Not a lazy Sunday

I feel like I've been so busy the past few months with creating a social network in Taiwan, that I've been neglecting things like travel and going to see new places. So on this quiet-ish weekend, I took the plunge and trekked a little bit out of the way... to northeast Taiwan. Not exactly long distance travel, but still a nice little day trip.

Jiufen (九份) is easily accessible via bus from Taipei, and so in about 2 hours, I arrived at a quaint mountain town, complete with narrow winding streets and sweeping views. It was easy to amble along for a few hours, browsing the many bespoke shops (as well as more tourist-oriented souvenir places). Food vendors beckoned from every corner, tantalizing smells wafting into the streets. It was a nice way to spend a pretty Sunday afternoon.

Jiufen is located in a very hilly region

The ride up was a little dizzying... just like being back in Cannes! :)

Supposedly, Hayao Miyazaki drew inspiration from this town for his movie, "Spirited Away". See any resemblance?

The narrow streets were packed with visitors

Ha. Dragon. Ball.

Look, a cute kitty!

During cloudy moments, the fog makes the view look very surreal

Curvy mountain roads, everywhere!

A cool wall next to one of numerous staircases in Jiufen

Looks pretty, but they're actually flavored malt syrup candy! 

As I finished browsing around Jiufen, I contemplated traveling a wee bit further to see the Golden Waterfall, located in nearby Jinguashi (金瓜石). Its golden hue was supposed to be imparted by volcanic sulfur. I found a bus (thank goodness for Google maps!), and was on my way.

Unfortunately, my going was not smooth, and after several mishaps that included me losing my Easycard (with over 400nt still on it! Waaaah!), I finally arrived at the Golden Waterfall. Are these pictures worth the 12 dollars or so that it took to get me there?

If only I could you know, get some ACTUAL gold from these waters

I believe that on certain days, the water itself takes on a more
golden hue too

The actual waterfall... which was not very big or impressive.
Oh sadness.

Tired and defeated by the transportation gods, I bused my way back to Taipei. I fell asleep for a short nap during the ride, and it was kind of amazing how that restored my mood. So despite the less than perfect ending to this day, it does carry a few lessons. Most importantly: when all else fails, take a nap. It works for 4 year old toddlers, and it works for 40 year old adults. Whee!

New fangled art

During my many years in NYC, I was lucky enough to be able to visit numerous art exhibitions. Some of them featured classic works, while some were cutting edge and modern. It naturally led to the question: what is art? Does a pile of computer wires dangling from the ceiling suffice? What about an installation of 20 TV screens in one room, each blaring out a segment of a haunting song?

I've always struggled a bit to answer that question. Even the technically perfect paintings at the Met sometimes struck me as soulless. And so in that regard, I decided that for my own personal definition, art makes me FEEL something. Happiness, sadness, confusion... sure, I can roll with that. All this is to preface that I went to a rather interesting exhibition recently.

TeamLab Taipei is a creative group that strives to meld together the combinations of art, science, and technology. To this end, they put together an... experience, so to speak, that is quite interesting and unique. Visitors wander through a dark maze, to be deposited into various rooms filled with projected light. As each person walks through the rooms and along the walls, the light patterns get projected onto them as well, so that they too, become part of the 'art'. There was also a room filled with large bouncy balls, each lit up in a brilliant color. It was simultaneously beautiful and playful. The whole experience resulted in a feeling that I don't feel like pops up a lot when I go to art exhibitions... that of childlike wonder.

Wait, what? My expression doesn't convey childlike wonder??

Big colored balls... everywhere!

Of course, as I spend these few paragraphs putting an artful spin on this place, the rest of Taipei's young population was busy taking as many selfies as possible. Every single person had their cell phone out, sometimes spending many minutes trying to get the perfect shot. I admit, I took quite a few pictures myself, but I thought this became an interesting piece of social commentary. So many visitors were so busy taking pictures, that they didn't quite get a chance to just look around the room and absorb its beauty. Is that life today then, and what are we missing as we glue our eyes to our electronic devices?

Taipei's youth, just hanging around

Okay, fine. You caught me... I was on my phone too!

My favorite room was of course, the shortest one that the organizers hustled visitors through. You walked through heavy black drapes to come into a brilliant land of brightness and mirrors. It's a little dazzling as your eyes adjust, and then you feel like you're being literally bathed in a shower of ever-changing lights. It's all at once beautiful and overwhelming.

Loitering visitors, taking snapshots

Closeup of the brilliant lights

Okay, this made for pretty stunning photo ops too

It's interesting, this crossroads of art-meets-social media-meets-vanity. It's definitely not highbrow, but definitely pleasing to the masses. Which, in essence, may define modern art at its finest.

(caveat: the pictures posted here really don't do the exhibition justice; I wore black so the projections don't show up as well. I am just wary about posting pictures of my friends without their knowledge)