Current music: The Night Will Always Win by Elbow
It's Moon Festival here in Taiwan again. It's strange to think that I've been in Taiwan for more than a year. This year has seen some very high highs and extremely low lows, but I'm still so grateful that I'm here. I just got back from another amazing camping trip on an island called Shou Liouciou with some amazing people. But I'll get back to the big vacation from a few weeks back.
I am confident now that I can drive anywhere, under any circumstances. Actually, that's a lie, we were super lucky that we never got hit by any rain on our journey. So, rephrased: I am confident that I can drive on dry roads anywhere. Because some of the driving that we were thrown into was super intense. But I digress...
Day 2 started at the crack of 7am, where we woke up, and decided to start on what would be one of the longest legs of our trek. We were to head south on highway 17 for about 2 hours, then turn east on to highway 9 and head across the width of the island, which would take a little longer than 2 hours. And then turn north again for a short while, until we reached the very small city of Taitung.
Current music: Solsbury Hill by Peter Gabriel
Driving in Taiwan cities is remarkable because of the sheer number of obstacles. Driving on Taiwan highways is very similar, but it's actually far more relaxing. People still don't know how to drive, but you have so much more room to avoid them. However, driving a scooter at high speeds for an extended period of time can become a challenge in itself. You are exposed to sun, wind, and whatever else the outdoors decides to throw at you, like sand and insects. Overall, however, the driving was quite enjoyable when the road was semi-level. The mountains were another story, but that's later. Also, even main highways are poorly marked in some areas of the country, often on the outskirts of cities, so much confusion can ensue. But, we made it to our second stop in one piece, and in much better time than we planned for.
We found a lovely hostel, that was pretty much a house, that we had to ourselves, in a little village outside of Taitung, called Fugang. It was a quiet little place, right next to the harbor where we were to take the ferry the next day. The hostel was run by a lovely South African man who got along with Wen quite well, being from the same country and all.
Current music: Straitjacket Feeling by All-American Rejects
After dropping our stuff off, we decided to give our scooters some much needed break time, and went for a walk around the village, mostly in search of beer. We passed away the afternoon at a lovely little outdoor bar on the coast until real food was needed. Since we don't know much about the aboriginal culture in Taiwan, we decided to try an aboriginal restaurant, for a change of pace from standard Taiwanese food. The locale itself was interesting, with an open fire pit, a large grass lawn in the middle, and KTV, which is what Asia calls karaoke. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it here, but KTV is everywhere. Literally everywhere. And the Taiwanese take it super seriously. However, I was still surprised to find it in this place. But I digress again.
As with most menus in this country, the menu for the place was in Chinese. So, like many instances on our trip, Jane and I were forced to rely on Wen to order for us. The server lady recommended that we try warthog, which is not found in many places around the country. Since I understand that warthogs that aren't cheery singing cartoon warthogs are actually super mean, I had no problem trying warthog. And it was super delicious. On the whole, the food was alright. Nothing special, but OK for three starving foreign girls. But what really made me mad, was what we didn't eat.
Current music: Stand Still, Look Pretty by The Wreckers.
I was studying the menu to see if I could recognize any characters. I found one that I thought I knew, so I asked Wen what it was, and she replied that it was cat meat. Now, everyone knows that I love meat. Like a lot. But everyone knows that I love cats more. In my mind it is never, ever OK to eat a cat. Or a dog, but for some reason eating cat makes me even more incensed. So, being very repulsed, I was very close to leaving , or yelling at them, or bombing the place or something. But, like so many other things I have encountered since moving to Asia, it was one of those times where you have to bite your tongue and realize how vast cultural differences are. And sometimes people eat cats. It's wrong and gross and unnecessary. But it happens. I did threaten to eat the line cook as I passed him on the way to the bathroom, banking on the very probable chance that he didn't speak English, so he would be unlikely to stab me with his cooking knife. It felt good to vent a bit anyways.
We went back to the hostel. We got some chips to calm me down, and Wen and I watched a Chinese DVD of Chocolat while Jane passed out. And so ended the first full day. Green Island merits its own post. I'll do that when I feel like writing some more.
Still to come on Jess's Taiwan adventure: How I almost got skin cancer, how we kidnapped a stray dog, how I got bit by a deer, and a visit to one of the only salt water hot-springs in the world.
Sidenote: The new year is going swimmingly. Most of my kids, save one, are tiny and cute, and still super annoying, but I can tolerate it because I am not exasperated with them yet. Save one. Who can likely be diagnosed as bipolar. But this is Taiwan, and people pretend that psychological problems don't exist. I'm venting...
Other sidenote: Sons of Anarchy is finally back for a fourth season and I am finally going to watch it right now! Good TV makes me happy.
Thing I miss of the day: libraries I can use. I spent so much time in libraries in Canada, and I realized recently how very much I love them.
