Back to Taiwan

From The Boat to Taiwan

Someone once told me that I shouldn't write anything unless it needed to be written. I still can't comprehend what that means. I'm not sure my blog is necessary, but I think that it will help me to reflect on the events of the past few months, and hopefully netizens out there might find some enjoyment in my rantings.

I』m going to to start from the present, then flashback to the events of the last 3 months that led me to where I sit right now.

I recently moved back to Taiwan. On the morning of July 16th I set off from Shanghai South Station (上海南站) to board a 7:25 train bound for Fuzhou South Station(福州南站). It was a more emotional departure than it would have been if I had simply left when I had expected to leave, on July 1^st. By the time I left, I had already shipped my two suitcases to Taiwan and was carrying with me a small backpack, and rolling suitcase, a little baggy filled with cowboy hats, a nearly full pack of 17.5yuan Liqun blue』s, and some road beers.

I much prefer the process of traveling and I don』t like to rush myself, so I planned on taking the boat from the mainland to Taiwan. I had heard about it, but had never met anyone that had taken it before. Knowing this, I set off and had an uneventful 6.5 hr train ride to Fuzhou. I got off the train and proceeded to ask random strangers for information on where to take the boat. Lucky for me one of the janitorial staff was quite helpful and directed me to take bus number 306 then change to bus 37 (remember that if you want to take the boat to Taiwan). Arriving at the port I found only a middle aged woman and her young daughter manning the small convenience store inside. They informed me that there are only two boats that run to Mazu () , and the first one leaves around 9am. I hopped back on my motorcycle taxi, he hadn't left in the hopes that I would need another ride, and headed for a hotel. The only hotel in the area that would allow me to register was a fairly classy hotel (...for china) right on the waterfront. It wasn't exactly picturesque, but the atmosphere was nice.

The next morning I set off for the port...again. It was less crowed than I had expected, but more expensive 300RMB for a one way trip to Mazu only about 1.5-2hrs away. The waters were calm and I slept most of the way. Unfortunately it was the kind of sleep you get when a little boy sitting in front of you keeps having leg spasms kicking you repeatedly.

Mazu is an archipelago, that lies between the mainland and Taiwan. It is Taiwanese territory, and much of the main island appears to be scattered with various military installations. The largest landmark, as far as I can tell, is a giant sign – red words on a white background – that reads, "sleeping on spears, awaiting daybreak [枕戈待旦]." The works writen by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek himself. I take this to mean stay always on-guard as the mainlanders may invade at any second. I'm not sure if Mazu is as important militarily as it was in the past, I suspect that if there were an invasion of Taiwan, the PRC would not even bat an eye lash at Mazu and would go straight to the main island of Taiwan.

I spent my day aimlessly riding a rented scooter around the island, did a little bit of night riding before bed. It is quite beautiful here, very tropical. It would have been perfect if I hadn't of run into military bases all day. Why do they need little camps all over the island? I even found a little BB shooting range where every Saturday civilians over the age of 12 can come hone their shooting skills. I was actually surprised that the targets didn't have Mao's face on them.