Q is for Shake Rattle and Roll

Q is for Quagswag

What a fun word to say.

I browsed thru a list of Q words to find one I could apply to today's post about tea. Quagswag is an obsolete word meaning to shake to and fro. What does that have to do with tea you ask?

Well, first we needed to get to the tea and that required a little thing called a cable car. Gondola. Tram. Death Trap. Take your pick. Why when I travel do I always seem to end up in one of these things?

Because I cave to peer pressure and don't want to seem like a wimp even though I am, that's why. Plus I hate to miss anything and sometimes you need to climb up high so you can look down low.

I'm not opposed to heights and I love the views from high places. I just don't care for the manner in which I have to travel in order to get there. I dislike small spaces and as I'm trekking ever higher I find myself contemplating who does the maintenance on these things? Someone does the maintenance, right? Of course someone does. They wouldn't let us ride it otherwise, right?

Anyhoo, back to Taipei and my traveling pal E. Normally I'm on these sorts of 'vehicles' with the hubs who loves looking out and down and across and pointing out all the sights along the way. He doesn't seem to notice a little thing like THE WIND that's sweeping across the valley we're traversing as we dangle by a string hundreds of feet in the air.

Well, it feels like a string.

E and I discuss going up the mountain to see the tea plantations. The alternative to the cable car would be taking a bus up a winding twirling swirling road and that appeals to me even less than the cable car because that will definitely require Dramamine. It's amazing I ever leave my front porch, isn't it.

Seeing the tea farms is something high on my list of things to do but I just wish there were some other way to get there. Apparently so did E because as we stood in line for the cable car we each, ever so carefully, let it slip that we dislike actually riding in these things.

Ruh-roh.

I need someone to keep me from sucking all the oxygen out of the car, not someone I might have to wrestle down for the last gasp of air. As I'm working all this out in my head we are alerted to the fact that a glass bottomed cable car is an option. Uh, no thanks. I'm sure had my hubs been there he would have been making the case for the glass bottomed cable car but E and I were in complete agreement on a no see-through floor.

Yes those two specks in the sky in the center of this photo are the cable cars.

A Japanese couple and their young son were in the car with us going up. The dad was videotaping the entire ride and somewhere in Japan today is a family watching that video wondering why the crazy American woman in the background cannot stop talking. Sorry! I just can't help myself. I chatter when I'm nervous.

The windows were partially lowered in the car and as we crossed the wide open canyon the wind positively whistled right on thru and the car swayed. S-way-ed!! Somebody does maintenance on these things, yes? The little boy clung to his mama. I know exactly how you feel little guy!

There was a stop about 2/3 of the way up and we decided to hop off and see Chi Nan Temple which sits tucked into the mountainside like a picture perfect postcard.

Also to savor the terra firma for a minute.

Just keepin' it real folks.

The temple and surrounding area were positively gorgeous.

So peaceful and quiet and lush.

I could finally stop talking.

Mind the steps now-

You know, foreign travel is really not for the the faint of heart.

I might be just a little bit faint of heart.

I forge ahead anyway.

Forging ahead meant getting back on that cable car and riding it the rest of the way up. We'd heard the little village called Maokong that sits atop the mountain was filled with tea houses.

I guess so...every one of those names on the signs you see as you get off the gondola are tea houses. Our guide book suggested choosing one that appealed to you so that's what we did. The young man whose family owned this particular tea house was so polite and spoke excellent English. He asked if we'd like a menu so naturally we said yes.

Alrighty.

How 'bout you suggest something instead.

He brought us tea grown by his family and prepared and served it to us tableside. Then he stood right beside us as we drank every drop. It made us chuckle.

We really did enjoy our seat high on the mountain overlooking Taipei. The tea was soothing and the air was sweet. The view wasn't bad either, definitely worth the trip up.

You miss a lot of life when you let fear rule the day.

I try to remember that when I'm facing a mountain.

In travel and in life.

Perseverance

"He conquers who endures."

Persius

I'm bound and determined to conquer this A-Z challenge. Eleven letters remain so let's get crackin'!

P is for peachy, palatable, pleasant, polite.

All are words I could use to describe a fun and fabulous dinner I experienced in Taiwan. Yes I did eat goose on the bone in a bowl of broth one night and noodles in sauce with a mystery ingredient purchased from a food stall one afternoon-

Me: The noodles and sauce are good but what else is in here?

E: I'm not sure but there's something else in here.

Me: It doesn't smell fishy...is it squid?

E: Could be. Could be intestine.

I seriously could have gone the rest of my life without ever hearing those words. Especially worrisome when you hear them said aloud as you stare into a bowl of noodles + mystery ingredient already half eaten. By moi.

Just typing that makes my gag reflex kick into overdrive.

Let's return to peachy, pleasant, palatable, and polite. I joined hubs and some of his Taiwan team for dinner one night in a Japanese style barbecue restaurant. One thing I found interesting in Taipei (and also in Shanghai) was the idea of going to a mall for a nice meal. This is not something we'd normally do in America. Our malls tend to have mostly chain restaurant and fast food style dining options, but the malls here had lovely places to linger over a meal.

Vegetarians look away-

That's a whole lotta beef and this was just the first course. The white ingredient you see atop the thinly sliced steak in the foreground is finely diced daikon (radish). It was spread onto the thin cut of beef and then the beef was rolled up and grilled at our table. So good!

We also had some wonderful prawns of the jumbo variety. They were preceded by several different cuts of pork and more vegetables. The food just kept a comin'.

We must have had seven people waiting on us and they were all concerned about my happiness. Did I like the beef? The pork? Need a fork? (No Way!) Enjoy the shrimp? Was I ready for the special Waygu beef?

Definitely! Waygu beef is known all over the world for its marbling and tenderness. From what I understand Kobe beef comes from a cattle breed called Waygu. In order to be called Kobe beef the Waygu cattle must come from Kobe Japan. Any meat from the Waygu breed is called Waygu beef.

What's the big deal you ask?

Well, if you tasted it you would understand completely. It is melt in your mouth kind of good. Perfectly perfect if we're going with P words.

No he's not a doctor-he's the chef.

In the US seeing your chef wear a mask would possibly be cause for concern but face masks are commonplace here so let's get back to the bbq please.

We give it two thumbs up!

This was one of my favorite evenings. Such a nice group, relaxed and interesting and funny. I can see why my hubs enjoys working with them. You'll often see people in this part of the world flashing the V sign in photos. It sometimes means peace and sometimes victory. For today I'm going with Peace. Letter P remember?

Batter Up! Time for the Wednesday Hodgepodge Vol 74

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. If you're looking for today's A-Z Challenge post featuring the letter 'P' it will be up shortly. For now you'll have to make do reading my answers to the weekly Hodgepodge. You're invited to play along too...the more the merrier!

1. Spring is in the air (at least in my neck of the woods) and the birds are singing...what's your favorite bird?

Impossible to choose.

Bluebirds (NOT Bluejays), cardinals, hummingbirds and the hawk-

...especially this one who lives in our yard.

2. Speaking of birds...do you tweet? If you do share your screen name and we'll come flocking to your twitter site. Even if you don't let's all pretend here that we do-in 140 characters or less, sum up your week so far.

I said I wouldn't but I do. I don't tweet a lot but I enjoy following people there. My screen name is Daleyjoy or you can click the twitter feed on my sidebar and it will take you there.

My tweet in response to this question?

"In post party recovery mode at our house this week. Someone has to finish off the leftovers, right?"

3. It's been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

I say put on the breaks Big Brother.

Let me back up and say that I do think employers have every right to view a potential hire's facebook page. So does the entire universe for that matter, as long as it's public. I think a line is crossed though, in asking for your password. If the general public can't see it then I don't think a potential employer needs to see it either.

4. It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball themed movie? If that's too hard what's your favorite sports themed movie?

My favorite baseball movie is The Rookie with Dennis Quaid. For Love of the Game with Kevin Costner would be a close second though.

I think I'll recycle this question when football season rolls around.

5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

Yes please! One of my favorite vegetables...I like it best roasted with a little salt, pepper, and olive oil then topped with a gentle sprinkle of Parmesan. Yum!

6. What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers?)

I suppose we're all driven to some degree by our passions. Combine a healthy dose of good old fashioned curiosity with my naturally competitive nature and boom- I'm halfway there. But halfway where?

If this question is asking what drives me to do what I do then first I have to answer this-

What is it that I do?

Tough question.

What I do has certainly been a fluid thing-daughter, sister, student, friend, speech pathologist, wife, mother, teacher, school director, ex pat, volunteer, empty nester...at one time or another I've filled each one of these varying roles. The only commonality has been what's driven me- knowing my ultimate purpose.

I'm not talking about a target or goal to be attained, but rather the belief that I was placed here 'for such a time as this' not by happenstance, but by design. That God has a plan for my life and no matter where I'm living or 'what' I'm doing He is the author of my story. No matter how small or insignificant or menial a task may seem, I'm part of a bigger story and I want to play my part well.

Do I always succeed? Not by half. But I'm driven to keep trying.

Wow, that got heavy.

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

In a word, no.

Hubs can though.

You're not surprised are you?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Last Friday I enjoyed a lovely lunch (lakeside!) with two fellow NJ bloggers- Darlene who blogs at Adventures of a Middle Aged Mom and Kim who blogs at Kimberly's Korner-

This is the second time we've gotten together and we gabbed for a solid two+ hours. So fun! Is anyone planning to attend BlogHer in NYC this summer? Let me know...we're going to try to get there and would love to meet you in person if you have plans to attend.

The Occidental Tourist

If you're looking for today's Hodgepodge questions you'll find them here.

O is for Occidental.

Essentially that means Western. Not Eastern. Not Asian.

The Occidental Tourist.

I guess that would be me.

You don't hear the word Occidental or its counterpart, Oriental too often these days. The terms Western and Asian are preferred but since today is all about the letter O I'm going with it.

When last I left you we were in Taipei and were getting ready to hit some markets, specifically The Jade Market and The Flower Market. But first, we needed to pick the right subway route.

This picture makes me smile.

Sometimes when traveling, a collective brain is necessary.

Now, how to describe these markets?

Picture something the size of a football field, but indoors and with a very low ceiling.

Imagine the space filled from end zone to end zone and sideline to sideline with tables, and each and every table covered in jewelry and stones and small pieces of sculpture.

That's the Jade Market...it's impossible to adequately describe and even the pictures don't capture the size of this place. When there are literally thousands of choices how in the world do I decide what to buy?

Now, imagine another football field just past the first one, but with a higher ceiling. It too is covered in tables but these tables are filled with flowers and plants and gardening tools. Also found here are full grown trees in pots and shrubs for your yard and ornamental sculptures for your garden-that's the Flower Market.

Oh if I'd only had a way to take home some of the amazing plants I saw...I think airlines frown on anything agricultural.

You also need to imagine that you visit The Jade Market and The Flower Market in the early part of the afternoon and when you pass by them again in the early evening the buildings are completely empty. The markets are set up and broken down every weekend which cannot be easy.

We needed dinner and what better place than another night market? We headed to what is the biggest and probably most well known market in Taipei, the Shilin Night Market. Two more co-workers joined us and we went on the hunt for a particular spot someone had recommended. They kept calling it 'the goose restaurant'. No need to wonder what's for dinner. Here it is-

It helps to take pictures of the signs when they're in Chinese. When I come back I can just show the picture to a taxi driver. Much easier than trying to pantomime the words 'goose restaurant'. Note the mural on the wall with the geese scurrying away.

I think they know what's up.

This is their future.

They're delicious.

Go with the flow people.

After dinner we walked thru Shilin Market and I really enjoyed that. Shilin is a wonderful mixture of shops and boutiques, food stalls and night life. It feels a little Times Square-ish. Our friend told us we had to try these apples-

She was right! They're called wax apples and are so amazingly sweet and light. Really delicious and unlike any apple I've ever tasted.

It was a very full weekend and loads of fun. I wish I could explain the buzz in my head at the end of each day.

I know I'd love to bring my girls back here. The shopping alone would be enough to keep them happy, but they like to see new places and experience different cultures too. And we can eat goose...I have the photo all ready for our taxi driver.

Questions for the Hodgepodge Vol 74

If you're looking for today's A-Z post featuring the letter O you'll find it here.

Here are the questions for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog but be sure to come back tomorrow and link up with the rest of the neighborhood.

1. Spring is in the air (at least in my neck of the woods) and the birds are singing...what's your favorite bird?

2. Speaking of birds...do you tweet? If so tell us your screen name and we'll come flocking to your Twitter site. Even if you don't let's all pretend here that we do-in 140 characters or less, sum up your week so far.

3. Its been reported recently that employers are not only viewing the facebook pages of potential hires but they're also requesting your facebook password to have a look at what you've kept from public view. What say you?

4. It's April and you know what that means-Major League Baseball is back in action. What's your favorite baseball movie? If that's too hard, what's your favorite sports themed movie?

5. Something else this season brings-asparagus. Yes please or no thanks? If it's yes please what's your favorite way to have it prepared?

6. What drives you? (Don't you love how I sandwiched that one in between asparagus and jugglers???)

7. April 18th is International Jugglers Day...can you juggle?

8. Insert your own random thought here.

N is for Educational

Actually I just need a place to post my pretty pictures.

But I suppose you might learn something here too.

N is for the National Palace Museum, Taipei

Not to be confused with the National Museum in Beijing although they do share the same roots. I likely would not have confused the two since I'd never heard of either one, but you might know more China history than I do.

The National Palace Museum is an art museum in Taipei and is the National Museum of the Republic of China, aka Taiwan. Wanna know something? I didn't know Taiwan was aka The Republic of China. Not to be confused with The People's Republic of China aka Mainland China.

I am really the last person who should be attempting to explain centuries of Chinese history to the masses. I think I'll just stick to my pretty pictures.

But first of course I must back up because I always need to fill in the non-essential details. Its what keeps you coming back here. ahem.

Hubs was in town on a work trip. A co-worker, who shall henceforth be called S, was also on this same work trip. Her hubs (E) tagged along like I did and joined us for the Taiwan-Hong Kong leg of our jaunt across Asia. Technically we did more than tag along.

We vacationed while they worked.

Anyway, S & E told me yesterday that they're reading my trip recap (Hi!) and gave the okay to mention them here. Do you post pics of people you know in your blog without giving them a heads up? Just curious.

Since hubs and S were working most of the time, E and I got to have all the fun exploring the city together. We were quite the pair on that cable car ride which I'll talk about in an upcoming post, but first the National Palace Museum. Remember that? I think I mentioned it four paragraphs ago.

Since we arrived in Taipei on the weekend we had a day where all four of us could do some sightseeing together. We decided to trek out to the Palace, but first we had to figure out which bus to ride.

Do we look confused?

Apparently so.

This charming boy spoke some English and directed us to the correct stop. We didn't even ask...he somehow just pegged us as tourists.

Here we are having fun on the bus. This was before we discovered E's camera had been 'lifted' from his pocket somewhere between Point A and Point B. He took a picture on the bus so don't go thinking it was that sweet boy pictured above. It definitely wasn't him. The bus was crowded and hey some things just need to be chalked up to the perils of foreign travel. A missing camera might have ruined my entire trip day but E carried on with nary a complaint. The gorgeous weather and beautiful scenery definitely helped.

Just some ladies gettin' their Tai Chi on.

Note to self-learn Tai Chi.

The Palace is full of beautiful art and pottery and the surrounding gardens are none too shabby either.

Another zig zag bridge and some serious koi in the ponds here.

Hungry too-

We meandered thru the gardens and then found our own way back on the bus.

And then we hit the markets.

Because that's how we roll.

Of course I'm going to tell you about it.

Later.

We've still got half the alphabet to go remember!