothing draped round his neck finishes the look.

GOOD TIMES

Practising for when he needs to work at Dell.

Peekaboo!

Different shades of cuteness.

Yay!

The adventurer sets off once again

Pistols at dawn.

Granite

After, we headed to the truly bizarre Trois Estate … home of a faux-real Texan Mexican ranch church grotto cap-gun museum wine bar. All slightly unhinged, but lots of fun.

Accessories.

Doors leading somwhere

Silly moos.

Silly cow.

Dinner was at one of the ‘seven’ true Texan barbecues; Coopers. I have to say it was not a patch on the truly carcinogenic Louis Mueller’s … I still dream of the steak brisket I had there.

Staring at the stuffed animals on the wall.

Admiring their collection of barbed wire history.

Main street, Llamo, and time to head home.

2011/02/05
LA LA Land

While Taiwan celebrates Chinese New Year, my boss took the opportunity to bring me over to Austin for a week or two with the team. I didn’t struggle too hard, since I can reschedule the holiday, and anyway flights out of Taiwan are pretty expensive during the holiday period. I have been through LA a couple of times, but never stopped for more than a couple of hours, escaping from LAX to Manhattan Beach for a swift beer.

This time, however, was different. I finally took Pip up on his offer to visit, and he picked me up at the airport in his new Range Rover. Without hesitation, he asked ‘do you surf?’ and I was too deep in exhaustion and jet lag to say anything else but ‘hell yes’ … I am not going to look a gift horse (or a Brit in a Range Rover) in the mouth. So, before I had even sat down, I was walking out of a surf shop in Santa Monica with surf board and wet suit in hand. Life is Awesome. Otherwise known as LA.

Range Rover + Surf Boards x Los Angeles = Pip Tompkin

Pip in his natural environment

Manhattan Beach in the daytime … long board in hand.

Limited snowboarding and wake-boarding experience have even more limited application to surfing, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me from trying. I mean, first time surfing here … what a start. Pip gave me the basic pep talk; essentially, paddle really quickly, jump up in one motion, don’t fall off … and we were off. I was far from completely fluid, but I did legitimately have some real standing time … I will be back.

After an extended chat on the beach and with my brain still being faxed over from Asia, we spot that the waves had receded. We grabbed the boards, paddled out to beyond the break, and hung out a little more. Some fins approach in the distance … “are they sharks?” I calmly ask. No, a school of dolphins swims by us, flirting in the wake. I bob there, mouth agape, and more than a little overwhelmed by the scene of dolphins, salt spray, and California rising up in the distance.

Jet lag completely forgotten, I decide this is time to catch a proper wave for the first time, and am caught by a fairly serious swell building up behind me. Arms darting into the salt water, I build up precisely the right amount of speed to catch the full momentum of the wave, and it picks me up like a rag doll as I dive off the six-foot wall of water. Screaming like a schoolboy (and with feet flying into the air) I plummet to oblivion, only to be spun around like an old t-shirt at the bottom of a washing machine. Twice.

Emerging from the water, I had nothing but a smile on my face, and water leaking out of my ears. My first proper wipe-out. Time for a burger. Time for In ‘n’ Out Burger.

While only having about three things on the menu, other styles, ingredients and upgrades can be had with the use of secret code names … a very cool idea.

The burger was pretty awesome, but mazing out on all the code names that I could think of broke my flat-mate’s #1 rule of buying burgers: get the basic one. ‘Animal Style’ and whatever happened to the fries, was delicious, but oh so oily. Ah well, start as I mean to go on!

After a quick brunch at Santa Monica staple, Norms, it was time for a tour of the LA sights. Naturally, we swap cars for something a little more befitting of Beverley Hills, Bel Air and Hollywood; yup – a drop-top BMW coupé. Music, shades and attitude packed, we prowled the streets, wowing at the cars on display, the wanton display of wealth, and imagining what celebrities are waiting around the corner (or at least I did). Since we were not rich Chinese tourists, we pointed the car at the mountains, and took in views of Hollywood from Mulholland Drive. It was surreal, taking in all these sights that I knew so well, and yet had never seen.

Wait a moment for the movie to load

Pip has two rather beautiful fixed-gear bikes, and he was kind enough to take out his baby for a spin – what a host. Cruising along Venice Beach was a cultural lesson in taking recreation very seriously; this is the melting pot that lead to skateboarding, surfing, hip-hop and BMX. It’s pretty humbling, and highly entertaining to see new forms of street culture bubbling up in front of your eyes.

Swap four wheels for two.

LA all the way.

Cavendish takes the green jersey.

Santa Monica amusement park at sunset … why doesn’t the whole of America live here?

Watching the scene; I could stay here the whole day.

An absolutely phenomenal weekend … thanks so much Shannon and Pip. You are welcome in Asia!

2011/01/29
HK NYE 2011

A bit late in the writing, but who cares – this year was another HK mission to seek out the new year in style. Flying back from the UK, I popped my head round the door for about 18 hours, before heading back to Taiwan. Lots of fun!

We chose the rather amazing Magnolia as our scene for pre-NYE eating and drinking … BYOB. Cajun food. Great company, insane amounts of food.

Watching the chefs prepare the meal from our ring-side seats.

Insane amounts of meat.

Delicious … but it didn’t stop coming. This mac and cheese probably would have fed us all on its own.

Edgar doing his very best Budda impression.

Obligatory photos of HK neon.

At the Bloomberg studios to watch the fireworks from between the HSBC and China Bank buildings. The prime vantage point … or so we thought.

Pretty cool Bloomberg kit everywhere.

Screens all blank.

My camera lens chose an excellent time to fail … but frankly we couldn’t see anything, since we were actually INSIDE the fireworks display; it was all off the buildings essentially above us.

T-plus five minutes, four seconds … looks rather like the beamer from Tron, don’t you think?

… and if you want to watch the fireworks from Kowloon … we are in the building with the rainbows on it, on the right side!

2011/01/01
My Life Summed-Up in a Single Photo

London Pride beer with a bowl of Hong Kong noodles (with one of the chopsticks the wrong way round).

🙂

2010/12/31
D’Hiver de Paris

“Moi?”

It’s quite likely that I have been to France in the region of thirty times. I have canoed the Ardeche, the Tarn, the Loire. I have frolicked on the beaches of Normandy, of Bordeaux, and of the Mediterranean. I have carved snow in Corchevel, Meribel, Tignes, Val D’Isere, amongst others. I have taken in vantage points from the Massif Central, the Alps and the Pyrennes. But while I have seen the Eiffel Tower many times drifting by on our extended family car journeys, I have never been to Paris.

My Dad decided that 2010 was the year to rectify this injustice, celebrating my Mother’s 60th birthday with the whole family, and giving our Baby Ben (‘BB’) his first trip abroad. The idea of arriving at Gard du Nord on Eurostar, likely mildly hammered on cheap Champagne, ticks all the right Eurocrat boxes, but when we discovered Easyjet was exactly half the price of the train we obviously opted to tolerate a ride with the shit-munchers and save the money for opulent feasts in the city’s eateries.

Mum was delighted! Especially as she actually turns 59 this year.

Notre Dame

Our unashamedly ‘touristique’ weekend started with the short walk from our hotel to the religious heart of the capital; Notre Dame. While disappointed there were no mad people swinging from belfries, it was amazing to see a place in the flesh that you knew so well. The movies clearly use wide-angle lenses, for while the towers were tall, they lacked any intimidating. doom-laden silhouette I was looking forward to seeing. But that could have been the icy wind talking; no-one was really motivated to stick around too long, and we made a bee-line for the Louvre.

“The bells, the bells!”

Subtle lighting inside was inspiring...

Sensitive treatment of the roof...

… and some bloody great big plasma screens.

Warming up on the way to the Louvre – Hot Chocolate went down a treat.

Mild bemusement.

Gazing outside

You can really see Dave’s chin!

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Braving the elements again!

The Louvre

Local lads flirting with giggling hoards of visiting Japanese girls, armed with overpriced souvenirs. It must be easy pickings.

Focus of the first day of visits was really The Louvre. The promise of warmth and dryness underfoot was balanced with a healthy interest in some of the vast collection of fine art. And ‘vast’ is the word; we picked Flemish and Dutch masters, and barely managed to scratch the surface of the subject, merely taking in some of the more well-known masters like Rembrandt,Van Icke, Vermeer and then a whole hall full of ‘Rubenses’. We left the French and Italian masters for the Japanese tourists, and did not have the will-power to attempt a run at the Mona Lisa. I already know what that one looks like anyway.

I must say, the scale and range of what was on offer was mesmerising, but I was left a little exhausted. I am far from being an expert in any of these subjects, and I appreciated it when you were able to see the artists’ sketches or process, or when they grouped different painters together to give a degree of context. I suppose, I would have just appreciated a little more curation, and less density in the way that the paintings were hung. I feel like you could spend a fortnight in there; in London you would simply visit a different gallery in a different part of the city to see the range on offer.

Deeply impressive, but a little intimidating. Although Benjamin didn’t seem to feel the same pressure!

Business class travel, down to the basement lobby area.

Arriving in style!

Snow gathering on the roof, we were happy to be inside!

Views through the mini-pyramids

Waving to a long-lost friend

Pensive

Brrr!

Tracks in the snow

Benjamin appreciates the Rubens hall.

Benjamin’s first snowball fight.

Run away!

The Eiffel Tower

No trip to Paris would be complete without a trip to the Eiffel Tower. A sunny, icy, clear day held promise for being able to see the edges of the city, and we duly queued-up for the elevator to the first level. Sadly, it slowly dawned on us that they were not going beyond the first level, and this was confirmed when we were told ‘ice on the tracks’ made the ascent too dangerous. Never mind, it was still a pleasure to see the fabulous structure, and get a feeling for the layout of the city from up-high. We were even treated to a very memorable display of public art in the grounds of the tower.

The fantastic subway.

The approach.

Greeting other visitors

The space created under the arches is truly breathtaking.

Over-engineered?

Intricate details.

A very public art show!

On our way to the restaurant for lunch, the ice really made negotiating some of the walkways difficult!

A very memorable lunch, taking in scenes of Christmas through the glass of the bar.

Other Stuff

If you ask me, it’s the ‘other stuff’ that makes Paris so pleasant; the moseying along the streets, the hanging out in the cafe, the buying the bread. Paris is almost uniform in its prettiness, as opposed to the highs and lows of London; 60s high-rise sat alongside Greek revivalist edifice, opposite the ultra-modern statement. It almost reminded me of Japan, with its shops, eateries and gorgeous little details popping out now and again. It’s certainly a place I should return to.

Sartorialistes Parisiennes!.

Art Nouveau (very reminiscent of Charles Rennie Mackintosh) up on Montmartre. Especially love the spider’s web!

More Art Nouveau on the Metro.

Art ‘Even More Nouveau’ on the streets … Invader‘s art (as featured in the Banksy movie ‘Exit Through the Gift Shop‘)

And one more.

Views out across the city from Montmartre.

Looking out towards the Pompidou Centre (definitely need to tick that one off the next time I go).

Touring the streets.

Some buildings I once saw in the Tour de France.

Even the road-markings are interesting.

Baby Ben

But the star of the show, naturally, was Baby Ben. He held up very well in the cold weather, and did very well facing delays at the airport in both directions. I shall miss you, wee man!

Gazing in wonder

Looking very pleased with himself.

Wait for it …

Peepo!

2010/12/11
In the Bleak Mid-Winter

I am lucky enough to be in Europe for the whole month of December, joyfully mixing two weeks of work, with two weeks of time with family and friends.

The weather is cold. So cold, in fact, that it has delivered several dumps of snow and layered a delightful crust of frost over the fields on the way to the airport. To Paris!

2010/12/08
Autumnal Austin

It’s my third trip to Austin, and my second this year. I must admit, I have grown fond of the place, in no small part as a result of my skill in choosing the most pleasant periods of weather of the year to come; blue skies mix with cool breezes to make for perfect conditions to enjoy life outside, eating, drinking, listening to live music, and riding bikes. Bliss.

Coming via Houston, which seems to be built around its oil refineries and parking lots, Austin is delightful. And doubly so now I know my way around; I have my favourite bike shops, cafes, hell, I can even discriminate between different organic supermarkets and live music venues.

But would I live here? Even in this liberal paradise? Not quite. As much affection as I have for this place, I still feel more affinity to Asia and Europe. But as an exercise in allowing myself to regroup, see some music, talk to people in my own language, and yet have a different experience from returning to the UK, it’s just magic. I am pretty lucky.

Austin on an Autumn evening.

2010/10/29