The Story of Taichung

So, it's funny how our time in the Philippines is always all about relaxing and chilling out and no plans, but we always seem to end up with no time to get anything done. Been meaning to write tons of stories, but never seem to get the time to just lay here and type. I'll try to throw together a brief post on Taichung now while trying to upload some pics to flickr!

Well... I arrived in Taipei at 6a and strolled leisurely through baggage and customs. I really only needed to be to Taichung by 5p or so, leaving me 11 hours to accomplish a 3 hours task, so no point in rushing... After clearing customs I found an info desk, discovered the bus station was in the airport, just around the corner, and there was a free internet stand on the way! I spent about an hour catching up on emails and stuff, just 'cuz I could, then headed to the bus station and got my ticket with 5 minutes to spare. I waited outside for a few then tried to set the clocks on my phone and camera. I went back inside to check the clock in there and the staff thought I was lost, so they radioed someone to walk me out to my bus just as it was arriving, ha!

The busses in Taiwan are super-posh - frilled curtains, seats like plush easy-chairs, TV screens (I watched Oceans 13 on my way back to Taipei!) and I heard stories of Videoke on some busses even! I napped most of the way down and then tried to figure out the map as I realized we were in Taichung, much more quickly than expected. I got off at Sogo, a fancy department store, and wandered the streets a bit, looking for a way to contact Heidi, who was at work, but I would be staying with for 2 days. I wandered into a shop to ask about a payphone and bought a camera case for $1, then had some confusing point and gesture and smile conversations with the staff and gave up.

Watched the opening ceremonies of Sogo; it was wild! The big clock in front had 16 panels which flipped around into moving dolls like the Glockenspiel in Munich, while playing "It's a Small World". Then 4 women in kimonos came out and walked and talked in unison, then backed into the store and signaled everyone to enter. It was like the opening of the Wonka factory!

I spotted a 7-11 so I went for water and found a payphone outside. It only took prepaid cards, but I found one in 7-11, so I finally called Heidi, but it just rang and rang. My cellphone didn't seem to work either, so I wandered to a net cafe and figured I'd catch her online, which I did 1 minute before my time ran out. I raced back to the payphone, got Heidi on the phone and got directions to give to a cab driver, so I finally was able to meet up with her at around noon!

We chatted for a while and went for lunch at a cafe nearby and just caught up and chilled until she had to go back to work. I relaxed at her apartment, took a long shower and watched some TV, then fell asleep only a few minutes before Heidi was to get home.

The next chunk of hours were a surreal blur. I apparently slept through her ringing the doorbell and having the manager let her into her 23rd floor apartment eventually. I woke up slightly and saw her napping too, so I went back to sleep. This continued for hours and hours, me not knowing if I was napping for 1 hours or 50, until I finally woke up fully aware that it was definitely late at night now. I got up and thought maybe we could go hit the town now, well-rested and all... Then I looked out the window and notice the streets were EMPTY. I checked the time and it was 5a! I had slept for 12 hours! I tinkered around
online a bit, fixing a thing or two on SixQ.Net, and then crawled back into bed and slept for a few more hours! I guess I really needed the rest!

That morning, when we finally arose and laughed about how we both conked out, we headed down to a corner breakfast shop where I had dan bing, which was like a bacon and cheese omelet wrapped in a crepe and eaten with the most addictively yummy sweet sauce! We met a guy there from Germany Heidi knew and chatted a while and tried to bum a ride up to a monkey park sorta place, since Heidi's scooter is little and might not make it up the hills to the park. Sadly that fell through, but we still had a fun day!

We putted around looking for some shades for me and a spare/new helmet. not much luck on either, but we wandered to the market area to stroll around. I love Asian markets! We walked around and people watched - the kids hang out there like mallrats! - and I'd say hi to people and they'd giggle. In a back alley I found my shades - some imitation BluBlockers for $2. We ended up getting hungry and were right down the street from a special treat: The Modern Toilet.

Oh yes, I snuck a few pictures to give you an idea, but this was a bathroom-themed restaurant! The chairs were all toilets with fancy covers, the tables were 2 sinks with a slab of glass over them. There were showers and faucets on the walls and urinals filled with marbles and stuff in the hallways, plus loads of trippy mirrors and decorations. Meals were severd in miniature toilets with the base being little open-flame stoves and the bowl being, well, a bowl of food. Side dishes were served with covers shaped like poop, and some drinks were served in urinals. I paid an extra $1 and got my drink in a portable urinal with a straw in it. I got a lemon & kumquat drink, that had a pit still floating in it, so you can imagine the realism here! Some dishes were served in bathtubs, but I didn't get one. Dessert? chocolate and coffee soft-serve ice cream served coiled in a miniature squat toilet! It was amazing!!

After leisurely lunch, we headed back to the scooter and cruised around town for a bit, stopping at a lovely Confucian temple in the middle of the city, a quiet sanctuary where we found what appeared to be a fashion shoot and another couple taking wedding pics. Tired from our adventures, we headed home to relax and regroup before a night out. Heidi needed to chat with a friend online, so I headed downstairs and scored us some fried chicken and drinks and mixed a cocktail and did a crossword puzzle. Eventually we caught a cab across town to a club that usually had DJs and dancing, but tonight was chill with tables and posh ambience. We settled into a booth and ordered a few vodkas and a snack, listening to mostly The Cure's Mixed Up album and talking and having a good time. We got a bit buzzed, but decided to call it a night since it was already very late and I had a 5a bus to catch.

As we were about to grab a cab home, the loud, drunk people at the table next to us came stumbling out. One of them tripped and fell over the marquee, crashing it to the ground and causing quite a scene. We laughed and said they needed the cam more than us, so we walked down the street to a little shop where we picked up a little bottle of rye whiskey and mixer and headed home to chill, have one last cocktail and pack up to go.

By about 5a, I finally stumbled out of Heidi's place and caught a cab to the bus/train station. I went ot the counter and said "bus to Taipei" and he handed me a ticket for an hour from then, and charged me $375 Taiwan Dollars. I was a bit confused, so I wandered around and found a tunnel to the bus station. Turns out I just bought a train ticket! I walked to the bus station and asked about the bus. It was $260 and leaving in 7 or 8 minutes. I ran back to the train station and said, "wrong ticket. Not bus. I don't want!" and the guy handed me my cash back without pause. Easy enough, I raced back to the bus as it pulled up, hopped on, wrote a short paragraph in my trusty notebook of an essay I want to write about traveling, then drifted off to sleep with the hopes that one of the nice people who said hello while boarding would wake me up at the right station when the time came...

And that was pretty much Taichung. It's not the most action-packed story to tell, but the city has a great vibe, lively and friendly and fairly easy to deal with everything, and talking to Heidi, she made it sound so easy to live and work there, I started thinking about my long-dime fantasy of permanently drifting around the world for a few years picking up work as I go. I think the time is coming. Maybe I hope...

Now I've got to shower, pack up and wait for my ride to Angeles for my flight in the morning to Malaysia! I hope to have more updates soon, 'cuz the story of Taipei is a great one, and I've got loads of pictures to share. I did manage to upload a few while typing this, so Check them out!