In Search of Adventure

Shanghai Expo 2010 until the present (part 2)

2011-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

After arriving in Taiwan around mid July (details of the trip are in an older post) I began to settle in. After a few weeks I cam to realize that for foreigners, finding work can be a bit of a hassle. In general there are 3 really only 3 ways foreigners come to Taiwan to work (legally). Teach English, translate, be sent by your company that has offices here. Yes, there are many other options, but I would argue that these are the top 3, "foreign professionals." The majority if foreign "white collar workers" in Taiwan are teachers, and the majority of teachers hold Canadian passports.

More are my job hunt in the next post.

My first few weeks here, I casually went to a friends scooter shop to learn how to fix scooters and prevent myself from being bored while I searched for jobs. The scooter shop owner is a climbing friend and mentor. Then I began going with him and a group of friends to Xinzhu to help a friend who runs a river tracing guide service. After a few weeks I was pretty much full-time on call as a river tracing guide working about 3 days a week and earning 15,000NT/month...Not bad for only working 3 days a week.

Things were good, but as the days grew colder, the river tracing work dropped. I was unemployed by October. I was thinking about what to do next when a fellow river tracing guide, told me about a friend of his who had tried to open a coffee shop on a mountain (Jinshan inside Yangmingshan National Park). Long story short I tried to open a coffee shop there, but cold and mold deterred me and I ended up back in Kaohsiung 1 month later pretty much broke and broken.

So here I stand 2 months after my failed coffee shop misadventure. Basically most days I spend searching the Internet for ways to stay in Taiwan. I stand on my balcony, drink tea and coffee, and watch my herbs (mint, thyme, rosemary, sage, and perilla) grow. I still no job, still not great outlook on the future, but I recently found out that I still have access to my universities VPN, so I would like to welcome Pandora and Netflix to Taiwan :) It's all about the little things.

In the immediate future I plan to sell banana bread and bagels, and look into going back to school for a MA in "food culture," and learn to cook and try to get a gig in a restaurant.

I expect that my next post will be about searching for jobs in Taiwan.

Shanghai Expo 2010 until the present (part 1)

2011-01-14T00:08:00.000-08:00

A few days after given my final presentation of the the minor research project I completed in Taiwan during the Spring semester of 2010, I boarded a plane bound for Shanghai. Well, I boarded a plane bound for Chicago, then boarded a plane with several (i forget the number) other "student ambassadors" heading to volunteer at the USA Pavilion at the World Expo in Shanghai.

From the get go, I wasn't feeling the whole expo vibe. I came to dislike many of my superiors,who were not much older than me, didn't have as much education as me, and didn't speak Chinese as well as me (in some cases none at all).

I also don't like speaking in front of large crowds, or making announcements over PA systems to large audiences, nor do I like sitting and doing nothing, so I fell into the gig of "queue management." Pretty much standing outside with the police and other expo volunteers to make sure people did not cut the line, or get hurt standing in line, etc.

I'll spare you the gory details of volunteering for the USAP as I'm sure someone else has already written about it somewhere else. Some I'm sure have glorified it, and I'm sure some have written horror stories about their experiences. I know that some people enjoyed it, some people didn't. I was one of those who didn't. And after 2 months I gave my 2 weeks notice and quit my volunteer position. As I was informing my superiors that I would be leaving, they reminded me of the contract we had signed to volunteer until August. And hinted that I may not be granted a return flight to the USA. Luckily I had no plans of using the return flight anyway. And for anyone out there that ever wants to break a contract, please remember that it is not illegal to do so. And as I This American Life informs me, "businesses do it all the time."

I would like to give a "shout out" to the dances from Dance America, as I believe that they were some of the most upstanding and hardest working people at the pavilion. And I believe their work to exemplify the spirit of world expos by helping to share a piece of American culture with the world without advertisements and political propaganda.

In mid-July I headed off to Taiwan to chase my dreams...by boat via Mazu Island 2 hours off the coast of Fuzhou, China, 10hrs from the port of Jilong, Taiwan.

Revival

2011-01-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

Once again I've let the old blog sit idle for quite some time. This is mainly because I haven't really done anything exciting, but now I'm unemployed and have a bit of time on my hands so I figure maybe it's time to start writing again.

Back to Taiwan

2010-08-02T21:20:00.000-07:00

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.

It's time again

2010-01-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Things have been rather boring in the last few months, with the exception of a rock climbing excursion to Georgia.

But now I'm back in Taiwan and am ready for some more adventure. In fact, the adventure has already begun.

I spent the last few days river tracing with Phillip (a.k.a. 小花) and some of his mountain climbing friends from NTU. It was one of the best experiences that I've ever had, and I can only hope that things get better as the while I'm here for the next 3 months.

The river tracing blog as well as the days leading up to the trip will following the next few days.

pictures

2009-07-21T01:41:00.000-07:00

“黑色“奇来 ("Black" Qilai Mountain)

拉拉山(La La mountain)

双溪 (Shuang Xi)

北大武山(Beidawu Shan)

绿岛(Green Island)

满月圆(Full Moon Mountain) and Stuff

大尖山(Big Sharp Mountain) and the surrounding trails

黑色奇来

2009-07-14T00:05:00.000-07:00

Rest at last

I unclasped my bag and let it slide off my back and drop onto the floor. I told myself "I'll sort it out later." I had some fruit, some yogurt, and then drifted off into sleep.
I had just completed of the hardest hikes I've ever experienced. In fact, after this excursion, I would like to graduate myself from hiker to amateur mountain climber. A difficult hike in itself, with the volatile mountain weather, and two fairly difficult - if not out right dangerous - summits. But, I made the journey even more arduous by cutting the hiking time nearly in half, and doing it alone.

The beginning

This story begins nearly 2 weeks ago when I had come back to 高雄 (Gaoxiong) for some rock climbing. Oddly enough I never even got to climb that day, the rope bearers arrived too late and I had already made plans to go to a night market with some of the nurses at the hospital. Among the avid climbers, there are also quite a few hikers...and so naturally I started asking questions about the 南二段, the second southern section of the trail system that follows the 中央山脉 (Central Mountain Range). One girl had done it before, and she offered to let me come along with her group to do a trail called the batongguan (this is actually part of the last section of the 南二段). Naturally, I was excited...and the next day I started to apply online for the necessary permits. Permits are generally required for the longer hiking trails here, but sometimes you can get permits as necessary at police stations near the trailheads. The batongguan is a part of the yushan national park however, so permits must be obtained in advance...and can be a bit of a pain since the government will only permit a limited number of people in at any given time.

Within 2 days my first permit application, I received a rejection email. I knew that trouble was ahead. So, I started making a backup plan. I emailed Richard Saunders, and he made a couple of suggestions, but only one stood out...the 奇来南峰 (Qilai Mountain Southern Peak)

I think it may have been from some pictures I'd seen online, the famous "qilai ridge," 黑色奇来(“Black Peril”Qilai) was where I wanted to go if I couldn't get my permit.

2 days before the start of the hike, I received my second and final rejection for park/mountain entry. Plan B went into effect immediately. The next day as I was making final preparations (buying some food stuffs, etc.) I got a call from the girl who had invited me on the hike. An incoming typhoon had spoiled their plans for the batongguan walk. I felt terrible since they had been planning this for more than a month...but you can't change the weather.

Getting there

Despite the incoming storm, I continued my preparations and headed out by bus from the kaohsiung train station. It was nearly 5 hours to 埔里 (Puli) where I had to change buses to 雾社(Wushe) . Before I left my friends mom tried to give me 10000NT to take with me, I refused and set out with about 1700NT. After the making it to 雾社 I was left with only 1000NT and change. Alternatively you can take a train from 高雄(Gaoxiong) or 台北(Taibei) to 台中(Taizhong), then take a bus to 埔里(Puli) before changing buses to 雾社(Wushe).

I headed straight to the 雾社(Wushe) police station to get my permit...and was rejected on the grounds of bad weather and they told me to check back on the following morning. I had planned on trying to hitch hike up to the trail head and set up camp, but now I had to stick around near the police station for reports of better weather. So, I spent my last 1000NT on a hotel room at a 民宿(MinSu). I got a negotiated rate because I had wandered into a mechanics garage looking for a place to stay and his the 民宿(MinSu) owner was his landlady.

After a good nights rest, a beautiful morning view, and breakfast (included in the price), I called the police station and they told me I could get a permit.

The story was different when I got to the station. When I called the officer didn't realize that I wanted to go in for 3 days. They could read the disappointment on my face. Then, they offered to discuss my plans over tea. "我们喝个茶，谈一谈好不好? (Let's have some tea and talk about this, ok?)," or something like that. After some pleasantries...where are you from? what do you do? what's the salary like for police officers in the states? I pulled out my map and set it on top of the marble tea tray. I told them where I wanted to go and they said, "no." It wasn't exactly a flat out "no," it was more like, "we're not going to give you a permit, but if you go in, don't stay too long." Then, they decided that I should go up to 合欢山 (Hehuan Mountain) for the day, and area on the 14 cross island highway, with a couple of easy walks right off if the road. As they told me, and I'm not sure if he did it on purpose or not, one of the officer's fingers drifted towards a trail on the map. A trail that I hadn't even paid attention to before. It was the path to the 奇来北峰and奇来主峰 (Qilai north peak and main peak), and the trailhead was at right next to the 合欢山东峰 (Hehuan Mountain's east peak), easily accessible right off the highway! Knowingly or not, they had just started my head spinning with a new plan. I thanked them left, and started hitchhiking my way up to 合欢山 (Hehuan Mountain) about 30km uphill from the police station. After changing cars 3 times, I made it...I was a bit disoriented, but I knew I was close to the trail, and then...

Strange fates

The last driver to give me a left, dropped me off at 石门山 (Shimen Mountain)...I think ed's dad went there a few weeks ago when he was here- that blog entry is still pending. In a bit of a daze, I wandered downhill a few hundred meters before I heard some people yelling expressions of shock. As I focussed on the figures in front of me, I saw two Taiwanese guys shouting at me. Go figure, less than one week prior I had run into them as I was exploring a trail (leading to 塔曼山) – that entry is also pending. I couldn't believe it, and neither could they...I mean what are the odds??

After greetings, I asked if I could walk with them for a while. They brought a third with them this time, and I went up to two easy peaks with them and started to discuss my plan for a possible 奇来(Qilai) hike if the weather looked ok. They warned me of "danger," but happily showed me exactly where the trailhead was. Before we parted ways, they took me to the a national park office where I began talking to a "soldier" (a kid doing his obligatory military stint in the civilian service) about my plans. I was also able to take a good picture of a map of the trail I would be taking...it would prove useful over the next few days! I was offered encouragement, as well as advice on staying the night out there after I told him I had less than 100NT on my person. The advice came after I inquired about camping and the kid replied "原则上是不行的 (In principle, aka according to the Regs, it's not allowed)" as he said it he gave a sort of wink and then he repeated himself, louder this time for his boss to hear. Then he took me for a little walk outside the building, explaining I should wait until after 7 to set up tent, and the hot water (for noodles not bathing) would be available all night. He added, if anyone comes and says you can't stay camp here, just pretend to start packing and wait until they leave.

As the sun began to set a decided on a flat spot on a hill just outside of (and out of view of) the building. ( I started to get dinner ready when I found out my lighter was no longer working. I guess it was a really good thing that I didn't make it to the south peak trail or else I would have been three days without hot food! I frantically began looking for smoking tourists on that were stopping at scenic spots along the highway, just below where I was making camp. It didn't take long before I got a taxi driver to part with his lighter. I offered him money, but he said I'd need the lighter out here. I went back up to my sight to cook my instant noodles, and set up the tent. It was still early, but the sun was going down fast, it started raining, and the wind was wipping. I crawled inside my tent, inside my sleeping bag and drifted into sleep. I was anxious, I thought my tent would leak...I thought the wind would knock it down in the middle of the night...I thought I would get caught camping...I thought I wouldn't be able...

I woke up just before sunrise. I had eaten breakfast and had everything ready to go in less than 15 minutes. And with a deep breath, I set off for the trailhead. It was about 2-3km to the giant sign that reads "奇来山登山口." I possed for a self-portrait, then followed two women onto the trail. As I passed them one of them said, "啊，一个人走很危险." I chuckled a bit and explained no one was willing to go with me. Then, I just walked on ahead.

The first stretch of the path is through beautiful "yushan cane" meadows. The weather was perfect and the scenery was amazing. It was hard to believe I less than 2km from the highway.

The further I walked, the harder the terrain got. It was still easy going, with lots of unnessary fixed ropes...for a while. I passed the first cabin, and stopped to fill up on water. I figured I had better top off, and I was right. I didn't stop long, as I had fomulated a plan the night before...I wanted to make it to the main peak by 4pm...a pretty killer pace. Shortly after the cabin, I was shocked to see a group of foreigners coming down the trail, maybe seven or eight of them. They looked beat. They said that they were got stuck on the ridge between the peaks(I'm still not sure how). They couldn't make it to the shelter, and they couldn't pitch their tents. It sounded crazy, and I still don't understand what happened to them.

I let them pass and I continued. Soon, it was time to summit the north peak. I stashed my bag, and only tool my camera, some water, and a soy joy bar with me. Thus began the hardest 1.5km of my hike. It took me nearly 45 minutes to get up the first marker. My heart sank when I realized I had only gone 300 meters...it sank even deeper when I saw a saw that said I could follow the ridge to the cabin from where I was standing instead of back tracking (to get my bag) and having to walk up another steep slope. It would have paid off to pay a little closer attention to the map!

After another hour of climbing up the slope, all the while thinking, "It's gonna be a bitch going down," I finally made pulled myself up onto the summit. The picture now records the highest point I've ever been to on foot...3607 meters (it reads 3605M, but the sign behind it says 3607M. It was unbelievable in the clouds. Absolutely stunning, but terribly windy and cold. I would have liked to stay and enjoy the view longer, but I had a schedule to keep and I knew the weather on the mountain tended to turn bad around 2-3pm (good advice from the other foreign trekkers. So, I finished off my victory soy joy bar, and made the journey down.

It was a bit sketchy going down, but it went quicker than I anticipated. For once I was happy to see fixed ropes. To make things quicker I used them to kind of rappel down in the places where down climbing looked tough. After a lot of loose rock and careful negotiation I made it down, shouldered my pack and continued walking towards the next mountain shelter...and the next peak.

Almost like clockwork (well actually a little earlier than I had thought) the weather turned. Luckily it was only about another hour to the next mountain shelter. I got to the building around 1pm, just as the rain was starting to pick up. The shelter's in pretty good condition and it even has solar panels! The solar panels charge several car batteries, and I think it's all to run a single light inside the cabin.

I had some snacks, and watched the rain...after some heavy downpours, the rain lightened up, and I decided to make a rush for the main peak...and possible try to keeping following the trail past 卡罗楼
山 to 奇来南峰 (a trail leading to the Qilai south peak, another day or 2's walk).

The trail marker said that the main peak was 1.6km away, along the famous qilai ridge line. It's a pity it was so foggy as I imagine the view walking along the ridge at 3000+ meters would have been breathtaking. With the mist and the fog, I can definitely understand why people think qilai is haunted. I mean at this point (10hours of walking) I was already talking to myself...it wouldn't have been a stretch for me to think I was seeing ghosts in the mist.

After another easy 1.5hrs walk, I started my summit climb. It was different terrain than the north peak, it was more like a 20 minute scramble/crawl of loose rock to the top. And upon arriving I was confronted with nothing but fog in all directions, and thunder rolling in the distance. I savored some victory chocolates and quickly started my decent.

As the thunder got louder, and I started seeing flashes of lightning my pace quickened. I stopped just to check out the path to the south peak. It looked rather menacing for me to do on my own, so I decided to head back to the cabin. I practically ran back, all the while talking to myself about not getting stuck on the ridge. Although, I concluded (with myself) that I would make the ridge walk in anything short of hurricane conditions, as it was still a better bet than risking exposure on the ridge.

An hour later with soaked shoes, hat, and half soaked pants I crawled back into the cabin in which I had taken shelter earlier that afternoon. I was able to cook instant noodles, and I ate some special German bread that I found inside the cabin...I think it did funny things to my stomach the next day. I made some tea and ate some more chocolate before turning in for the night.

The decent

It rained heavily all night and it was cold, but the sound was was comforting and my sleeping bag kept me warm. I slept straight through until 4am. It was time to eat and prepare for the walk out. After some more questionable bread and oatmeal I packed up. I pulled on my wet pants, tied up my wet shoes (nothing had dried during the night), and set off as the sun was rising. It was still cold, and I couldn't wait to get moving to warm up.

The walk out from the cabin wasn't bad at all, I had just come that way the day before, so things were familiar. And I carried on feeling accomplished. I told Qilai mountain that when I finished I would summit another mountain (合欢东峰) just to prove she didn't get the best of me.

I stopped 3 times on the walk out. The first time to admire a mountain goat, running effortlessly along the steep slopes of the north peak. The second time to refill on mountain stream water make a quick cup of instant coffee, and greet two hikers that were on their way up the trail (I didn't think they had the heart to make it...but who knows). Then the last time I picked the highest point I could get to in the cane meadow to enjoy the scenery and a quick snack.

I arrived at the trailhead to see a large group of people getting ready to take a walk in the meadow. They wanted me to help them take a picture of the group standing in front of the 奇来山登山口(trail head) marker. I took the picture, but it felt like they were mocking me...mocking anyone whose every actually hiked the trail, and mocking the mountain. I know it's certainly not the hardest trail, not even the hardest trail in Taiwan, but it's still takes a bit of work and heart to do the hike.

One more peak

With a ten minute break, I continued straight to the hehuan east peak, to fulfill my promise. I was moving slowly at this point. A crawl compared to my pace the day before...a crawl even compared to my pace 30 minutes earlier, yet I was still overtaking most of the other hikers up the steps. Yup, there were steps on this one...I hate steps on my mountains! At the top, I ran into a group of 3 admiring the qilai north peak. The oldest was telling about how hard a hike it was to the peak (even though he'd never been there). I confirmed it's difficulty and started taking with his friend and his son, then would be my ride back south.

I hiked down with them then parted ways with them, because I wanted to find a ride straight back to Kaohsiung. They said if they saw me on the road on their way down, they would pick me up and take me to 斗南(Dou nan), as far south as they were heading.

Nice Cars

I walked on the 14 highway back towards 雾社(Wushe). I flagged people down left and right, but no one was heading south. An hour and a half down the road later, the same three folks that I had met on the 合欢山东峰 picked me up and we headed down. I was a bit nervous to get into the Lexus SUV, usually when hitchhiking I don't bother with nice cars since after hiking I'm always dirty. But since they sorta knew me, and they had been walking a little too, I thought it was Okay. They unexpectedly (for me) stopped for a late lunch at a 云南菜 (Yunnan Style) restaurant, a hidden gem on one of the windy mountain side roads. I'm not sure if they didn't like it, or if they just weren't very hungry, but I ended up doing quite a bit of plate cleaning for them at the end. But, I was happy to do the service... as I got to try new things, and some of the flavors were just spot on (even if it was a bit heavy on the salt).

After lunch it was a straight drive to 台中(Taizhong) where we separated. I stayed with the man and his son as they were heading south to 斗南(Dou nan), a bit closer to 高雄(Kaohsiung). The rest of my ride was in their Mercedes, it was a comfortable and quite ride to the 斗南车站 (Dou nan Train Station). I thanked them, exchanged some contact information, and headed to the ticket counter. For the whole car ride I had been wondering how much money I had on me, and if it would be enough to get me back to 高雄 (Kaohsiung). After counting my money, and consulting with the ticket seller, it was clear that the 108NT I had on my person was about half of what I needed. But, the ticket salesman took pity on me for some reason sold me a half price ticket. I now had 11NT leftover!

I'm sorry lady

I walked onto the platform and sat next to an old woman. She soon got up and moved to another bench, leaving behind a purse. At first I thought it was hers, but she kept looking at it, as if it were some strange foreign object. So I ignored it, and got on the train when it arrived a few minutes later. On the train, I sat next to the same old woman. I got up to go to the bathroom, and talk to my girlfriend who had just called me. Standing in the back of the car I saw that woman going batty...I thought she needed to go potty, but was afraid to leave her stuff at the seat. Then I heard heard come up and talk to the train car attendant. They were speaking in Taiwanese, but somehow I heard the word for bag and knew what was up. That was her bag at the station! Then it clicked... back at the station she was staring at me like I was a foreign object (which I am I guess...), not her bag! I told the attendant where the bag was, and she called the station to have see if it was there and collect it. The attendant said everything was fine, but the old woman still felt the need to yell at me...twice (once back at the seat). It wasn't angry yelling, I think it was more like, “why didn't you tell me back at the station.” I thought to myself, “you were starring at your bag the whole time lady!” “Oh wait, you were staring at me!”

A long train ride, and a short walk later, the adventure was over. Another great hiking experience in Taiwan...another great experience I can't write about in my internship report :)

A jouney to the middle of nowhere...40 minutes from Taibei

2009-06-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

My hands smell like earth, my clothes are covered in mud, I've got a cuts on my legs, a bruise on my hind quarters, I'm wet, my feet hurt, and I'm sure my the stench of my b.o. is bothering everyone on the train. But, today was was quite an amazing experience, enchanting even, because it turned out to be so much more exciting than I had ever expected. I think I can speak for all 6 of us (well, at least the 3 of us that braved the small section of unknown) when I say, we had know idea what we would encounter on our "easy" hike to see the waterfalls near 大尖山-Big Sharp Mountain in 汐止(Xizhi).

The events were set into motion on Friday evening when I went up to 桃园 taoyuan with my friend's mother...because I will be continuing my internship there for the next month. It just so happened that a small day hike had also been organized for saturday. So I dropped off my things (well, really I sent my bags along with the person I'd be staying with, hereafter referred to as 李舅舅) and headed off to Taibei to a couchsurfer's place. The guy I stayed with my first night was nice, and had been to quite a few places, but I think I arrived a little late, so after a brief conversation it was bed time.

The following morning, I woke up just before 7am and headed to 台北车站(taipei main station). I was only one stop away,that's why i picked this couchsurfer. I arrived early as the hiking group had planned to meet at 8am, and so i went out looking for breafast. I though that I would be dissapointed, afterall I was in the middle of a capital city... it's not always easy to find good food in a big city, I figured that I would have to get a sandwich from 7/11. Sometimes I forget that I'm in Taiwan... food is not hard to come by, even in the middle of a busy city. After a breakfast of 煎包 , 豆浆, and coffee - only the coffee was from 7/11. As side note, the coffee at "7," as it's called in Taiwan isn't half bad. They use fresh beans (of unkown origin), it's not watered down, and you don't get that burt flavor flavor of starbucks. On top of that, it's damn cheap at about $1 for a medium.

At a little past 8am we had all arrived at the station, and we headed to 汐止 by train. Upon arrival we first took a walk up to a local temple, which has apparently been expanding expenentially over the last few years. We there to see the perserved body of an "incorruptable" monk, whose body has been wrapped in gold and is on display （慈航纪念堂...I can't remember the name of the temple right now). The monks were very nice, and they seemed to be participating in the labors of the temple, unlike monks I'd seen in the Mainland. Also, i did not notice any of these monks using cell phones (as in the Mainland), but maybe this all has to to with different religous disciplines that i will never understand.

After the temple it was time to hit the trail, or the stairs rather. The first 15 minutes of the hike was up stone steps to the "summit" of 大尖山. The view wasn't bad...but I hate it when my mountains have stairs on them. We continued up another path, which to my surprise and Richard's (Richard is the hike leader/lonley planet writing/travel writer) the Taiwanese had developed this path as well. We were mutually dissapointed to find more stairs ahead of us. He kept talking to himself, saying things like, "they just have to do this everywhere don't they..." and "now it's just a trudge to the top." I couldn't have agreed more, and we were both (i'm not sure about the others) releieved to find that the stairs soon stopped and we were in the "wilderness."

I must take a moment to reiterate...one of the most beautiful things about Taiwan is the fact that you can be in one of the most modern cities in the world, but within 30 minutes be on a mountain with almost no one around...or within an hour be in the wilderness with no chance of seeing another human for days!

Anyway, judging by the amount of spider webs I was eating (i was in front), i think it had been at least a few days since someone had last walked this path. I think I was being punished for walking so fast by being forced to take the full brunt of the webs. It was slippery and hard to follow at times, but at least I didn't get any of the leeches, at this point anyway.

After a little while I decided to cook me up some oatmeal and wait for the others. I took my rest at a steam crossing. I was nearly finished eating by the time the others made it down. It was here that we had our first leech check. 2 of the group members had leeches on their shoes...and one (Mark), after commenting that his socks were "leech proof," discovered that he had been bitten through his sock. After clearing the vermon, it was time to press onward.

After I took a nasty spill crossing the little stream...both my legs came out from under me and I fell flat on my buttocks! The rocks were slipperey! We continued down the path, and in about 30 minutes or so, we made it to the road. I thought my fun for the day was over...I had no idea it had just begun.

We got on the road and followed it to the start of what used to be another path leading along a stream to 3 waterfalls. The last time Richard had been there, a few years ago, this had apparently been a path with paving stones. I asked about how long it would take and heard a familiar phrase, "it's only about 10 or 15 minutes." When I finish my "a few of my favorite things" post you can read about what happened the first time I heard him say that phrase. I'm starting to think that for Richard "10 or 15 minutes" represents the same amount of time as 马上(ma3shang4).马上is usually translated as "soon" or "immediately," but the amount of time it actually represents is completely arbitrary. It could be 10 seconds, 10 minutes, or i guess even 10 days.

3 of the group members decided not to join us on the jaunt, and so we left are stuff with them at the trail head...promising to be back before it rained. In less than 10 minutes we made it to the first waterfall, but then we started hunting for the path to the other 2. Richard had suspected things were different from his last visit because a sign at the trail claimed 1. that the path was not clear, and 2. that the path was dangerous. It was quickly apparent that the path no longer existed as it had before, so we began scouting options that may lead us along the route of the old trail.

When you want to find a path, every part in the vegetation, every bit of soil that looks like it's been traveled is inviting. I was sent up to scout to possible trails. One trail, after about 20 meters led to nothing, and a second after about 30 meters let to nothing. It didn't really matter that we couldn't find the path, and i suppose it wouldn't have mattered if we never did. We were in "discovery mode," and it was very exciting. Plus, I got to crawl, climb, and otherwise scramble my way along every potential trail. It was a blast.

After these 2 unsuccessful attempts to find a path near the base of the 1st waterfall, we decided to head back to the others, but keep our eyes out for any signs of the old path. Nearing the road, we found it! We followed it up to a terraced platform, which presented us with a maybe 2M wall to scale. Again I was sent ahead to check out if the rest of the trail even existed. Richard and the woman (Oxana, sp?), didn't want to mantle up onto the thing if there was no hope of continuing.

What I found ahead amazed me. We had discovered what was left of the old path after a landslide (or something) had destroyed it. You could recognize where paving stones had been, but now mother nature was doing her best to cover up the evidence of human interference. It was a very unique contrast, almost as if this were an ancient ruin. It had only been a few years at the most, but all along the now narrow dirt trail the vegetation had started to take over. Turning the remains of the paving stones into features indistinguishable from the natural environment.

I made it to the next waterfall. It was nice, but small and I decided to continue up to the 3rd waterfall. After carefully negotiating the rocks (remember...I had already fallen on my ass once that day), I found the path on the other side of the stream and headed up...straight up.

This was the best, most difficult, and i guess the most dangerous part of the hike. In fact it's probably the most dangerous thing I've seen on a hiking trail in Taiwan to date (or on any "hiking trail" for that matter). It was a climb 90 degrees up wet dirty rock. I have been informed that this section has not changed, despite the destruction of the path leading up to it. This last bit has always been for the brave of heart... or the people who just aren't smart enough to be scared. I obviously fall into the latter category.

At this point I was "in the zone," so to speak. The adrenaline had kicked in as soon as I started running ahead of the others. I was now well in front of them, and I wasn't about to wait for them here. I know that Richard said he had never made it to the 3rd (and final) waterfall on the path, and this was a bit of extra motivation.

I started the accent. Over the years people had added fixed ropes, to make it easier. But, I wasn't sure of their condition, so on my way up I didn't use them if it wasn't necessary. The climb wasn't too difficult, it was only about 10-15 meters to the top. The real challenges were the loose holds, and the wet rock.

Victory was mine. I pulled myself over the last ledge, ran along/jumped over/climbed on top of rocks through and along the stream and there it was was. In front of me was the final waterfall in all its natural wonder. It wasn't powerful, but it was tall, and the water was crystal clear. I was operating under the adrenaline rush that had sent me running up the trail, and the sound of the water flowing down the rocks was quite calming. I was awestruck.

After a few minutes of glory, touching the base of the waterfall as a sign of victory, and washing (rinsing i guess) my face in cold, refreshing water, I headed back down to trail to the climbing section to wait for any sign of the other two. I wasn't sure if they had turned around or not. I waited about 5 minutes before I heard them, and another 5 before they appeared at the foot of the roped section. They started the climb, but turned back just about half way up...determining it was just too dangerous.

We headed back to the road. It was now almost an hour later ( or more, i really have no idea...all i know is that it sure wasn't "10-15 minutes"). This adventure was over. After informing the other 3 of the amazing journey that they missed in an embellishing tail during which i was described as "a little mountain goat," we headed back to Taibei, and I headed to another couch surfer...but that's a tale for another day.

I'm finally finishing this post 3 days later, good speed for me... and for now, I will drink my tea and contemplate which of the tempests, the distant peaks or forests will call to me next.

A few of my favorite things...finally

2009-06-10T23:02:00.000-07:00

Wow...I started writing this more than a month ago...time to wrap it up

Yet another weekend of travels has past. This time it was back to Taoyuan, my port of entry, for 端午节 (Duanwu Jie- the Dragon Boat Festival), although I didn't really do anything for the holiday. I always tell people I've already seen dragon boat races...even though I've never seen a real race, only people practicing. I lie only because I've never met anyone truly interested in taking me to see the festival races. There seems to be a "if you seen one, you've seen 'em all" attitude towards the races. I'm thinking that the only reason the holiday has been preserved is because you get to eat special food, Zongzi 粽子.

Like tea, and shaved ice, where elsewhere in the world you will be lucky to find one variety, in Taiwan 粽子 also comes in several different flavors, shapes, and even sizes. Big, small, triangle shaped, cones, cylinders...meat, mushrooms, red beans...there's a little bit of everything. Thankfully I've had my fill and I don't have to eat anymore until next year! Don't get me wrong, almost every variety is amazing...my favorite are the one-bite baby triangles with meat and veggies...but when you eat 2 ...or 5 :) a day for 3 days, you can wait a while before you have the urge to pop another one.

So what was I doing in Taoyuan? Well, nothing really...but I did get to do/enjoy a few of my favorite things.

On my way to Taoyuan, I finally called my friend Ed's dad - here after referred to as 连叔叔. Ed had told me that he would be in Taoyuan, but I didn't want to give him a call until I knew I would actually be heading up that way. I called him, and I nearly instantaneously had a dinner invitation! He also asked me if I had a place to stay, and I replied "I'm not sure yet." I have a bad habit of not planning ahead when I travel. I've found that if you don't make a lot of plans you can either have the best, most enriching and rewarding experience, or the worst and most and traumatizing experience. I'm not so keen on taking the planned route and having everything turn out to be mediocre, so I mostly rely on good fortune and a bit of wit (whatever I possess that may be called "wit") to improve my odds of avoiding trauma. Back to the point, I was glad 连叔叔 inquired about my accommodations. I had made tentative plans with a local couch surfer (Bruce), but I found out after I spoke to 连叔叔 that I had written Bruce's number down wrong, and would not be able to contact him until I returned to 高雄Kaohsiung. I wonder if not knowing where you will sleep on a daily basis is good therapy?

When I arrived in Taoyuan Kay's mother and sister met me at the high speed rail station. If there's one thing I dislike more than the unnecessary use of hotels, it's the unnecessary "guest reception." I don't like people going terribly out of their way in order to make me feel comfortable...knowing that I'm a burden makes me feel very very uncomfortable. Regardless, I was received and scurried back to the house before, somehow I ended up with a beater mountain bike from a shop owner (relative maybe?) of a tv/sound system store below my friend's house/apartment.

Riding a bike is one of my favorite things! Since I got here I've been trying to get my hands on a decent used road bike, they're hard to come by...borrowing the bike made me feel quite alive. Since I started writing this post I gave up on the used bike idea and just bought a new folding bike, almost identically to the one i had stolen from me in the Mainland a few years ago.

It was like instant freedom. I rode around at high speeds for nearly 4 hours straight, only stopping at a few bike shops I saw to ask about used bikes. Eventually 连叔叔 gave me a call with directions of where to meet him (and family) for dinner. After getting a rough map from a security guard at a local university who claimed I was "好几十公里" (several 10s of kilometers) away, I set off towards the Taoyuan Train Station. I'm not sure that it was "several 10s of kilometers" away...I mean if I went 30k I would have already be in 台北 Taibei. In about 30 minutes I arrived at my destination, only to realize I was only about 10 minutes (Kay had told me 30minutes) away from my starting point. After another phone call with 连叔叔 I found the restaurant and it was dinner time.

I wasn't really hungry that night. Whenever I'm with Kay's family I'm never really hungry. But I was happy to see Ed's dad (I hadn't seen him in years) and speak English. After about an hour at the restaurant Kay's mother called me asking where I was, and telling me the shop folk needed the bike back. I had to take my leave, but not before I had arranged to possibly spend the night with 连叔叔 and parents.

The best part of my whole night was riding that bike at lightning speeds at night through crowded streets. I didn't have my glasses which makes things even better. In the daytime I'm fine, but at night without glasses all the streetlights and headlights and shop signs all kind of melt together in to a few giant beams of light shining rather harshly into my eyes. I got to blindly weave in and out of traffic like a lunatic charging through traffic lights (most cyclists here will stop at the appropriate traffic signals...but I just don't care). I skid the rear tire a lot when I jammed on the rear break. If the front brake had been on the left (where I generally prefer it to be) I definitely would have flipped that bike over. The whole thing was over in about 10 minutes though. And after convincing my friends mother that it was fine to stay with 连叔叔, she arranged for her brother to drive me over there. I would have preferred walking, but she insisted he drive us ( I say us because she is very protective and wanted to see who I would be staying with).

Ed's grandparents' house was quite nice. A modest apartment in one tower of and apartment complex.

Everything was very clean, and I was a bit surprised at how well the grandparents could manage for themselves. Ed's father knows a lot about Taiwan and it was nice to talk learn about Taiwan's political and cultural past. Topics that, in general, I don't get to discuss on a daily basis.

I got the floor in a room near the dining room and the kitchen. It felt pretty good to sleep on the floor. I find in the summer, the weather down on the floor is always much nicer. I also feel like a get a really good stretch in my lower back when on sleep on my back on the floor. It was quite a refreshing nights rest, and breakfast the next morning, 薏米绿豆汤 (barely like grain and green bean soup) and 馒头(steamed bread).

The next day my Kay's Cousins and younger brother took me to 淡水(Danshui), the last stop on the red line of the Taibei MRT. I only later, after another conversation with Ed's dad, found out about the historically signifigance of the city which had been home to a Dutch Castle/fort. My friends family where all about the food. Which I thought was good, but in excess! It was interesting to see the crowds of people, and weekend bike riders and the like, but the highlight of the day was came after a short boat ride and a rest for drinks. Yup, I'm talking about green tea coffee. Two of my favourite things, green tea and black coffee, when mixed together create a super amazing beverage!

My day ended back at Ed's grandparents house. After another nice conversation/history lesson and saying goodnight and goodby (I wouldbe leaving early the next morning to go hiking), I went back to sleep on my comfy spot of floor...and

You can read about my short excursion the next day under the Full Moon Mountain Blog if i ever right it :) You can see the pictures if you Click on the Full Moon Mountain link in the A few of my favorite things post.

A few of my favorite things...

2009-06-02T20:58:00.000-07:00

I want to thank Grant from Grant's Pad and Ed from Tee Dubbleyu Eff See for mentioning my blog in recent posts. I enjoy reading their posts (and Ed's comic) I'm glad that they enjoy reading mine.

The post A few of my favorite things will follow soon...in the meantime, these are links to my facebook photo albums
北大武山(Beidawu Shan)
绿岛(Green Island)
满月圆(Full Moon Mountain) and Stuff
大尖山(Big Sharp Mountain) and the surrounding trails

北大武山(beidawu shan)

2009-05-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

Every time I see a mountain covered in lush green forests I wonder what it's like to walk through the trees, to be there looking out instead on gazing at the “scenery” from a distance. I'm not a stranger to mountains, I've hiked my share of (usually easy) trails, I know it's trying, tiring, dirty, and sometimes dangerous, but I just can't seem to fight that feeling, that I should be walking among the trees, that I need to be in the scenery and not admire from afar.

Last weekend I went hiking for my first time in Taiwan. It was amazing. Not only did it satisfy my need to get on the mountain, but I learned more about Taiwan, Taiwanese culture, Taiwanese food, and Taiwanese people in the course of my three days hitchhiking and hiking than I have since I've been here.

The Plan...or lack thereof

It all started on Thursday night, when I decided I wanted to go to 北大武山(beidawu shan). I hastily made plans looking at blogs, then I spoke to my friend Kay and the news spread. The next morning they told me I was free from work and they helped me get headed in the right direction. They tried to arrange for my transportation and sleeping. I didn't inform them yet that I wouldn't need a hotel, nor would I need transportation from the last bus stop to the trail head (a 40 minute car ride).

Getting There

This section deals with transportation to 北大武山. For anyone without a car/scooter, just do what I did. I set out for the 高雄火车站(Kaohsiung train station) and hopped on a train to 屏东(Pingdong). There are trains every 30 minutes or so from 高雄 to 屏东. Then I got on a bus headed to 泰武(taiwu). There are only two buses a day from 屏东 to 泰武. One is in the morning (not sure what time) and one is at 4:45pm. The last stop on the bus was 佳平村(jiaping cun) and it's about 100M from the police station. If you haven't already gotten your permit, you can do it at this police station, they are open 24 hours and very helpful. They give you a model of a completed form and you can basically just copy everything. For this hike they didn't ask me for anything (gps/map/plan), if fact when in came to filling in the parts about my plan, the officer said “don't worry, let me do it.”

With the documents in order (he didn't even make me pay the 10NT fee for permit), the police officer, realizing that I didn't have a car, tried to help me hitch a ride up the mountain. He stopped all three cars that came through, but none were headed up the mountain. If you don't have transportation arranged, this is when it gets tricky. You can either walk up or hitch a ride up...it's all up to luck. By the way, it was at this point that I learned the Chinese word for hitchhike...搭便车(dabianche).

The Mountain Experience – the beginning

After getting a rough idea of how far (14K or so) and how long it would take (3hrs or so), I thanked the policeman and started to walk up. I was losing daylight, and figured I could still try to catch a ride with any passing cars. Just after leaving the station a group of kids with their mother greeted me and asked where I was going. They were surprised that I was walking, and gave me even more specific directions, “you have to turn left at the fork in the road.” Then, they said “let Jesus protect you.” I had never heard that phrase in Chinese. I later found out that the village had a strong Christian influence from early missionaries. After about an hour or two, having been passed by a few cars I had almost given up hope, but stilled waved my arm at the next passing car. (Just a heads up, the thumbs up thing doesn't work here in Taiwan, you have to flair your arm with your wrist limp like a noodle.) The car passed me, I dropped my head in defeat, but then I saw them stop, back up, and after some rearranging (there were 4 people in the car already) I had a ride.

They weren't going to the trail head, they were just out looking for animals at night. So I went with them down a small food path (located about 5K from the trail) towards a small waterfall. Along the 2-3K path we saw some birds, formosa monkey shit, a crab eating another crab in a stream, and they warned me of the mongooses on the mountain that might eat my food. At the waterfall, they helped me set up my tent (my tarptent is a bit hard to set up on rocks, I didn't pull it very tight, if it rained I would have been screwed), and they were amazed at the tent's small size and light weight. I thanked them and we parted ways. The night was beautiful. There were no lights, no people, just me and the gentle sound of the waterfall behind my tent.

The next morning I woke up at day break and tried to make breakfast. I failed. The alcohol that I borrowed from the hospital just wouldn't sustain the flame. I managed to get a burn for less than a minute, and then...nothing. I ate dried instant noodles, sausage, and beef jerkey for breakfast (that was my dinner the night before as well because I was too lazy to get my stove out of my bag). Then I tried to fill my nalgene bottle (remember my camelbak was leaking), only to find that my UV water purifier's batteries had died. I set off towards the trail head, an 8K walk from where I was camping, pondering whether or not I wanted to continue my trip with no prospect of hot food or clean water. I had filled up my nalgene halfway with stream water, in case of emergency.

Before long, I saw my first human figure of the morning. An old man who grows coffee along the road leading up to the trail head. He told me I had about three hours walk ahead of me. Then he tried to help me get a ride with the first passing car we saw. They said they weren't going to the trail head, they we lying. We were standing next to the last house on the road leading to the trail, later I would pass them on my way up the mountain.

I continued walking for another hour, before I had success waving my arm for a ride up to the trail head. I was extremely grateful, for the rest. It took almost 30 minutes by car, and then another 20 minutes walk before I made it to the start of the trail. The man who gave me a ride, told me he'd see me later. I also met a group who told me it was 4.5K to the shelter, and it would take about 3 hrs. They promised to give me some watermelon at the shelter halfway up, I thought they were joking. I left them behind and started walking. I passed maybe 10 people on the way. It was at this point I realized, no one had ever asked me if I could speak Mandarin. They just started talking to me. No one was ever surprised that I responded in Chinese. It was a good feeling.

I made it to the shelter with another group that had stopped to rest just short of the shelter. I wanted to continue to the peak, but they convinced me to stay for lunch. I told them my stove didn't work, and that all I had was dried food. I explained to them my story, walking and hitchhiking my way to the mountain and camping by the waterfall. They said I was like a “苦行者,” which literally translates to “an ascetic.” It was interesting to see how I was perceived in their eyes, as a kid with an adventurous spirit, “脚长” (long feet-meaning I walk fast) that doesn't worry about comfort, or planing ahead. Only the part about not planning ahead is accurate.

I told everyone I like to travel light, and accused them of bringing too much stuff. They responded by saying they like to eat well, even on the mountain. Most of them were only going to the halfway point anyway, so they weren't carrying things long before consuming them and walking back down with empty packs and full stomachs. I was still surprised that everyone brought up fresh vegetables and fruit. The group I met at the trail head actually did bring up a watermelon! And shared it with everyone. Part of the hiking culture in Taiwan is that everyone shares. I ate 3 meals for lunch because everyone brought up way too much stuff, and they felt bad that I didn't have any “good” food with me.

My Mountain Education

The day passed, getting colder and colder. The day trippers all went home (after leaving me with a honeydew melon, apples, oranges, another fruit I don't know the of, and an assortment of crackers and candy). I saw the man who drove me up the last leg of the journey towards the trail, and before he left he helped me arrange a ride back to 高雄(Kaohsiung) with two other hikers who would hike to the peak the following morning before returning home. It turns out that he hikes the trail about once a week, and he knows a lot of the people who frequent the trail. I was beginning to understand at this point that on the mountain everyone is a friend. It doesn't matter what you do or where you're from 山下-off the mountain, on the mountain everyone is together.

Later in the day two Canadians came up the trail. They were English teachers in 高雄(Kaohsiung), they said I was the talk of the trail as they passed all the day hikers that were heading down. I was happy that I could leave a good impression on everyone even after bumming their food and drinking their expensive tea. I spoke with the Canadians for a bit, but they soon retired to a campsite on the far side of the shelter. I continued to talk, with my new friends, my Taiwanese culture instructors.

It wasn't until talking with everyone at the shelter that the mystery of Taiwan began to unfold before me. I had not been impressed with Taiwanese food, until they told me what the Taiwanese value in cuisine. Fresh and light food. Not too greasy, not too salty, not to spicy. Just enough seasoning to enhance the natural flavors of the food. They also educated me on the variety of vegetables regional mountain vegetables that can only enjoyed in certain places. If they had not taught me to appreciate the beauty, the art of simple flavorful Taiwanese cuisine, I'm afraid I would have spent the rest of my time here searching for the “greasy, salty, and spicy,” dishes of the mainland, not understanding these are not prized qualities in Taiwanese eyes (or stomachs).

I also learned the meaning of 好茶! – good tea! A phrase used to describe the delicate flavor of a great tea. It's an all encompassing phrase which, said with feeling and passion, can describe all the subtle, fragile flavors of goodt tea. Tea unadulterated with sugar, tapioca pears, milk, strange jellies, or ice cubes. Tea sipped in small cups, not gulped through a straw. Tea shared among friends.

I talked with everyone over dinner, more fresh vegetables, rice, rice porridge, soups, and noodles. As I had come to expect, everyone shared everything. Finally after more tea, conversations on the cultural differences between China and Taiwan, getting information on the next places I should visit, and a round of red wine carried up in a plastic bottle, it was time for bed. Morning call would be at 1am to begin the hike to the peak.

I Conquer the Mountain and The Mountain Conquers Me

The next morning, after a light breakfast of rice porridge, I set off with a group of 4 other hikers for the peak. It was dark, we walked slowly using our headlamps. The path from the shelter to the peak was more difficult, but anyone in decent physical condition can do it. I went with the group slowly until the two Canadians past us. At that point something came over me, I had to make it to the peak before sunrise, and I definitely couldn't let the Canadians get to the top before me. I practically sprinted the last 2K to the summit, quickly overtaking the Canadians, only briefly stopping to snap a few photos. Reaching the summit I waited for nearly 40 minutes for the Canadians to catch up, they left and I took a nap, waiting another 1.5 hrs for my group to stumble up to meet me.

I will not even attempt to describe the feeling from 三角点(the peak of beidawu shan), but looking out on the 中央山脉(central mountain range) I had the sudden urge to walk along the ridge lines, never descending back to flat land. I suppose that's a mission for another day. Please see all the pictures from my trip here...the pictures cannot to justice to the landscape nor the experience.

The rest of the day went quickly, first descending (once again ahead of the group) to the shelter to collect my sleeping bag, and tent, then heading back to the trail head. As we left we met the wife of a man who had summited the mountain more than 500 times. She said, “you're so handsome” and asked if I had a girlfriend. As we left she yelled “it's a pity you already have a girlfriend!”

I started towards the trail with the group, but they told me to go on ahead. At the same time, an old man past us heading down the mountain. He was moving fast. Almost running, but he was confident in his step. I decided I would follow him down, studying his movement. He didn't have a walking stick, and he never used rocks or roots for support. He trusted his legs, his skill. It started to rain and I was stumbling and slipping on everything trying to keep up. His footing was sure, he never even slipped. I, on the other hand, took a nasty spill, scrapping up my legs a bit. It was at this point that I realized I had to follow his feet exactly if wanted to keep up with him, and avoid more pain and embarrassment. We did the 4.5K down the mountain in the rain in about 45 minutes. I thanked him for letting me follow him, and he told me he had a lot of hiking experience, and that I did pretty well keeping up with up him. I felt satisfied. He changed into shorts at the trail head, I saw his calves and knew had told me the truth.

After waiting 2 more hours for my ride to make it down the mountain, we got in the car and headed to 高雄(Kaohsiung), stopping for a dinner of pig's feet and local vegetables along the way. It was delicious. I was home by 8, and tired. I took a shower, and reflected on my experience, my good luck, and everything I'd learned. I made many friends, but have no contacts. I've taken only pictures and memories. The experience was incredible, and with a better understanding of Taiwanese values and culture, I think the rest of my time here will be far more meaningful.

An Excursion to Green Island (绿岛)

2009-05-21T00:56:00.000-07:00

This is about my recent trip to 绿岛(the two Chinese characters for the day are 绿-lu - green and 岛-dao- island). It was a vacation for all of the hospital employees. My friend Kay's mother had, at some point before my arrival in Taiwan, planned for me to go on the excursion. I originally did not want to go, but upon reflection, it was pretty interesting even if it is not my ideal type of adventure. I am grateful that my host/boss/friend's mother arranged for me accompany my "coworkers," and that the tour guide and hospital folk took such great care of me.

We set out in the morning, first by taxi, then by subway and finally by tour bus to the town of Taidong to catch a boat. I didn't really speak to anyone on the first day. I told my friend Ed about the trip, he commented that big groups of people bring me way out of my comfort zone. This couldn't be more true.

After 2 or three hours on bumpy mountain roads (and one person vomiting...into the vomit bag as the tour guide had instructed) we made our way across the southern part of Taiwan to port at Taidong. We hopped on a boat, and an hour later (with no vomiting this time) we were on 绿岛.

Once on the island the tour guide quickly rushed everyone to the scooter rentals, which had already been arranged, and our group set off - two per scooter - towards our hotel. I got to ride with the tour guide who had the only 125cc scooter, everyone else only had 50cc, so i think our ride was a bit smoother on the windy hilly roads.

No one really explained the itinerary to me. Well, the week before the head nurse gave me the itinerary book, but I thought it was a joke because it was dated '98. A few days later, after I threw it away, I found out that the Taiwanese use a different system for the years, so this year (2009) is 中华民国98年（ROC '98). The point is, I had no idea how crammed the itinerary would be.

The first few hours were a blur to me. I didn't carry my camera on me, and all I remember is thinking, "wow, this island is actually green." I compared it to my experience on an island off the eastern coast of the mainland, 南麂岛. Although it still had it's charm, (no offense to anyone this is simply my own observation) the Mainlanders just don't know how to take care of the environment at the same level as the Taiwanese. Perhaps concepts of environmental protection are insights that can only be gained when preserving your small island land mass is something essential to survival and profit. The Taiwanese can't look to different areas of their country to exploit resources. Like the South Korean's, and unlike the Chinese they have what they have, and they have learned to proctect it, nuture it, and reuse it.

The most interesting part of the trip came at dinner that night. An all you can eat (and apparently drink) BBQ place. This is not like typical American BBQ, this is very light. Small pieces of meat and vegetables grilled on a hot grill plate at your table. YOU are responsible for picking out your meat and veggies, and ensuring that everything is cooked to your own liking (not burning it, applying the proper amount of sauce, etc.).

When we arrived there was already a bottle of Taiwan beer on the table. I hadn't had beer since I had left the states, and I was staring at the bottle for most of the dinner. Until finally, someone asked if I wanted to drink it. I said, “yes," and proceeded to go ask a waitron for a clean class. I came back with my one class to a table of 3 surprised onlookers. I had assumed that as Taiwanese ladies, they would not partake in the drink, I was wrong. We began to drink, and soon faces were red all around (except for mine). And I quickly realized that even though my alcohol tolerance is low, the 3 lady nurses all had even lower tolerances. I guess you could argue that I've been trained by drinking the Spaten Optimator, but in my defense, I usually only have half a beer!

At any rate, dinner ended with one of the girls wasted, yelling at me for not wanting to take pictures and me running away to a table in the corner where the watrons were sitting enjoying their own beer. They had witnessed the events, and i think it was their entertainment for the evening. One of them showed me his heavily tattoed arm, and assured me that the girls wouldn't dare approach the table, as Taiwanese girls are apparently scared of men with tatoos. I sat and had another beer or 2 with them (one beer=one class=approx 90-100ml).

Heading back to the hotel I was invited to go and 吃冰 (chibing - lit. eat ice). This is another phrase that I was just starting to get used to hearing. Most asian countries that I've been to have had some sort of shaved ice deserts, but no where have I seen such a variety ice shaving methods (at least three so far...i think i will have to make a shaved ice post soon) and flavors (i couldn't count them if tried) than in Taiwan. I mean, the actiivity of going out to eat shaved ice has it's own special phrase here. What I find very interesting is unlike the mezmorizing variety of tea drinks, which are consumed all through the day, shaved ice "deserts" generally aren't overly sweet. They won't send you on a whirling sugar rush like 珍珠奶茶-bubble milk tea (that's bubble milk tea with standard surgar, you can of course request less...or none).

Anyhow, we went to eat chaved ice. This particular shop's specialty was incorporating seaweed into the frozen delights. It was a nice treat, a hint of sweetness complimented by the bitter overtones of the seaweed. The cold seaweed also had some interesting textural elements. It wasn't chewy, but yet it wasn't slimely either, it rested somewhere in that happy medium. Unfortunatelty, the experience was interupted by the drunk girl going down the line call each of her friends (now eating shaved ice), and demanding that they "come and save me!"

The rest of the trip, was again, a blur of running from sightseeing spot to sightseeing spot across the island. At lunch on the second day, i invited myself into the kitchen of the restaurant. It was a mess. The floor has wet and slippery, the countrers were dirty, and nothing was organiized. Yet, somehow they managed to turn out good food, and they did it fast! The staff was excited that I took interest in them, and were happy to let me take pictures. Over lunch, the drunk girl from the night before offered and appology to me, and gave me a keychain from one of the famous shops on the island. I never got a chance to visit the shop, and so i'm grateful that i have some sort of souvenir. I've now put the keychain, rather appropriatly, on my backpack next to my keychain from a brewery i visited in Singapore.

After leaving the island, we spent one night in 台东(Taidong) in a very nice hotel. We had dinner at the hotel, and we played a game organized by the tables where we were sitting trying to guess the prices of different daily items. The winning table had to have representive drink a glass of beer. Lucky for me (sarcasim), after the experience the night before, I now had a bit of a reputation, and became my table's lone 喝酒代表-drinking representitive. At the end of it all, I finally broke down and went on a picture taking excursion with a group of nurses from the hospital. I hate pictures...i hope they're happy.

Finally, before returning to 高雄(Kaohsiung) the next day we made one more stop at a botanical garden for lunch. Lunch was 火锅(hotpot), and at this place each person gets his/her own boiling pot of soupy liquid in which to dip food stuffs. As this was a botanical garden, we were given huge selection of leafy greens from which to choose - as well as some meats and other veggies. But, the greens were obviously the most impressive. Most of them I had never seen, and most of them I will never see again. Each had a distict flavors, and varying textures. Bitter and earthy, bright and crispy. The only thing missing, i think, was some sort of mustard green. The girls at my table were surprised that I was indiscriminite in the what I ate. Afterall, I had never had most of the vegetables, and my policy (thanks to Andrew Zimmern from the Travel Channel) is to try any foodstuff at least three times before deciding if I like it or not. I should add that my dining mates were also a bit taken back when the girl on my left ask if there were any vegatables that weren't so bitter, and without hesitation i reccomened she head for the sweet potato leaves (they were the least bitter of all the leafy greens on the table).

After eating two or three plates of veggies, I had created an incredible soup broth. I let it boil down and concentrate before finishing it off. My reckless vegetable eating had incorpartated the distinct floavors of more than 20 different vegetables into one unified, unique, and surprisingly delishis stock. It was an truely satifying end to one of my best meals in Taiwan.

I have no clear memory of the ride back to 高雄-Kaohsiung or the events to follow. Ed is right, I should keep a journal, or bring my laptop with me and type whenever I get the chance. That was, afterall, my intention when I bought an EEE PC. I just don't have the motivation, and so I suppose I should end the post here.

To the roof and back

2009-05-21T00:38:00.000-07:00

I apologize. This mini post was supposed to go up a week ago. I'm just lazy.

I've been in Taiwan for more than a week now, but have yet to write about any observations and experiences. I haven't really had time to synthesize any of my observations and so, I will share an experience.

The was at a hotel on the eastern coast of Taiwan 台东 (Taidong). I was given a single room with a balcony. After a good night's rest (the previous nights rest was continually interrupted because i shared a room with the tour guide who i came to find out rarely sleeps) I found myself bored with 30 minutes to spare before departure. So what was I to do? See what was on the other side of the balcony of course. Scaling the wall (they made it easy for me with the plant thingy on the right) I came to find a staircase. This was the emergency staircase that you ordinarily could not access without setting off the fire alarm and launching the hotel into a state of panic and chaos. It almost led to the roof and had a decent view of the landscape at the top. There's no point to this story, I just wonder if other people have scaled the balcony wall for a more scenic view of Taidong.??

Blue Jeans and High Heels... and other strange combinations

2009-05-07T17:55:00.000-07:00

I hung out with Yong-jong today. I managed to drag my jet lagged, sleep deprived body up (after 5-6 hours of sleep), and went with him on the hour and a half subway ride to his university. It made me feel a little better knowing that he was tired too, after all, he had to stay up late to meet me and get all my stuff to his house. I'd just like to say I'm so grateful for Yong-jong and his family for putting me up for two days. Even his 90+ year old grandmother (who they suspect has never met a foreigner before) didn't seem to mind me.

All day I felt like I was in a bubble. It seemed like the world was moving around me, and there was nothing I could do but submit to the forces around me. This was definitely one of those rare occasions where I was truly unable to interact with my environment, I was simply a passive observer.

The first observation I made stuck with me for the rest of the day. I cannot comment on the fluidity/flexibly/evolution of Korean society as a whole. In fact, if you find someone who makes such claims about Korea or any other place for that matter, you can go ahead and call them a liar because it is extremely rare to find someone capable of observing, much less comprehending the multiplicity of forces which shape any society. (Using the same logic, you can go ahead and call anyone claiming to understand macroeconomics, venture capitalism, international relations, and national security a liar too.) I will only comment on fashion, and only one aspect of Korean fashion at that, which I have observed and found to be quite interesting since I started to visit the land of the morning calm.

The Korean's like shoes, and they generally like their shoes to be different from everyone else's (at least for the 30 and under crowd). In Seoul I often find myself starting at the ground up, that is checking out a persons footwear before I notice any other personal features/personality traits. Shoes here seem to be like an unique identity marker, keeping each individual different no matter how similar they may be in dress or beliefs or attitude to others around them.

This now brings us back to the title of this post. I saw more young woman wearing blue jeans (well many colors of jeans actually) and high heels in 3 days in Korean than I've seen my whole life. At first I thought it was weird, then I thought it was funny, but I just couldn't stop thinking about it. Yes, I know it's an odd and minute detail to ponder, but I am convinced that there is deeper meaning, something that can bring me a little closer to that unattainable Big Picture understanding of Korea.

I believe that the popularity of high heels and jeans is simply a fashion evolution to keep things unique. The Koreans are using a style they know works, and adapting it to fit their lifestyle, adapting it to differentiate themselves, while at the same time, not straying to far towards the weird bleeding edge of fashion.

I don't really know how to end this post. I started writing it days ago, but haven't gotten anywhere. I think the point is that there is a big picture for everywhere, everything, everyone, the problem is backing up far enough to get the full perspective...

Netflix Sucks

2009-05-07T17:50:00.000-07:00

Netflix really knows how to get on my nerves. It started when I discovered they did not support "watch instantly" on linux. So, I'm using windows and now I come to find out that

"Watching Instantly is Not Available Outside the US

Our systems indicate that the computer you are using is not located within the United States or District of Columbia. Due to studio licensing reasons, movies are available to watch instantly only on computers in those locations."

Now I'm going to have to investigate streaming through a proxy. Netflix is Lame!

--------Update

Hulu also sucks (for the same reason as above), and neither netflix nor hulu will let you access movies/programs using an anonymous proxy!

Masks

2009-05-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

They seem to run a tight operation at the Narita/Tokyo airport. I am of course referring to the quarantine operation they are running on all incoming aircraft. As a soon to be public health professional, I don't consider this Swine Flu scare to be particularly threatening (considering it is no more dangerous the good ole' seasonal flu, except in it's fairly rapid spread early on). However, I do commend Japanese public health officials for moving so quickly to set up this temporary quarantine infrastructure. Yes, I admire their efficacy, and fluidity in adapting to this new “threat,” yet I must still question the effectiveness of such efforts if only because the risk of mass (symptom-less) exposure possibilities within closed systems such as airplanes is huge and likely impossible to control.

During the quarantine inspection our body temperatures were recorded using high tech video cameras, and we were all asked to fill out a form to report any flu-like symptoms we may be experiencing. I'm sure everyone was quite honest about it all. I want to note that the inspection crew were wearing only glasses, n95 respirators of various designs, and surgical gowns, the team leader wore no protective gear. A clear indication of the dilemma between a)protecting your personal health and b) trying to avoid panic.

Then, we were asked to don the masks. These, i assume/hope were N95 respirators (meaning they should block 95% of small particles), similar to what we see/use in the US, though slightly more aesthetically appealing. It's very strange, there's a flood of thoughts and emotions that rush in to consume you when someone gives you a mask to wear. Am I infected? Is everyone around me sick? How do I know if I'm sick? Do I have to wear this stupid thing. They only requested that we wear them, it was not mandatory. I considered it for quite some time before I pulled the straps over my ears and adjusted the mask over my nose and mouth.

Lets be clear about this. I didn't put the little face mask on because I was scared. No, I'm young and try to live as though I'm invincible (don't worry I still have limits). I did it just to see what it was like, just to know what it felt like. It was actually quite scary. I honestly thought the mask would be more like a security blanket, soothing me, comforting me, telling me everything would be okay. To the contrary, I found myself feeling isolated, and uncomfortable. At first I saw humor in the idea that I was in Japan and we were are looking like little (and in some cases BIG) ninjas. For many (myself likely included), the masks were actually more flattering to our physical appearances. Then, I suddenly realized how we had lost our expressions, we had been rendered emotionless by the masks. No smiles, no frowns, only eyes. Eyes carefully watching fellow passengers, silently scanning for the non-conformists and for any signs of coughing or sneezing.

I am now on another flight headed to Korea. I have since taken the mask off, but I may soon need to wear another one. We'll just have to see what the Koreans are doing about the swine flu. Maybe it's just a cultural thing, maybe after SARS and several Avian Flu scares the Asians are more prepared, more willing to sacrifice their emotions to live under the blanket of fear and paranoia those masks create. Maybe the Asians have less facial hair and the the masks are simply more effective. I know proper use of face masks can reduce viral transmissions rates by 80% or more (when the sick people are wearing them!). In school projects I've even suggested their widespread use in the case of epidemics/pandemics, but now, quite literally at the end of the day (for me anyway), I find myself wanting to challenge nature, to challenge fear, and do it all with a clearly visible smile.