travel

travel — Comments Off on A quick trip to Chicago
12
Dec 19

A quick trip to Chicago

I wasn’t planning on doing much traveling this year, but when my friend Yiannis invited me along on his trip to Chicago, I had to say yes, especially when I saw how cheap the flights were. (Who wants to go a freezing cold city in November? We do apparently.)

The Art Institute of Chicago

Of course I went to lots of museums, and the Art Institute of Chicago was by far my favorite. Before I went around, as is my tradition, I had lunch in their cafe. It was quite good and more reasonably priced than my other favorite museum, the Met. I had pozoloe for $6 with a piece of bread of 50 cents. I also splurged on a “s’more” parfait for a couple of dollars. It was SO GOOD. As for a beverage, I brought some (shhh) “thermos wine.” (Our AirBnB was right across the street from a Trader Joe’s so stocking up on groceries and cheap booze was convenient.)

And of course I loved the art. It was exciting to see some famous works in person, like American Gothic, Nighthawks, and Marc Chagall’s American Windows (which I saw for the first time in the museum scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). I also enjoyed the Andy Warhol exhibit —

— and this one about artists and their relationships with Mexico, in particular the work of Ruth Asawa:

I also loved the arms and armory area:

Dare I say, more than the one at the Met.

I liked the museum so much I was tempted to go again since I hadn’t seen the whole thing. However, it’s king of expensive: $25 for general admission plus $7 for the special exhibit (the Andy Warhol retrospective, which I really didn’t want to miss) plus $1 for each checked item. Since you’re not allowed to carry around backpacks, you’re in a way forced to check something. But next time I go to Chicago, I’m definitely going again.

Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Although I didn’t get a lot out of this museum, it did have some very photographable parts:

I also enjoyed my lunch: a kind of pizza biali with tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. And only five bucks!

Greektown

We spent much of one day in Greektown, which was lots of fun. In addition to the National Greek Museum, which was pretty interesting, we ate at Artopolis, a combo cafe and grocery. It was really cute and spacious (most restaurants in Chicago seem huge). I tried a shot of a Greek liquer, and when we returned to buy a few groceries, had their traditional chicken soup. Yummy. I also bought canned grape leaves, these giant beans in tomato sauce, this Greek wine (which was just okay), and some chocolate. Fun!

Chicago History Museum

This museum was just okay to be honest. I think it’s geared more for kids. Plus it didn’t help that I might have had too much wine with my museum cafe lunch (burger and fries). I had had a trying morning because I schlepped all the way to this chocolate shop to get something for my mom, only to realize I had forgotten my wallet. So I schlepped all the way back home. Then it was sort of hard to find the museum. So I splurged on burger and fries, and downed probably two glasses of wine. Too drunk to absorb much Chicago history.

Chicago Cultural Center

I really loved this place. Plus it was free. The building is beautiful and had an architecture exhibit on several floors. I also happened to get there in time for a free building tour.

The tour guide was very nice and informative.

Other sights

We stayed not too far from Millennium Park so we saw the cool stuff there, like this:

And this:

And this:

boston / travel — Comments Off on A Memorial Day trip to Boston
31
May 19

A Memorial Day trip to Boston

I don’t usually like to travel during holiday weekends because of the crowds, but last week I decided to see my friend Ellen in Boston. I always love visiting her because it’s both super chill and GWF, good wholesome fun. (Last year we hung out in a bar for three hours, drinking and playing Jenga.)

Saturday

The first we did when I got in (via GoBus) was shop, then eat. We had Nepalese food at a place called Tasty Mo Mo. It was, well, tasty! They actually offered a combo of both Nepalese and Indian dishes. Of course we got the mo mos, Nepalese dumplings, and shared a chicken makhni, my favorite Indian dish. It was Ellen’s first time having it, and she loved it.

Next we walked around the Bow Market and got a couple of beers at the brewery there. I’m not usually a fan of beer, but I liked what we got: a light sour one and a dark one that tasted like chocolate.

That night we saw a play. It was very campy and fun, but unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it.

Sunday

On this day we decided to take a little road trip to the South Shore, and make some stops along the way.

First one was a Talbot’s outlet of all things. Ellen got some clothes while I got a pair of sunglasses. Next was Holly Hill Farm where Ellen wanted to get some herbs. Did I mention it was incredibly hot that day? It was sort of insufferable. And I had forgotten my hat, didn’t bring enough water, AND had to pee. Ugh. I did however buy some yummy cashews for a snack, homemade peanut butter and jam, and a bar of incredibly delicious coconut chocolate.

Next was a brewery, which was such a relief. We used the bathroom, got a flight of beers, and I chugged water. It was also nice to sit inside in the A/C. We also partook of the pizza and free pretzels.

At the next brewery (unfortunately I can’t remember the name), we first sat outside, but suddenly I got really hot in the sun so we came back in. There was some old guy who shared our table and chatted us up. I don’t know if he was hitting on us. He might have thought we went inside to get away from him.

This place had tacos and we shared an order, which had two. At first I thought I wasn’t hungry for a taco, but after I ate mine, I was like, “I could totally eat another one,” but I didn’t.

Our last stop was Duxbury. It was soooo pretty with beautiful, enormous houses. The area around the seafood truck and bar was a little annoying. (There was supposed to be a pop-up lobster roll place and brewery, but they had already sold out of their stuff.) We waited in line for what felt like forever for some oysters and other seafood, but we got our oysters before they sold out. Yay! A portion of a table nearby cleared so we snagged it.

I had three oysters. They were very good. We were going to share a clam dip, which was kind of like a more watery clam chowder, but they got mixed up and ended up giving us another one for free. Score! So we each had our own, which was good because I was actually kind of hungry.

There was a fire for s’mores. I kind of wanted one, but I also didn’t feel like waiting in line again. We made do with more of the chocolate I had bought. We stood at the water for a while, then sat in a couple of chairs. When the bugs started to get us, we got up and went back to the car.

We drove around. The houses were just crazy. I said I could imagine some movie there with a rich girl and her love interest, a working class guy, and we started telling that story. I said maybe she brings him home and ends up seeing his friend shucking oysters. The rest wasn’t that interesting. We ended up driving across this bridge, and were at the town’s official beach. The sun was setting just then, and we both managed to catch some gorgeous pictures.

Monday

Since my bus was at one, we just stopped at a market so I could pick up provisions for the bus and had lunch at a barbecue place. Pulled pork platter for the win! A yummy end to a very active, fun-filled Memorial Day weekend.

london / travel — Comments Off on London 2018: Sites
26
Oct 18

London 2018: Sites

Kensal Green Cemetery and Paddington Basin

No trip of mine would be complete without a visit to one of the local cemeteries. I picked Kensal Green because it’s mentioned in Atlas Obscura as the “oldest park cemetery in London.”

We decided to walk there. The day was overcast and a little rainy. I thought it was supposed to be pretty short but it felt long, maybe because we went through a sort of not great part of town. I thought because it was along a body of water that it would be picturesque, but it wasn’t.

The cemetery also seemed unkempt. Overgrown grass, construction piled on top of graves, toppled over headstones. Eventually we’d get to a part that was a little better. It included this fancy memorial to this kid, Medi Mehra, who died at 11 in a “freak” horse riding accident. It was this oversized gazebo with a statute of him, benches, all these flowers, and what looked like two coffins. I was fascinated by it.

Yiannis suggested walking back a different way, and I found that we could go on the other side of the body of water (which was called Paddington Basin). That was much better. The town was prettier, and we could also walk right along the water, where there was plenty of graffiti.

The Albert Memorial

We saw this from far away and thought, What the heck is that? So of course we walked toward it to find out.

It’s the memorial Queen Victoria had built to her husband, Prince Albert, after he died of typhoid. Apparently, in the memorial Prince Albert is holding the catalog of the Great Exhibition, “which he inspired and helped to organise.” At each corner are statues that represent Europe, Asia, Africa and America, higher up are “figures representing manufacture, commerce, agriculture and engineering, and near the top are “gilded bronze statues of the angels and virtues.”

Pretty fancy.

Chinatown

London’s Chinatown is pretty small, especially compared to New York’s, but it was nice to walk through.

I got two youtiao for a pound, which I enjoyed immensely.

U.S. Embassy

This was a special treat.

One of Yiannis’s friends works here, and was kind enough to invite us in and show us around. The security was very tight, understandably so. Once we got inside it was totally worth it. Yiannis’s friend gave us a tour, showing us all the portraits of past ambassadors, lithographs of Native American chiefs and other tribal members, and the little store where employees can get American things that aren’t available in London (like Neosporin).

The bar was the last stop. It’s on the top floor and has a lovely view. Our gin and tonics were tasty (gin is definitely the liquor of London). I had two and got pretty tipsy.

london / travel — Comments Off on London 2018: Entertainment
25
Oct 18

London 2018: Entertainment

On our trips to France and Spain, we didn’t go to any concerts or other entertainment because of the language barrier, but since we were in London, we went to three different performances.

Tina: The Musical

One of the big reasons Yiannis wanted to go to London was to see this musical. To be honest, I was sort of dreading it because I was sick, but it turned out to be wonderful (and much better than The Bodyguard, which we saw during our first trip and agreed was sort, well, awful).

The woman who played Tina Turner, Adrienne Warren, was freaking amazing. She had an incredible voice and presence. Everyone in the cast was great (the actor who played Ike Turner was so convincing, he got booed, the poor guy) and the story was quite moving at times. I cried at least once.

Something surprising I found about London was that their drinks in restaurants and whatnot seemed to be cheaper than in New York. Like eight to 10 pounds, which is under $15, when a glass of wine in New York can be $15 and a cocktail up to $20. It was also inexpensive at the theater, six to eight pounds, or just around $10, for a glass of wine. Meanwhile in New York theaters a glass of wine can be well over $20, which is INSANE. During intermission at Tina, I was tempted to get a rose, but I didn’t since alcohol had been making me even more congested and plus I’d have to pee.

Tawiah

We also went to a concert for this singer Yiannis likes. She was playing at a theater called The Albany in a part of town called Deptford. It took us an hour and multiple trains to get there, and looked very suburban and unlike any other part of London we had been to so I was kind of like, “Where the hell are we?”

I knew nothing about Tawiah but ended up really enjoying her music. It was very jazzy and soulful. The audience was a mix of mostly young blacks, some young whites, and a surprising number of older white couples (and two Asians, including myself). I couldn’t help but wonder if they had season tickets to the theater and didn’t know what they were in for.

On the way back, we saw this drunk guy on the subway. Not just drunk: he had pissed himself. A young white guy in a business suit with the front of his pants (or trousers) totally wet. In all my years in New York AND San Francisco, I’ve never seen such a thing.

Naked Boys Reading

Speaking of trousers, the readers at this event were without them.

Yiannis wouldn’t mind my saying he enjoys being naked in public. For instance he used to do naked stand-up comedy and just recently appeared in Spencer Tunick’s photography. So when he saw that Naked Boys Reading happened to be having their first open mike night the week we were there, he just had to sign up.

I was far more comfortable at this event than I’ve been at any of Yiannis’s naked stand-up shows. (There’s nothing like an obnoxious comedian and his gross junk getting in your face.) This was just gay men (and one woman) reading mostly literature. One older man read I don’t even know what. Neither of us could follow it.

Whatever you want to say about it, it was definitely a unique experience.

london / travel — Comments Off on London 2018: Museums
24
Oct 18

London 2018: Museums

One of my favorite things in the world are museums so of course I couldn’t get enough of all the free ones in London.

Wallace Collection

Like the Frick in New York, the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston, and the Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris, the Wallace Collection is a private collection made public. The staircase is pretty cool:

The museum has a ton of stuff. I kept thinking I was done only to stumble upon another room. When I reached the wing full of armor and weapons, it was time to go meet Yiannis, which was good because my brain was about to explode.

Victoria & Albert Museum

This was so nice, we visited twice. The first time was mainly to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. We both enjoyed it. While it was billed as focusing on her fashion, I thought it did more than that. It juxtaposed her clothing with her work and other belongings, and also showed how what she wore changed with her ailments. For instance, she made her own shoes that compensated for one leg that was shorter than the other and decorated the corsets that basically held her together.

The second time we visited the permanent collection. My favorite pieces were this creepy little statue —

This one that reminded me of a ghost from Pac-Man.

This Chihuly piece.

This bust of Queen Victoria.

And these gorgeous chandeliers in the cafe.

The VAM cafe was actually the first-ever museum cafe, and the food was quite good. On our first visit, I got a fennel sausage roll (a billion times better than the one I got at Borough Market, needless to say), which came with two yummy salads, lentil and radicchio.

British Museum

What I like best about the British Museum is the Greek area, especially this statue of Venus.

Later I asked Yiannis if Greeks feel the same way as some other countries about their artifacts being in another country’s museum. At first he said he didn’t think so since they still had so many, but then he discovered this was not the case and that Greece wanted what’s called the Parthenon marbles back. However, a little while later the country changed its mind.

Regardless, after our visit we realized the British Museum is a bit, um, problematic? Since the bulk of their items are from other countries and it’s doubtful, or at least unclear, if those countries gave up those artifacts willingly

Tate Modern

One of the nicest things about the Tate Modern is the walk. One way to get there is to cross the Millennium Bridge, at one end of which is St. Paul’s Cathedral and the other is the museum.

I was feeling pretty tired and coldy that day so I didn’t last very long. But I did enjoy these portraits, which were grouped together but by different artists:

Then there was this room full of what looked like giant potatoes:

And this one which I just thought was cool:

Tate Britain

The first time I visited the Tate Britain, I really loved it. I felt like it was organized so well and enjoyed following the timeline on the floor. This time for some reason I wasn’t as into it. Again, partially it was because I was sick and also some sections were closed off so I didn’t get the full picture. Oh, and I think I was too much of a cheapskate to get the full audio tour.

I was, however, fascinated by this painting:

I call it “The Weird Twins,” but it’s actually called “The Cholmondeley Ladies.” It was painted in the early 17th century and the artist is unknown. Basically, the description says, historians have no idea who these ladies are. It’s assumed they’re not identical twins because their eyes are different colors. One description says they were born and married (and apparently had kids) on the same day. They could be sisters or sisters-in-law. Regardless, pretty weird and fascinating.

Next up: entertainment!

london / travel — Comments Off on London 2018: Eats and drinks
23
Oct 18

London 2018: Eats and drinks

While I love trying new foods when I travel, I’m not one of those people for whom every meal has to be the end all, be all. That’s why I enjoying staying in places that have a kitchen, even more so during this trip since I was feeling under the weather.

Eating at home

One of the first things we did was hit the grocery store, and one of the first things I stocked up on was Marmite.

I know you can get it in the States (I spotted it at Whole Foods recently), but it’s cheaper in London. And why not enjoy it while I’m there? I particularly like it on cheese toast.

Because I had a bad cold, a few nights I craved spicy Korean instant noodles. Luckily there was an Asian market right nearby. I also picked up tofu, romaine lettuce, and KitKats.

The only bad thing I ate at home was a pizza from Tesco’s. Why get a pizza from Tesco’s, you may ask? Whenever I go to Paris or Spain, I stock up on supermarket pizza because it’s really good. Not so in London apparently. It was horrible — but I ate it anyway.

Ole & Steen

We popped in here for breakfast one morning (or second breakfast for me). That’s where I found I couldn’t use the five pound note I’ve been holding since 2013. Oh well. I still had enough for a delicious bacon sandwich.

Looks like Ole & Steen is also in New York. Not so exotic then, but I definitely plan on getting some Danish pastries from there.

TABxTAB

Another (second) breakfast place. I really liked my cappuccino and bacon sandwich —

— but the woman behind the counter was oddly snotty to me while she was nice to Yiannis. I feel like she gave me a weird look when I walked in, and after the bad experience with the cashier at Tesco my first day, I couldn’t help but think she saw me as a potentially rude tourist from China, despite the fact that a) I was with a white dude and not a big tour group, and b) I was speaking perfect English. However, the guy who actually rang me up at TABxTAB was perfectly nice.

When we returned another day so that Yiannis could pick something up, the same woman looked all uncomfortable. I made sure to give her a snotty look.

Sourced Market

This place had a wide variety of fresh and yummy foods. I imagine it’s good for people to grab and go during the work week.

Originally we stopped in because the cookies in the window looked tasty, but it turned out to be really good in general. My salad was a bit boring, but it still tasted fresh and hit the spot in terms of greens and fiber. I also had a cold press apple juice, which seemed cheaper than back in the States. It was delicious and just what I needed for my cold.

Mazi

This Greek place wasn’t too far from our apartment. While I enjoyed my dish — I think I got a gyro platter — I found it overpriced. Yiannis wasn’t impressed.

Maltby Street Market

This was my favorite food-related activity. The Maltby Street Market is much smaller and low key than Borough Market. I’m sure it gets hella crowded, but we went on a chilly and rainy day so there weren’t too many people.

There were lots of good choices to eat, but I ended up having this creamy pasta and ham dish at a sit-down place.

It was pretty good (and the guy who helped me was very nice), but afterward I kicked myself for not getting a Scotch egg. I thought I’d see plenty later but I didn’t.

At the end of the market was a gin distillery. We partook in their free tasting — the women who ran it were so nice and fun — then Yiannis bought two cocktails and a bottle of gin. I only bought a bottle.

Borough and Portobello Road Markets

I so loved Borough Market when I visited in 2009 (gah, almost 10 years ago), but it wasn’t as great as I remember. That might have been because I went on a weekday so not everything was open. Also, I didn’t feel like waiting on a long line (damn you cold!) and got a random sausage roll. Normally you can’t wrong with sausage rolls, but this one was not good, maybe because the grumpy lady didn’t heat it up for me. Regardless I took two bites and threw it out.

We went to Portobello Road Market at the recommendation of the women at the gin distillery, and also you can’t stay in Notting Hill and not go. They suggested going early to beat the crowds, and I’m glad we did. On our initial walk it wasn’t bad, but on our way back it was mobbed.

Since this is mainly an antiques market, you might be wondering what it’s doing in a post about food. That’s because that was the only thing I bought: a corn fritter, which was tasty but would have been better heated up (what’s with you people?) and a fantastic apple donut. The filling was very apple-y and not runny at all. Plus the woman who gave it to me said, “Here you go, love,” which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Boki

We popped in this cute place sort of randomly while we were walking around Chinatown and SoHo. (Again, shout out to the wait staff who treated me like a human being.)

I wasn’t hungry since I had had a homemade cheese, Marmite, and courgette sandwich on the road as well as two youtiao in Chinatown. So I just had a cocktail.

It was a basil gimlet with balsamic vinegar. Yum! As you might be able to see, Yiannis didn’t want his egg (too runny for him) so I had that too (guess I had room despite the sandwich and fried dough sticks).

Next up: museums!

london — Comments Off on London 2018: Getting there + where we stayed
22
Oct 18

London 2018: Getting there + where we stayed

So I decided to go to London earlier this month. And by “decided” I mean “tagged along with my friend Yiannis.” This was the third time I’ve been there. The first was for a two-week course for library school, and the second was also with Yiannis during our first Paris trip. I love London so I was pretty psyched.

Just two problems: 1) I had to work the night before until 10, then get up for an eight A.M. flight, and 2) I was coming down with a cold. Needless to say I felt like shit waking up. I crawled out of bed at four, and moments later got a text from Yiannis saying he was already on the subway platform. I had a moment of panic before reminding myself I was splurging on a Lyft.

We got through security around the same time and got breakfast at Shake Shack. I had their sausage, egg, and cheese sandwich. SO GOOD. The wait to get on the flight didn’t feel too long, nor did the flight itself (it was just six hours). I watched Tag, during which I fell asleep, and Life of the Party, which was unexpectedly good. I think I watched something else but I can’t remember.

Lunch was also surprisingly yummy. I got the chicken meatballs with pasta. Plus! Free wine! Yiannis turned his down after which I mentally kicked him. I totally would have taken it and saved it for later.

Getting through customs took FOREVER. They had very few people working until we got near the front of the line, and finally all these workers showed up. Afterward we just splurged on a cab. We asked a couple of people about Uber, but it seemed like a lot of trouble.

The AirBnB was pretty nice albeit spare. At least it seemed clean and new. After we dropped off our stuff, we hit the grocery store, where I immediately had an unpleasant experience with one of the cashiers. She was Indian with a heavy accent yet she kept talking to me like I didn’t know English. What the fuck

Except for that, I enjoyed the area. We were in Notting Hill and walking distance to a couple of subway stations, a street with lots of stores, restaurants, and markets (even an Asian one, we’d find out later), and Hyde Park. But the area right around our apartment was quiet (except for one night that someone had a party into the wee hours).

As I mentioned, the place was nice but not exactly cozy. However, it was a better deal than a hotel since we each had our own room, there was a washing machine, and the kitchen allowed us to cook at home if we wanted rather than spending money on restaurants every day. Plus our host left us some food, including oatmeal, tea, bread, milk, coffee, and eggs.

But that didn’t stop us from eating out quite a bit. Next up: eats and drinks!

boston — Comments Off on Much-needed bestie time in Boston
02
Jul 18

Much-needed bestie time in Boston

I had a lovely time in Boston last weekend with my good friend Ellen. It was low-key and relaxing. We had a barbecue with her friends, which fun except the part where I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.

I also played Jenga for the first time. We were on our way somewhere when Ellen spotted the game through an open bar window. She expressed interest in playing and I was dismissive until I saw the bar had aperol spritzes. We ended up staying for three hours.

It was hella fun.

We also went shopping, did an escape room (the people we were teamed up with were kind of annoying), and just chilled on her porch and enjoyed the summer evenings.

It was exactly what the doctor ordered.

family / los angeles — Comments Off on Los Angeles
24
Jun 18

Los Angeles

Last week my mom and I flew out to Los Angeles to lay my dad to rest. His mother, sister, brother-in-law, and niece are all buried in one cemetery, and my brother and his wife arranged it so Dad was near there. While that was very hard, I think it provided a little, if not total, closure.

Having this goofy little guy around helped as always.

While I was there, I walked him by myself for the first time. I got kind of used to it although I didn’t enjoy picking up his poop, his freakout over two squirrels chasing each other, nor the sneaky German shepherd who came bounding out of nowhere and scared the shit out of both me and Bucky.

Bucky also took to curling up on the air mattress I was sleeping on whenever we left the house.

It was adorable until I found a big wet spot. It wasn’t pee, just his spit from licking. Still: gross. Luckily he’s so cute.

taiwan / travel — Comments Off on Taiwan: Odds and ends
25
Apr 18

Taiwan: Odds and ends

Just some random final observances.

Not a pretty city

One of the first things I noticed is that Taipei seems rundown. I didn’t notice a particular style of architecture and all the buildings seemed old. I emailed my dad about this, and he confirmed that a lot of “foreigners” feel the same way.

That being said, the parks and gardens were very nice, and Beitou was cute. And of course I have yet to see other parts of Taiwan, which I’ve heard are gorgeous.

Very warm people

While I didn’t think the city was pretty to look at, I found the people extremely warm. Every person I spoke to was kind, from the half a dozen older people who clamored to give me directions to the flower market, to the National Taiwan University student who gave me an incomprehensible tour, to the lady I asked about the chou dofu. People were also polite, but not super formal, hence, the warmth.

The language

I had a harder time than I expected understanding people. I think this was sometimes because they were speaking Taiwanese or another language to me. However, I feel like I handled it okay.

An awesome subway system

How awesome? It’s:

Easy to use. I found the maps and token system easy to understand, and I never once got lost on the trains (on foot is another story).

Clean. Like, really clean. No urine smell or garbage. They are also pretty strict about not eating or drinking on the subway or even the stations (later my uncle told me about he got chastised for chewing gum while waiting for a train). During one ride, I saw a girl with a large soda cup get escorted off by a guard. In the beginning of my trip, I popped a hard candy in my mouth, and while no one stared, I now know that was a no-no.

Safe. Or at least it seemed that way. The trains were enclosed or surrounded by high walls, which, I’m guessing, prevent refuse or, God forbid, people from going onto the tracks.

On time. At least in my experience. The trains came when the signs said they would, and I was never on one that inexplicably sat umoving on the tracks.

Relaxing. In at least one station, gentle, soothing music would play when the train was about to arrive.

Something else I noticed was how people treated the seats reserved for the elderly, people who were pregnant, and those with disabilities. While New Yorkers ignore those signs and give up their seats only on a case by case basis, Taipei-ers followed that rule to a tee. In the beginning of my trip, I totally took one of those seats, but later noticed how no one would, not even when all the other seats were taken and those were still empty. I soon followed suit.

Dirt cheap

Everything, especially the food, was so freaking cheap. I think I mentioned I’d often get two tea eggs from convenience stores for maybe 20 cents American. The most expensive meals I had — which were from CoCo Curry — were right around $10, which is considered cheap in NYC.

The verdict?

I loved Taipei and would visit again. I would even stay in the same hotel and revisit the same sights. But here are some things I would do differently:

Actually go to Shihsanhang Museum of Archaeology. Apparently it’s just a 30-minute bus ride from that hotel. D’oh!

Take a day trip to Jiufen. It was on my docket of things to do but I was too lazy.

Eat at Din Tai Fung. And make sure it’s open before I go.

Go to the Zhishan Garden at the National Palace Museum. Ditto re: open.

Actually make it to Yangmingshan National Park. Only take a cab or bus instead of try to walk.

Have beef noodle soup. Somehow I skipped this, maybe because it was kind of warm and humid while I was there, but maybe also because of the effort of finding a place that wasn’t a tourist trap.

Try chou dofu. Maybe.


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