It’s been one week that I’ve been away from home, and the blues are starting to set in. It’s a natural part of the process… and if I hadn’t travelled so much in my life already, this feeling would have been disturbing for me. It’s when travelling becomes less of an adventure, and quite simply uncomfortable.
You lose a little enthusiasm… everything seems to be inconvenient, rather than exciting. And you start to long for going back the way you came and just settling back into your old routine, back to your old coffee shop and back to your old bed. Although this is natural, it is still kind of unpleasant. So how to deal with it?
My remedy is always: go slower. Keep moving, but go slowly. Cancel some plans, and prioritise your mental health. Take some time to go to a cosy place and just look out the window.
Whenever I travel, I always find a coffee shop to go to every day. A coffee shop seems to be the one constant wherever I go. Everyone in the world drinks coffee, and I love it. So it’s my go to. I love all the cafes in Taipei, but I’ve chosen one in particular which is a short walk from where I stay. It has dim lighting, calm music, and importantly, a window that looks out to the street.
Sometimes, when we are travelling – especially for long periods of time – we can feel like an outsider wherever we go. Maybe it can feel as if we are looking at life through a screen or a window… not really living life, but watching it. I find that actually re-creating this image in real life can be a good way to help me settle myself when I’m feeling lost.
From the outside, I think you might walk right past this place and not even notice it. Under the shadow of a dark green awning, it’s written “Third Place Coffee.” Even the name is unassuming… it’s not first or second place, it’s coming in third. There is something I like about places that are unassuming, places you might miss if you don’t stop to take notice.
The façade is a black rendered wall and clean glass windows. Normally the owner sits with his laptop on the bench facing out towards the street. He looks out over the top of two simple wooden benches and a table. It does not draw attention to itself.
As you walk inside, the palette is completely neutral. Black, olive green and dark brown woodgrain. The only thing that glows is a steel sign, backlit neon blue. A row of Chinese characters that I don’t understand. A narrow passage, where you place your order, will lead you to the limited seating at the back. A few tables and a high bench, a little private segment, closed off to make a small restroom. The space is sparsely but tastefully decorated. On one wall there is a big, wooden map of the world – it details all the areas from which coffee beans originate.
We all know that the Taiwanese take their tea seriously… but they also take their coffee seriously too. I always need to choose from several options wherever I go here. Do I want my coffee black, with milk, or with a certain other flavour? Do I want it to be espresso, filtered or pour-over? Where do I want the beans to originate from? The blend? Do I want it to be served hot or iced? You can customise according to your mood.
So far, at Third Place, I’ve tried something different each time… but I always feel at home. Indeed, my wifi connects there automatically now. So I suppose it is a kind of home away from home. I usually take the same seat, too. A little round table, and I take the chair facing outwards… so I can look down the narrow corridor and out into the street.
It’s a space for me to breathe. We all need one. Where is yours?
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