A Presidents Day Prologue in Jiangmen

This past Sunday while I was in Jiangmen, Guangdong province, I had forgotten the next day would be Presidents Day in the U.S. Unsurprisingly, the holiday doesn't receive much notice in China.

Nonetheless, I experienced some presidential . . . spirit that night.

The Trump mask for sale at the small trendy shop led to inspired conversation. I still have a few questions about why they were selling it, so I'm just filing this one away.

Lunar New Year Lo Mein in Jiangmen

During the Lunar New Year holiday in China many restaurants close and many red signs with messages of good luck appear. Some places remain open, though, or reopen before the end of the holiday period. And the eating goes on . . .

I stumbled upon the above small place, Èrshí Gǎn (二十杆), on Taiping Road in Jiangmen yesterday. The XO sauce lo mein (XO酱捞面) was recommended, so I gave it try.

The noodles might not look like anything special, but they were rather flavorful and quite satisfying — perfect fuel for a game of xiangqi.

Lunar New Year Xiangqi in Jiangmen

During the Lunar New Year in China many shops close and many red signs with messages of good luck appear. And playing xiangqi goes on . . .

Today alongside Diaotai Road in Jiangmen, Guangdong

A Rambling Travel Tale: One Way to Go From Taipei to Guangdong

The previous post may have seemed out of the blue not only because it was about trash collection but also because it featured Macau. So I will take this opportunity to share a personal travel experience that captures a few of the issues involved in traveling to the Pearl River Delta area.

After an unexpectedly long stay in Taipei, it was time to leave. I knew I wanted to head to Guangdong province but had some flexibility in how to do that. For example, I could take a cheap (less than US $60) flight from Taipei to the island of Kinmen, a ferry to Xiamen in mainland China, and then high-speed rail to Guangdong. Or I could fly directly from Taipei to Shenzhen or Guangzhou in Guangdong. The differing options had various tradeoffs regarding price and convenience. One issue was that there was no way to fly directly from Taipei to where I expected to spend the Lunar New Year holiday.

Then I discovered some cheap direct flights from Taipei to Macau — just US $80 one way. Macau borders Zhuhai, a city in Guangdong. There are no direct flights from Taipei to Zhuhai. But even if there were, the Zhuhai airport is actually farther from the most urban areas of Zhuhai than the Macau airport. The catch is that as a Special Administrative Region in the People's Republic of China, Macau has its own immigration procedures. And they take time to go through.

Overall, I felt the Macau to Zhuhai route was reasonably convenient, and the price was sweet. Oh, and the flight was on Air Macau. I could add yet another airline to my list. So, I bought the ticket.

The flight left the gate about 15 minutes early. The breakfast on the flight, some sort of chicken noodles, was surprisingly tasty. Upon arriving at the airport in Macau, I considered taking a special bus that allows you to avoid Macau immigration and head straight to one of the mainland China immigrations checkpoints on the border with Zhuhai. A policewoman saw me reading a relevant sign, though, and asked if I had a reservation. I said the website indicated that tickets for a bus to the checkpoint I wanted could only be bought at the airport. She then said the tickets must be sold out and that Chinese tour groups often buy them out. I explained the website didn't indicate they were sold out, just that you had to buy them in person. She repeated the point about Chinese tour groups.

I was tempted to check things out with the bus company myself. But given the departure of the next bus (they aren't very freqent) I thought I might make it to Zhuhai more quickly another way.

So, I went through Macau immigration, which was very fast at the airport. Then I wanted to take a convenient city bus to the border at Portas do Cerco. I had some change in both Macau patacas and Hong Kong dollars, both usable on buses in Macau, but not enough. So I exchanged some Chinese yuan knowing I would be making my way back to Macau later. Then I took a bus to Portas do Cerco where I passed through Macanese immigration once again — not as quickly as at the airport but 10 minutes is fine. The line for mainland China immigration was reasonable as well. In the end, I made it to Zhuhai quicker than I would have had I taken the more expensive bus which bypasses Macau's immigration process.

After settling in Zhuhai for a bit, I returned to Macau for a day. And later I finally made the next leg of this journey.

So here's a photo from today, the first day of the new Lunar New Year, next to the Jiangmen River in Jiangmen, Guangdong:

One take home message from all of this is that when one making a long trip to this part of Guangdong, there can be a variety of options worth considering (I have other tales to share). I wouldn't have guessed that flying to Macau would be the winner in this case. But it was. And it worked just fine.

A Sign of the Upcoming Lunar New Year: Bulky Trash Collection in Macau

Last year I shared a special Lunar New Year trash collection activity in Macau which occurred during the holiday period. So it is only fitting that I now share a special Lunar New Year trash collection activity in Macau which is occurring just before yet another year begins.

As announced on a government website:

In view of the sharp increase in the amount of garbage during Lunar New Year period as residents clean their homes to welcome the new year, the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau (IACM) and the Macau Residue System Company, Ltd. will strengthen their city cleaning and garbage collection efforts from 28 January to 5 March 2018 to ensure the cleanliness of the city.

From 2 to 15 February 2018, 128 collection points for large-sized garbage will be set up in Macao. Among those collection points, 106 will be set up in Macao Peninsula, and 13 and 9 collection points will be set up in Taipa and Coloane respectively. Residents can make use of the mentioned collection points for large-sized garbage from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. The Macau Residue System Company, Ltd. will put up signs at the mentioned locations.

At one site yesterday afternoon there was already an assortment of bulky items, presumably free to a good home.

This is shared in the spirit of shining a brief light on a side of the of the Lunar New Year holiday in Macau which typically doesn't receive so much, if any, attention elsewhere. And it seemingly contrasts with neighboring Zhuhai across the border in mainland China. Trash is collected there in one form or the other, but I have never seen similarly-marked sites for collection activities specific to the Lunar New Year holiday.

Hurry up if you still have bulky trash in Macau though. You now only have just a little more than an hour left.

A Dope Sign in Taipei

Admittedly, I paused for a moment when I first noticed the "Dope Rent" sign hanging above a lane in Taipei.

I figured the sign wasn't about renting illegal drugs, so I wondered what led to the use of "dope" in the company's English name. A look at the company's Chinese name "酷租" gave a clue.

The first character can mean "hip" — a loanword reflecting that "kù" (Mandarin Chinese) sounds somewhat similar to "cool" in English. A look around Dope Rent's website indicates that was the meaning they had in mind.

The rest of the English name is straightforward, as "rent" is a common translation for the second character in the Chinese name. Fittingly, both the website and the sign indicate Dope Rent is a property management company.

So they could have gone with something like "Cool Rent" for their name. But maybe they didn't think that would be so dope.

Milk Tea and Taoism in Taipei

Advertisement for T. Grand Assam Milk Tea above Xun Gate at the Xingtian Temple (Hsing Tian Kong) in Taipei

Green and Red at Zhishan Park in Taipei

Some paths and insects for today, all from Zhishan Park:

If you can identify the red insects, I'd appreciate being enlightened. I feel like they deserve a name. And maybe you can give some other red insects I once saw in Fuzhou a try as well.

Raking on a Truck in Taipei

The Taipei Lunar New Year Festival at Dihua Street

One of the main entrances to the Taipei Lunar New Year Festival on Dihua Street

Dihua Street runs through Dadaocheng, a section of Taipei dense with visible history. According to a government tourist website:

In late 1880s, Dadaocheng started to prosper in light of the opening of Tamsui Harbor. It has since become the keystone of economic and cultural development. In Dadaocheng, you will see extravagant Baroque architecture, traditional Hokkien bungalows and brilliant red-brick western houses. Historical buildings, traditional folklore center, tea houses, fabric stores, Chinese pharmacy and local eateries alike are rich in history. A new everyday-aesthetics derives in the vintage neighborhoods of Dadaocheng where century-old stores meet with contemporary innovation.

And at the moment, there's another reason to visit Dihua Street. It is one of the locations for this year's Taipei Lunar New Year Festival:

The Dihua New Year's Goods shopping street will be in place from February 1st to 14th, featuring hundreds of stands selling classic or trendy items. There will be 15 food trucks at Yongle Plaza during the period as well. On weekends, chefs are invited to demonstrate how they prepare New Year's dishes, and visitors can also pour their emotions and creativity into making red envelopes and New Year’s banners. Vintage style clothing and cute dog costumes are also available for people to take fun photos with, sitting in front of an AR technology backdrop. This year's festival has been expanded to Ningxia Night market, Taipei Station Wholesale Market, Rongbin Shopping District and Taipei City Mall, immersing visitors from all places in the lively, colorful Chinese New Year experience in Taipei.

When I visited Dihua Street last Thursday afternoon, what most caught my attention early on were the very dense crowds, all the more striking considering it was a cold overcast weekday afternoon and rain had been forecasted.

This made me wonder what it would be like on a weekend day with good weather.

In comparison to past Lunar New Year Fairs in Hong Kong I've attended, there appeared to be more of an emphasis on the traditional items people commonly buy for celebrating the Lunar New Year, making it more distinct from a regular night market, common in Taiwan. In that spirit, some of the sellers wore traditional clothing.

I didn't see anybody wearing a dog costume, though, fitting for the upcoming Year of the Dog. But I see someone wearing a Cheshire Cat outfit.

As usual for the Lunar New Year, candy was a common item for sale and a great number of varieties were available.

I tried one of the chocolate coins, something familiar from my own childhood, and I'll just say after the first taste I had no desire to finish it. The cheap Italian chocolates, many with liquor fillings, sold at the same stand were significantly better.

I also took advantage of the the many food vendors there.

Sure, black cuttlefish sausages aren't specifically a Lunar New Year treat, but I don't come across them often (the one place which comes to mind is a long metro ride away in Tamsui, though I assume there are closer options). And how can you ignore somebody waving a giant cuttlefish sausage?

As it started to get darker around 5 p.m. the crowds thinned slightly and it was easier to explore the various stands.

But things seemed to pick up later on, though still not as busy as the afternoon.

There's much more to see (and eat) than what I have shared here. So if you can, head on over to Dihua Street before the festival ends on February 14. It's an opportunity to immerse yourself in a bit of history while enjoying the Lunar New Year festivities. You won't be alone.

Rain and Monochromatic Adidas Themes in Taipei

Many people lined up with their umbrellas today at the Taipei Xinyi VieShow Square to have their photo taken. The large crowd for the outdoor promotion, even on a cold rainy afternoon, suggests Adidas got something right.

John Travolta and Christian Slater Still Looking On: A Broken Broken Arrow Poster in Taipei

Portion of a Broken Arrow (1996) movie poster displayed on Section 2, Dihua Street