Shayshay… “thanks”!
With those two key phrases I easily managed to survive my recent 5-day trip to Taipei. Taipei, the capital of Taiwan (an island south west of Japan, near China) is known for the infamous MADE IN… you got it, TAIWAN.
Well, this city was a dirty, industrious place 20 years ago. But, the citizens came together, demanded change, and got what they wanted: Taipei is now an ultra modern, yet still very traditional city and the heart of Taiwan.Known for it’s scrumptious Chinese food, succulent fresh fruit, incredible shopping and of course, the world’s tallest building (Taipei 101) this city and its people surprised me in many ways:
Funny: the Taiwanese were funny and friendly. One (MALE) engineering student beside me on the train happily engaged me in conversation for almost 2 hours. When he found out that I was Canadian, the conversation went something like this,
“Do you watch Prison Break?”
“Yeah, but not recently”
“Schofield; he’s a pretty boy, but Burrows, now that Burrows, he’s a REAL American man. I love him”.
Hmmm…. (I thought to my self) But isn’t Dominic Purcell British-Australian? Anyway…
Kindness: Yup, pure kindness all around me. I must have looked like one hungry kid, cause everywhere I went people offered me sweets… in ENGLISH! I couldn’t believe it – almost everyone in Taipei speaks some English and they weren’t shy to try it out on me. At the Longshan temple a homeless man opened up his new pack of Wrigley gum and gave me not one buy two sticks… and smiled when I happily accepted his offer.
Stinky: home of the world’s tallest building, Taiwan is also home of the world’s stinkiest tofu, actually called STINKY TOFU. The smell was so bad that I spent hours walking along invisible open sewers and invisible garbage dumps (invisible, cause I couldn’t see them, only smell their stench) looking for the infamous tofu only to find out that there were no open sewers or garbage dumps around. The smell was from the tofu itself. Yes, this tofu actually stunk up the market to the point that I couldn’t bring myself to try it (and I’ll try anything once)!Spotless: the metro, and extensive web of underground trains that cover the city, are immaculate. Not a piece of garbage, not a random paper, not a loose hair to be found. Now this could because of the massive $$$ fine warnings that surround the platforms, ticket booths, escalators, trains, bathrooms... Nope, not even allowed to chew gum while on the train. I learned this when I offered the kid beside me a candy and his mom’s chin dropped in horror. She picked him up and they left the area in a hurry. Then I looked up and noticed the signs, in Mandarin Chinese AND English, warning of the consequences for consuming anything on the train. Call it militarianism, or something like that but I can’t think of the word right now, but those are the cleanest trains and platforms I have EVER seen!
Funky: the buildings, at least in the newer areas are funky. Their designs and colours made it very difficult for me to keep my camera in my bag! The shops inside are funky. The clothes are funky. What a fun place to shop!
Fresh air: When I needed a break from the city I headed out to the Tsaoling Trail on the East Coast, where an “easy” 16km hike turned into an easy 3km hike and a painful 13km stairmaster challenge. Then, on another day I headed to Yangmingshan National Park, for another hike through the buffalo grass. After so much walking my legs were shaking for days so I decided a massage was in order.
I went to Danshui, a cute port town and weekend hot spot for city folk. I stopped for a head and neck massage in a centre where the visually challenged give massages. After 20 minutes I concluded that I had the best neck and head massage ever. So, I decided to follow up with a foot massage. I must have been squirming cause the blind man massaging my feet asked if the “hurt was ok”… I finally got out a “softer… softer please…” and then the massage was much more manageable. But, those relaxed muscles in my neck knotted right back up. Perhaps it was all part of the strategy to get me to pay for another neck massage…Well, I left Taiwan quite satisfied with my discoveries. It was surprisingly modern and peaceful, and full of expats from all corners of the globe studying Chinese (because they can study Mandarin Chinese and don’t have to actually LIVE in China). Next time I’m in Taiwan I’d like to head south, to hike some of the southern ridges and cycle through the countryside… another time, another trip.
So back in Osaka I am. I’m going to stay put for a while (well, at LEAST another 4 months). My studies at TUJ are keeping me out of trouble and I’ve used more highlighters and read more books and articles in the past 2 months than during my entire undergrad. I still take a few study breaks to dance, bowl, dance, eat, dance, or run along my Yodogawa in the warm spring sun.
Soon the cherry blossoms will be here, along with the passed out salarymen underneath them. This’ll be my 3rd cherry blossom in Japan. However, like all Japanese that enjoy the blossoms year after year, I too will be out with my camera trying to capture the perfect blossom.