Welcome to Taiwan (Pt 3) - Rumble in the (Concrete) Jungle

Amidst the wake of the devastation, we kept on moving as we headed back to the capital...

Day 7 Another early day as we checked out of the "Surf and Shack", headed to the bus terminal only to learn there wasn't any buses to and from Kaoshiung. We were forced to take a cab. It was with some disappointment that I leave Kenting without revisiting many of the places. Back in Kaoshiung, its another zip down the MTR to Zhuoying before hopping on the train bound for Taipei. The ticket we paid through the automatic dispenser was quite a fair bit and we only found out it was an express train with only 2 stops along the way. We reached Taipei before noon and after a brief confusion, managed to locate our hostel, settled our bags and be on our way again.

We first headed out for lunch at yet another Maid Cafe, the Fatimaid. The place wasn't all that great but it was a decent setting so no complaints though. A quick lunch and its off to check out the underground mall before heading to the Presidential Building and the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial Hall, where we witnessed the retiring of the guards for the day. We then made our way to the Shihda Night Market (师大夜市), which failing to impress, saw us moving off to another part of the city for some okonomiyaki. Then a short trip to take in the Taipei 101 building at night.

Day 8 Morning saw us setting off to Jiantan (剑潭) to catch a bus to the Yangmingshan (阳明山) National Park. We had absolutely no idea how huge the place was and no idea where to start, so we ended up taking a coach and stopped at a spot, which name I forgot, and did some hiking trying to make it up a peak of something. Instead, it brought us to some scenic spots but not to any peaks. Still, the air was fresh with the only complaint being the heat and the humidity. By midday, we were on our way back to the hostel for a shower before heading to a restaurant nearby that specialises in Unagi dishes for lunch. By the time we finished, it started raining so we caught a cab to the local equivalent of our Sim Lim Square for some shopping (comics and games galore!) before heading back to the underground mall (still raining so its the cab again) for some exploration. That was where we had tea at the Maiden Diner, a train station-themed Maid cafe. After which we made our way to the Shilin Night market (士林夜市), which was bustling with activity and the stench of Fermented Beancurds... It was here that we both got into a little argument over some misunderstanding.

Day 9 We split up with me heading to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall early in the morning and then to the Taipei 101. It was too early and only the offices were starting to open so I went off to the Martyr's Shrine across the city and was just in time to catch a change of guard ceremony take place. Then a quick trip to the Chiang Kai Shek Residence (士林宫邸) and the Taipei Astronomical Museum before going back to the Maiden Diner for lunch (I like the ambiance there). Can you believe it that I actually got the same seat as the day before even though the place was quite packed?

Afternoon saw me up the Taipei 101 at last but just what is it with me, tall towers and rain? The scenery was not that great but at least the rain wasn't over me (yet) as I crossed over to the WTC exhibition hall where they happened to be having the Taipei Comics Convention! Lucky me as I got some comics, 2 posters and some nice shots of the cosplayers manning the booths. It's nice that most of them are friendly and obliging whenever anyone asks for a photoshoot.

Day 10 Another day on my own as Ximending (西门町) turned out to open late as well. As soon as it opened, I was checking out the 5 floors of Animate, buying some comics and then its off to the Cosplay Cafe next door (Cafe Cosic) for some lunch. After dropping off my purchases in the room, I tried navigating to the computer mall to make some more purchases (some comics and a H-game too) before ending the day packing up the bags.

Day 11 A quick excursion in the morning trying to find some mangoes (don't ask) at the nearby distributor market and then its off to the airport. I had mixed feelings about leaving the place and coming back home. It's been quite nice being disconnected from the world I was living in before and I sure didn't feel like reconnecting. Perhaps its the travellers' fatigue as I ended up having the couldn't-care-less feeling for quite a while (even now I still feel vestiges of it). My carefree world came crashing down when the workweek started...

The writer is slowly recovering from the crash and the depression. He still feels the urge to uproot and leave this place and disappear for an extended period. Donations are most welcomed.

Welcome to Taiwan (Pt 2) - Nature's Wrath

Day 3 The approach of Typhoon Morakot was felt throughout the day with strong erratic winds, short bursts of rainfall and clouds all going in one direction. We practically spent the entire day in our room watching cable TV.

Day 4 The typhoon made landfall sometime in the pre-dawn hours and we found ourselves in ankle-deep of water as the drainage at our hostel got clogged. We got it good since many places either had landslides, waist-high floods or houses flattened by the strong winds. Must be a blessing to have planned our itinerary to make the most of what would have been a disastrous trip.

Day 5 The slowing of the typhoon overland eventually saw it leaving the island in the early morning. The skies still bore the dark clouds but we started out to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium. I had been here previously during our RnR 9 years back and the place was just completed then. As there were no bus services running, we decided to try walking to take in the view of the countryside as well as the devastation caused. Somewhere a few clicks North of Town, a driver offered to drive us further up the road to where he was going and we hitched a ride. Along the way, when he learnt of our destination, he was aghast and warned us of the distance, and then proceeded to offer to drive us there. It was all good and we paid him NT$400 for his trouble. The Aquarium had undergone an expansion with a new building housing samples from around the world. The winds were still strong and the surf was terrible (the museum was near the coast) and we spotted a marooned ship on the shoreline as we made our way to the new annex. I could hardly remember what was inside back then but looking at the fish and animals in the tanks filled me with joy and wonder (sorry but I have never been to the local Underwater World yet). When it was time for us to return, we found ourselves slightly stranded since the fella from earlier was too busy to come pick us up (we were gonna pay of course...) so I dragged my buddy along the route and tried to hitch a ride while walking down. We got lucky when a car picked us up and he was on his way to Hengchun as well. All's well that ends well with the rest of the day mucking around the room minus some cable channels due to the lost transmissions.

Day 6 We were originally scheduled to leave for Alishan (阿里山) but our plans literally got washed out due to the extent of damage caused to the mountainous regions so we tried picking up the places in Kenting we were not able to visit due to the typhoon. Our first stop in the morning was the east coast area of Jialeshui (佳乐水). A coastal area with many strange rock formations. Initially we tried looking for a waterfall that was supposedly there but couldn't find it. Instead we spotted yet another marooned ship on our walk northwards along the track strewn with mud and debris. We spent slightly less than 2 hours there, wandering among the rocks and taking photos before we head back to town for lunch and then another bus direct for Oluanpi (鹅銮鼻), the Southernmost tip of the island. Unfortunately, the place was still closed due to the typhoon in spite of the hot sun. I ended up buying some souvenirs before taking the bus to see the famous sail rock (船帆石). From a certain angle, the damn rock really did look like Richard Nixon. Then, in the stifling humidity, we made our way to Kenting town, missed the bus (when it refused to stop after we tried flagging it down) and caught a cab back to town where we spent the night packing up. It was disappointing that we had to miss out visiting Oluanpi and Maobitou (猫鼻头) but I think it had been a nice experience to be back for a visit to the places and fulfilling that desire.

The writer is still sorting through the photos so please be patient.

Welcome to Taiwan (Pt 1) - Return to the 9-year-old "Crimescene"

About time I made an entry about my recent return down memory lane, albeit with a twist. I am backdating the entry as well. Instead of an earthquake, my return to Formosa (Taiwan) is now a category 2 typhoon.

Day 1 We reached Taoyuan International and promptly caught the bullet train (高铁) to ZhuoYing station (左营) before catching the MTR to Kaoshiung city, where we "checked" into this apartment. I'd rave about the place but it'll take up too much space (but if you're keen to know, drop me a note). We then went in search of the maid cafe to pay a little visit. After stumbling on a few anime stores, we finally found the place. A quiet and cosy spot called the Tokuyomi@Kaoshiung. The girls were friendly (and cute!), service was excellant and the menu was rather creative too (oh, and the food was not bad. Local flavour with a dash of Japanese). After dinner, we went off to the famous Liuhe night market (六合夜市) and then spent the rest of the night watching cable TV while savouring our first chicken cutlets (香鸡耙) and fruit tea.

Day 2 Early day as we caught a bus and headed down to Hengchun (恒春), an old city which I had been to previously back in 2000 when I was sent here for training. Along the way, there were many familiar sights such as the betelnut stalls (minus the girls now). We reached the town around noon where we suddenly became lost since there was no readily available map of the area. It took us a while before we found our lodging, a nice hostel called the "Surf and Shack". Once we're done settling our stuff, we grabbed our cameras put on our hiking shoes (well, maybe just me) and hit the road, road 200 that is. The area was once my "playground" when I was here for training, so coming back has always been a dream because of the sights that we could not experience properly as a soldier.

Along the road just a few hundred metres out from the town's East gate, we came by Chu Huo (出火) a site with fires sustained by an upwelling of natural gas. Apparently the place sort of shifted nearer to the town based on my memory. Further down the road, we came to this restaurant that I've been dying to go to. Why? Nine years ago, during a certain Exercise R** B****, my team stopped by this restaurant and had a meal (illegally of course) at the rear of the building enroute to our final checkpoint up the mountainous range called Chi Niu Ling (赤牛岭). It was forbidden to bring any currency (or have any contact with the locals) during the exercise but as you know, us boys being boys, ahem ahem. We're not the first and we're definitely not the last. Unfortunately, they were not opened for business for a while, most a pity.

Moving on, we reached the county border of Manzhou (满洲) and my aim was to visit the famous Chikong waterfalls (七孔瀑布), a series of 7 consecutive waterfalls at the base of the imposing Laofuoshan (老佛山). Although the road towards the falls was a gradual gentle upslope route, it tire us out quickly, partly due to the long walk all the way from Hengchun (about 10 to 14km to reach the route). By the time we reached the carpark gateway, my buddy gave up so it was up to me to make the journey of another few hundred metres to reach the base of the falls. I had to trek into the sparse forest area and negotiate a few streams before I reached the base of the first fall. The subsequent climb up to the other falls had to be done with the aid of ropes and trees. The weather was slowly but surely turning bad with the on-coming typhoon and the slopes were slippery enough to make me give up after reaching the 3rd fall.

It was rather disappointing but we hurriedly made our way back to the main road to catch the bus back to town and the hostel. It was only that night when we switched on the TV that we found out the inbound Morakot, scheduled to make landfall the next day. All along we had thought the strong winds we felt during our hike was a natural occurrence as I had felt such winds when I was last here.

The writer will not be showing any photos in the next few entries as he is still trying to finish sorting and labelling the hundreds he took. Photos will be posted up in chronological order which can be followed along with these entries on his facebook site.