Taipei 2008: the sequel

just tried Kellog's Cinnamon and Pecan Special K. not bad, not bad. i was pretty skeptical when picking it up at Target and i really did only b/c they were doing a special of buy 2 for $5.00-interesting how i found out they were doing the special. i'd gone to buy a box of Special K at CVS and the cashier behind the counter covertly whispered to me that if i really wanted to buy Special K i should buy it at Target. kind of conflict of interest huh? anyway, as i ate the surprisingly good cereal i realized what it reminded me of: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. and i loved that cereal when i was younger. so the apprehension was ill begotten and completely unfounded.

so, if it wasn't obvious before, then you weren't paying attention, but i never write these entries in any type of chronological order. as such, i'm going to finish up writing about my spring break trip to taipei now. yes, so many eons after the fact.

aside from all the eating and shopping, there were various outings, i mean i'm not completely devoid of being able to go to see cultural and historic sights and if you know me, you knew there had to be some drinking and other similar events sprinkled in there somewhere. for instance, we did check out Taipei 101. yea, it's my 2nd time there but this time i went at night vs. the afternoon and the view is as different as (forgive the pun) night and day. the city is just gorgeous when you see it from up high.

since Princess didn't speak any mandarin, my friends and i decided to take her to an expat bar. we decided to go to Brass Monkey which is an infamous expat bar. it's specifically designed to feel like a British bar and, if i remember correctly, it doesn't have too many beers on tap but carries an interesting variety of bottled beers (Asia's all about the Carlsberg which is really weird). the bar's fine, and it's definitely a breath of fresh air from the trendy clubs or lounges that are scattered around Taipei, but it has a serious negative which is it's the place to go if you're a white guy out to pick up and asian girl and vice versa-and you know how i feel about the asian fetish thing. it's just super demeaning and creepy. i mean, when there's an asian fetish involved, the girl doesn't even have to be pretty-she just has to be asian. *shiver* i shudder just thinking about how gross that is. however, Princess (thank god) didn't meet a white guy but instead some British asian guy who she promptly abandoned us for and left the bar w/. granted they'd only walked a block down the street to "talk" quietly in some side street but i had a proper "mother"-like freak out b/c i had no idea where she'd gone (and i'd specifically told her to not leave the bar) and i knew she: 1) didn't know how to speak the language (and the Taipei population is not that great at english); 2) didn't know the telephone number of the place we were staying; 3) didn't know my cellphone number; and 4) didn't know the address of where we were staying. it was a nightmare. i just imagined the way my family would kill me for having lost the person i'd brought to Taipei w/me, not to mention what Princess' family would do to me after my own family was done w/me.

obviously we did find each other and Princess came back to the US safe and sound altho i've decided to keep a safer distance b/c i can't deal w/the stress of worrying about my friends. i'm too old for that kind of stuff. i only want to worry about my friends when it's necessary (e.g. job, love-life, family stuff etc.) and of course, guys and girls alike get a few free passes where they can cause a little drama in the club (but they must be drunk otherwise i don't tolerate stupidity). otherwise i just want to have fun hanging out w/my friends and not have to worry b/c you put yourself in situations where rape is a serious possibility and i have to keep checking up on you. no thanks.

i'd learned my lesson tho after Brass Monkey and i just got out of Princess' way. we ended up going to Luxy b/c she wanted to see the British guy again. i'd been to Luxy before w/Ahjima and the DJ had really sucked that time, but this time they played great danceable music and i had a great time dancing the night away. at 1 point Princess and i even jumped on the stage. at some point in the night the "show girls" (girls the club hires to bring around promotional shots and drinks and do a little table-dance-like performance on the stage sporadically throughout the evening) came out on stage to dance and at the end of their little performance they try to get guys to come on stage and dance too. but of course, we're talking about asian guys (most of who can't really dance-particularly FOBs). so all the guys were being all wishy-washy about getting on stage so Princess and i decided to go up there instead. so fun.

near the end of the trip, British guy wanted to take Princess out on a date and so we made the arrangements and i went to hang out w/my friends. we ended up at Miramar. the place is really like a giant shopping center but being on the outskirts of Taipei it has a few extras to try and attract consumers. aside from a movie theater, there's also a rooftop ferris wheel that's featured in most taiwan drama series. i found out this ferris wheel is something like 2nd largest in the world. pretty impressive huh? i did ride on it altho i have begun to realize something as i've gotten older: i have a slight fear of heights. luckily, the ferris wheel has a very sturdy look and feel to it and it moves very slow. the view's pretty amazing and i definitely recommend giving it a try.

after the ferris wheel, Island and i went up Yang Ming Shan to grab dinner. the last time i was up there was w/a group of friends and it had a very "camping" feel to it, sitting up there in the mountains eating food taken from the mountain to make the dinner dishes. this time was totally different. it had started to rain as we drove up the mountain-which, by the way, makes the drive up the mountain seem even more treacherous. in the dark the roads seem even more wind-y and dangerous and there are very few streetlamps to light the way. the place we went to was known for it's view and only has outdoor seating so we sat huddled under a giant beach umbrella eating our dinner. the rain had settled down into a light mist by the time we were finishing and then they proceeded w/a fireworks display (which apparently they do every night on the weekends). i totally recommend doing this if you're trying to impress a girl you're w/. very romantic.

and then it was time to leave. it was so sad b/c the time just flew by. and there's still so much stuff i want to do and see...but i guess that's for next time. b/c i just can't resist going back there. i love it too much.