Taipei // National Palace Museum

in an effort to start crossing things off my list [because 101 things to do in Taipei is a long one] I took an afternoon trip to the National Palace Museum last week.

a little bit of background: the National Palace Museum houses one of the world's largest - and arguably, the best - collection of Chinese art and antiquities in the world. the collection has caused a bit of controversy over the years, wrapped up in the complicated relationship between Taiwan [Republic of China] and mainland China [People's Republic of China.] when the ROC government left China to establish itself in Taiwan during the Chinese Civil War, they transported several thousand crates of important artifacts with them. the PROC claims that these were stolen, the ROC claims they were taken for protection from the destruction of war. the ROC has indeed kept the collection safe: the National Palace Museum is built like a vault, with storage going deep into the side of a mountain.

history lessons aside, my neighborhood is just on the other side of the mountain from this fortress filled with priceless artifacts. relations between Taiwan and China have been much improved in the last 60 years, but let me just say that I know I probably live in one of the safest areas of Taiwan.

you'll soon notice that I have no photos from inside the museum - because they are not allowed. anywhere. I had to content myself with exterior shots [while dodging selfie sticks and featuring prominently in the back of several people's photos] and a stroll through the adjoining Zhishan Gardens.

the gardens were full of winding pathways, ponds and streams, and covered wooden structures. not many flowers - but still a great escape from the crowds inside the museum when you need a breath of fresh air.

the upside to not allowing photos inside the museum: it forces you to simply enjoy and appreciate the artwork. the downside for blog readers: you'll just have to imagine the gorgeous calligraphy and intricate carvings. there were plenty of paintings and pottery as well, all strictly Chinese in origin. I was sorely tempted to break the rules when I walked into the exhibit in 304 and saw the display wall: tiny boxes of light, each with a small jade carving inside.

but if I start breaking the rules, then who's to keep the tour groups from following suit? their leaders - speaking softly into microphones while waving tall red flags - were having a hard enough time keeping everyone in line.

a few of the more interesting things I discovered inside the museum: an incredible calligraphy piece which turned out to be poem about eating crabs, a tiny jade carving appropriately named "dragon roaming among flowers" and the strangest of all - a man sitting on a bench, trimming his face with an electric razor. [not an exhibit, an actual man.]

image via Taiwan Today

but by far, the most popular item in this museum is one entitled "jadeite cabbage with insects." can we take a moment here to just love how quirky Taiwan is that this - cabbage - is their most valued artifact? and that brown bit in the background is the "meat-shaped stone" which is essentially a carving of a hunk of pork belly. Taiwan loves food, and I love Taiwan.

look no further than the gift shop for evidence of the obsession - I have never seen so many cabbages in my life. they have everything from notebooks and necklaces to wine bottle stoppers and phone cases, and every kind of keychain or magnet or figurine you could ever imagine... all decorated with or in the shape of this cabbage. my absolute favorite [because it was so over the top] was the umbrella. yes, an umbrella that is made to look like this jade carving when it is collapsed and wrapped up.

I know... I totally should have bought one.

I may not have photos from the interior [or a cabbage umbrella] but I still enjoyed my visit to the Palace Museum. it's definitely worth a visit if you have interest in Chinese art - and worth revisiting when they shuffle the collection every few months.

admission to the museum, including the gardens, is 250NT [less than $8 US.] you can reach the National Palace Museum from the Shilin MRT stop by taking a short cab ride or hopping the R30 bus. I would highly advise visiting on a weekday morning. crowds during weekend afternoons can be crushing. bring your zeal for jade cavings and cabbage, and enjoy!

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Hobbiton tour: a journey to The Shire

when embarking on an epic journey through Middle Earth New Zealand, there is one place you must go to indulge your inner nerd: Hobbiton. we made a two-hour drive down from Auckland on route to Whitianga, and it was definitely out of our way. but worth it.

the Hobbiton tour takes you through the actual set from the Hobbit movies. the set was in the same location [and pretty much identical] for filming the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the entire thing was disassembled and then reconstructed between the two.

the attention to detail here is insane - the props set up outside each home to tell the character's story, synthetic moss added to all the fences to age them just so, plants being brought in and even altered to fit the imaginary world.

I kept my nerd to a "take a million photos" level, but some people go all out - quizzing tour guides on their Tolkien knowledge and sporting full elf regalia. if that's your thing, I say go for it. what better place than Hobbiton?

being immersed in the set - feeling like you were IN the film - was really a fun and unique experience. even if you aren't a diehard LOTR fanatic, you can still enjoy the lush gardens and rolling hills. New Zealand landscapes never seem to disappoint.

we poked our heads in a few hobbit holes, wound our way through the shire and ended up at the Green Dragon - the pub straight out of the films. I had a tasty hard cider while Husband indulged in some meat pie and a cookie with his ale.

if you're planning a visit to New Zealand and would like to visit the Shire, you can book your Hobbiton Tour online. I would definitely recommend it if you find yourself in the area and are familiar with the books or movies. seeing Hobbiton come to life made for quite a magical afternoon.

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this blogging thing

starting this new chapter in Taipei has me drawing all kinds of comparisons to our first arrival in Taiwan. one thing I've really noticed [thanks mostly, I think, to the three years of experience abroad] is that I'm not nearly so panicked when meeting new people. when we first arrived, I had no plan and no idea what to say when I was asked the inevitable "so what do you do?"

I've had three years to figure out how to answer that question. and I consider it a major personal accomplishment that now - instead of just shrugging and mumbling "I don't know" - I can confidently respond that I am a writer, a travel blogger, and am working on a book manuscript. and every time I say it, it gets easier.

but of course, saying that this blogging thing is what I "do" probably means I should be taking this seriously, right? I should stay on topic and relentlessly market myself on social media. I should pay close attention to my follower counts and bloglovin rankings. but I should also be myself - honest, authentic, original, relatable. am I the only one who finds that sometimes these things are at cross purposes?

as I've been trying to ease back in to regular-ish posting after a crazy summer, I've been considering this and other existential blog questions. it seems like everyone is doling out advice on how to grow your blog and gain more followers across social media these days. you don't want to be wrapped up in numbers, but some level of marketing is necessary if you want to attract readers.

the internet is so saturated that just being a good writer or having great content isn't enough anymore. sometimes it feels like self-promotion is really self-preservation, because you can't just write and expect people to show up and read it. [as many great but largely unknown writers can attest.]

and it IS important that someone shows up to read it. deny it all you want. say you write only for yourself. but the real reason we write is to show our truth to others. in the words of one of my favorite literary heroines, Amelia Peabody: art cannot exist in a vacuum. the creative spirit must possess an audience. it is impossible for a writer to do herself justice if she is only talking to herself.

maybe some days it's only one person reading [hi, mom!] but it's a bit like that tree in the woods. we write to be heard, and we write to be seen. we write because we crave community. we need interaction - and sometimes though we might not want to admit it - validation.

who we are and what we share doesn't have to always fit into a molded niche, because we are real people. multi-dimensional and often contradictory. I'm going to give you awesome list-y informational posts, and I'm also going to give you posts like this. guys: that's just me being me, and trying to share it in the most honest ways I know how. some days it's empowering and some days it's terrifying - but for me at least - there is a visceral need to share my story either way.

even when my story is just me sitting in a coffee shop, writing a little ramble about this blogging thing.

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