taiwan tales: part 1

i just got back from ten (mostly) lovely days in taiwan. let me tell you about them.

day 1
july 29th
tuesday

i arrived at taiwan taoyuan international airport at 4:50 PM -- my flight was delayed by about 30 minutes due to storms. the bus to the hostel took much longer than expected, and i finally arrived a little after 7. my friend joe and his friend charlotte [taiwanese, lives in osaka] were waiting when i arrived. we headed out to meet up with another of joe's friends, rex, and his girfriend (tsaipeI? her name was wonderfully similar to the city we were in). i'm not sure where we were, but we wandered around a shopping district, had some food from the stalls and went for beers at a really relaxed bar. it had big wood tables, colorful walls decorated with local artists' paintings, and hip college kids in t-shirts and big glasses -- not the kind of place you'd find in japan. after our beers, joe and charlotte and i went to the shihlin night market for fresh fruit juice (watermelon, papaya, and kiwi respectively) and some more snacks. back at the hostel we hung out on the roof until the mosquitoes chased us off, chatted with a couple of the other residents in the living room, and then gradually headed to our beds -- i was the last. joe left for vietnam early in the morning.

day 2
july 30th
wednesday

i woke up at 9ish and walked from the hostel to taipei station. along the way, i happened across the national taiwan museum, which among other things houses specimens of the extinct formosa tiger and a very cool old map. then to longshan temple, which was both gorgeous and indescribable. i felt much like i did at saint peter's basicila in rome - filled with a peace and reverance that i didn't know i was capable of feeling. i lingered for awhile, watching the worshipers come and go, thinking. after that i wandered around for a couple hours and passed a street lined with pet stores. taiwan is known for its birds, and these vendors had all kinds. baby fluffy turkey-looking things tufted moss green and concrete grey. parrots in bright primary colors. cages upon cages upon cages of birds i didn't know the names for. i continued wandering until i came a cross a street parade: high school kids in pink t-shirts pushing decorated carts and carrying dancing paper dragons. then i (eventually) found a metro station and headed to city hall station, from which i climbed the (dark, empty, slightly creepy) hills above the taipei 101 building at dusk. (thanks to joe for the tip.) i next made my way to the 101 building itself: the tallest building in the world, with the fastest elevators and full of symbolism. after that i headed to shihlin market again for starfruit juice, cheap noodles, and a new pair of sandals. i returned to the hostel exhausted, but was reinvigorated by the sudden appearance of numerous japanese guests, who were celebrating a birthday. stayed up way too late.

day 3
july 31st
thursday

at about 11, i took the metro one stop to taipei station and boarded city bus #260 for yangmingshan, an hour north of taipei. from the visitor's center i took another bus and got off at the first place that looked promising -- a sulfur spring midway up mount cising. on the picnic benches there i had some instant rice porridge and iced coffee, and chatted with fellow visitors -- matthew from beijing (originally france) and gary (taiwanese). then i wandered around the park, took in the views of the city and ocean below, and climbed the path along the sulfur springs to the peak of the mountain. the weather was fickle, and as a result the clouds and mist incredible. there were butterflies, cicadas, birds, tiny purple flowers, trees strong against the wind, and so much green. i wished i'd brought a tape recorder to supplement my camera. after pausing for ten minutes or so at the top, i descended a different, longer route. i then caught the bus in a loop around the mountain. the driver took the curves with speedy expertise and the elementary school kids standing in the aisles were holding on tight and yelling "whee" around corners. i headed back to taipei station and got a sticky bun, some fish balls on sticks, and a jelly filled juice drink from 7-11. (seven eleven, by the way, is everywhere in taiwan.) back at the hostel a newly arrived guest (luka, an italian who works in navigation and spends most of the year traveling the world on ships) chatted me up and we decided to go exploring together. we didn't find the pub we were looking for, but we did have some great fruit and did a lot of walking. over bibimbap and chu-hai he politely asked if he could join me on my trip southeastward the following day. i politely told him i was happy to go alone. we missed the last train back by less than a minute and the taxi driver had a hell of a time understanding my pronunciation, but eventually we got home. i slept very quickly, and very well.

day 4
august 1st
friday

i stowed my backpack in a locker at taipei station and then went to the national palace museum. it takes its name from the fact that most of the exhibits there came from beijing's forbidden city -- and it doesn't disappoint in either its thoroughness or historical range. it was my chinese art history book come to life: so much intricacy, history, and beauty. bronzes, scrolls, carved sandalwood, and oh, the porcelain! lovely. i followed up the museum visit with a late lunch at a vegetarian restaurant near shihlin station. taiwanese fake meat is yummy! then i caught a 5:10 train along the southeast coast at sunset, to hualien. three hours later i was wandering around a small town with no sidewalks looking for my hostel. a lot of people stared at the crazy white girl in the short skirt with a huge backpack strapped to her back and another smaller one on her front. after a couple wrong turns, i checked into my hostel, had a shower, and headed off to the night market (go down the street and turn left at the third seven eleven) for dinner. to give you an idea of how hot it was: i picked up a beer at the convenience store on the way back and it was lukewarm ten minutes later. back at the hostel i talked with some kids who teach english in taichung, and went to sleep.