In Taiwan, it's a bit different. The guy picks the girl up on his scooter. He drives way too fast not to impress the girl but probably because he forgot she was on the back. He takes her to a place where you can fish for pre-caught shimp in an indoor pool. Then he makes her cook the caught shrimp on a nearby grill. They eat it together. She's home by 6pm. He gets drunk with friends.
Wait a minute, let's back up there for a minute... fish for shrimp in an indoor pool? Yes, the wonders of shrimp fishing. On Saturday night, a group of friends and I went up to the northern reaches of Taiwan to what can be described as a giant arena. Located within this arena are three man-made pools containing the elusive giant shrimp. These shrimp are pre-caught and stalked in these pools. You are given a rod, some liver as bait and two hours to catch as many shrimp as you possibly can.
Let's set the scene now. I was sitting on the side of a pool, with a Taiwan beer in hand. To one side of my friends was a young couple on a date. To the other side was a beer drinking yokel who obviously considers shrimp fishing to be a professional sport. His beer gut was an indication of years of practice.
We sat, with our bait in the water hoping to get a bite. I got a total of three bites the entire evening, resulting in one shrimp being caught. Obviously this was embarrassing as my friend, sitting next to me, caught six shrimp within the first thirty minutes. I tried to take some lessons from this shrimping expert, but the cause was lost.
Afterward, we threw the giant prawns on the grill and served them up to ourselves for a delicious evening dinner. Actually, I personally hate shrimp, so I didn't eat any. My good friend once put it this way, "I love shrimping. I can go there and fish all day. Drink beer. Be gross. Be a man." Yes, that about sums up the experience.
From your sailor of the high seas on an indoor pool who couldn't catch more than one pre-caught shrimp, Capt. Michael.
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