Author: ana

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in taiwan

to the library!

what is a person to do, when work needs to be done but an airbnb with a table is practically impossible to find? cafés in taipei can be super nice to work from, but they are also quite expensive for everyday use. so the logical solution is to look for a library! :) we stayed next to the normal university in taipei, and their library was perfect for a few hours of focused work: quiet, air conditioned (sometimes too much), with good internet and plugs everywhere. 

in hualien, i shared a table at the library with a grandpa that alternated between watching something on his ipad and dozing in place — not even the noise of the periodical fighter jets above us would wake him up! and kaohsiung’s central library was lovely too, modern and well-equipped, with a brilliant shop (as if it were a museum)… and a vending machine to pick up or drop library books at a central metro station!

libraries really are a big comfort space for me — how brilliant is it that every town has this safe, cozy place where you can just read or do your thing… and for free! they really made me wish i could properly read chinese so i could pick up some books while there. maybe by the time we next visit, i’ll be able to pick something to read from the kid’s section…

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in taiwan pretty things

souvenir stamps

one thing that gave me great joy in taiwan was a little unexpected: souvenir stamps! every metro station, national park or historical place seems to have at least one commemorative rubberstamp, but often more. we first stumbled on them on a metro station in taipei, and when i realized what they were, i was hooked!

i’ve loved this kind of rubberstamps ever since we discovered the concept while hiking in slovenia, where every mountain had its own stamp. i always carry a little notebook around with me, and the one for taiwan got a good 20% of it filled up with just stamps. i even used some on the postcards i was sending out, since they were so nice.

the ones in taipei’s MRT were especially well designed, while in kaohsiung they seemed more dull… except for a few special ones, which were done in collaboration with illustrators. collecting them turned into a kind of treasure hunt, always on the lookout for the next one. i know they also exist in japan, but i wish other countries adopted these too — they’re such a joy!

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in taiwan postcards postcrossing

taiwan mailboxes

for us, looking for mailboxes is just something we do instinctively, everywhere we go. the most common ones in taiwan are a pair of green (normal mail) and red (priority) cuboids, sometimes condensed into a single divided mailbox.  if feels like they’re in every street, and they’re so iconic that they even have their own postcards! 

but there are others as well — we’ve spotted a couple of themed ones, dressed up to celebrate taiwan’s indigenous people:



the most famous mailboxes we’ve seen though were a set that was struck by typhoon soudelor in 2015. they’re bent sideways, as if swept by the wind, and have become a bit of a symbol of resilience.

the plaque says:

On august 8th, 2015, Typhoon Soudelor struck Taiwan. We were hit in the heads by a signboard as a result and couldn’t help but lean over from the pain. It was so painful in fact, we can’t stand up straigth anymore. But we persevered. We didn’t fall over after all. We have to take life as it is comes and in a way, I think we look more artsy and sophisticated this way! Did we inspire you? Take a picture with us to remind yourselves that we are all survivors and can persevere no matter what.

awww…

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foooood in taiwan

old school taiwanese carton boxes

when you’re in a place where everything is new, your senses become attuned to all kinds of things that you normally don’t pay much attention to — manhole covers, street signs, the shape of benches, or all the different fauna and flora. 

in taiwan, i was kind of fascinated by the old-school designs of the produce boxes we sometimes found in streets, piled in corners or stacked behind food stalls, each with the drawing of its contents. illustrated bitter gourds, cabbage, tomatoes…. 



i don’t know if the contents actually match the drawings, but they’re still beautiful to look at and admire their variety. 

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foooood in taiwan

mochi

mochi are sticky rice flour sweets with different fillings. everyone knows them from japan, but they’re a big thing in taiwan as well, with different flavors and variations. there was a stall next to our airbnb in taipei that did them right there on the street, and they were amazing — especially the one with ground peanut inside, though the red bean was also pretty good.


our favorites though were given to us by a local postcrosser, and had fresh strawberries inside. 😍 so, so good!

i have some sticky rice flour at home, so i think i might try my hand at making them one day!