first impressions   2004-05-22

well ... here we are. taiwan. the first taipei journal entry. don't mind the typos and loose grammar. these are freeform thoughts. since i'm being aurally assaulted by a potent and deadly mixture of smoke, canto-pop, classical music, machine gun fire from loads of computer games i'm not spending any time on spelling or grammar. this is and in-and-out operation.

we flew from vancouver to los angeles. a three hour stopover in l.a. and then on to taipei. the l.a. airport ... what a hole. a testament to the good things an airport improvement fee such as vancouver's can do. incredibly crowded, no apparent rhyme or reason to the line-ups, security ... suspect at best, hot, humid. was happy to see the backside of the departure gate.

the flight was looooooooong and thankfully uneventful. just periodic bouts of sleep intermixed with tepid servings of airplane food and stale water.

we touched down at 6:00am taiwan time. the taipei airport was clean and eerily deserted. just wandering through the walkways with a few other people. strange. i expected a throng of humanity. not so. delightfully surprised. the flight we were on carried on to india, which was where most of the passengers must have been heading. no problems going through customs and immigration. just a slight bow of the head ... a toothy smile and all is right with the world.

we were met at the arrivals gate by juno ... a former student at marlene's school in victoria ... and her friend brian. what a load off having someone meet us at the gate. it's always the most most stressful part of any trip touching down in the airport and having to find your way into the city with tons of h-e-v-y heavy baggage. not so this time. they wisked us away in a nice air conditioned van. relief. they both speak excellent english so the conversation was flowing fast and furious.

they served us some interesting soy beverages and traditional rice rolls on the drive into the city. yum yum. just what the body needs at 6:00 in the morning after 24 hours in transit.

first impressions on the drive into the city. hot. humid. hot. humid. hot. humid. a light drizzle of rain coupled with the heat means a nice, sticky cotton t-shirt. "man it's hot ... is this as hot as it gets?" laughter. more laughter. yikes. no need to join a gym. i think we'll be able to sweat off any excess poundage.

it's greener than i expected. can't see the sun ... or sky for that matter ... unsure if it's pollution or low cloud cover. probably a mixture of the two.

arrived at the hostel in downtown taipei. whoa. haven't seen cockroaches this big since india. at least two inches long ... not including feelers. crazy small room. maybe 8' x 10'. flourescent lighting. stinky. thankfully it has a-c and a fan on the floor though. we're booked in for the week and frankly i think that's about all we'll be able to stand. maybe it'll grow on us. like the mould and other strange brown coating in the communal shower stall. must find some cheap plastic flip-flops today. i don't want a repeat of this morning's shower any time soon. i guess you could say i'm a natural at some of the basic ballet moves. they just came naturally. step ... turn ... stay on the toes ... pivot ... balance. you can try it at home too. between the bed and our luggage we have exactly no room to move. cozy. find apartment quickly.

spent some time sightseeing yesterday with juno and brian. some beautiful spaces in the city. it will be a treat checking out all the nooks and crannies. brian helped set us up with MRT cards ... a mostly above ground light rail transit system. easy breezy. also looks like a million buses destined for everywhere so getting around the city should be a piece of cake. once we learn to read mandarin. a slight smattering of english around but not as much as i expected. time to break out the mandarin-english phrasebook.

juno and brian took us to a spot outside the city yesterday for some relaxation. took a speed boat along the dangshui river to get there. whoa ... that is one river you don't want to fall into. they'll pull you out with a third arm growing out of your back and a missing kidney or something. kind of a fisherman's warf area. some huge breakwaters ... lots of shops along the causeway ... all closed ... open on the weekends i think. we sauntered around for a while. noticed the relatively fresher air immediately ... if you subtract the delightful smell of asian cigarettes of course.

we settled in for a seafood lunch after a light snack of plum wine sausages ... i had to finish marlene's ... thank you cast-iron stomach ... and some sort of eggs in some sort of casing that tasted like some thing ... unfamiliar. i had four. so far no repercussions. not too bad but i probably won't buy them myself unless it's a matter of life and death. the lunch was amazing! seafood like i've never had before. the entrance is just off the walkway and the seafood is on ice for display. you decide what you want, head upstairs to your table that easily accommodates a party of 20 and wait for them to bring it on up. lazy susan heaven. yum freakin' yum.

started off with some delicious garlic, ginger mussels. followed by chow mein and cabbage. of course the simmering pot of fish-head miso soup. then on to the frogs legs. first time and they do taste like chicken ... but way better. loved them and would highly recommend them. sure they look sick when they're chilled on ice ... but slip them in some hot sauce of some kind and you're off to the races. some whole grilled mackrel. flop in on the plate and go to town. mind the razor sharp invisible bones and you'll be just fine. really liked them. super tasty if somewhat tricky to eat. what else ... ahh yes ... the steamed crab. always a treat but you have to work so hard to make it worthwile. factor in only using chopsticks and you have some good laughs ahead of you. thank heaven for the wet finger clothes ... much used and abused during the meal. spicy and not far removed from its pre-cooked state so it looks good on the plate. so much food and soooo good. looking forward to the food here. i think we're in for some good times.

okay ... the music in this cafe is a riot. what a crazy mixture of screaming electric guitar and accordian. i like it. throw in some tuba and you have a pan-pacific hit on your hands.

can't wait to pick up a camera. as suspected the signs are a scream. "cheese love hotel." okay ... bring it on. if the hostel doesn't pan out and we don't find an apartment soon we're checking in.

it's scooter madness here. there must be at least a 100 scooters at every stop light. in all four directions. madness. must watch the toes when on the curb. no room on the street to ride your scooter? no problem ... just take the sidewalk. was thinking it might be a good idea to buy a scooter while we're here ... but not so sure anymore. bus and train it is.

it's noon on our second day here and we're going to head over to the foreigner section of town to scope things out this afternoon. haven't seen very many other caucs on this side of town. we need to pick some brains regarding taking care of business living-style.

i'm glad i'm not here alone ... and i'm glad marlene isn't here alone either. it's true what they say ... you can do anything together. sure ... i would have cried myself to sleep last night ... but instead we had a few good laughs and passed out from the heat. a better way to go.

until next time ... living it up in taipei ...

xo m & t

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