We started our last day in Taitung at about the same time has we have in the past, with the only exception of needing to be awoken. We’ll see if it’s the jetlag wearing off, or the absence of the morning scooter run. After showering and packing up, we took advantage of the hotel’s complimentary bicycles before breakfast. Our destination was a nearby nature park. I couldn’t ascertain any difference between this park and the others we’ve been to, which is advantageous to some degree. Like the others, the park was pretty and offered a few photo opportunities. It was sprinkled with the occasional local and some tourists. Motor vehicles weren’t allowed on the paths, so the only sound to disrupt the natural surroundings was the occasional flyover by the Taiwanese air force F-18s. I attempted to get a picture of them, but they must have had some kind of advanced technology that warned them when my camera was out because I never got a good opportunity.
Breakfast this morning was KFC. Normally that would be a M.I. inducing venture, but the KFC in Taiwan is a little different than those in the States. First of all, they serve breakfast. I did see a picture of a bucket of chicken, but it’s probably only available later in the day. I saw no sign of the horrible “Double Down”. The breakfast was actually tasty and filled me up just fine. Keeping with the tradition of only having hot drinks, I had to drink coffee again. I’m still not a fan. I would have been satisfied with this meal all the way to lunch, but of course one meal for a four hour period is unheard of in the group I’m rolling with. My eating schedule has been shoehorned into that of a Hobbit; a meal every two hours. We walked off breakfast by traveling to a nearby market. My dad read about a lady that sells vegetables in the local market that was awarded a philanthropic award from Forbes magazine, and he really wanted to meet her.
The market was a crowded claustrophobic affair that mostly consisted of food sellers, with the occasional clothing merchant punctuating the vegetables and seafood. The clothing was mostly geared towards females and for some reason there were no other wares. Perhaps they’re located in another market. After a few twists and turns, we located the lady at her vegetable stand near another one of the hidden entrances to the market. The throng of shoppers passing through this area made picture taking difficult, but I embraced my rude side and stood like a pillar against the tide of humanity. My dad said that this lady was chosen for philanthropic recognition because of her contribution ot the local society. For her whole life, she has been a vegetable merchant, only making very little profit, but saving her earnings to build schools and civic centers for the local population. My dad said that she was someone that he really admired and he was really happy to meet her. She seemed very humble about the whole situation, never stopping from her work to accept praise from my dad.
Of course it would be impossible to escape without eating something seeing as how we were in the middle of a market. Magically, one of my group appeared from the crowd carrying a bag of little fruit, one of which he immediately thrust into my hands, despite just eating not ten minutes ago. While we were milling about consuming fruit, we ran into the famous Stephen of “Stephen MLB”. True to form, he was wearing a New York Yankees shirt, so it would appear that he really did like baseball. His English was broken, but I appreciate that he attempted to speak to me. He seemed better versed in western culture because he provided the first firm handshake I’ve received since I’ve arrived.
The plan for the rest of the day was to see the sights by driving north along a costal highway, making a few stops along the way. We drove for about an hour, passing by a few places we would hit on the way back, when all of the sudden, we pulled over to the side of the road in front of a seemingly non-descript building. One guess as to what we were doing. If you guessed eating, you win the prize. Apparently, this place is famous for it’s tsa sha bao or as I know it, white bun with meat inside. I usually have the kind with a flavorful red pork inside, but this one was different with a non-red pork inside. I guess the appeal is lost on me, but it was still pretty good. This dog was outside resting in the sun and barely lifted his head to look at me as I snapped it’s picture. I think a new record was broken today in the category of “time passed between meals” because before we even left the place, a plantain was forced into my hands, purchased from a vendor outside. It did taste good, but I was still full from breakfast. I’m pretty sure they haven’t heard of the saying “Hunger is the best spice”.
Our next stop was a seaside park called Fukan. There was a small information center with scenic vistas, but the most interesting part was the Amis Kakeng Musical group. As we walked up to the information center, some kids in traditional costumes approached to inform us that they were going to be performing soon. That gave us enough time to take a quick look around and head down to their little stage. They danced and performed with tradition percussion instruments and were very entertaining. Here’s a YouTube clip of one part. Sorry I didn’t upload it in high def. It took an hour in low as it is.
After that, we swung by the Tungho bridge, whose claim to fame is that it’s defunct to vehicle traffic and only caters to foot traffic. It was replaced by a more modern bridge. Of course where there’s some kind of attraction, there’s a food vendor, and this time it was some kind of large citrus fruit. I guess one of the reasons we stopped there is because there are bathroom facilities. Of course, traveling around with a group of older guys that eat that much, they’re going to need such conveniences quite a bit. Maybe the sight seeing is just a disguise, and serves a more utilitarian purpose. Make more room for more food. I wouldn’t be surprised. Nonetheless, I took pictures and had my picture taken and looked around at the scenery while eating what I consider yet another meal. Including those to come, I’ll have eight meals today with one last foray into the seafood. Maybe they think I’m interested in eating because I keep taking pictures of all the food they’re giving me.
The next stop would be “Water flowing uphill” which smacks of the cheesy “Mystery Spot” tourist traps that are scattered across the highways of America. Although I know that there’s no way water can flow uphill, and can even account for the optical illusion that makes it look as such, it’s still an interesting phenomenon to see in person. I’m sorry it doesn’t photograph well, but the effect is amusing. We didn’t spend a ton of time here because there wasn’t anything to eat. Of course, this meant that it was time to get lunch.
Lunch today was very very similar to last nights dinner. Plate after plate of unknown seafood. This time my tactic of forcibly asking my dad what kind of meat the plate consisted of paid off and I found the limit of my intestinal fortitude, which happens to be intestine. How ironic. Present again was the Sashimi and shrimp starter, but this time hollow stem and flower stamen joined the party. The later two dishes were actually enjoyable, supporting the thought that I should declare myself a temporary vegetarian. I performed well with the sea bass and swordfish dishes. My boundaries were pushed with the oyster plate and shark meat soup. However there’s one dish I refused, and it was the first one this trip. Probably won’t be the last. It looked like slices of squid, but to be sure, I asked my dad what it was, which was a prudent decision. All I heard was “It’s the intestine…” and my mind cut out the rest. I quickly made the “throat cutting” motion and everyone at the table knew not to push the matter. The restaurant itself was a little interesting in that it allowed some of its patrons to decorate the ceiling tiles. I found one from Minnesota from 2003.
Our last stop of the day was to a sea cliff-side park where the wind was almost powerful enough to blow you over. While it did fall into the category of “another scenic bathroom break location” it was nice to feel some wind. The sea didn’t smell very strong, but I could feel the salt in the air. The winds reminded me of those that blow off Torch Lake, though the salt rendered it not as refreshing. There were a good number tourists and it was entertaining to watch them being blown around. I guess they’re not made from as sturdy a stock as this Michigander.
Actually, the real last stop of the day was to a ice cream store where I got a small measure of culinary restitution. It’s not what you would consider normal ice cream, as they had some flavors that wouldn’t make the 31 flavors cut. I ordered mint, but got dragon fruit; miscommunication again. The revenge came when I dad ordered a flavor that comes from a Thai fruit. It has some kind of reputation because they chanted its name as they handed it to my dad. It smelled like the skin of a mango, but tasted like petroleum. I had a bit and chided my dad for not finishing it, and others for not even trying it. I got to taunt “eat eat eat” at them like they often did to me. I even busted out more complex Chinese, saying “I ate a little and you can’t even eat some?” I found it entertaining and it’s no wonder they do it to me.
With that, the trip south was over, and we headed to the train station for the five hour ride back north to Taipei, thus ending my first week in Taiwan.
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