Transportation (Part 1)

Some months ago, I expressed a great deal of interest in joining the madness that is traffic here in Taipei. This dream, born in my mind with volcanic blast force, is now but a cool, oozing lava flow. Sure, I trust myself on a scooter or motorcycle. I more than trust myself. For the most part, my younger, speed-loving soul has found itself reincarnated in some 17 year old from Wichita. Life experience has made me a safe and careful driver. In the words of the great, late Notorious B.I.G., "Damn right I love the life I live."

I absolutely do not trust the Taiwanese on the road, even for just a second. Forget driving for a moment. Let's talk about walking. Yes, walking. The most basic of life skills proves to be a bit difficult for the people of Taiwan. It never occurs to anyone that stopping in the middle of the sidewalk during rush hour to answer their cellphone could be an inconvenience to others. Or that walking like a parabola makes it nearly impossible to create a flow of pedestrian traffic. I have yet to put my finger on the reason, whether it be a lack of self-awareness, or maybe a misunderstanding of spacial relations, but whatever the reason is it can be quite difficult to get from point A to point B on the sidewalk. Now, let's put millions of these people onto 2 wheeled vehicles. Sounds like a blast.

Since landing just over 3 months ago, I have had 2 friends get into 3 accidents. None of them were very serious, but they easily could have been. This is to say that scooter accidents are commonplace, and scooter abandonment is just as popular. Walking along the streets of Taipei, you will often see a busted up bike lying on the side of the road, left for dead. There are so many bikes in Taiwan that it's actually just cheaper to buy a new one instead of repairing a wrecked one. So, when one gets into an accident, their scooter will sit on the side of the road, wallowing away in 2 wheeled misery while it is slowly stripped naked, part by part. As you can see, this scooter abandonment phenomenon is a bit of a Catch-22. No one takes the time to repair their rides, but who can resist free parts on the side of the road?

Besides the whole minor point of traffic safety in Taipei, there's the traffic itself. Green Island was great. I could let loose on the throttle and not have to worry about anything, however, the scooter traffic in Taipei is outrageous. So much so, that I am perfectly content to get around via public transportation. And since better judgment has gotten the best of me and a scooter is not in my immediate future, I might as well say that I'm doing it because I'm making a conscious decision to protect the environment. The subway system, known as the MRT in Taiwan, does the trick, just fine. There are actually two different systems that run in Taipei, a French one and a German one. The French system is above ground and the German system is both above and below ground, connecting at various junctions. And, while I'm not the biggest fan of either of the aforementioned countries, or rather the people in them, they do know how to make a pretty efficient system of transport. Se efficient and effective that Taiwan has great plans to expand. Construction is happening all over hte city as the infrastructure expands. Pasted below, is a map of the future MRT system. I live right by the stations that says Guting. You see it?

Green Island: Hot Springs and Snorkeling

Hot Springs: The first two nights on the island, we thought it best to take it easy and relax in the hot baths (also, we had vouchers to get in for free). Hot springs are a popular way to relax and socialize in Taiwan. Hot spring water is channeled from the depths of the molten core of the earth as it is infused with sulfur, to provide you with a nice, steamy bath. Pretty cool. The hot springs of Green Island, on the other hand, are filled with salt water rather than sulfur water. It is one of three places in the world where hot sea springs exist. The baths are staggered like mountainside rice paddys, so each subsequently lower bath is cooler and cooler. The idea is that you start at the bottom and work your way up, alternating hot with cold to open and close your pores, cleaning out your system. Not scientifically proven, but it is relaxing nonetheless.

Snorkeling: It was just one of those days when we decided to go snorkeling when one little thing after another keeps going awry, until the world is about to implode in upon itself and compress all that exists into a single tiny entity, and then flick it to the side of the road. When all is said and done, though, you walk out a hundred feet from the shore and you're floating above a coral reef staring down at some of the most incredible creatures you only ever see on the Discovery Channel. Our guide, eager to tugboat us along on rescue rings like most groups of Asian tourists, seemed a bit lost when we told him we all could swim. So we all went in separate directions to see what we could see, not to be let down (like our guide).Big, small, tiny, some bright, some camouflaged. Angler fish, Clown fish, eels, snakes, you never want to pull your head away from the water for fear of missing something beautiful. I catch what appears to be a treasure chest lodged between a few rocks so I dive down to try and wriggle it free when I feel a tap on my foot. It's one of the other guides. He shoots a scowl at me and I swim back up. It must have taken him a long time to put that chest there.

Green Island

After two and a half months of back breaking labor here in Taiwan, I decided it was time for a vacation. Fifteen hour weeks prove to be strenuous every Monday, especially when trying to fit my work schedule into my yoga, swimming and movie-watching schedule. So, this past holiday weekend (Dragon Boat Festival) at 2am on Wednesday night, six adventurers set forth and journeyed to Green Island for four days and three nights. The eight hour drive over curvaceous mountains roads took us along the east coast of Taiwan through an endless number of coastal towns for breathtaking, deep blue, moonlit ocean views. As the sunrise cracked its waking eye, the ocean began to lighten and reveal the black, volcanic beaches that sometimes disappeared into the cliffs we were driving over, as if we were driving over the crystalline water itself. About forty five minutes drive south of the Tropic of Cancer our trusty stead pulled into the port city of Taitung and we awaited our ferry to Green Island.

The ferry to Green Island is a bit infamous in its own right. It has the spectacular ability to make you sick, make your friends sick, and make everyone around you sick. Awesome. Luckily, we had heard this ahead of time and proceeded to pop some magic pills (loosely translated to "NO SICK" in English). Well it worked. No sick in our group.

The ferry docked about an hour after departure and we were greeted by a jolly old South African man who had been acting as our travel agent sorting out reservations, a truck and three scooters. So three in the truck and three on the scooters, and I, well,having never driven a scooter before decided that it was best not take the truck. After a good bit of time getting accustomed to my new ride, checking the brakes, adjusting the mirrors, leaning into turns and throttling up, I decided I was ready to have some fun. So, after about five minutes of messing about on the little 125cc moped, I let loose and floored it to 80kph, heading for our "hotel."

Our accommodations were on the complete opposite side of the island from town and harbor, but Green Island is hardly a freckle on the face of the Pacific so it only took about twenty minutes to get there. We were showed to our rooms, which were less than grandiose, and fed a delicious Green Island specialty... goat stew. Over the course of the next few days we accomplished a great deal, always on the go, never on the slow. We went snorkeling, kayaking, hiking, exploring, swimming, feasting and hot springing. A good four days work.

More to come... Also, I posted some pictures, so check out the link on the left.