To Market To Market Jiggity Jig

M is for Market

Night Market.

Oooooohhhhh...sounds scary!

Don't let that word tourist on the sign fool you. It doesn't mean what you think it means and the night market at Hwahsi is teeming with locals. The only thing scary here though, is some of the unidentifiable food items for sale and the fact that this market is also known as Snake Alley.

No, its not crawling with snakes.

If only.

Instead, snakes are jauntily perched atop restaurant counters, their blood and meat waiting to be served up on a plate or in a glass. Shudder. Its not so much the snake entree that makes me shudder but the row upon row of rodents in glass cages lined up on the wall beside the menu. I could not get my head around these two things side by side.

Mice.

Menu.

Whyyyyy?

Because every entree needs an entree people. There's that whole crazy circle of life thing that happens in the animal kingdom, remember? They asked that you not take pictures in the snake stalls but I noticed online there are a few rule breakers out there. I'm not one of them so you'll have to trust me when I say live rodents in cages beside a menu acts as one terrific appetite suppressant.

There are six night markets in Taipei and Hwashi Night Market (Snake Alley) is one of the oldest. It sits in the former 'red light district', but that's been cleaned up and even the number of 'snake stalls' are much fewer than in days gone by.

As we traveled I made a few notes so I'd remember what I was seeing and how I felt. This particular night market was a place where my senses were in overdrive and my brain was racing to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. How do you look everywhere all at once? How do you sort out the pretty and the tasty...

from the things that make your stomach lurch?

Organs and kidneys and whatnot, oh my!

And what is that smell?

In all likelihood what you're smelling is almost always fish.

Keep in mind we're on an island.

An island that grows some ginormous carrots.

The produce here was amazing.

I think I need a cookie.

Cookies make everything better, don't they?

This is what we ate-

Helpful aren't I?

Regardless, this guy had some serious skilz.

The cookies were scrumptious and similar in taste and texture to a Madeleine.

Hey, maybe that's what the sign says?

It was hard to take pictures in the market because of the lights and the people and the everything. We were there just trying to take it all in...it's a fascinating place.

Before getting back on the subway we decided to try and find beautiful Lungshan Temple. We were standing just outside the market unsure of which way to go when an older Taiwanese gentleman noticed our confusion and attempted to point us in the right direction.

Evidently we still looked confused because suddenly he was waving for us to follow him and he led us all the way there, several blocks away. Would I do the same if I saw a confused tourist here?

I will now...

Kindness makes night in a foreign city feel less dark.

Look! It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's...

A really tall building.

L is for Look! It's Taipei 101!

Taipei 101 is currently the second tallest building in the world. By the year 2015 it will drop down to #8 on the list. See my post here for links to the lists.

The building was designed to withstand earthquakes and typhoons which is important in Taiwan. I'm not sure you can tell how massive 101 is from my photos but its visible from all over the city.

And from a mountaintop many miles away. Forgive the blurry, but I'm in a cable car suspended above the earth here trying to take pretty pictures in order to distract me from the fact that I'm in a cable car suspended above the earth. And it was SWAYING! I will definitely have more to say about that another day.

Our 25 story hotel was essentially next door to 101...does that help put it in perspective? Guess how many stories Taipei 101 is? Actually its 101 above ground and five below ground.

Guess how many upscale shops are located inside? I have no idea. In fact I couldn't even begin to venture a guess...if it has a designer's name on it you'll find it here. Obviously Dior is one of them~

I wonder what that sort of advertising costs?

After five very full days in Shanghai we transitioned without a hitch to our second destination~ Taiwan. I think its easy to want to lump all the Asian countries into a single pot but each has its own history, culture, tradition, food and language. I remember when I was a child lots of things came with a 'Made in Taiwan' sticker on them. According to some of the local folks the Japanese influence (their rule ended in 1945) is still evident in the Taiwanese culture. Family is front and center here.

The people we encountered in Taiwan were so very nice. Truly, everywhere we went people went out of their way to be sure we were getting where we needed to be. Teenagers even gave up their seats on the buses and trains without their mamas asking them to do so-quite impressive!

We arrived in Taiwan on a Saturday afternoon and checked into our hotel, The Grand Hyatt Taipei. The scent of lilies positively saturated the lobby in a good way.

As we were checking in a bride sashayed past and that was fun to see. This cool sculpture was in the lobby too. Hubs very helpfully attempts to illustrate its size.

We unpacked and headed over to 101 because you kind of had to....I mean it was right next door and filled with all those lovely shops.

Did I take enough pictures of this building? Did we spend a lot of time that first day with our jaws dropped just staring up at this massive structure? Yes and yes.

We were only in Taipei for about four days but I'm here to tell you a lot can be packed in to four days. I think more than four letter's worth actually so get ready.

I'm kind of all about the hotels so I might as well mention here that I think it's hard to top the JWs but the Hyatt was really lovely too. Plus they had fish and chips on their menu and a delicious Reuben sandwich which did not require the use of chopsticks or contain any bones or require me to slurp. Don't get me wrong-I loved all of that too. I love Asian food but wouldn't normally eat it seventeen days in a row. It was nice to break it up a little. And we still had plenty of noodles and duck and whole fish in Taiwan.

The Hyatt had live music in their restaurant, really good live music, so we had drinks in there most evenings. Really fun! Their iced tea was also fab-they made it with lots of lemon which is how I like mine and then gave you a small pitcher of thinned down honey to add in. Yum!

Of course I took a picture of my iced tea. I pretty much took a picture of everything. The people traveling with us got used to it.

Eventually.

King of the Road

K is for King of the Road Skies

Today feels like a good day to interject a word or two (okay, more than two) about my husband. This was primarily a work trip for him and tagging along afforded me a small glimpse into the sort of travel he does on a regular basis. Since January he's been to Korea, Singapore, Turkey, Shanghai, Taipei, and Hong Kong, plus has trips to South America, India, and Russia already on his calendar in the next three months. While that may sound exciting it is also exhausting.

There are long haul flights combined with in -country short haul flights combined with the upside down time changes. Add to that being ever mindful of the local custom regarding greetings, meals, business etiquette, and dress. Then of course there is the language. Imagine sitting in meetings and listening to presentations for several hours a day three or four days straight where you don't speak the language. Imagine after about every third word that is spoken another voice comes in your ear with the translation. Anyone else thinking Excedrin Headache # 99? Anyone else old enough to remember those ads?

I think the biggest thing for me though, would be the idea that I'm ON all the time...going to a dinner/party/point of interest with a smile on your face when what you really feel like is room service and some mindless TV. In spoken English please.

Just writing that makes me tired.

Which is why I'm not the one in a role like his.

Hubs has never met a stranger and has a special gift for making friends. He doesn't turn up his nose when an unrecognizable entree is set before him. He doesn't have to pretend to be interested because he really is interested. He's not afraid to experience something new every single day. He genuinely likes people and is good at making them laugh, even when he doesn't speak their language. Not speaking the language doesn't keep him from trying, believe me. This is met with varying degrees of success I should add, but his hosts always appreciate the effort. He embraces the differences in cultures around the globe and finds a way to bring people together. 'On' is pretty much his modus operandi no matter where he goes so this role he's in now is a good fit for him.

That being said, even someone who likes to meet life head on, at some point finds this sort of travel a little wearing. I gained a new appreciation for his work ethic and joie de vivre as he nudged me through Asia.

Yes, sometimes I have to be nudged.

Pulled actually.

Grabbed by the hand and dragged along for the ride.

Of course he knows this about me and understands that occasionally I have to be talked into the fun. Which is why he gave me pep talks for the days I'd be on my own and made things easy on the days we were together.

Note to self...when hubs returns from these long trips be nice. Not that I'm not nice, I'm always pretty nice, but sometimes I have my own agenda when he gets home after several days away. People ask me what are some of the challenges in having a spouse who travels a lot and I would say this is one of the challenges. Your other half has been going 24/7 across multiple time zones and needs to lie low for the weekend. You've been home with too much time on your hands and want to get out and do something. For the record-he is much better than I would be at getting out and doing something on the heels of a big trip.

I want to remember how I feel right now....home for almost two weeks and still a little foggy. A long to-do list at my fingertips but not really up for much more than making the bed, catching up on essential paperwork and laundry, and getting some sort of meal prepared.

Grateful for a husband who criss crosses the globe, lands stateside, then goes to work the very next day.

Without complaining.

Pretty sure that's the important part.

Just a Jumble

If you're looking for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge you'll find the post here.

J is for Jumble

Jumble as opposed to a hodgepodge, random, miscellany, or insert synonym here. Jumble works for me today because we're up to the letter J in our A-Z challenge and also because I have an assortment of thoughts and photos to post as a way of (almost) wrapping up my week in Shanghai.

This may be a little bit long (ha!). I had more loose ends than I realized so I'm thinking I'll make a list and it will hopefully feel less jumbly. We'll have to see how that goes-

1. There are some tall buildings in Shanghai.

Actually the word tall isn't quite sufficient here as an adjective.

The building on the right is sometimes called The Bottle Opener. Can you guess why? It's actually The Shanghai World Financial Center and is currently the third tallest building in the world. I say currently because it seems that countries are always trying to figure out how to go just a little bit higher so they too can make the list of world's tallest buildings. By 2015 we'll have a brand new list.

The Bottle Opener contains offices, an observation deck and of course, shopping malls. It's also home to the second highest hotel room in the world. Guess where the highest room sits? That would be the Jin Mao Building also located in Shanghai. The Jin Mao Building is home to the Shanghai Grand Hyatt and is the 1oth highest building in the world. In our travels we also saw building #2 located in Taipei and #4 in Hong Kong.

Shanghai has some amazing views from up high...

We were on the 54th floor of our hotel, which I guess is small potatoes when it comes to tall buildings, but it felt plenty high to me.

2. The Bottle Opener is best seen from The Bund which is a waterfront area in central Shanghai. Besides the skyscrapers you'll see many historical buildings there too. The past definitely collides with the present in this city. Here I am in front of the China Merchant Bank eating my words.

We used to tease my mother in law because she's been known to have three pair of glasses on her head at the same time. I get it now since my sunglasses are not prescription and all of a sudden I can't read anything smaller than a 16 font without a little help. Hey kids-never say never!

3. I haven't talked too much yet about the food on this trip but I will.

For now let me just say the presentation of this cherry blossom smoked salmon was truly impressive.

Tea served in our hotel lobby was none too shabby either-

4. A snapshot of Nanjing Road, the famous pedestrian shopping street in Shanghai. Every time I try to describe all the shopping in this part of the world I feel very overwhelmed. Just know shopping is on steroids here.

Nanjing Road is the main shopping street in Shanghai and one of the busiest shopping streets in the world. Here's a shark tank for your viewing pleasure-

Yes, it's on the street. Why not?

5. There is a slight obsession here with KFC. That would be-Kentucky Fried Chicken. Personally I haven't set foot in one in the US in years but they're all over Asia. This is a painting we saw in a small shop-

Starbucks stock must also be soaring here. We don't have a Starbucks in our little NJ suburb but if you need a latte in Shanghai, Taipei, or Hong Kong no problem.

6. Hubs and I spent some time walking thru The People's Park which was close to our hotel. We saw lots of Tai Chi and hubs will tell you he's something of an expert now. Ha-don't believe him. He learned one move in a meeting and showed anyone who asked and possibly a few who didn't.

But this guy?

This guy did seem to be something of an expert.

Yes, he does indeed have a sword in the park. Hey, this ain't New York.

7. Here's something else I saw in the park....

A group of women preparing for a drum event. Listening to them play was entertaining but so was watching them try to organize themselves. Women are women the world over.

8. Americans tend to complain about laundry a lot. It does seem to be one of those never ending chores but if you have a washer and dryer or a clothesline siting in the crisp clean air of suburbia then feel grateful.

I saw lots of laundry dangling from lines high above the busy streets where soot and pollution are rampant. Made me think I really have nothing to complain about when it comes to doing laundry.

9. Here are some random strangers who wanted their picture taken with me so we obliged.

Everywhere I walked I was approached and looked over and told I was tall and thin-for an American-they always added that! Oh and lots of people said I looked Italian. I am none of those things but it did make me smile. I also got lots of comments on my blue eyes which are not seen very often in these parts. Students anxious to practice their English approached me too. They would always start out by telling me they spoke 'Shinglish' or Shanghai English. I assured them that their English was far better than my Mandarin so no worries!

10. I loved Shanghai. It felt so foreign and different from any city I've ever visited. The language is a huge deal. Fortunately the subway signs were in English and Mandarin, but in other aspects of day to day life communicating was a real challenge. That's part of the fun of travel though, figuring it all out.

I hadn't traveled much outside the US before moving to England. Lots of trips to the Caribbean and Mexico but that was mostly resort stuff and not exactly stressful. Foreign travel builds your confidence in a way that few things can. At one time in my life it would have made me supremely anxious to look around and realize I was the only Westerner in a packed subway, to have people come up to me and touch my hair and ask somewhat personal questions. I likely would have been clinging tightly to my purse, certain this was a ruse in order to snatch my wallet. I suppose I still cling to my purse because that's just smart, but I don't feel afraid in a strange city. I feel energized and curious and very, very lucky.

FORE! Time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge

This two posts a day thing of late is brutal. How do people blog every single day? I'm going to write two posts again today, one for the HP and one for the A-Z. I'll do it PDQ and try not to give you TMI? Did I leave any acronyms out of that sentence?

First, the Hodgepodge...if you're visiting from the A-Z challenge today's post on the letter J can be found here.

Also if you're new here, you're welcome to join our weekly Hodgepodge today or any Wednesday. Just answer the questions on your own blog, add your link at the end of my post, and carry on.

Here are my answers to this week's questions-

1. Have you ever played golf? Any interest in playing? Do you have a significant other who loves to play? Did you watch The Masters this weekend?

I am not a golfer. My neighborhood is built around a golf course so I should probably take some lessons but eh. Hubs likes to play but he prefers to spend what little free time he has with me.

My favorite thing about the game of golf is driving the cart. I don't mind watching a little golf but I also don't need to sit and watch for three days straight. We saw a good bit of The Masters and I love that a guy named Bubba who never had a formal lesson in his life pulled off a huge win.

2. Hats are back in fashion this spring...how do you feel about wearing a hat? (fyi-I'm not talking baseball caps) When was the last time you wore one?

I love hats and wish we Americans would embrace the notion of wearing hats to weddings and special events. I haven't worn a hat since we lived in the UK so it's been at least three years. Boo.

3. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being 'proficient' and 1 being "I'd starve" how adept are you at using chopsticks?

I'm giving myself a 9. There's a little room for improvement since I haven't mastered the scissor technique, but after spending two weeks in Asia sans fork I have some mad chopstick skilz. Several times we were given small round peanuts along with our starters and everyone used their chopsticks to grab them. I was bound and determined to perfect that skill and I did. Peer pressure isn't always a bad thing it seems.

4. Has technology taken over?

I think we're getting there. Maybe it hasn't taken over but it's definitely infiltrated our everyday lives to the point that we don't know how to function without it. Case in point-the incessant use of cell phones. If you're about the same age as me you can easily remember the way life worked prior to having Ma Bell at your fingertips. Our generation seems to struggle between our need to stay current with today's technology and our desire for the simpler way of life we knew as kids. We're constantly walking the line of technology but not too much technology.

For my children's generation there is no such conundrum. They probably don't even know what the phrase Ma Bell means and don't see a problem in being 'on' every minute of every hour of every day. It's what they know.

Time marches on.

5. In the course of a day, how often do you look in a mirror?

Not alot. When you are 'not 30 anymore' a casual glance in the mirror can quickly escalate into something ugly. Wait, are those little lines around my mouth? Were those lines there yesterday? I don't think they were there yesterday. And look at those circles. I need to up the undereye concealer. Whoa, I really should not leave the house without applying some lipstick. What's up with my hair? Didn't I just pay the equivalent of three week's worth of groceries to cover that gray? Why isn't it still covered?

I prefer to see myself as I am in my head.

6. Tulip or Daffodil?

Tulips are one of my favorite flowers.

I wouldn't turn down a bunch of daffodils either though.

Just sayin'.

7. I am proud of myself for_________________________.

Riding the subway in Shanghai all by myself, eating something which may or may not have contained intestine, not freaking out on the small cable car as we traversed high above a valley and up the side of a mountain in Taipei on a windy day, not sucking all the oxygen out of said cable car, in general being a trooper whilst trekking across three countries, riding countless forms of transportation including long haul flights, short haul flights, ferries, boats, buses, subways, cable cars, taxis, and funicular railways. Go me!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Daughter1 took this photo of our pup on Easter morning. Hubs and I were getting ready for church and she was somehow left outside the bedroom door. Not sure how because after spending more than two weeks in the kennel she's been sticking close.

Is she just the cutest thing ever or what?

Incense and Innocence

If you're looking for the questions to this week's Hodgepodge you'll find them here.

Back to Asia and yes, it is day 10 of the A-Z challenge (day 8 in letters) and I'm still talking about Shanghai. We'll move on to another country shortly, but I did a lot in this amazing city and I gotta put my words and pictures somewhere.

I is for Incense

The kind that sort of knocks you down as you walk thru a Buddhist temple or ten while on a trip to Asia.

Growing up I'm sure I imagined everybody had a family much like mine. Life as seen thru the rose colored glasses of my childhood meant mostly everyone had similar traditions, habits and beliefs. I suppose in my whitebread suburban neighborhood just a hop, skip, and jump from the City of Brotherly Love that assumption was somewhat true. Of course people had problems and were searching for answers to life's biggest and most important questions, but it was the 1970's. The doors to our homes and heads had not yet been thrown wide open for complete strangers to dissect, discuss, and judge like they are in the age of the internet. We didn't really know so much about what went on behind closed doors in 1971 but I do know for a fact that none of my friends were Buddhist. My friends were Catholic and Jewish, Baptist and Methodist. Some were no religion at all, but I can say for certain I didn't know any Buddhists.

Back in 1971 Buddhism was a 'religion' for people who lived a world away. A world I would never see or know up close and personal. A world full of people who were nothing like me and whose paths would never cross mine and who for sure would not be sitting next to me in PTA meetings in a country called England. Not people I would learn to call friend...people with whom I would share the joys and trials of parenting teenagers in a foreign country. Not people who, while very different from me in terms of spiritual beliefs, were not so different in other ways.

Dear young naive self-

Just you wait for the future. Oh the things you don't know that you don't know.

Signed-

Older wiser self

Flash forward to 2012 and a life that's been lived more globally amongst people who practice everything from Atheism to Hinduism and I find myself wanting to understand it all just a little bit better. Not to practice, but to know and understand where my friends are coming from in matters of the heart.

I have to say that it felt a little bit strange to take pictures in this setting. Not so strange that I didn't do it but strange nonetheless. I compare it to how I'd feel sitting in church while tourists file by in a steady stream mid-prayer to photograph the altar and stained glass. Everyone was taking pictures though, including the people who were actually there to practice their religion, so when in Rome...

I visited two temples in Shanghai, The Jade Buddha Temple and the Jing'an Temple. I also saw Buddhist temples in Taipei and Hong Kong, no two the same but each one beautiful and detailed and, I have to add-bustling. Are our churches this crowded? Am I so determined to worship that I spend my lunch break in church? That I bring an offering? Methinks not.

Don't misunderstand...I am not a Buddhist and in fact, I only felt more confused after seeing all the many different Buddhas. I'm secure in my own belief in one God and his son Jesus who was born of the Virgin Mary and whose death and Resurrection give meaning and hope to a broken world. But there are many all around the globe and in my own backyard who don't share my beliefs. I saw a statistic that said low estimates of the number of practicing Buddhists in the world stands somewhere between 300-500 million people. That's not a small number.

The temples themselves all kind of made my jaw drop. Huge and gorgeous and smoky. The smell of all that incense made me a little loopy and also just a little bit nauseous. Mostly nauseous. I've never particularly liked the smell of incense and each temple had ginormous burners that were putting out smoke like there was no tomorrow.

Also, even monks have laundry.

Just sayin'.

I'm not sure you can really understand someone without knowing something about their belief system too. Where did we come from? What moral code will we live by? What are the customs and rituals that have meaning in our lives? And most importantly, what happens when this life on earth is done?

I walked thru these temples and read what was written and watched people practicing their religion (actually I'm not sure they call Buddhism a religion), and while I can't say I completely understand it I don't feel like I'm living in a vacuum either.

"The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are." ~ Samuel Johnson

Questions for the Wednesday Hodgepodge

It's baaa-aaack. The Wednesday Hodgepodge that is. Here are this week's questions...answer them on your own blog or fb page and then hop back here tomorrow to link answers with the rest of the internets. Everyone is welcome to join the party!

I'm also participating in the A-Z blogging challenge this month so if you're looking for my post on the letter I you'll find it here. In the meantime, here ya go-

1. Have you ever played golf? Any interest in playing? Do you have a significant other who loves to play? Did you watch The Masters this past weekend?

2. Hats are back in fashion this spring...how do you feel about wearing a hat? (fyi-I'm not talking baseball caps) When was the last time you wore one?

3. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 meaning proficient and 1 meaning "I'd starve", how adept are you at using chopsticks?

4. Has technology taken over?

5. In the course of a day how often do you look in a mirror?

6. Tulip or Daffodil?

7. I am proud of myself for __________________.

8. Insert your own random thought here.