Time for another update, it's been a few days since the last post, but an eventful few at that. I've been getting adjusted to life here , I'm learning what are some good foods to eat and where the best places to see are located. I'm still struggling with Chinese but as long as I can point to some delicious smelling or mouth-watering looking food I'm ok. The food is really good. Today I had beef stew with all sorts of veggies thrown in, combined with these clear noodles whose name I forgot already. The best part was that I got a HUGE bowl for roughly 5 US dollars, plus it came with a free plum juice. (Plumb juice is very sweet and better then I expected) I've been playing it safe so far food wise, but today after my friend from Taiwan advised me, I had to try pig's ear. It was cut up and looked like a paler bacon....truth be told, it was pretty good, like crunchy bacon.
The hostel I've checked into is fine, right in the center of town, and has a very helpful staff. I had booked a six person dorm room with an ensuite bathroom, but for whatever reason, I'm the only one in the room. So basically I paid to stay in a dorm room with 5 other annoying hostel-like people, but I now have the whole room to myself (with my own bathroom). Sometimes you just get really lucky. And of course the first person I meet here is from Flushing and here visiting his relatives. And if that wasn't bad enough it turns out he lives in Middle Village, and works on Dry Harbor Road and Woodhaven BLVD. He said "oh you're from Queens, what part?" and I gave my standard response "well you probably never heard of it it's called Glendale" and before I could add my "near Forest Hills" He says "oh yea I live in Middle Village" haha small world...
But the best thing that's happened in the past few days, besides hearing about the Mets' downward spiral (HA!) .......was that I decided to get lost in Taipei .
..I've traveled a lot in my life, mostly all over Europe, and done it several times on my own. One thing I've learned is that to really get to know a place, I mean to really get a feel for the culture, and people, you have to get lost in it, I mean really really get lost. Just start walking and see where it takes you. Some people may get freaked out being lost in a strange city, especially one where you don't speak the language, but for me I find it comforting........the possibilities are endless and .I've seen some great things just by getting lost.... I mean just wandering around, not worrying about where you are, or what important sights you need to see, is great for me....I thrive on it.....the way I see it, if the sights are that important they'll find you if you just explore around....
So yesterday I figured it was about time to extend my tradition of getting lost to Taipei.
I decided to take the MRT to the last stop and just see what happens. The cool thing about the city of Taipei, in my opinion anyway is that it's situated in a valley, surrounded by tropical mountains and jungle. So you could be in Taipei at one point and then all of a sudden you are in the country or jungle. There is no casual merging of city to suburbs, to farm to wildness like in the States. There's city then a sharp break and country, jungle and mountains.... Unfortunately this valley setting also means that there is a lot of rain in the city (it's rained everyday since I got here). It's strange it starts out sunny then everyday around 3 o'clock, it starts pouring buckets.....
BUT the way the city is set up also means that outside of the city is a whole different environment. So I wanted to explore/get lost away from the city. It's a big city and sometimes it gets tiring being in it....
So I took the Northern most MRT line (the Red line) to the last stop Danshui without a plan and with no idea what to expect...I'm glad I did. I had heard that to the North was a great beach town, but I had no idea what to expect....
I got off the train and just started walking. After going through touristy areas, I followed a lot of people who were going down this little alleyway. The alley was barely big enough for me to fit through without having to turn sideways......Turns out this alley leads to a great little market. Almost immediately I was surrounded by people; shoppers, sellers, more wanders like myself. I kept walking and on all sides of me are dozens of stalls selling everything you could imagine, chicken feet, socks, sneakers, pig livers, mangoes, beans, children's book bags, all sorts of fruits and vegetables, you name it. Everyone yelling in Mandarin, me having no clue just trying to soak it all in and not get toppled by the crowds....The market weaves in and out and at this point I have no idea where I am, ( I was using the train station to orient myself, but quickly gave that up). I wish I understood what people were saying because it seemed like an interesting debate was taking place between a merchant and buyer about the price of a sweatshirt. It was just this cacophony of sounds and noises that were completely foreign to me. I ended up leaving the market and turning to my left, where the river is. There is a long walkway along the river and to my right the river gets wider and wider and eventually opens up to the ocean....
There's a great little park there along the water front and lots of stands selling amazing smelling food. Again I have no idea what kind of food but it smells like a combination of fried dough, shrimp and pork. I sat down for a bit on a bench overlooking the water, and the lush green hills across the river and relaxed cause it was really really hot. It was nice to have some calm after the craziness of the market....
There is a ferry right near me loading near the beach, so I decide to get on. I have no idea where it might be going but figure why not? I get on and it turns out the ferry goes across the river to what I later found out was a little town called Bali. I get off the ferry and it's this seaside area filled with games, food stands, all the stuff you might find on Coney Island, except the Taiwanese version. (They even had corndogs and that game wehre you shoot the balloons with darts to win prizes)....
I just start wandering around, but keep coming to dead end after dead end....so I turn when I can turn and end up in a part of the town that probably wasn't made for tourists. There are a few stray dogs running around and the houses are kind of dilapidated....
........BUT as I'm walking I see the top of a Buddist temple, green, yellow and red colored dragons peeking out above the houses, and right then I decide....yea I'll go there. This is the first time all day I've actually decided where to go....
After a few more turns I finally see it. And it's this beautiful, orate, incredible temple. There are several people praying inside but outside is red and with dozens of dragons on top. The colors are great, and inside every single piece of the temple is an intricate design, filled with dragons and images that I have no idea about. Incense was burning and the smell was incredible...I felt unsure how to handle myself there, cause all the locals there were so serious. I just tried to take it all in. It was beautiful and very serene....( I'll post pictures ASAP)....It was surreal to be standing in this tiny Buddhist temple in the middle of Taiwan, and just a few days ago I was sitting in NY....It was such a great experience! It's amazing to think of the dedication it must've taken to carve every inch of the temple....I spent a looooong time there. just soaking in all the ambiance. After about 45 minutes of exploring every nook and cranny of the temple I headed back to the ferry and back to Taiepi...
I'm glad I just set off without a plan traveling without a plan always leads to the best experiences !!!
It was the first temple like that I've been in and the detail, intricacy and beauty of it was really unbelievable, fantastic and humbling, very very humbling......
Anyway I know this was a long post, and thanks for reading till the end (if you did)...I guess the moral is that sometimes you just have to head out on a train, take it to the last stop, without any plan, expectations or assumptions and get lost exploring the city....good things will almost always happen if you do...
Alright that's it for now........Oh and also I have a teaching demonstration tomorrow at an adult learning school, it'll basically determine whether or not I get this job. It is a great job, with good pay and I'd be teaching adults, which would be more well-behaved than annoying kids ....and if I nail it tomorrow I might get it. I really hope I get this job ...so time to prepare a lesson. Let's hope it goes well...
All the best,
Brian
PS It looks like my prediction about Chen Ming Wang winning the Cy Young this year will not be coming true. It is a sad day for Taiwan and for the Yankees. Ah well at least our manager didn't get fired at 3AM.
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