This is the Life: Eat, Sleep, Repack, Sightsee, Repeat

In an effort to keep this at a readable length, here's episode two of three of Taiwan: days three and four.

After sleeping in and almost oversleeping checkout time, we hustled to get ourselves together and ready for some sightseeing. We left our freshly repacked bags with the nice gentleman who ran the hotel and we made our way to the subway to check train times heading east on the island, to the less developed part of the country. Then conveniently enough, we stumbled upon rentable bikes just outside the subway station as we were about to make our walking trek to the Lotus Pond, so we rented a couple of bikes (complete with bells and baskets!) and we took the leisurely jaunt through a park and some city streets until we reached the "pond". I use quotations because this pond is HUGE! More like a small lake, really. It has at least seven temples/statues/pagodas along its shoreline. It was very impressive.

Our rented bikes

Dragon and Tiger "temples" or towers

temple across the street from the pond 

Buddhist warrior god shrine

another pagoda and dragon

Buddha temple 

It actually took us much longer than planned to ride around the pond and stop to see all the monuments, so after having the bikes for a few hours, we decided it was time to head back, pick up our bags, eat something, and catch a train heading east and north. By the time we got back to the hotel, the night market was already up and running, so we went back in and got a few treats, then grabbed our bags and we were off to the train station and an evening train to Taitung (tah-tongue). A very nice man helped us get our tickets (as the man selling tickets spoke no English) and we were on our way.

Funny thing about the trains in Taiwan: no matter the time, distance, or duration, the lights never go off. This makes for some difficult sleeping, especially since the lights are very bright. But we made it to Taitung right at midnight and took a cab into the city (the train station is located on the very outskirts of the city). We asked our taxi driver (or rather, a helpful young man who spoke some English told our taxi driver) to take us to the closest hotel in town that was also cheap, and he did. It wasn't as cheap as we had hoped for, but it would work for the night. The woman working the night shift spoke no English (are you beginning to see a reoccurring theme here on the eastern coast?) but we got ourselves a room and headed to bed.

After catching a few hours of sleep, we packed our bags again, left them with the woman at the front desk (different woman who DID speak English--what a relief, we were beginning to think we had made a bit of a mistake journeying over to the other side of the island) and when in search of food. We also decided to go back to the train station and see about renting ourselves a scooter. Unfortunately, it turns out you must have a Taiwanese drivers license in order to rent a scooter...but a car on the other hand, that is just fine to rent with an international license. So, we settled on renting a car and taking a night train to Taipei the following night (to counterbalance the cost of the car by not having to pay for a room for the night). 

At about 5:30pm we had rental car keys in hand, 10:30pm train tickets pre-purchased for the next night and were ready to roll! The weather was beautiful, so first things first, a drive about the place with all the windows down. Then it was off to find some food. After eating a somewhat hodge-podge of a dinner (chow mein, sashimi, and tubules, which is just very small squid and boy were there a lot of them!) at a traditional aboriginal restaurant (just means they dress up and do dances really...) we hit the road again. We were in search of some hot springs.

We stopped at a few different hotels to check for rooms and prices but quickly found ourselves back in the car as the rooms were either all full or nearly 300USD a night! A little more than we'd bargained for. But we kept at it. Finally, around 9:30pm we found a little place that seemed quaint enough. We asked price (about 50USD/night) and then asked to see the room. It was simple yet nice, but the kicker was when he walked us through to the back patio and our own, private hot spring spa. Sold. We'll take it! 

So after bringing in our bags, we immediately began pumping the pipping hot, sulfur smelling water into the tub so we could get in! We sat in the spa for nearly two hours that night, just enjoying the sound of the cicadas and the water. Now this is the life. 

Sunset on our drive along the coast

Lots to be Proud of

I said goodbye to the world of cyber connectivity, to my apartment for the past year, and to Korea and jumped on a plane bound for Taipei, Taiwan last last Tuesday. This trip was most specifically and practically for a visa run so that I could stay in Korea for another 90 days--but it turned into so much more!

I will try to post this trip and it's updates in a few, smaller posts as opposed to one GIANT posting full or blah blah blah and tons of photos. But I can now see the problem with traveling without connection to the rest of civilization--I now have to play catch up, but do so in a some how non-overwhelming way. So here goes: Days 1 and 2 of Taiwan.

I have to start by saying that I'm incredibly proud of myself for so many reasons about this trip--First of all, I was packed HOURS before we left! In fact, I had my backpack almost completely packed days prior to departure, it was only the last few things and toiletries that were thrown in before leaving the apartment Tuesday morning. This is a big accomplishment for me! Usually I am still throwing things in the bag as I am being forced out the door. AND, usually I extremely over pack. This time, I was gone for 6 days and only took my school-sized backpack and my messenger bag as a carry-on/for daytime carrying of cameras and maps and water and the like. This is so HUGE for me! I'm getting better. See, old dogs and new tricks and all that, and I'm living proof that it IS possible!

The next feat of amazement was that we arrived early for the bus to the airport. EARLY I tell you! And when I say early, I mean like 20 minutes early. Therefore, we ended up being early to the airport for our flight. Suffice it to say that this trend of earliness ran through the ENTIRE trip. It truly is amazing. It IS possible for me to be on time. Never would have imagined it to be so.

But, now onto the trip itself!

Creepy pink bunny welcoming us to Taiwan

We arrived in Taiwan expecting to run into a lot of difficulty as most everything we read/heard was that English was not prominent throughout the country and our Chinese skills are, well, at a zero. But boy were we surprised! Not to be too over zealous, as we did run into many people who's English level was quite low to nonexistent, but everyone at least tried to communicate with us or to get someone who could speak some English to help us. And they were all so kind with our attempts to communicate with them in Chinese!

The first things we noticed were 1) how green the country is. There is a lot more grass and vibrant green trees and plants than our surroundings of late here in Korea. And 2) that they use and have English letters and words EVERYWHERE. Even on their license plates!

It is quite easy to maneuver around the city of Taipei as there are lots of maps (with English translation below the Chinese) and all the street names are printed in both Chinese and English, as well as most all of the business names. So after fairly easily finding our hotel, we took a little bit of a nap and then headed out for some sight seeing of Taipei 101 (the second tallest building in the world now that the Burj Khalifa has opened in Dubai).

 Then it was onto the night markets for some strange new foods like durian, pig knuckle, and snake!

Goose heads

BBQ'd snake

Durian is the yellow, spiky fruit to the left

assorted pig parts, including tail and knuckle

We also tried snake soup and Steve drank snake blood and snake urine (shots), which I was not interested in sampling.

After eating breakfast at our hotel, we packed up and headed south on a train--also very easy to use because it is all translated into English as well. We took the five and a half hour trip to the second largest city called Kaohsiung (pronounced cow-shung). It was very similar to Taipei in both energy and easy of navigation. It took us a few hours of walking around, but we finally found ourselves a hotel right at the edge of the largest night market there, and then found us some dinner--some of the best hamburgers I have had in over a year. It was beautiful! 

We then made our way into the night market for some more strange and new foods. This time we had chicken heart, Steve ate chicken butt (not delicious he reported back), and we had pig brain soup. We also ate a delicious milk/shaved ice and fresh fruit dessert that was so good, we got another one before we left the following day! 

there are at least two pig brains in that bowl

So that's it for days one and two in Taiwan. The biggest achievements thus far are my packing skills overall, my timeliness, and my ability to suppress my gag-reflex. That's a lot to be proud of!

Time on My Side

Funny thing about having all this time on my hands--I actually have time to write an entry for my blog. Interesting how that works out. It's also interesting that after sitting down and having a good heart to heart with the child within who has been feeling so without, I've got some pleasant news to report. I've seen a real positive difference in my demeanor and attitude the past few days.

This morning was like a breath of fresh air for me. Today is a public holiday, in that it is general, local election day here and nearly everyone has cancelled lessons and the like and is off work (or at least the school teachers are) so Steve has gone to Busan and I am here just hanging out. But before dropping him at the bus stop this morning, we sat down, just like so many mornings before, and ate breakfast at the table, looking out the window. Only this morning was different for me.

As I looked out the window at the familiar sight of the mountain standing opposite our building, I smiled to see a sight I haven't seen since my early months here in Korea. As I almost mindlessly stared out the window I realized that the tops of the mountains were hidden from view in a damply comfortable blanket of thick fog this morning. This was one of the sights I so enjoyed when I first arrived in Korea. You see, we have fog in Kansas. But not like this. There is something mystical and magical about being below the fog and watching it move. Seeing it hang, cling to the trees, the mountains, the world that stands above you. At least it is for me. And I found myself smiling at the sight of the grey mist of usual gloom that hung in front of me. I enjoyed the remainder of my breakfast and took Steve to catch his bus.

I had donned my rain boots this morning, so when I came home, instead of going inside, I took advantage of my waterproof gear and the lovely weather (lack of wind and the sun trying to poke its way out through the clouds) and took a stroll in the water on the beach. With the water lapping at my ankles, safely, warmly, and dryly tucked inside their waterproof coverings, I lazily moseyed down the shoreline and found myself smiling at all the sea shells scattered at my feet. Then I soon found myself doing something I haven't done in my time here in Korea, living near the beach. I was picking up the unusual shells! After walking the length of the beach, I had successfully collected quite a handful and scared or at least greatly disturbed the seagulls that were gathered along the way.

I made my way back to my apartment, cleaned off my shells, made some calls home, did some dishes, and in general just enjoyed the feeling of lightness and calm that I've been sitting in all morning. Looks like all this time on my hands turned out to be time on my side after all. Happy hump day, beach combing, chilling at home, day to me.

The Inner Child and Growing Up

I'm finding myself two weeks out of work and still not in a happier place with Korea or Koreans. In fact, if anything, I am finding myself more frustrated and irritated. I am almost certain that this has to do with the fact that somewhere in my mind the words "it's been a year, contracts up, let's get the heck OUT of here!" keep rattling about. Funny how you can tell yourself something, like almost bribe yourself--"If you just stick it out this long, go this far, do just this much, then I'll give you a treat, a present, a prize!!"--and even though plans change along the way, some part of you still holds on to that original promise. I think that's what I'm doing. I want my damned prize please! I've put in my time and I'm ready to travel!

Silly little inner child, hush and sit down and be still. You know as well as anyone that plans have changed and you're just gonna have to hold your horses, as my mother used to say. Traveling's not going anywhere, last time I checked.

So in traditional Korean fashion, these two weeks have both flown and crawled by. I feel like I haven't accomplished much of anything, yet the time has still melted away.

Since finishing at GEV there has been a nice day of rest, a few days of lessons, errands, and tasks, a trip to Seoul for some birthday fun, more lessons, rescheduling of lessons, changing of lesson times, sorting out payments, a full week of workouts, a handful of rainy days, some REALLY windy days, visitors from Busan, lots of foreigners on the beach, some rumors spread and revealed (about/to me), and adjustments made on both Steve and my parts on the new living situation. I have also had to take moments to be thankful and appreciative, quiet and still, and just in a general sense, soothe the child within that wants so badly to be out of Korea and on to what was promised 12+ months ago.



I've also had moments of feeling very distant from those I once felt so close to, no matter the amount of measurable space between us. To say the least, Korea has been yet another huge opportunity for me to see growth, and reveal areas that require more growth, in and for myself. Good thing I've got some extra time on my hands to work on that.