Taiwan Diary: MRT Souvenir Stamps, Part Two

I went back to Taipei this weekend to collect more MRT stamps. I decided to check off the Bannan/Blue Line stamps since I’d already gotten about half of the available stamps. I took the HSR to Banqiao, in New Taipei City, and rode down to the end of the line, Dingpu station. I didn’t poke around as much yesterday as I did last week. It was hotter out, and the Blue Line runs through New Taipei City and the center of Taipei, so much of what’s worth seeing, I’ve already seen.

I stopped to take pics of a temple, but it was so hot that I ended up going to a Family Mart to get a cool drink instead. While I was cooling a bit, I saw a lizard. It was a lizard called a Taiwan japalure (also called a Swinhoe’s japalure). There are a lot of animals with “Swinhoe” in their name thanks to Robert Swinhoe, the first British consul in Taiwan. He was also an avid naturalist who made one of the first comprehensive studies of Taiwan’s plants and animals. I also saw a black-collared starling, a new bird for my list.

The Blue Line stations are mostly underground, unlike the Wenhu/Brown Line, so the views were uninspiring, although there were some interesting stations with cool architectural elements. I also took a detour back to the Nanjing Fuxing station (Brown/Blue Line intersection) because it has one of the shops celebrating the collaboration between Sanrio and MRT Taipei for Sanrio’s 50th Anniversary. I’ve ridden on the specially decorated Sanrio train a few times, but there are a few stations that have special MRT stamps. I took a break at a Starbucks and did a little Googling while I was getting a snack, and I finally figured out how to find which entrance had the shops. I got two stamps and some souvenirs, of course. I bought a handkerchief that has a metro map (useful and nostalgic), sticky notes, and some stickers.

I decided not to go to the Mexican restaurant this weekend since I spent extra money on souvenirs, but I’ll probably go back next weekend as well. I’d like to finish the Green Line since it has the fewest stamps I need to collect in order to complete the list. I’d like to take some time for the Red Line, especially because there are a few lovely parks along the way, places that are easy to get to. I’ll do my best to enjoy the time that I have.

Reading Diary: Zhen Hun/Guardian Volume 2 by Priest

Here is a synopsis from the publisher's website:

THE SLEEPING GOD STIRS


As snow quietly covers Dragon City in the final days of the lunar year, patients writhing in pain flock to the hospital. Baffled doctors call upon Zhao Yunlan and his team for help. As the case unfolds, Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan discover that one of the Four Hallowed Artifacts, the Merit Brush, has appeared in the Mortal Realm. In the wrong hands, its power can be transformative.


While each step toward the artifact only pulls the pair deeper into a vortex of mysteries, Zhao Yunlan keeps stumbling upon a name: Kunlun. Who is Kunlun, and what is his connection to the Merit Brush? As Zhao Yunlan closes in on the answer, will he also uncover the truth behind Shen Wei’s knowing gaze?

Basically, I was that gif of Jenny Slate on Drunk History, screaming, as I read this book, friends. Especially after getting to this line: "Of all that I am, the only part worth anything may be my heart. If you want it, it's yours." UGH! There's an audio recording of Bai Yu reading this part of the novel somewhere. I don't have it bookmarked, alas, but it's wonderful!

Other than flailing, there's not much to say. I am constantly comparing this to the drama, but I keep coming back to amazement at how much Bai Yu and Zhu Yilong were able to bring from the novel into the show with their acting. Even though Zhao Yunlan never utters the sentences above in the drama, you feel it through Bai Yu's acting. Reading this after watching the drama has been a similar experience to reading Howl's Moving Castle after watching the Miyazaki film. They are essentially two different texts, despite sharing characters and general plots, but it's clear that the adapters had great respect for the source materials. And the Guardian crew had insane restraints placed on them, so the fact that they managed to bring so much of the novel's heart to the show is amazing.

I did find that I liked the blindness arc better in the drama (Shen Wei, kneeling in the rain for hours? Yes please!), but I love the mythic backstory in the novel.

I pre-ordered the special edition of volume 3 last week when Barnes and Noble was having a sale, but I'm not sure if it will get to me before I leave for Shanghai. Thankfully I have a lot to occupy my time between now and then.