Monday, September 13, 2010

Adieu, Taiwan

This is it. The final entry in Taiwanablog. It culminates one hundred twenty six entries, three and a half years, and countless memories of living in Asia. It's also an impossibly difficult entry to write as what you read here is my final thought, my final say, my final story about Taiwan. It is my final goodbye to you.

I decided it was time to leave Taiwan about three months ago. I gave my job the requisite 3+ months notice, not realizing those three months were going to fly by. But they did and before long, I found myself in Taipei without a job and the days counting down to my flight off the island. It worked out pretty well that my last weekend was also my birthday, so a birthday party masked the difficult going away party.

The night began perfectly. I met Richard Jones and Steve Lambert, two very close friends, for a going away barbecue at our favorite all-you-can-eat-bbq restaurant. The drinks were flowing, the stories were being shared, and the camaraderie was in high spirits.

After we were well fed, it was then off to On Tap to celebrate the birthday. All my good friends were in attendance and we drank and celebrated 26 years of my life. My friends Yoyo and Jenna purchased a cake for me that had a picture of me on it, along with a naked body and an enormous penis sticking out of it. All I can say about that was it was interesting blowing out the candles!

They also prepared a farewell book for me where all my friends signed it and made a note of the good times we've shared over the last three years. The book was touching and will go with all my other treasured keepsakes that I have collected over the years. With that, the early birds returned home to retire while the rest of us took off to Roxy 99 for a canonical stopoff to any foreigner's night out. My nights began in Roxy 99 so I only saw it fitting for them to end there. And for those that know him, the rainbow guy made an appearance just for me (or I like to think so).


The next day was filled with last minute chores and meetings. I met some close friends of mine at a small dumpling restaurant for a goodbye dinner. They gave me a very funny t-shirt that said "lick here to add me as a friend" and an arrow points to my chest under the shirt. The lunch was divine and I saw some dragon dances outside, which was a goal of mine since I first arrived in Taiwan.

Later in the evening, I met some good friends, Steve, Mike, Yoyo, Jenna and Singing, for one last dinner at Din Tai Fung. I had long planned it that I would have a dinner here and then get on the bus to the airport, and that's what I did. I had all my bags with me. I arrived at 8.30pm, just like I used to do when I was a student and got to know all the waitstaff there. They sat us at the large table on the second floor where I used to have the Wednesday gatherings with the owner and his friends. We laughed and chatted about things as if we would always be around that table. They teased me because I ordered 3 baskets (30 dumplings) of Xiao Long Bao. We stuffed ourselves and spoke of plans to one day travel around the globe to see each other again.


Outside the restaurant, I said goodbye to the waitstaff I have come to know so well. I then said goodbye to Singing. I then said goodbye to Mike and Steve. I got into a taxi with Yoyo and Singing and we shared a cab to the bus station which was on the way to their house. On the way there, I joked that we couldn't start a conversation because there was no time to finish it. It was funny, but sad as it was also true.

We arrived at the bus station and unloaded my stuff. I gave Yoyo and Jenna a hug and said, "let's go to Roxy 99 next weekend!" They started to cry. I told them to get going or I would start to cry too. They got into the taxi and drove off. With that, I got on my bus which took me to the airport and early in the morning the plane took off and I left Taiwan behind me.


The island itself is behind me but its spirit is with me forever and always. She is a darling of an island, a secret tucked away in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It doesn't even cross the radar screen of most people, but to those that take the effort to get out there, they find something magical, real and intoxicating. I spent three and a half years in a place I only intended to spend one year in. Three and a half years and I made some of the most memorable experiences of my life.

I learned how to ride a motorcycle. I went whitewater rafting. I became momentarily addicted to the hot springs. I ate snake and pig's blood. I learned Mandarin. I taught English. I climbed the highest mountain in Northeast Asia, in the snow. I camped on a volcano. I swam with whale sharks. I watched a guy box a cobra. I rode the death railway. I bungee jumped off a building. I gambled in Macau. I ate dim sum in Hong Kong. I dove with Bull Sharks. I climbed the highest mountain in Southeast Asia and then rappelled down the cliff side. I saw gold waterfalls, giant bamboo, towering mountains, endless gorges, sweeping cliffs and dramatic oceans. I spent Chinese New Year with family. I got shot at by fireworks. I ate barbecue in Seoul. I drank expensive wine in Singapore. I hunted with an aboriginal blow dart. I dated a Taiwanese girl. I went to the top of the world's tallest building. I rode an elephant. I petted a tiger. I paint balled. I went surfing. I climbed mountains. I fractured my wrist. I drove my motorcycle around the island. I met some of the most amazing people I have ever known.

And this last part, the friends, they are probably the greatest contributing factors to my happiness in Taiwan. The people are Taiwan more than the cities and the mountains and the bike trips. The friends I have made are by far the most incredible people and I will miss them terribly. From the folks at my training group to the friends that bade me farewell, and all the crazy cats in between, you have made the last three years something to toast to.

So there you have it. Not much more to say now. Three and a half years. Taiwan, you were too good to me. I love you.

And you, my readers. I started this blog not really knowing what it was going to be or what would happen with it. To be honest, I started it so that I wouldn't have to keep writing those mass e-mails to everyone. In the end, it has become a time capsule, a written record of my life abroad. And you have been there, for all of it. Good and Bad. Thanks for reading what was for the most part unedited chicken scratch on the Internet. I hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

But the journey doesn't end here. I have an ambitious goal ahead of me- three months of traveling actually. And it's all being recorded on my new blog. You can read about it here at twoitchyfeet.wordpress.com. I'm looking forward to seeing you over there!

From your American-in-Taiwan, (maybe someday again, still looking for a Taiwanese wife!) Michael.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The Solo Bike Ride

The grand trip. The epic journey from North to South. The final voyage on my motor- cycle. It was to be five days with just my girl and me, all 200cc's of her, and long uninterrupted stretches of asphalt and dirt, through mountains and along coast. It was to rival my last motorcycle trip not in length, but in driving expertise as this trip was to be done almost entirely in the mountains. The only problem was I didn't get a move on until almost 2 days after my anticipated start.
  
The trip started out in disaster. My good friend Mike was to join me on this ride, but some schedule mishaps at work prevented him from coming along. Instead, we hung out on Sunday and went out to lunch in this famous Soymilk restaurant in Yonghe. Apparently this restaurant, which is famous for Soymilks, Xiao Long Baos and other small eats, influenced an entire food genre that has avalanched across China. In fact, most Soymilk restaurants now call themselves the Yonghe Soymilk Store in honor of this famous institution.


The lunch was nice, but it did put me a day behind. I was determined to take off early the following day. Before I left on my trip, I got online to say hello to my parents. I was speaking with my dad and we were talking about a birthday present for my mom. We came to the conclusion that we would buy her this spiffy new touchscreen laptop that you can only get in Taiwan. This, however, would be a full day task. I got on my bike and drove down to the computer store where I purchased the new toy. I then had to bring it to an Acer center for them to change the computer into English. After dropping it off, I went to lunch and then returned back to pick it up. I finally brought it over to the FedEx office to ship back to the USA. The ordeal was lengthy and I didn't get on the road until 4.30pm.
 
I took a different route through the back roads to Pingling (which took me through this lovely little village I had never been to) and then over to Yilan. I arrived in Jiaoxi just as the sun was setting and contemplated on whether or not I should check into a hotel. I decided to keep on driving.
 
Haphazardly, I took a wrong turn and started driving into the mountains. During the day this is a precarious route to take and seeing it was already pushing late into the evening, it was not somewhere I wanted to be. I turned around and got resituated on the coast road and before long, I was winding my way down the East Coast. I will be honest, I've driven this route in both the day and night, and I far prefer the night. Moonlit turns along cliffsides crashing into the sea, cool breezes wafting in from the ocean, twists and turns in the mystery of the darkness made this a very awesome ride.

I pulled into Hualien and went straight to sleep after a long day of driving around. I also had an early day the next day and I wanted to be rested for my long trip into the mountains. It didn't matter, though, as I woke up much later than anticipated and didn't get on the road until 10am. Fortunately, the road was clear and the ride through the mountains was bright and sunny. The entire affair was in good order. I continued along the same route as last only in reverse order. Again, I approached the highest road in Taiwan and coasted through the European style castles down into Puli.

From Puli, I continued along to Sun Moon Lake where I decided to stay for the evening. The clouds rolled in as I sat along the waterside and ate some aboriginal boar and drank some Taiwan Beer. I went to sleep early in the most comfortable bed I have ever stayed in (actually, funny enough it was the same hotel I stayed in when I first came to Sun Moon Lake years ago) and slept soundly.


I woke up early the next day and took off for a long day of driving. My ultimate goal was to travel from Sun Moon Lake to Tainan while stopping for some touring in Alishan. It was an ambitious goal, but waking up at 6am put me in the running. The first surprise I got was when I took a road up the backside of Yushan! The road wove back and forth providing stunning panoramics of Taiwan's most iconic peak.




Continuing on, it was a straight shot into Alishan National Park. It had been a longtime goal of mine to make it to Alishan and I was so delighted to have finally arrived! I paid the park entrance fee and parked my bike. I went up to the Alishan Train Station and booked my ticket for the Hogwarts Train. In a quaint station made of pine, an old locomotive arrived carrying with it antique wood carriages.

The train took us through the mountains to where the old sacred tree used to stand. Today, it has fallen and has started to decompose. Continuing on past the end of the line, the trail goes through some magnificent Red Cypress trees. Some of these trees are almost 2,000 years old and reign supreme in this old growth.



One unique location was a tree that had died and was reborn three times! The first time the tree grew up, died and fell down. A seed landed on the tree and the sapling took the nutrients from the roots of the dead tree. This tree then continued to survive for hundreds of years when it too passed away. At this time, a new seed came along and again started using the roots from the first and second growth. Remaining are all three trees and a very interesting story.


After the little walk, I sat down at a nice little restaurant and got some lunch. I had some famous Alishan Tea and then was back off through the sea of clouds. I zoomed down the mountain side and connected with route three. The road took me straight down through more precarious mountain passes until I reached Tainan at about 5pm.

In Tainan, I met up with my friend Mike who was supposed to join me on the trip in the first place. He took the bus down and we met a few of his friends that were teaching in the city. We checked out some of my favorite temples from last time and then met his buddy for some dinner and drinks. Afterward, we hit the town and went to a fun little night club. The momentum of the evening was disrupted a bit when they stopped the music and played a massive tournament of Rock, Paper, Scissors for thirty minutes.



Late in the evening, we retired as I was waking up at 10am the next day to continue my ride down to Kiaoshiung to visit a friend. I woke up on time, fortunately, only to be presented with a typhoon pouring down outside. I knew I had made it this far and I wasn't going to let a little rain ruin the rest of my trip, so I went to 7/11 and purchased five ponchos. I covered myself in plastic to the point that I was probably preserving my freshness all too well, and then I was off. At first I was doing quite well and was remaining fairly dry. But when you drive a motorcycle in a typhoon, you are going to get wet. And after an hour on the bike, I was soaking wet as were all my change of clothes in my bag.

I arrived in Kiaohsiung a little late and soaking wet from head to toe. No matter, my friend was happy to see me and off we went to this excellent little seaside restaurant to eat some great food and watch the waves come crashing in. It was by far one of the coolest restaurants I had been to in Taiwan! The typhoon was really picking up speed and at this point, the restaurant lost power. Without any electricity, they decided to close down for the day. The owner of the restaurant
gave us a ride out of there as it was pretty far out of the way and, well, there was a typhoon.

He dropped us off at the movie theaters where we tried to dry out a little more by catching a film. We ordered some hot drinks and enjoyed the movie for a bit. Before long, it was time for my friend to head home and for me to get on the bus back to Taipei. I sent my motorcycle back to Taipei by bus and I took a five star luxury liner overnight. Early in the morning, I found myself back in sunny Taipei, out of the typhoon's reach and checked into a short stay hotel where I freshened up and caught a short nap. From the final road tripper around Taiwan, Michael.