Day 9 (1/6) Outliers

Another rainy day! I'm starting to think Taiwan doesn't want me here. Pretty sure I'm suffering from lack of sunlight too. What was it... vitamin E deficiency?

I would've been content to stay in except I pretty much got all my affairs in order during my online time yesterday so there would've been nothing to do. Thankfully the rain died down a bit and we headed out. Dad was anxious to try the lunch special at that Japanese seafood place from last week but we were a bit early, so we killed time at a nearby bookstore.

Eslite is actually a book store, cafe, and electronic and department store all rolled into one (with what looked like an antique shop in the lobby). I browsed through all the floors and different departments before finally settling down and, before I knew it, had breezed though half of Outliers.

It was a really good read, very interesting, especially the stuff about mastery of anything taking about 10,000 hours of practice, the way parenting styles are at different socioeconomic levels, and the importance of favorable circumstances to a person's success in addition to hard work and IQ. Just that I'm remembering any of this stuff now tells you it must have struck a chord. That Freakonomics-style infotainment tickles my fancy. And I'm not even up to the 'why Asians are good at math' chapter. I need to find out what's wrong with me.

After lunch we walked around what is the Times Square of Taipei, the bustling shopping district around the 101 building. Just like at 101 there were a lot of high-end stores--Prada, Coach, Burberry and the whatnot. And they were mostly empty stores too. I don't know how they stay open 'cause it doesn't look like anybody's buying the stuff.


A not-so-bustling shopping square.


A movie crew filming a driving scene drove past us. I didn't recognize the actress, it was some pale, pouty Asian girl in a beret.

Then we caught a bus over to Tung Hwa street, a popular nightmarket. But first, a stroll down the avenue lined with pet stores.It was still pretty early and the nightmarkets usually get livelier as the night wears on, but the weather being what it was, it probably would've been pretty tame anyway. I'll come back again if and when the weather ever clears up.




Where all those adorable little furballs will wind up if they aren't brought home soon.

Souvenir and gift shopping -- It's been slow going. I don't think the Taiwanese have really figured out how to capitalize on the tourist yet. At least not like they have in NYC. I haven't been to find so much as a shot glass. There was a shop today that sold all sorts of trinkets: rings, wristbands, necklaces, lighters, etc. Basically stuff you'd find at Hot Topic.

I mean I can bring back postcards or stickers or keychains, but where's the fun in that? I don't know exactly what I'm looking for, but I want something interesting and meaningful that you'd only be able to find here. Like an indigenous tribal wristband or something? The search goes on.

Dad said tomorrow morning we'd hit up a place around the corner for a Taiwanese breakfast: soybean milk soup and fried dough (don't know if they have proper English names, it'll make a lot more sense when I post a picture).

Cool, I say, and just to make conversation I add that I didn't like the way Flushing Mall makes it. Now, I'd actually had it there before and had no real issue with it, but I was assuming he hadn't had it there and/or would deem their offering as inauthentic or simply not as good as the real thing. Turns out he happens to enjoy Flushing Mall's very much. So much for that.