Arty-Pants

Taiwan's contemporary art scene seems to be very much alive and kicking, and there is a lot of public art, statues, murals etc to be seen just around the city streets. (I think I have more photos of this than anything else!) Here is a sample of what's to be found...

Taipei MRT station mural:

Random robots near Taipei 101:

Frogs at Da'an Park, Taipei:

Near Lotus Lake, Kaohsiung:

Swan bench near Love River, Kaohsiung:

Dome of Light, Formosa Boulevard MRT station, Kaohsiung

Naked Lady in the street, Kaohsiung (I identify with her body type lol)

Larger Gentleman outside Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts

Pier 2 Art District, Kaohsiung:

Cuteness, Cuteness, Everywhere

Cuteness is everywhere in Taiwan! And not just in the places you might expect to find it, like advertising campaigns, shops, clothes, schools, etc. It can also surprise you...

...under bridges:

...on the back of headrests on trains:

...in public toilets:

...in little tableaux on the street:

...waving at you from parks:

...and in cafes:

I hardly even notice it anymore it's so prevalent. Will the UK seem starkly drab and grown up in comparison when I get back? Will I have to start putting decals of bunnies on things just to feel normal?!

Sivilised Sunday Strolls

Following on from my last post, here are some more pics re: the stuff I've been doing here in Taiwan - or yeah just one activity really, which is: wandering around. Mostly through parks and on Sundays (it seems an appropriate thing to do on Sundays).

Actually, thinking about it, this could be a serious snooze-fest, so feel free to Zzzzz as you scroll down. There'll be no judgment here. THIS IS A SAFE SPACE, GO ON, JUST LET GO.. Shhhhhh... theeere we go...

Zzzzz...

Dahu Park

Bridge. Surprisingly strenous to climb.

But worth it for the view. And the breeze, the breeze was good.

That's the subway line I arrived on, the view from it was pretty damn cool as we whizzed past

Taipei Botanic Gardens

Not much to say here

Scarecrow

I'm just adding captions for the sake of it. I'll stop now!

Da'an Park

Looks a little dull, but was actually my favourite.

Feeling soooothed by all that green? Then my work here is done.

Good night and godspeed my dears, good night and godspeed!

Reluctantly Touristing A-Round-Up

I hate being a tourist.

All that SIGHTseeing! Traipsing around with a guide book (ereader) clutched in one sweaty paw, camera(phone) in the other, ticking things off on a little mental list against what you've read (on the internet) are the 'must do's', ugh. It makes me feel... fretful...

So, what exactly am I DOING here in Taiwan? You may be excused for wondering. Well, the idea was to knuckle down and get a job, and thus a resident's permit, as quickly as possible. Maybe actually live somewhere for more than five minutes. Oh and revive my Chinese, attempt to learn some more, bla bla bla. There wasn't supposed to be very much backpacking-y, touristy, bumming around for weeks on end, nonsense.

However, its becoming clear that the employment opportunities for a non-bilingual Brit with zero teaching experience, who wants a job that is NOT reported all over the internet to be horrendous, are somewhat limited. I've not given up hope just yet, but I have applied for everything currently available. I'm just waiting to hear about interviews and therefore have rather a lot of time on my hands.

To sightsee.

Gah!

So, after an initial mental tussle between my hatred of touristing plus the need to be frugal, versus the niggling feeling I should be making the most of my time here, I hit upon the following compromise: I would do something touristy every OTHER day (ish). In between lying around aircon-bathing, learning traditional characters, eating red bean ice lollies and walking the dogs.

Touristy, that is, on my terms. Temples are out - once you've seen one you've seen 'em all, in my opinion, and I've seen at least two. Shopping can get lost, since my 'one small bag' is already cripplingly heavy. And the only camera I have with me is the crap one on my rather conspicuous tablet, so photo sessions are unappealing  Largely, therefore, I've just been wandering around Gawping At Art And Shit, strolling through parks, people-watching (love people-watching! Okay, it's mostly clothes-watching if i'm honest) and, well, stuffing my face.

In case you care to read of such things, then, here is a round-up of the 'must-dos' I've done so far:

National Palace Museum

As previously mentioned, this houses a treasure trove of Chinese antiquities brought by the Nationalists when they fled the mainland in 1949. China wants em back! Taiwan says - sure, just so long as you recognise us as an independant nation! Stalemate.

It was okay. I liked the snuffboxes and the ancient representations of animals, they were ace! Also the shop was quite good lol. No photos allowed inside, so here's one of the outside:

I like that man's face

Shida Night Market

Foodstuffs, many many foodstuffs, a bewildering array of signs with a million unreadable traditional characters all swirling at you until your brain explodes! I had a spring onion pancake thing and a waffly thing, but I feel like I could have done better if I'd just known what the hell was going on. No pics cuz, well, it was raining cats and dogs (a frequent occurence here) and I only have so many hands dammit! Here's someone else's photo:

See it was raining when they went too! Credit: randomwire.com

Taipei Fine Art Museum and Expo Park

This was BRILLIANT. Just the kind of art I lik -modern but not toooo modern. And English translations of everything so I could get an idea of what it was all about. There were four floors each with different displays and installations, all of which were awesome, but the main exhibition was a gigantic retrospective of the work of Dean-E Mei, a Tawainese artist, from 1976 to the present day. Since Mei's work deals with his Taiwanese identity and the modern history of Taiwan, I learned so much just from this one exhibition. Plus his work is really cool! I came away feeling really inspired and actually did some art of my own, which is a shamefully rare occurence considering how much I enjoy it.

Again, no pics allowed inside, so here are some of the Expo Park across the way,

Su Ho Paper Museum

Small but beautifully designed. Preserved old guy's paper making workshop, exhibition of paper art, history of paper displays and papermaking classes. Oh and some handmade paper products for sale. Papery! Best thing though right was the nearby dumpling takeaway place, POTSTICKERS OMG. They did a fish one that was soooooooooo good.

But yeah, paper!

No pics (sensing a theme here?) just cuz I was too embarrassed basically. The whole place was so immaculate and beautiful I didnt want to, like... soil it with such crude touristic behaviours.

Taipei 101

No embarrassment here! This place is a crude touristic mecca!

The towering might of 101

Taipei 101 (it has 101 floors) WAS the tallest building in the world until 2010, when those pesky folks in Dubai built the Burj Khalifa. How dare they?! It has a large shopping mall at the base full of security guards and snooty designery shops like Chanel. Which was shiny, intimidating and gross, as such things tend to be.

By the time I arrived a sunny early morning had become a grey day with limited visibility, but to be honest that's 90% of days in Taipei so I just went up anyway. The observation deck is on the 89th floor and there is a crazy highspeed lift that takes you there with a magical glittery soundtrack and lights. It was kinda exciting, despite the cheesiness. Also, your ears pop.

At first I thought I should really have waited for a day with better weather:

But then the rain eased and I managed to get some 'atmospheric' fog-ridden viewing in:

The centre of the building has a big golden 'damper' (pendulum) that helps keep the building stable in monsoons, earthquakes etc.

Which they've obviously made into a cute, loveable character called the Damper Baby

Finally, on the way out there was an opportunity to take a nice selfie in a mirrored corridor of projected landscapes:

I wasn't the only one doing it, I swear!

And thus ends the photoshoot, except for one of this other building across the street that I thought was also pretty cool:

Phew!

I have actually done some other stuff, but I think that's enough for one sitting don't you? Yes'm. Time for another red bean ice-lolly now surely.

Nom nom nom.

My Name Is Flick and You Can Trust Me... to Sit in Your House

Ever thought about house-sitting? Having free holiday accommodation somewhere in return for keeping an eye on the property?

Sounds like a pretty good deal, doesnt it? Too good to be true almost! That's certainly what I thought before I tried house-sitting, so much so that I wrote it off as some kind of impossible dream for ages. But no! It's totally possible and definitely worth a go.

The benefits are pretty self-explanatory: basically you get somewhere to stay, in a location of your choice, for anything from a weekend to 6 months or more (depending on what's available, of course). Sometimes you even get the use of a car! It's usually gonna be somewhere relatively pleasant, suburban, and all yours for the time you are there. What's not to like?!

Ok, if you get something this nice then you are VERY lucky! Photo credit: Nicole Connolly

Before you go rushing to the nearest house-sitting website, though (I use trustedhousesitters.com but there are others), here are some things to consider:-

1. You generally have to pay a membership fee to be able to contact prospective house-sits - it's not a huge amount, but you do have to fork out before you know whether you will actually get anything out of it.

2. The location and time periods available to select from are down to the house owners. You have to fit in pretty much exactly with what they need - arriving a day later than they specify is no good if they want to meet you and show you the ropes before they jet off on their pre-booked trip to Azerbaijan. So you've gotta be able to be flexible and open to destination ideas. If you're just thinking 'Australia in September' then the chances are you'll find something that fits, but if you are looking for a place in Taipei from precisely 25 May until 9 June you may be in for a disappointment... unless you are me right now, of course! MWAHAHAHA! Ehem.

Photo credit: Petey Creech

3. It may be called 'house-sitting' but really, 99% of the time it is in fact house and pet(s)-sitting which is a whole other ball game. It may sound perfectly reasonable on paper. Walking little Jasper 4 times a day? No problem! Of course darling Mittens can sleep on my pillow, I love cats! It's easy to agree to things when you are eager to get a sitting assignment. But you need to be prepared for how much of a bind daily pet care can be, especially if you're not used to it and/or are expecting a carefree holiday lifestyle. And what if Mittens is a clawing, spitting, nightmare of a cat whose freakishly long, moulting hair chokes you to death in your sleep? What if you want to take a non-doggy-friendly day trip which means you cant get back in time to walk Jasper? There is also usually a fair amount of cleaning up pee, poop and sick involved in pet care. Make sure you understand exactly what you are committing to!

4. Along similar lines, it's best to be confident that you are capable of doing what you say you can, and in the country you are going to. Can you speak the local language? What's the deal with vets there? Do you have a way to transport that giant poodle with the sensitive teeth to the animal dentist in Bangkok? What would you do if there is a sudden tropical insect infestation? (in my case, freak out and spray the hell out of those creepy little bastards with Windex, but there's probably a better way). Usually the owners will give you all the information you need, but there is also a chance that they assume you already know things you do not, or haven't thought through every eventuality themselves, so ASK QUESTIONS. Think of everything you could possibly need to know and ask the owners before they go.

'Can I join in?' Photo credit: Ricky Riot

5. Are you a reassuring, trustworthy-seeming person? As much as actually looking after the house and pets, your task will be to convince the owners that you are not going to tie their pugs to a radiator with no food or water, and then hold a 5-day crack orgy in their home. This might just involve a friendly conversation on skype, or they may also want to see your passport, CV, draw up a contract and have regular updates by phone and email. By definition these are people who care sufficiently about their pets to go to a lot of effort to avoid leaving them in kennels/make sure they have company etc. So they're pretty likely to want you to seem responsible, kind and animal-loving if nothing else. Equally, you need to feel like you can trust them, especially if you are a female travelling alone and they are male. If you feel at all unsure, it's a good idea to find out a bit about the owner and maybe meet them in a public place first, before going to the property. Always trust your instincts!

6. Are you a clean, tidy, careful person, or a clumsy, accident-prone mess? If it's the latter, get the owners to put anything they care about in a seperate area and make sure you have enough money to replace anything you break!

7. Finally, be prepared for a slightly bumpy settling-in period. If the assignment is only short, this could be the whole of your time there. It is inevitably a bit wierd being in a stranger's home without them present, especially at night, and it can take a while to get used to. If there are pets, even if you are generally accustomed to looking after animals, it can take a few days to get used to the foibles of these specific ones, and for them to be comfortable in your presence, making for some initial irritation all round! This period does pass though, and once the dust has settled things feel much more natural.

Thus far I have experienced two house-sits, one from pretty much either end of the spectrum - two cats for three months in a house in freezing Glasgow and two dogs for two weeks in a flat in boiling Taipei. The first was arranged a month in advance with super-organised and anxious owners who wanted lots of reassurance, a contract, regular updates etc, but who also wrote me a whole user manual on the house and pets and thought of EVERYTHING I could possibly need, right down to leaving me maps and instructions for resetting the boiler if it went off, which was very helpful! The second was arranged 36 hours in advance and was with a very laidback owner who basically was like 'You never looked after dogs before? Don't worry, you'll be fine! Here are the keys, I leave tomorrow' He was a real sweetheart though, and even let me use his computer for my job applications.

So, in short, house-sitting can be a bit of a responsibilty and a bind, but it is DEFINITELY worth it for the money you can save and the chance to really experience living in a place, plus some furry company.

Shhh, don't tell anyone though or they'll take all the good sits!