17 May 2023
Tomato soup night
Eslite bookstore Xinyi
Tonight I went to a 24 hour bookstore that has 10 or so levels, including a basement food court, is open 24 hours, and sadly is cloding down soon. Eslite bookstore Xinyi branch is more of a department store than just a book shop, with fashion, food, cafes, stationery, gifts, wigs, personalised toilet paper, botox clinic, petting zoo, just to name a few. But no computer mouse! I am going to have to go to a Carrefour to find a mouse, really weird. Tomorrow is not a hiking day, so it is mouse hunt day.
Sadly, the 24 hour Eslite is apparently closing down at the end of the year, due to a dispute with the landlords who want to start their own department store brand at the location on the back of the goodwill built up by Eslite. So one of Taipei's main tourist attractions will be gone soon. They have many other smaller non 24 hour locations if its just books you want.
And then I had tomato soup for dinner.
My walk to Xinyi went underground in one of the following the subway underground malls. Not as long as some of the others, but nothing to be sneezed at, and air conditioned. It was very hot this evening.
Scary doorway. I think it is a bible study centre. In a basement, with graffiti everywhere.
Another stadium. Not the same one as last night. I guess this one is for badminton if last night was for ping pong.
Nearby is the Sun Yat-Sen memorial hall. I have been in there before. Also a special friend poking up through the trees.
Not many photos tonight, so bonus shot of badminton stadium. I missed the nice sunset light by seconds.
Bookstore basement food court. What a concept!
However, when I saw the tomato ramen place, one of my favourite things to eat in Tokyo, I skipped the food court and went to one of the restaurants that surround the food court. As I am now a fat pig man, I did not opt for my usual favourite that adds chorizo and chunks of garlic bread, instead going for the relatively healthy tomato and Parmesan cheese. There are noodles in the tomato soup that you cannot see in the pics. Strangely when I was seated near a Japanese guy, he yelled at the waitress, in Japanese, glared at me, then changed tables. I saw the waitress go and look at the chef completely perplexed. I did all I could to make the angry Japanese guy as uncomfortable as possible, which involved copious usage of my furious monobrow.
After refuelling on tomato soup, I went and looked for a mouse in the book store. They have a serious no photo policy, after I snapped this photo they came and spoke to me. OK then, I hope you get shut down! Oh yeah, you are getting shut down!
And for my final pic tonight, Taiwan is THRILLED TO THE MAX, that the shortest serving UK Prime Minister of all time is making a personal unofficial visit to Taiwan after basically being thrown out of Eng-a-land. So much so they lit up Taipei 101 to welcome her. Where the hell is my parade? If you can't read it, it says 'Liz Truss MP'.