Jonathan Biddle – Made in Taiwan

Blog

  • Kinmen Tales

    After six years, I finally made it to Kinmen (金門)!  Nikki and I decided to break for the border (well, almost) and book a long weekend away from Taipei; our first trip away together.

    Kinmen (pronounced ‘Jin-Men’), is a curious historical anomaly, situated as it is a mere 2100m away from the coast of mainland China.  Indeed, administratively, its official title is ‘Fujian Province, Republic of China’, demonstrating very clearly the attitude of previous administrations towards the islet; they possessed a small portion of the mainland, and one day they were coming back for the rest. (more…)

  • Hello Kitty Pasta

    The apocolypse approaches.

  • Shopping Taipei

    I really enjoy walking the back-streets of Taipei, away slightly from the main thoroughfares that sport Starbucks and MacDonalds and the rest.  In the back streets, you’ll find ‘single serving shops’, privately run and often staffed with the elder family members, seemingly set back about twenty years and invariably overstocked and focusing on one type of product.  Here, you’ll find a total blur between private and personal life, the spaces serving as both their work space and their living room.  This is a little project that I might continue.  ‘On my block’, perhaps?

  • Yilan Hiking

    After our company trip to Yilan, Paul and I opted to stay overnight and do a hike the next day.  It was dead good fun to see Taiwan from a slightly different angle for once, and we built up a nice healthy sweat as we hiked up through the humidity, and into the relative comfort of the cross-island road, connecting Yilan with Taipei; I really need to get my road bike finished and hit the tarmac!

    Looking out towards Turtle Island.

    Shipping containers turned into local cafe in the hills.

    I was going to link through to some hiking trail links, but I both did not find any good ones, and the leads we did have were blown by the taxi driver dropping us off in a completely random location anyway (near Jiaoxi) … none the less, a nice wee trail!

  • Derelict Firing Range

    It was miserable weather up in the hills today.  Conditions were humid, rainy and chilly/hot in a way that only seems to happen around Taipei.  As a result of the extremely slippery conditions, Mark and I opted to take a different route.  We came across a derelict police firing range, and I obviously had to stop to take some photos … it’s been disused for some time, but you can still see its unique ‘patina’ of use, AKA bullet holes.  Not completely convinced it is a safe set-up for firing projectiles!

  • Taipei Flora Expo Preparation

    Even though China got the Olympics, I have to respect the effort that Taiwan put in to host the Deaflympics and World Games; no easy feat.  However, the fact that Shanghai is hosting the World Expo does not justify to me why Taiwan has to have its own tit-for-tat Exposition, in the form of the Taipei International Flora Exposition; an event I am not even sure has existed before.

    Construction is taking place at great pace across the city, making me question how serious they are about the themes of sustainability and eco-friendliness, let-alone the amount of aviation fuel they expect will be burnt if the six million expected visitors to make the trip successfully.  I am already tired of the event mascots, and am irritated that they opted to fill in perfectly good parkland when it would have been far more progressive to take over an area of brown-field industries that could kick-off urban renewal.

    Take a look at the web sites and tell me I am not being cynical.  Enjoy the mind-bending animation and music!

    Looks like they are making some permanent extensions to the Fina Arts Museum too…

    That’s a wrap!

  • Dog in a Basket on a Bike

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

  • Adaptable Architecture

    Taipei tries its best at erecting buildings that have some semblance of style, even if that style is generating a neo-Gothic Greek Revivalist Bali retreat.  But bless ’em, the local residents get to work modifying, adapting and extending their properties with scant regard for the outward appearance of a building.  It’s something I have written about before (Open-Source Architecture), but not seen built with that thought in mind at the outset.

    I was therefore rather pleased to be walking along Minsheng E Rd. yesterday, and happen across a housing development that at least seems to respect peoples’ wishes to augment their original purchase.  In a manner not too far removed from the iconic Barbican in London, geometric flourishes break up the surfaces of the structure, allowing some degree of freedom in treatment of windows, air-conditioning and sideways extensions.  It’s modern, certainly Asian, and I rather like it.

    From an alternative angle.

    Eric from ADC marvels at the trees, individually marked with species markers.

  • Two Years at Dell

    Two years at Dell tomorrow – Lordy how time flies. And a deserved change of seats to the coveted spot by the window!

  • Jiufen Escape

    Feeling blurry – but all the better for escaping the city.

    Quick escape from a sleepy, rainy Taipei, and off to Jiufen for an afternoon session of tea and Taiwanese snacks.  Very satisfying.

    Looking over at Turtle Island.

    Lantern Street

    The wind picks up.