Tuesday 28 December 2010

End of the line

Another pleasant day out, this time taking the Taipei Rapid Transit System TO THE LIMIT, for an EXTREME adventure ON THE EDGE...




What that means is I went all the way up the red line of the metro (I live down near the bottom of the green line by Dapinglin (大坪林), for any celeb stalking fans out there).

Yeah, I know there was a time when I travelled 6,000 miles in a day, but in this weird place I'm too scared of what lies beyond to risk venturing outside of the city. Here may literally be dragons, after all. Or at the very least, a lengthy and frustrating visa application process.

But there was still an element of adventure involved, as I rode a bicycle for the first time in about 10 years. Annoyingly though, the limited riding skills I once possessed all came back to me as soon as I boarded the vehicle - meaning my brother remains unchallenged in his impressive feat of being the only person in history who completely forgot how to ride a bike despite having learned earlier in life. Another hackneyed old axiom bites the dust - NOW EAT MINE!!! (i.e. my dust).


Guandu
(關渡)



Check out the confidence! As long as I don't have to turn at any point.
We'll cross that bridge when we come to it.



There's the bridge. And thus my bitter end.
Do not stand at my grave and weep - check out the mental wildlife instead:



Some guy taking his gigantic pig for a day out by the river. BECAUSE THAT'S REGULAR.
Another case of Taiwan pet weirdness.



Temple of Guandu. Sounds like a Terry Goodkind book or something.
Another one for my collection anyway.



Guandu at proto-sunset. Sometimes my photos are entirely lacking a silly agenda


Danshui
(淡水)



Tasty squid on a stick at Danshui Harbour.
More freakish food coming soon!



No idea what this is. Just passing on the enigma.

I'm no Bible scholar, but I'm pretty sure the gospels don't mention the adult Jesus working as a doctor, chef, sexy sailor or Spanish waiter when he wasn't busy teaching parables.
It's like an all-Christ line-up of the Village People



The Red Castle. It may not be red, or a castle, but at 111 years old it's one of the most treasured historical sites this modern city has going for it.

Which is presumably why they turned it into a restaurant/cafe complex commanding spectacular views over the river:



Okay, maybe I should have got there earlier.


Edit: In the interest of BBC-style honesty, I just remembered I did sit on a bike about two years ago, when I dug a rusty, seaweed-covered child's bike out of the depths in North Queensferry, Scotland.


I didn't ride it though, I'm not weird.