Five years or so ago I sat in the airport at Taipei and bemoaned the fact that it wouldn't be long before the relentless march of globalisation would inevitably introduce the indispensable dispensable sleeve for one's hot caffeinated beverage. (Read here). Unfortunately my sullen prediction was even worse than I feared. Inextricably attached to the aforementioned waste of paper was the colossal behemoth itself; Starbucks.
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What a waste |
I searched in vain for my antiquated mom and pop operation but as far as my memory could tell, my internal map of the airport being somewhat diminished by the passage of time, it had been forced out by progress.
I did however partake of the cranberry scone which did taste a bit fishy; literally. I can imagine the mama san type chef, a kind of Taiwanese Gordon Ramsey, shaking her head incredulously at the faxed recipe from corporate headquarters;
"No fish sauce?!?!! - what those white ghosts know about how make good scone?"
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My cranberry scone |
The more astute of you will read into this that I have indeed left San Francisco. A surreal nocturnal departure which bore me across the Pacific in complete darkness in just over 12 hours. As before I landed in the early hours (5.30, in the morning!!!), just as the airport was shaking off it’s sleep.
I can certainly say I left San Francisco on a high. That's to say I didn't really want to leave at all. September and October delivered, for want of a better, less colonial expression, delivered a tremendous Indian summer. On the evening of my departure I was stood on my roof looking out over a crystal clear San Francisco skyline doused perfectly by the sunset in the West, and a full moon in the East. I could trace the perfect chromatic transition from the warm orange to cool bluey black. Day and night joined as one like so many measurements on a slide rule. The first stars were beginning to appear, the blinking light on the north tower of the Golden Gate bridge signaling the coming night; I tried as hard as I could to soak it all in
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The aiport wakes up |
In an effort to increase dramtically the frequency of these posts I’m going to try and wrap things up now. I sit here in the generic food court surrounded by unfamiliar faces and contemplate the next six months. In an hour or so I’ll be boarding the plane to Bangkok and from there to Chiang Mai. At the moment the strongest feeling I have is for a hot shower, foot massage and then bed. The most effective way to handle such monumentous transitions is in the moment. With that in mind, the caffeine has worked it’s magic and I need to move on.
See you soon - Garry
p.s. let me leave you with some more photos for which I don't have the time just now to write the accompanying copy. However, I will point out
that Thailand does not share the same hello kitty syndrome
as the Taiwanese appear to.
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If only they knew how cool we weren't |
Don't ask!!! |
Children's 'Hello Kitty' play area |
Kitty Time |
Empty'ish Airport |
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