tuesday night

this evening, in the pouring rain, the four of us piled into a cab and gave instructions to the grand hotel, the most formidable example of proper feng shui at work in Taiwan. i had been given instructions to take the group there, have a dinner at the buffet, and then catch the night market. unfortunately, our driver took us to the hyatt downtown, which was a modern marble wonder. the lobby was filled with people milling around a huge fountain topped with a purple flower arrangement; matching staircases at either end reflected the waterfalls flowing beneath them. we took our seats in the great dining room, and tucked into a fabulous dinner. the best coriander-marinated tofu, shrimp and noodles, finished with mango pudding and plum-almond cake and a coffee. the pudding felt like a first kiss; my heart was beating steadily, as it had just before dinner when i was confronted with an elegantly carved jade leaf, at the end of an intricately knotted cord.

the hyatt rests in the shadow of the Taipei 101 building, the tallest building in the world, which stacks like a thick piece of bamboo, and shimmers a deep green.

another cab ride to a night market, where vendors sold every imaginable part of the chicken, prepared in every imaginable way. if i smelled what that market smelled like every day, i’d never have quit smoking. period.

a cheap pair of aviators (who can resist? not me.) and a giddy cab ride home, a few calls to the states, and the day is done.