Water Management

On November 3rd, I woke up at SJs apartment with a stiff neck that kept getting worse and worse and I decided to get acupuncture! This clinic was recommended by one of SJ's dog friends and had two locations, one a few blocks away. I walked out through the bustling market and across the intersection. I used google translate (feeling only a slight flashback to my confusion at the pediatrics clinic when I was trying to find my visceral manipuation course) to request an appointment, got the 5th or 6th spot of the morning, then got lead back to a consultory room and then to a curtained-off bed area. I got cupping and acupuncture from a young doctor who spoke to me in great English. The acupuncture was mainly for my approaching period, it hurt, and it felt great. Back at the apartment, I got to eat tacos and look at the adorable Tholly face.

SJ had a break in work so we decided to rent YouBikes and go on a museum visit. We picked up the bikes at the park across from their place and joined the path at Youth Park to ride along the river. We didn't realize how crowded it would be- it was some combination of people having off of school/work and getting outside after being cooped up from the typhoon, and the bike lanes were PACKED with a dangerous combination of people aggressively cycling for fitness, people with uncoordinated flocks of children, people towing trailers and carts on their bikes, and then overwhelmed foreigners like ourselves. The bike path had some sharp turns and narrow passages to get over and under bridges, and we ended up walking our bikes along the sidewalk after almost getting run over by a child.

Anxious and panting, we made it to our destination- the museum of water management! As two nerds, this was on both of our "to be seen while in TPE" lists and SJ kindly waited for me to be there to vistit. To be honest, the museum was kind of a let down. It did give a good history and technology overview of the water infrastructure within the city, which went over a lot of how the city was founded and the dangers that the forest around it posed for the colonizers. A lot of the story was told through these moralizing fabels maant for children? I also loved the display of calculator technology.

Outside, we spent a little time walking through the closed down water park outside, and staring at/judging many old man photographers who were talking pictures of some semi naked ladies posing in front of the museum.

We were near a shopping and student area, so we went browsing around for a bit. I wish I got some of the things I saw but I was overwhelemed. Eventaully we needed a snack so we got a perfect cinnamon egg tart and then some fries and a tea from MosBurger, an incredible chain. I put in an order for contact lenses at IUC, and then we found a stationary store that had SO much to look at but unfortunately was 1000 degrees and sent us both into menopause. I did get some fun stickerrs and a journal, though!

outside, night had fallen. We got some chestnuts from a vendor which was very cute though I don't actually like chestnuts that much. The main building in this area we had walked to was the TaiPower building, with the round sculpture on the front of it. The subway stop is named after it, and we got on the Green Line and rode a few stops to XiMen, where we got off and went into DonQuijote and lost ourselves in a fever dream.

I am sure you have heard of Don Quijote before, from media in Japan and Hawaii. I had heard its name but didn't realize that this towering store that had a recording at the door going "don don donkee" over and over was, in fact, the windmill I was seeking.

Floors upon floors, aisles twisting into aisles of items of shelves, hanging from the celing, in neat rows and in pillow piles. Cosmetics, gadgets, snacks, sex toys, utensiles, fruits, packaged foods. We tumbled down to sushi and bought like 60 pieces of sushi for maybe $30? I also got one hundred dollars of snacks, face masks, and other random shit. Upon exiting the store, we sat back to back on a bench in silence, trying to return to the mortal plane.