Sunrising over the boat in the Whitsundays. I actually didn't much sleep that night because it was suffocatingly hot in the berth (without a/c). The sun rose at 5:00 am.
Friday, December 10, 2004
Airlie Beach
I'm in Airlie Beach. I got here after an eleven-hour bus ride from Cairns yesterday; it was raining up there. Today, the weather is fabulous. It is hot and the sun is shining. There is a good breeze. I'll be on New Horizon, a schooner, for the next three days for sunning, snorkelling, and scuba diving. I was lazying around the pool this morning. Absolutely incredible views here. I will try email some when I get back. Wish you guys were here.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Back in Cairns
The overnight bus to Airlie Beach is full so I'll be staying in Cairns for a night and taking the morning bus. It's an eleven hour ride. woo hoo! The rainforest was pretty incredible. Australia appears to be very environmentally friendly because they have realized through errors that their ecosystem is delicate. In years past the introduction of other species have had devastating impacts on their ecosystem. I like the one about the cane toad which has no predators and whose skin secretes a poison that kills crocadiles and whose eggs are poisonous. This toad was brought over from South America by sugar cane farmers to get rid of a beetle that was ravaging their crop. Apparently it never took care of the beetles either. The toads have spread across Australia in about 30 years.
Interestingly, people lick the toads and smoke their skins to get a hallucinogenic effect. The rainforests were cleared because it was believed that their soil was rich, but actually, it's just sand without the rainforest.
Anyways, I'm not turning into a GreenPeacenik, but it's fascinating to hear about the end of the world especially while I haven't invested in one yet. Did I mention that they sell dog food in the refrigerated sections of the supermarket next to the meat aisle? Either that or it's dog meat. I am told they sell kangaroo meat too. It's supposed to be lean like deer meat, and I'm told that it keeps in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. And there is a section in the supermarket for people who homebrew their beer. This is simply amazing. There is a beer called XXXX. Actually I saw this up in front of a bar and I thought it was an especially dirty nudie bar. Well, as it turns out, it's the name of the beer that tastes like s**t, but since they can't write that everywhere, they just name it "****" or "four-x". The Burger Kings are called Hungry Jack's. I'm not sure why. I keep getting confused with the side of the road to walk on and the way I should be looking for cars at crosslights. It is especially frightening to be sitting in the front while a car is making a left turn at an intersection. It seems to violate my sense of safety. It's a good thing I'm not going to be driving anything around here. There was intermittent rain today while I was in the rainforest. Listening to the rain fall, the insects buzz, and the waves crash at Cape Tribulation was pretty neat. Cape Trib is very quiet and peaceful, and there are few visitors.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of the coast. I bought a Greyhound bus pass that will take me down to Melbourne over the next 30 days.
Interestingly, people lick the toads and smoke their skins to get a hallucinogenic effect. The rainforests were cleared because it was believed that their soil was rich, but actually, it's just sand without the rainforest.
Anyways, I'm not turning into a GreenPeacenik, but it's fascinating to hear about the end of the world especially while I haven't invested in one yet. Did I mention that they sell dog food in the refrigerated sections of the supermarket next to the meat aisle? Either that or it's dog meat. I am told they sell kangaroo meat too. It's supposed to be lean like deer meat, and I'm told that it keeps in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. And there is a section in the supermarket for people who homebrew their beer. This is simply amazing. There is a beer called XXXX. Actually I saw this up in front of a bar and I thought it was an especially dirty nudie bar. Well, as it turns out, it's the name of the beer that tastes like s**t, but since they can't write that everywhere, they just name it "****" or "four-x". The Burger Kings are called Hungry Jack's. I'm not sure why. I keep getting confused with the side of the road to walk on and the way I should be looking for cars at crosslights. It is especially frightening to be sitting in the front while a car is making a left turn at an intersection. It seems to violate my sense of safety. It's a good thing I'm not going to be driving anything around here. There was intermittent rain today while I was in the rainforest. Listening to the rain fall, the insects buzz, and the waves crash at Cape Tribulation was pretty neat. Cape Trib is very quiet and peaceful, and there are few visitors.
I'm looking forward to seeing more of the coast. I bought a Greyhound bus pass that will take me down to Melbourne over the next 30 days.
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Aquaman in the Great Barrier Reef!
The Great Barrier Reef is pretty awesome. I was able to dive to about 16m (52ft) for about 30 minutes until I had to go back up. I think I could stay down for about an hour as I never had less than half a tank left. The colors are more muted than I had expected, but I guess that's because the television and photographs have the colors shifted so that they look brighter. I will hold off on uploading more photos as the jungle internet connection is very sloooooow.
Done with Diving the Great Barrier Reef...on to the Rainforests!
I just finished with my diving yesterday and left Cairns this morning. I'm now at Cape Tribulation in the Daintree National Park just north of Cairns. It's a UNESCO World Heritage site which means it's protected by UNESCO from development. It is amazing. But back to the past week in Cairns...
Scuba class was pretty fun and kept me busy everyday. Every night a few of us converged on the Wool Shed, a backpacker bar and stayed late, so I got little sleep between the diving and the nights. Cairns is a busy backpacker town with lots of solo travellers. I met lots of folks from all over: Israel, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Scotland, Japan, and the US. Actually there are few Americans there, and a lot of Germans and Japanese. It's easy to hang out there and continually meet people that move into the hostels. The scuba class was awesome, and in total, we had three days of diving on the Great Barrier Reef. I saw a shark, a stingray, a giant clam, cuttle fish, and a wacko Maori Wrasse named Wally. It's a huge blue fish that comes up and nuzzles your hand if you hold it out. The water was nice and warm and super clear, and just breathing underwater around the coral was amazing. The snorkelling was pretty good too. Those guys that did Finding Nemo did a pretty good job depicting reef life. I would float and watch the entire community at work. It is really amazing. Expect pictures forthcoming...
Now I am in the rainforest. There are things croaking in the darkness and big bugs buzzing me, but they're not biting, so it's fine. The beach is a stone's throw away, but apparently there are deadly box jellyfish out there from November to April within 300 yards of land, so it's off limits. Oh well. We walked through the rainforest with a guide. It really made the walk meaningful. He told us a bunch of statistics and factoids that I have completely forgotten but have left me with the impression that they're pretty important. haha.
I'll be here for another night and then I'll find my way down to Airlie Beach to catch a boat to cruise the Whitsunday Islands. I'm travelling with a UK dude named Bernie who was my diving buddy. Please refrain from making gay jokes.
Thanks for the emails, and I'll send pictures later.
Scuba class was pretty fun and kept me busy everyday. Every night a few of us converged on the Wool Shed, a backpacker bar and stayed late, so I got little sleep between the diving and the nights. Cairns is a busy backpacker town with lots of solo travellers. I met lots of folks from all over: Israel, Germany, UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Scotland, Japan, and the US. Actually there are few Americans there, and a lot of Germans and Japanese. It's easy to hang out there and continually meet people that move into the hostels. The scuba class was awesome, and in total, we had three days of diving on the Great Barrier Reef. I saw a shark, a stingray, a giant clam, cuttle fish, and a wacko Maori Wrasse named Wally. It's a huge blue fish that comes up and nuzzles your hand if you hold it out. The water was nice and warm and super clear, and just breathing underwater around the coral was amazing. The snorkelling was pretty good too. Those guys that did Finding Nemo did a pretty good job depicting reef life. I would float and watch the entire community at work. It is really amazing. Expect pictures forthcoming...
Now I am in the rainforest. There are things croaking in the darkness and big bugs buzzing me, but they're not biting, so it's fine. The beach is a stone's throw away, but apparently there are deadly box jellyfish out there from November to April within 300 yards of land, so it's off limits. Oh well. We walked through the rainforest with a guide. It really made the walk meaningful. He told us a bunch of statistics and factoids that I have completely forgotten but have left me with the impression that they're pretty important. haha.
I'll be here for another night and then I'll find my way down to Airlie Beach to catch a boat to cruise the Whitsunday Islands. I'm travelling with a UK dude named Bernie who was my diving buddy. Please refrain from making gay jokes.
Thanks for the emails, and I'll send pictures later.
Thursday, December 02, 2004
I'm in Cairns!
Hi!
Just a quick email to say that I am safely in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is a backpacker's haven! Lots of cool people. I started my dive class today. What an extraordinary experience to breathe underwater. My last blog failed, so I will keep it short. I have a cell phone for Australia:0409316453.
Just a quick email to say that I am safely in Cairns, Queensland, Australia. It is a backpacker's haven! Lots of cool people. I started my dive class today. What an extraordinary experience to breathe underwater. My last blog failed, so I will keep it short. I have a cell phone for Australia:0409316453.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Week 4: Back to Taipei
I leave for Australia in a couple of days.
Mom and I took the train up to Taipei from Kaohsiung to see some relatives. The past few days have been a fast-paced road show visiting tons of people. We had a lot of fantastic meals and conversations about me and Iraq, me and my would-be career, me and my trip around the world, me and my lack of a spouse and children...et cetera et cetera. I felt like a politician giving
the same speech over and over again. I'm not complaining except to an observer I probably seemed like a complete egomaniac. I think everyone here was curious as to why their American-born and raised relative is such a complete freak of nature. Thanks to everyone for seeing us here and feeding us and housing us here in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Some relatives came up from other places in Taiwan to see us here in Taipei this week.
Thanks for everyone who has gone out of their way to post comments on this site (Woodman, Smitty, Slapit, Hasty, Yogi, Renee, Roberts...) I get your comments emailed to me automatically.
Some parting thoughts on Taiwan...
Taiwan is a pretty cool country, although they could focus more on enhancing the tourism industry here and cleaning up some of the sights. The food is delicious and cheap. The non-stop nightlife of Taipei leaves Manhatten in the dust. Late night eats are awesome. And drinking (although I have luckily avoided doing it very much here this time) is a serious game here. There should be an entire chapter written about drinking customs and courtesies in the Lonely Planet travel book. Although food is delicious, cheap, and readily available every couple of feet, and the people tend to eat and drink late into the early morning hours, most people here are thin by American standards. I have no idea how they stay so fit here, except maybe it has to do with walking more than sitting in a car, but this may be an overestimation on the calorie-burning effects of walking.
My friend Michael pointed out there are more religious people in the States than there are in Taiwan. We argued this point back and forth. Interestingly, there has never been a religious war fought in Chinese (Buddhist) culture. I see temples everywhere (although less so in Taipei), and small shrines in most people's homes. People honor their elders including those who have passed on by having their stern blown-up mugshots in their living rooms and next to their shrines, so they can honor them daily when they "bai-bai" (an incense-burning ritual that involves kowtowing toward the shrine with your head lowered and three incense sticks held aloft). They also go clean their ancestors' tombs every year. There are colorful and noisy parades in the streets for funerals and for honoring a
temple god or goddess, and for bringing proserity in business.
Interestingly few people have an firm understanding on the etiology of the rituals and the many deities here because most of the rituals are traditions. I get a strong sense of mortality here because of the apparent carelessness with motor-safety. Oddly, I feel that seeing the frankness in which meat is slaughtered and butchered in the morning street markets contributes to my sense that life here can be brutish and short. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and I think this allows for them to cope with this reality. Or this could be complete crap that I've made up.
My friend Michael and I were sitting in a Subway (on Thanksgiving night no less), and the two girls working there asked us if we wanted a cookie because they had made too many. Mike and I looked at each other with mouths agape; like, this has never happened to either one of us. He asked, "Is this what happens when you're White in the States?" It reminds me of an old Eddie Murphy SNL skit where he goes around town disguised as a White Dude and the bank manager just moves a stack of money toward him and winks, "Go ahead! Just take it!"
Today while visiting a Science Park that my aunt works at, there was a caucasian child that my uncle approached. He asked him, in English, "Where are you from?" and he replied in Chinese that he lived here. He was about 7 or 8 years old; his father was American, his mother was Spanish, and he was here attending school at with the rest of the locals here in Taipei (he was born here). He could speak all three languages. (Dude, that is awesome!) I pointed out to my relatives, that the way they looked at this white kid
(with fascination) is basically the way most people looked me when I was growing up in the States. Except, I was lying; growing up in the States I was sort of a freak. My point being, that here, I really am anonymous, and I think this is what it must be like being White in the States. And it isn't until I am here that I feel that difference. That's basically what is cool about being in Taiwan. Besides the fact that I have, like, a million relatives here that I don't have back home. "Home"...hmm...that's another thing...
I head back to Kaohsiung tomorrow morning, then I leave for Australia the following night. I have an overnight flight from Taipei to Brisbane where I will change planes to go to Cairns.
Mom and I took the train up to Taipei from Kaohsiung to see some relatives. The past few days have been a fast-paced road show visiting tons of people. We had a lot of fantastic meals and conversations about me and Iraq, me and my would-be career, me and my trip around the world, me and my lack of a spouse and children...et cetera et cetera. I felt like a politician giving
the same speech over and over again. I'm not complaining except to an observer I probably seemed like a complete egomaniac. I think everyone here was curious as to why their American-born and raised relative is such a complete freak of nature. Thanks to everyone for seeing us here and feeding us and housing us here in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Some relatives came up from other places in Taiwan to see us here in Taipei this week.
Thanks for everyone who has gone out of their way to post comments on this site (Woodman, Smitty, Slapit, Hasty, Yogi, Renee, Roberts...) I get your comments emailed to me automatically.
Some parting thoughts on Taiwan...
Taiwan is a pretty cool country, although they could focus more on enhancing the tourism industry here and cleaning up some of the sights. The food is delicious and cheap. The non-stop nightlife of Taipei leaves Manhatten in the dust. Late night eats are awesome. And drinking (although I have luckily avoided doing it very much here this time) is a serious game here. There should be an entire chapter written about drinking customs and courtesies in the Lonely Planet travel book. Although food is delicious, cheap, and readily available every couple of feet, and the people tend to eat and drink late into the early morning hours, most people here are thin by American standards. I have no idea how they stay so fit here, except maybe it has to do with walking more than sitting in a car, but this may be an overestimation on the calorie-burning effects of walking.
My friend Michael pointed out there are more religious people in the States than there are in Taiwan. We argued this point back and forth. Interestingly, there has never been a religious war fought in Chinese (Buddhist) culture. I see temples everywhere (although less so in Taipei), and small shrines in most people's homes. People honor their elders including those who have passed on by having their stern blown-up mugshots in their living rooms and next to their shrines, so they can honor them daily when they "bai-bai" (an incense-burning ritual that involves kowtowing toward the shrine with your head lowered and three incense sticks held aloft). They also go clean their ancestors' tombs every year. There are colorful and noisy parades in the streets for funerals and for honoring a
temple god or goddess, and for bringing proserity in business.
Interestingly few people have an firm understanding on the etiology of the rituals and the many deities here because most of the rituals are traditions. I get a strong sense of mortality here because of the apparent carelessness with motor-safety. Oddly, I feel that seeing the frankness in which meat is slaughtered and butchered in the morning street markets contributes to my sense that life here can be brutish and short. Buddhists believe in reincarnation, and I think this allows for them to cope with this reality. Or this could be complete crap that I've made up.
My friend Michael and I were sitting in a Subway (on Thanksgiving night no less), and the two girls working there asked us if we wanted a cookie because they had made too many. Mike and I looked at each other with mouths agape; like, this has never happened to either one of us. He asked, "Is this what happens when you're White in the States?" It reminds me of an old Eddie Murphy SNL skit where he goes around town disguised as a White Dude and the bank manager just moves a stack of money toward him and winks, "Go ahead! Just take it!"
Today while visiting a Science Park that my aunt works at, there was a caucasian child that my uncle approached. He asked him, in English, "Where are you from?" and he replied in Chinese that he lived here. He was about 7 or 8 years old; his father was American, his mother was Spanish, and he was here attending school at with the rest of the locals here in Taipei (he was born here). He could speak all three languages. (Dude, that is awesome!) I pointed out to my relatives, that the way they looked at this white kid
(with fascination) is basically the way most people looked me when I was growing up in the States. Except, I was lying; growing up in the States I was sort of a freak. My point being, that here, I really am anonymous, and I think this is what it must be like being White in the States. And it isn't until I am here that I feel that difference. That's basically what is cool about being in Taiwan. Besides the fact that I have, like, a million relatives here that I don't have back home. "Home"...hmm...that's another thing...
I head back to Kaohsiung tomorrow morning, then I leave for Australia the following night. I have an overnight flight from Taipei to Brisbane where I will change planes to go to Cairns.
Monday, November 22, 2004
reburial ceremony in Lukang. about thirteen years ago, this relative died, and recently he was exhumed and his bones were cleaned and dried and placed in a large vase (the light blue one). he was brought to this new grave site (next to his father's grave). this is his new home. the porcelein is better vessel for him (and leak proof). food is brought as an offering. incense and ghost money is burned. feng shui is followed. we bai-bai (prayed) to his memory. this is celebratory event. we had a large banquet at a restaurant afterwards with about 80 friends and relatives.
Week 3 and stuff from before: Taipei to Shihtoushan
Briefly, I ended up leaving Taipei a couple hours after my last blog for a Buddhist monastery in the mountains; that's where I've been for the last couple of weeks.
Actually, I did go to the monastery at Shihtoushan (Lion's Head mountain), via train and bus, about a couple hours south of Taipei. From where the bus dropped me off, I had a fairly steep hike up the mountain with my backpack on, and by the time I got to the monastery, I was soaked. I was hoping that I would be staying in an ascetic dorm for pilgrims, but by the time I got there, I didn't mind that the monastery had hotel accommodations for tourists. I only spent one night there and took the train back to Kaohsiung the next morning. My Dad was back from Hong Kong and he and my mom and I rented a car for the next three days. I got to drive with the rest of the crazed lunatics!
We drove across the island to the east side and visited an prehistoric musem and a hot spring. We also visited Taroko Gorge, a pretty amazing national park on the east coast.
Last weekend we went to Lukang, a historic city in central Taiwan, where I got to witness a ceremony involving the deceased. It would raise eyebrows in the States.
Actually, I did go to the monastery at Shihtoushan (Lion's Head mountain), via train and bus, about a couple hours south of Taipei. From where the bus dropped me off, I had a fairly steep hike up the mountain with my backpack on, and by the time I got to the monastery, I was soaked. I was hoping that I would be staying in an ascetic dorm for pilgrims, but by the time I got there, I didn't mind that the monastery had hotel accommodations for tourists. I only spent one night there and took the train back to Kaohsiung the next morning. My Dad was back from Hong Kong and he and my mom and I rented a car for the next three days. I got to drive with the rest of the crazed lunatics!
We drove across the island to the east side and visited an prehistoric musem and a hot spring. We also visited Taroko Gorge, a pretty amazing national park on the east coast.
Last weekend we went to Lukang, a historic city in central Taiwan, where I got to witness a ceremony involving the deceased. It would raise eyebrows in the States.
Thursday, November 11, 2004
Still in Taipei
I ended up not going to Taroko gorge because it was raining there this week. Earthquake + Rain = mudslides? There were two more earthquakes in the past couple of days. It's like having an earthquake in California; no one stops what they are doing as long as things don't start breaking. We ended up going to the National Palace museum which has the largest collection of Chinese artwork in the world. Why not in Beijing? Because when the Nationalists escaped to Taiwan to flee from the Communist Revolution, they brought these treasures with them. China has asked for this stuff back, but Taiwan has refused, adding that all this stuff would have been destroyed during the Communists' Cultural Revolution where everything "bourgeoise" was destroyed. The Palace Museum was under renovation so the exhibits were much smaller than they would have been. We balanced the sightseeing at the musem during the day with beer and wings at Hooters Taipei. I love that place. The wings are not as good, but it's always a good time. We also visited Tamshui, a port north of Taipei, which left much to be desired. The weather was hot hot hot so we took a bus to the mountains overlooking Taipei, Yangmingshan. We hiked up the steep paths under the jungle canopy. Hot and humid.
Yesterday we headed to Wulai, a place I have already described in the photo. Last night we went to "Snake Alley"; a night market where the main attraction is a few restaurants where they kill snakes to the delight of on-lookers. The crowds were sparse last night, and they didn't kill any while I was there, but there was a video playing of the killing of a snake. There was a live cobra, hooded, being taunted by the salesman. The whole point of this is to get people to come into the restaurant and have a shot of a clear hard liquor with what I guess is the blood or bile of the cobra. They will also cook up the snake into a soup or maybe fried it up. I also saw a turtle dangling on a hook for probably a similar fate. They didn't allow photography so I didn't take any pictures. Sorry. I remember seeing this place when I was in the 4th grade. It's turned into quite the tourist show; much different from before when there were two live mongooses tearing apart a cobra.
Taipei has a nightlife that sort of kicks Manhattan in the butt. This place is packed. It really reminds me of a smaller version of Tokyo. To give you an idea of how crowded this place is: there are 23 million folks in Taiwan in an area just over the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. The population of Taiwan is larger than the state of New York and about four times the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. The statistic I read said it had about 700 folks per square kilometer. There is a word in Mandarin, re-nao, which sort of means "hot and lively". That's what this place is, very re-nao.
Yesterday we headed to Wulai, a place I have already described in the photo. Last night we went to "Snake Alley"; a night market where the main attraction is a few restaurants where they kill snakes to the delight of on-lookers. The crowds were sparse last night, and they didn't kill any while I was there, but there was a video playing of the killing of a snake. There was a live cobra, hooded, being taunted by the salesman. The whole point of this is to get people to come into the restaurant and have a shot of a clear hard liquor with what I guess is the blood or bile of the cobra. They will also cook up the snake into a soup or maybe fried it up. I also saw a turtle dangling on a hook for probably a similar fate. They didn't allow photography so I didn't take any pictures. Sorry. I remember seeing this place when I was in the 4th grade. It's turned into quite the tourist show; much different from before when there were two live mongooses tearing apart a cobra.
Taipei has a nightlife that sort of kicks Manhattan in the butt. This place is packed. It really reminds me of a smaller version of Tokyo. To give you an idea of how crowded this place is: there are 23 million folks in Taiwan in an area just over the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. The population of Taiwan is larger than the state of New York and about four times the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. The statistic I read said it had about 700 folks per square kilometer. There is a word in Mandarin, re-nao, which sort of means "hot and lively". That's what this place is, very re-nao.
is there no wonder why my "ingrish" is not so good? this is a t-shirt i saw. there really is no reason for this kind of bizarre string of english words, yet this phenomenon continues into the 21st century. lots of folks wear coats, sweaters, and shirts that have meaningless logos and words; sometimes, with no recognizable words. i've even seen this on billboard ads and signs. there is an adidas ad campaign here with the motto: "impossible is nothing". i do not know if this is intentional or not.
waterfall at wulai. not particularly spectacular, hence the overzealous enthusiasm. this waterfall is supposed to be 80 m high and quite impressive after a rain. wulai is about an hour's bus ride south of taipei. it is known for this waterfall, but also "dreamland", a tacky amusement park situated at the top of the mountain, accessible by cable car ride. this place is tacky, like the amusement park on beach blvd in biloxi next to ruby tuesdays. there was a performance by six guys from burkina faso, an african country north of ghana. i was a little confused by this african drumming and dancing as i thought there would be a taiwanese aboriginal village at the top of the mountain. as it turns out, the aborigine village is a taxi ride 17 km further into the mountains; my bad, for not bringing the guidebook along with us. at least the view was good and it was cooler up in the mountain than being down on the valley floor. "damn, it's mad hot in china!"
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Monday, November 08, 2004
Earthquaking
We had a small trembler here last night; it was pretty cool. I'm staying with my friend who is on the fifth floor of an apartment building. I thought it was a truck rolling by, but then the shaking got stronger. My friend said it was an earthquake, and I think I heard someone outside scream. I haven't felt an earthquake in about 13 years; fortunately it wasn't too big. There was a big one in Taiwan about four years ago; about 2500 people died. They say because the earthquakes loosen the soil, when the torrential rains come, massive mudslides occur. There was apparently a huge mudslide a couple months ago at the hot springs resort where I was this weekend. The riverbed was filled in about 30 feet and widened. I saw buildings lying on their sides in the middle of the riverbed; it was pretty wierd. Hotels that were built next to the river have lost their first floors.
Anyways, the epicenter of the earthquake last night is close to the place we're going to tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be any big rains. haha. Environmentalists have felt that the deforestation that occurs in the mountains and hills and the plantings of crops contributed to the mudslides, and the construction of the cross-island highways have denuded the mountains of their root systems which the topsoil in place. Anyways, the mudslides also destroyed parts of the cross-island highways, and the government has no plans to rebuild them. It's been a losing battle so the forest is taking back the mountains. Because there is no cross-island road (hence no bus) I will take the train, which hugs the coast, to get to the other side of the island.
Anyways, the epicenter of the earthquake last night is close to the place we're going to tomorrow. Hopefully there won't be any big rains. haha. Environmentalists have felt that the deforestation that occurs in the mountains and hills and the plantings of crops contributed to the mudslides, and the construction of the cross-island highways have denuded the mountains of their root systems which the topsoil in place. Anyways, the mudslides also destroyed parts of the cross-island highways, and the government has no plans to rebuild them. It's been a losing battle so the forest is taking back the mountains. Because there is no cross-island road (hence no bus) I will take the train, which hugs the coast, to get to the other side of the island.
Chiang Kai-Shek memorial entrance
This is me at the entrance door. The actual memorial is like an Asian Lincoln memorial. There is no particular reason I do not have a picture of it. The weather is really nice here, around 75 F; lots of Taiwanese were wearing long sleeves and coats because it is winter time. There were not many tourists here because it is a weekday, and the ones you did see carried open umbrellas to protect themselves from the damaging effects of UV light. This, apparently, is the secret of the anti-aging Asian.
week 1: Kaohsiung to Taipei
I arrived to Taipei, the capital of Taiwan, last night. I have spent the past week in Kaohsiung, a large city in the south, staying with my relatives and my mother, who is visiting too. The weather is nice and warm in the south, like Biloxi. Let me paint a picture for you...
The morning open air market bustles with produce and meats which many folks buy for their daily meals. The vegetables and fruits are larger than we see in the states, and far more exotic and tropical. The meats are exotic as well; I've seen live fish, shrimp, crabs, eels and frogs awaiting their doom next to a chopping block. I've seen fresh pasta being made for wonton skins and noodles. They also sell all sorts of nic-nacs like footwear and clothing. Salespeople wear headset microphones so they can tout their wares via a PA system. Dogs roam the alleys freely and you have to keep an eye out to watch for their poop. By midday, the morning market has packed up and gone and the store fronts open up their shutters and bring out their latest fashions on clotheracks and displays to the sidewalks. Traffic zooms by: scooters, gold-colored taxis, and blue mini-flatbed trucks with some apparently oblivious to lights and lanes. At night, food carts appear with their lighting systems, tables, and stools. They don't serve hotdog and pretzels like they do in NYC; they are able to cook up noodles, meats, dumplings, and on and on. It's all very good, very cheap, and hopefully very hepatitis-free.
I spent the weekend in the mountains at a hot spring resort. Hotels pump thermal water into their swimming pools and wading areas. It is pretty fun, and the water is filled with minerals, without the foul odor I expected. They make you wear a swimming cap along with your trunks. I wore a pink one, because that's what was left. Awesome.
I've seen three scooter accidents in four days. As I have mentioned, the driving is pretty erratic. Hit-and-runs are common and bystanders are sometimes afraid to stop to help for fear of being accused of causing the accident. It seems, at times, that folks live their lives one day at a time.
Taipei, by comparison to Kaoshiung, is like Manhatten to any other major city in America. The streets are huge, there are no piles of dog poop, and billboards and neon lights advertise major international companies. Today I visited Taipei's 101-storey skyscraper, apparently the tallest building in the world for those keeping track. The mall inside probably has a boutique for every French and Italian fashion designer in the world...and the stuff they sell all looks the same: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Cerrutti...whatever. The mall inside is about five-storeys tall, and it feels like being in the States. I am visiting my good friend Michael here, and today we had lunch at a buffet. For about $20 USD it was all-you-can eat food (fresh crabs, shrimp, fish, meats made to order, and sushi, and Chinese food) PLUS an open bar. After an hour, we decided to get drunk. I don't know how much I had to drink, but we probably would still be there except they closed at 4pm. We were there for about 3 and a half hours. Fortunately the MTR (mass transit rail) is sparkling clean and modern and close by.
In a couple days we may head off to Taroko Gorge via train.
I will try to visit the National Museum. :)
The morning open air market bustles with produce and meats which many folks buy for their daily meals. The vegetables and fruits are larger than we see in the states, and far more exotic and tropical. The meats are exotic as well; I've seen live fish, shrimp, crabs, eels and frogs awaiting their doom next to a chopping block. I've seen fresh pasta being made for wonton skins and noodles. They also sell all sorts of nic-nacs like footwear and clothing. Salespeople wear headset microphones so they can tout their wares via a PA system. Dogs roam the alleys freely and you have to keep an eye out to watch for their poop. By midday, the morning market has packed up and gone and the store fronts open up their shutters and bring out their latest fashions on clotheracks and displays to the sidewalks. Traffic zooms by: scooters, gold-colored taxis, and blue mini-flatbed trucks with some apparently oblivious to lights and lanes. At night, food carts appear with their lighting systems, tables, and stools. They don't serve hotdog and pretzels like they do in NYC; they are able to cook up noodles, meats, dumplings, and on and on. It's all very good, very cheap, and hopefully very hepatitis-free.
I spent the weekend in the mountains at a hot spring resort. Hotels pump thermal water into their swimming pools and wading areas. It is pretty fun, and the water is filled with minerals, without the foul odor I expected. They make you wear a swimming cap along with your trunks. I wore a pink one, because that's what was left. Awesome.
I've seen three scooter accidents in four days. As I have mentioned, the driving is pretty erratic. Hit-and-runs are common and bystanders are sometimes afraid to stop to help for fear of being accused of causing the accident. It seems, at times, that folks live their lives one day at a time.
Taipei, by comparison to Kaoshiung, is like Manhatten to any other major city in America. The streets are huge, there are no piles of dog poop, and billboards and neon lights advertise major international companies. Today I visited Taipei's 101-storey skyscraper, apparently the tallest building in the world for those keeping track. The mall inside probably has a boutique for every French and Italian fashion designer in the world...and the stuff they sell all looks the same: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Ferragamo, Cerrutti...whatever. The mall inside is about five-storeys tall, and it feels like being in the States. I am visiting my good friend Michael here, and today we had lunch at a buffet. For about $20 USD it was all-you-can eat food (fresh crabs, shrimp, fish, meats made to order, and sushi, and Chinese food) PLUS an open bar. After an hour, we decided to get drunk. I don't know how much I had to drink, but we probably would still be there except they closed at 4pm. We were there for about 3 and a half hours. Fortunately the MTR (mass transit rail) is sparkling clean and modern and close by.
In a couple days we may head off to Taroko Gorge via train.
I will try to visit the National Museum. :)
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