I’ve been here before, about a decade ago, and it hasn’t changed much. It was organized, clean and hot before, as it is now.
My memory of Taipei is the heat – I was younger, but likely a lot less resilient, and the heat bothered me quite a bit back then. I remember thinking only of the heat and how oppressive it was. Maybe I was inexperienced, wearing jeans and a cotton T-shirt, so I suffered the heat – I was uncomfortable, sweaty and irritated by the weather. I remember eating a bowl of shaved ice topped with sweet black beans and fruit, and cheap, delicious dumplings, and that, for a little bit, made the heat disappear. This time around I indulge in Milk Bubble Teas.
I’m back in Taipei for the second part of the teach abroad program and I’m stoked. The heat doesn’t bother me anymore – years of travel, camping and hiking in extreme heat have weathered my heart so it reacts less violently. I am better prepared, too – the clothes I have with me are breezier. Besides which, I’m much more amenable to getting lost – that makes it easier to follow the shade around the city.
During the weekday I spend the day in the classroom where the fans are on, cooling the bodies of 25 students who constantly make me laugh. On weekends, when I go out during the day, the sidewalks are mostly abandoned – the few people that are out wander around with sun umbrellas, sun hats or long sleeve gloves. I have none of these items. I don’t even have a hat – I never have a hat, so as much as possible I stick to the shade, when it’s available. Walking around when no one else is out makes it feel like the city is mine to explore, before it wakes up at dusk and changes completely.
Though Taipei is famous for its night markets, there are some markets open during the day. People wander around, their umbrellas swiftly moving out of the way of other umbrellas like it’s second nature. People come out to get their produce, and notably, their lunch boxes. I wander in and out of these markets, my stomach aching for the food, but my body is too hot to want to exert any energy on having to digest it.
Looking at a map of the city it looks like I should be hopping on and off the metro, but often, it’s an easy walk from one place to another, and for the most part I’m able to avoid the underground, and meander through the side streets to get from one destination to another. Along the way I see lots of drying laundry, shots my camera can’t avoid taking.
I visit all the tourist spots. They’re easy to find and hard to ignore. I love the Peace Park best – it really does feel peaceful there and during the heat of the day, I have it to myself, expect for a wedding dress photoshoot.
Taipei comes alive in the late afternoon. People who reside here seem to love socializing, and every communal area in the city fills with people, many of whom congregate to chat, play chess, many more of whom gather to do something athletic. Many of the street corners are occupied with men, who sit anywhere amenable to a bum, and chat. I wonder if some of the stools they have with them are hidden behind some tree for the rest of the day or if they are brought in on their scooters each day. I assume they meet here daily, just like older men do in coffee shops elsewhere in the world. Maybe each corner is someone’s corner, and if you live in the city, you know which ‘belongs’ to you.
The greatest show of Taipei’s activity is in Da’an Forest Park – there’s a group of dancers who have, playing on a small radio, US oldies – my friend joins in the dance, because it seems, anyone is welcome. I do, too, for the little while that I’m not taking photos, but even this kind of simple step is a little hard for me to keep up with. There are other groups of dancers, of all ages, spread out in the park – there are a few hip hop groups, some elderly groups out to move their stiffened hips and school girls imitating a pop group. People are riding their bikes, learning to rollerblade, or practise fancy frisbee moves. Everyone is moving. The city is alive with people outside, enjoying themselves and the company of others.
It is refreshing to be in a city where the people are out, and not just running from one place to another with a mug of coffee in their hands, wearing black. Here, people favour colour, and most of them aren’t rushing. They take their time. They sit and chat and laugh. It feels that people actually enjoy the city, and life in it. The people here aren’t cogs in a dirty, industrial machine.
Visiting the shrines and temples in the late afternoon is best. The fading sunlight makes each place more peaceful, the colours become more vibrant against the pale violet sky, and it’s when it’s easiest to indulge in people watching – everyone is out.
The temples are magnificent from the outside, but I wander in, and sneak around to see what else is hiding from the usual, unsuspecting tourist. At Songshan Ciyou Temple, I wander to the back where I find a set of stairs. I climb the 5 stories or so, and at each level I get a new view of the temple and the people that come to leave their prayers or find solace in a shady, quiet part of the temple. At one level, Snoopy is etched into the temple’s stone floor – I’m not kidding – Snoopy is etched into the temple floor! As I get higher, the city comes into view. The contrast of this beautiful temple, brightly coloured, quiet and peaceful, in comparison with the busy streets of Taipei, the city’s light, scooters and people, is a magnificent pictorial metaphor of Taipei.