The small engine roosters woke me up at 6:00 this morning. Sleeping wasn’t too bad although the sounds of the scooters broke the silence intermittently all night. My mom warned me that the beds here were firm, but that’s an understatement. A more accurate descriptor would be “unyielding” or “trampoline-taut”. However, despite the hardness, I still managed to get some good sleep.
Getting my first daylight look at my surroundings was pretty breath taking. Although we’re firmly nestled in a residential area, the backdrop of the mountains and city scape make the rooftop view picturesque. The weather for the rest of the week is predicted to be low to mid 70s with a 20 percent chance of rain making for some nice weather. The plan for the day was a bike ride around town to various scenic locations, but first, breakfast. We hopped on some bikes my uncle had and rode our way to a small eating establishment for what my dad says is a traditional breakfast. I’ve had some of the items before, but they were much better when made fresh. After that, we made our way towards some bike paths that would take us to the local sights.
Bike riding in the city seems much less dangerous than scooter riding. The slower speeds allow you to avoid the faster vehicles and it seems like you’re allowed more avenues of travel. The car/scooter traffic is insane. They share the same lanes and when I say share, I really mean wrestle at break neck speeds for every available inch of pavement. Imagine a handful of marbles in a glass, then imagine that you pour some sand into that same glass. The action of the sand cramming in all the spaces left between the marbles is an exact parallel with how the scooters fill every gap when waiting at a light. And when that light turns green, everyone pours forward in a chaotic mix. Remarkably, I haven’t seen anyone get hit but I can’t imagine that commuting melee staying blood free. What’s crazier is that many of the scooter operators wear bandanas over their nose and mouths in an attempt to reduce the amount of exhaust they inhale. When you combine that imagery with the driving habits, it makes for an accurate replication of a post apocalyptic waste runner gang.
Thankfully, once you hit the designated bike paths, motor vehicles are prohibited so you can amble at your own pace through the crop fields and back alleyways. I was really surprised at how many agricultural fields there were considering the close proximity to the city. Is it sad that I could recognize the rice fields because of Farmville? After a quick break at a coffee house, we made our way to a mixed traffic path. There was a presence of cars and scooters, but they were few. From there, we made our way to the “Corporate Body Kuan-du temple of Taipei”.
The tunnels approaching the temple were carved into the mountain it rests on. I guess carved is a little bit of an understatement because every foot of the approach is covered in elaborate carved murals. The shrines themselves were impressive, but the sacredness was lost on me. The place thronged with the penitent, whom in turn, filled the air with offerings of incense. The rooftops were covered with so many brightly colored figures, it’s difficult to believe that such an intricate complex was built in the seventeenth century.
After that, we retraced our path and made our way back into the city to catch the subway into the more commercial area. The ultimate plan was to meet up with friends for dinner. It’s pretty amazing how inconspicuous I can be when everyone else is Chinese. In fact, I’ve started a new game called “Spot the Caucasian”. There is a population of Caucasian people here, but it’s always surprising to see one. My count for today is four. It’s always fun to speak English to my dad at an elevated volume to see if they notice. Most of the time I get a sideways glance, but no one as actually approached me yet.
We met up with my Uncle Joe and the two friends from the previous night at one of the Taipei museums and made our way to a restaurant and my first rendezvous with a palette expanding cuisine. Most of the meal was delicious, roasted duck being the main course for the night. However, one dish I tried, since I promised Tanja that I would be adventurous, was an appetizer of some kind of gelatinous sea urchin. I can’t say that it was horrible, but I did not finish the portion. Thankfully, the place had Coke (sugar, not HFCS) so the memory, and aftertaste, was cleansed from my being. In all, it was a very long day. If we keep going like this, I’m going to be very run down by the end of the trip.
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