USASTRATCOM

This blog was created for USASTRATCOM Long Lines Battalion Army personnel who served in Taiwan during the 1965-72 time frame. Specifically, those who lived and worked in and around Taipei are the target. If you worked at the Grass Mountain or Gold Mountain facilities or anywhere in downtown Taipei, we would like to hear from you. All are welcome to visit and contribute to this blog. Your comments and pictures are encouraged.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Gifts For The Folks Back Home

South of the East Compound on Chung Shan (ZhongShan) North Road, we bought many presents for family and friends.

Slippers, lamps, earrings, statues, pictures and other knick-knacks all came from either the streets of Taipei or door-to-door salesmen at our Grass Mountain apartment.


Not too far south of the West Compound, this shopping area across the street continued for about a half-mile.

Taken from an angle toward the east, this area on which I'm standing must be south of the West Compound.

It seems to me that there was an ice cream parlor near here on the west side.

The Toyota/Nissan dealer was somewhere in this mix. Chung Shan North Road begins to take a very gradual left curve as it continues south toward Min Chuan Road.

Up ahead is a guy on R and R, in love and near the paintings of Elvis on black velvet.


Three of the guys with whom I worked stand in front of one of the many record stores. All day long, cuts from all the latest albums blared from stereo systems in the back of each stall.

Book stores were plentiful along this route, also. Hard cover best sellers went  $1.00 each. Record albums were 30 cents each during our tour.

We already had Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and were looking for their new album with White Room. Up and down Chung Shan we went with me asking for White Room by Cream.

Nobody had it which was the norm, but they wrote down the song and group. They all got pirated albums at the same time.

Shortly afterward, out came the album in every record store in Taipei. Ask and you may just receive by clicking HERE.


How about some Sunshine of Your Love? Just click HERE.



One of the many records jammed into my duffel bag. There were probably 25 more.



Blue Rondo  AlA Turk click HERE.

Or better yet, Take Five and click HERE.






We probably bought jewelry boxes for our dads here. When the wood dried, it sometimes split.

Also, statues of a Chinese coolie with a bamboo pole across his shoulders were purchased here.


Another souvenir shop of Taipei


We gave Sam a lot of business.  Living room table lamps and bedside lamps, each with two switches.

One was for the main light; another for the little light inside which illuminated the rice paper which covered the holes.

Brass ornaments were a big deal but we declined. The PX had a table of brass just back of the entrance.


Neither of us can remember what we bought here. Maybe we just liked the facade.


Bonnie's Beauty Salon--no souvenirs, just stylists amazed at cutting blond hair. The Min Chuan/Chung Shan intersection is just ahead to the right.



Photo by, and courtesy of Marvin Faulkner

This photo shows the traffic approaching the northeast corner of Chung Shan North and Min Chuan East Road.

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