steamy hot lights

Steamer basket lights at Kitchen Pucci! GENIUS!

daily grind

Writing on a rainy day is a whole lot more pleasant when one can sit at the Ecole Cafe and nurse a lovely hot cup of coffee for hours and hours and hours...

hot plants

Taiwan is so hot and humid right now that even the plants are growing plants!

Yes, it was a little on the muggy side, but even having to constantly peel my sweat-soaked shirt from my pruney skin couldn't distract from the beauty of the hiking trails around Wulai. When the heat starts to diminish in a couple of months, this area will be heaven to walk around. I will definitely return.

soooooo meta

Visitors from mainland Chinese tour groups pose for pictures in front of the Sun Yat-sen Memorial.

hi-ho hai yan

I attended the Ho Hai Yan rock festival at Fulong Beach a couple of weeks ago. I've longed to go for so many years, but this summer marks the first time that the festival calendar and mine are actually in sync! Glory be! I had a marvelous time with my friends and husband, stretched out on a towel, digging my toes into the cool sand, eating grilled squid, and listening to the best of Taiwan's indie rock artists. As the sun went down, the mountains in the distance turned pale green, then blue, then a deep purple.

mazu mania (belated)

I know I've been a terrible blogger of late, and I apologize. I have a perfectly reasonable excuse for not continuing to chronicle my Taiwan adventures, however: I was, in fact, not in Taiwan, and I simply didn't think that New Jersey made as compelling a setting for my photographs as the Sweet Potato Island. I think we all agree, no? Moving on, I have plenty of images to share from ages ago. I'd like to start with some photographs from the incredible Mazu festival back in April, which took place in Beigang.

Local children participated in a massive parade that began in the morning and continued into the early evening on the last day of the festival. Dressed mostly as sea creatures or as incarnations of the goddess herself, they rode enormous colorful floats and tossed sweets (sometimes overhand, OUCH) at passersby. This girl was on the young end of participants, but she was not the youngest--I'm pretty sure I saw a few infants in starfish rompers making their way through the town.

I don't think I've ever seen as many fireworks deployed in one place as I did in front of the temple in Beigang. The red mush you see on the ground here is debris from spent explosives. Volunteers periodically swept growing mountains of the stuff away, but it was hard to control.

This is my favorite image of the festival, for reasons I can't really explain. I just love how a kind of geometry appears to emerge from the chaos as lines bisect lines. Or maybe I just like the jazzy colors.

This is another image from the parade. The girl in the foreground appears to be floating. Creepy, but beautiful.

This stage for gezaixi was tucked into a niche above a restaurant--it's actually visible in the photograph that I called my favorite above. I love the insane colors used for ritual opera in Taiwan. I'm not sure how the aesthetics of stage and costume design evolved, but I'd love to find out more...

I was in Beigang for about 24 hours--this image was taken at the very end, when the festivities were wrapping up. Fireworks went off continuously for my entire stay in the town, so it seemed fitting that the whole thing should conclude with a bang and a glorious confetti storm.

no words

A couple of weeks ago, I drove with friends along the Qingshui Cliffs just north of Hualien. It was just achingly beautiful, no other way to describe it. I think we all just felt perfectly happy there.

little bo-pi-liao (has lost her sho-pi-liao?!)

Apologies for the groan-worthy post title. Moving on...

After an extended absence, I've returned (again!)! Work has been very busy lately, and this past week it was my great delight to host three lovely friends visiting from the States. We did all kinds of exploring (more pictures to come!), but I wanted to start with a few snapshots from Bo-Pi-Liao, a restored Qing-dynasty era street at the intersection of Kangding Road, Guangzhou Street, and Kunming Street in Wanhua. If you haven't been to the area, check it out! The architecture is gorgeous and right now you can catch some of the costumes and set-pieces from Monga on display--sooooo cool.

I love the eyes on the owl clock in the picture above. They are staring into my very soul.

We all know it's about to get too hot to want to do anything other than dunk your face in a bowl of mango ice in the food court at Taipei 101, so go check it out now. If you're even remotely interested in old Taipei, restoration projects, or colonial architecture you won't be disappointed!

the sweetest little potato on this island

Unfortunately, Taiwan has a terrible stray animal problem--there are thousands upon thousands of homeless dogs and cats all over the island. The ones who aren't sick or injured spend their days foraging for food and looking for safe harbor, and many simply die in the streets. Some are lucky enough to find their way to volunteers for organizations like Animals Taiwan, who are doing everything they can to improve the situation through fostering and providing medical attention to furry friends in need. Yesterday afternoon I went down to the City Hall area to attend "Love Animal Day" celebrations. Many worthy organizations came out to raise awareness of the challenges facing homeless domestic animals in Taiwan and I met the little lady pictured above. She was lovely and sweet and fell asleep in my arms. Like so many others, she's looking for a forever home.

Although it's always heartbreaking to come face to face with so many homeless dogs and cats who I can't possibly stick in my pocket and keep with me forever, the festival was still a whole lot of fun. The best part of the whole thing? Perhaps the fact that the Taipei City government blocked off a major roadway just so this terrier dressed as Superman could attempt to catch frisbees, accompanied by the soothing sounds of the Village People.

I love Taiwan!

see food

It's hardly a secret that Taiwan is a seafood playground, but I never cease to be amazed when I'm out and about at just how abundant all that deliciousness is. Piles of fish everywhere! Lobsters? Take one for the road! I took this photo of a vendor in Kending, swimming in a veritable sea of shrimp. (She gave me permission to take her photo, by the way, although I know the scowl suggests otherwise. I think she was just very focused on not drowning in her insane pile of shrimp.)

I have consumed sea creatures prepared in every conceivable fashion in Taiwan--raw, fried, steamed, boiled, poached,etc. But I must admit I always take pause when it's time to try the dried stuff. The vendor above touted fabulous wares but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Why? Do I lack a sense of adventure? I love dried squid and those little tiny crunchy shrimp that find their way into vegetable dishes...what's my deal? Also, can anyone identify the fish-object on the left? It's round and flat and sort of flounderish-but-flounder-seems-too-obvious? I suppose if I were really a thrill-seeker, I would have ordered the shark I saw outside one restaurant...

They were indeed the definition of fresh--blood was still dripping from their teeth. You know, the BLOOD OF THE LAST PERSON WHO TRIED TO EAT THEM. Maybe I'll stick to the dried stuff after all.

you are only coming through in waves

This past weekend I fled to beautiful Kending for a few days with my friend Grace to take in the Peninsula Music Festival. After all was said and done, I plopped down on a towel on the beach to listen to the waves. Having spent most of the last eight months steeped in the din of the city, it was lovely to hear the sound of the water going in and out, and little else.

purple haze

I just had to include one last image from Singapore, which I took at Kou Chou Ching's performance at the Mosaic Music Festival. It's one of my favorite fieldwork pictures to date and is actually completely un-Photoshopped. Something happened with the light at the precise moment I pressed the button and everything went totally purple. Incidentally, I realize I haven't actually explained the nature of my research on this blog, but I think the few research-related images I've posted thus far must be painting an intriguing picture...

a bride not on her wedding day

Of all the images I took in Singapore, I think this one--of a bride wandering around the National Museum--is my favorite. Incidentally, if you ever happen to find yourself lost between Malaysia and Indonesia, looking for something to do for an afternoon, get yourself to this museum. It is expertly curated, centrally located, and absolutely beautiful.

the mean streets of singapore

I recently returned from a short trip to Singapore with Catherine Shu and we had a wonderful time roaming the streets and compulsively taking pictures with our little cameras. I like how these shots seem to give a kind of grit to the city, which is really much more fiction than truth!

interval!

Forgive the recent lack of updates! Life has been busy! Regular programming will resume soon!

(This image, by the by, was taken in the Wayang and Film Gallery at the National Museum of Singapore!)

on a temple wall kick

Bao'an Temple is one of my favorite temples in the world--and that's saying something because I've been to ten gazillion and it remains the apple of my eye. This image is of a painting on one of the outer walls of the central shrine. Does anyone know what story it illustrates?

that's a relief

I spotted this relief on a wall outside a temple in Tainan a couple of weeks ago. I took the image with my digital harinezumi, and it looks a bit like a living cartoon.

the most beautiful thing I have ever seen

Hundreds of lanterns floating in the sky at 平溪. I was right underneath them all and first they looked like glowing jellyfish...

then bubbles...

then stars.

compensation

My friend Andrea recently sent me an email remarking on the fact that Taiwan looks incredibly colorful, particularly in comparison to Poland, where she is living this year. So I thought I'd post this black and white picture of a shrine I saw at Ximending a couple of weeks ago, just to kind of even the score. Does it look like Poland now?

新年快樂！

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

cast of thousands

This photograph is from a show I attended on Wednesday night. As things were wrapping up, everyone who had performed got on stage to do one giant, confused song together. Very fun.

breaking my rule again

OK, well I guess I am posting some fieldwork photos from now on when I feel like it. No more apologizing. This is a photo of Teacher Liao, playing a sanxian and telling me a story. I went to visit him in the mountains today and I think I will go back again.

weeeeei-ya, wei-ei-ya-a*

A family friend whose company operates a factory in Sanchong invited me to observe their annual weiya a few weeks ago. What is a "weiya," you ask? Simply put, it's a party that Taiwanese businesses throw towards the end of the lunar year--employees and partners alike are invited and everyone eats and drinks and drinks and drinks some more. I took this photo towards the beginning of the evening, when everyone was still fairly sober. What you're seeing is a makeshift stage the employees set up in the middle of the factory floor for speeches, karaoke, drag performance, and even magic tricks. By the end of the night, a petulant (drunk) employee had torn down all the balloons and popped them with his feet.

*sung to the tune of "Hey Ya"

hot for hot springs

Beitou is one of my favorite spots in Taipei--the hot springs are magical, there are cool museums to explore, and the area is quite walkable. I've visited twice in the last few weeks and I hope to be able to spend even more time there over the next several months--there's just so much to discover.

I am especially fond of the Beitou Public Library--so fond of it, in fact, that I selected it as the site for our wedding photos a few weeks ago! It's the first LEED platinum-certified (I think) building in Taiwan and I'd love to go back some day to hang out and browse the stacks. The last time I was there it looked like they had a lovely collection focused on green design and construction and wildlife conservation.

And--oh!--the folk art! Who can get enough folk art? In Beitou, one does not lack for folk art.

Xia x 3!

If you haven't had a chance to visit the town of Sanxia (三峽), get yourself there as fast as your feet will carry you. Its "Minquan Old Street" (民權老街)--painstakingly restored to Japanese colonial era glory--is packed with very cool restaurants, shops, galleries, and antiques malls. Touristy? Perhaps. But I don't care because it's awesome.

who is that handsome man?

Not my husband, of course, but a handsome stranger in the back alleys behind the Tonlin Building. This is where some of my favorite shops and restaurants are. It was so nice to walk around here a few weeks ago with this handsome stranger. I miss him.

pools of blue

My husband and I spent a night at the beautiful Lalu Resort at Sun Moon Lake last week. It was breathtaking. Even the bottom of the pool was beautiful.

I guess the lake wasn't too bad either...

flap your hands and fly

A piece featured in the Southeast Asia section at the Yingge Ceramics Museum.