The last "person" I expected to run into in Taipei was Spuddy Buddy.
Spuddy is a doll, a stuffed potato in a red suit who promotes Idaho potatoes.
My Spuddy sits on a stack of cookbooks in the kitchen. The Taipei Spuddy and his colleagues clamber over what looks like a cotton exhibit in the American pavilion at the 2010 Taipei International Flora Exhibition.
This huge horticultural show opened November 6 and continues through April 25. One of the features is a Global Garden with 22 international exhibits, including that from America.
I felt a bit puzzled as I walked in and found a hodgepodge that incorporates an imitation log fire, an artificial moose couple and the Spuddy collection. It's housed in a soaring wooden structure that made me think I was in Borneo, not at home.
The wood, from sustainable forests, is intended to demonstrate evironmental consciousness. A solar panel system on top represents efforts to promote cost-effective, renewable energy.
These are lofty concepts, but how does a potato ad fit in? Plants around the structure include cacti, azaleas, magnolias and roses.
Perhaps a themed exhibit such as romantic gardens of the old South with southern belles twirling their hoopskirts or plants of the southwestern desert with cowboys and Indians would have drawn more crowds.
Hawaii did much better, with hula girls and tropical plants. People lined up to have their photos taken with the dancers.
Chile stacked poles to symbolize the Andes and lined garden beds with yellow stones to represent the rescued miners (photo below the orchids).
Thailand showed off a replica of a royal barge and gorgeous Thai girls in costume (below Chile). Japan drew spectators for a tea ceremony demonstration. Holland had tulips, and Chinese gardens (above) were poetically beautiful.
The most prominent flower throughout the show is the orchid, because Taiwan is the world's leading orchid exporter. If you have ever bought a Phalaenopsis, the most common variety, it probably came from there.
The expo has 14 theme halls and pavilions and so much to see that you would have to spend a week, maybe more, to take it all in, including live entertainment and cultural shows.
The most dramatic building is Eco Ark, which is constructed of recycled steel beams, bamboo and bricks composed of crushed recycled plastic drink bottles, about 1.5 million of them.
On a smaller scale, the plastic bricks would be an interesting idea for a garden room, as they provide an airy look and good insulation.
The Pavilion of Dreams is like a floral Disneyland, with interactive exhibits where flowers appear at your touch, dance, scatter pollen (little lights) over you, and you can sit on a circle of grass and whirl up through the clouds, then down into a panorama of Taipei's landmark buildings.
The grass doesn't whirl. The scenic views projected on the walls do. And if you're not sitting down, you'll probably fall over, the effect is so dizzying.
There's a floral meditation area too, near which I spotted a cafe with some good-looking frosted cakes.
As a food person, I was interested in a display of the home of the future, where edible plants grow indoors, and gardens mingle with everyday living.
Imagine a kitchen where you can pluck lettuce from a cabinet that enables it to grow in the house. You can't get fresher, or more convenient, than that.
Or think of watching the Food Network from a lounge chair with edibles sprouting behind your head. Or staging a reception where the drinks and appetizers are spread out on a long table with flowers growing in sunken boxes at either end. That eliminates any worries about tipsy guests tipping over vases.
Every section of the exhibit offers something to eat. You could have Taiwanese dishes such as soy-sauce stewed meats, oyster omelets and beef noodles or local specialties such as Tainan style danzai noodles, Changhua meat dumplings and Taoyuan duck.
If you want international food, you can find anything from Korean bibimbap and Japanese set meals to spaghetti and French desserts.
The food court I saw was crowded early on opening day. I only had time for a sip of starfruit juice. Sweet, with a touch of salt, it was delicious.
I would have liked to learn about Taiwanese teas at the Palace of Floral Teas, but my guided route didn't go there. No matter, I bought lots of tea in a market near my hotel, including green tea powder to use in cookies and breads and coffee-flavored black tea for breakfast.
The expo, which is spread over four parks in the center of the city, is well organized. You can reach it easily on the MRT, where stops are clearly marked in English and Chinese on maps of each line.
The expo hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Free shuttles provide transport from one exhibit area to another. Tour guides will help you to navigate the show.
No detail has been ignored. A press conference I attended said there would be floral toilets. I didn't find those, but the label on the container of seat covers in the bathroom I visited said "Blossom."
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