Log Six

There's an odd and uneasy feeling that comes over me when time on a trip is running out. Our return from the mountains was the final milestone of the trip, from this point forward it was just winding down and getting ready for the flight home.

I took the opportunity to purchase some additional accessories for my camera, which, having not had them on the trip made me realize their value.

We took some time to dine with some of Chu-Wan's friends at a nice restaurant near Hsientien. It's an interesting area with expensive homes, a scenic footbridge over the river gorge and almost a boardwalk atmosphere. It was too late at night for us to take the "duck boats" out onto the river, and although we had the best of intentions, we never made it back.

Not only on this trip did I get to experience an earthquake that I actually felt, by Typhoon Chebi decided to roll into Taiwan during my last few days. Although it didn't hit Taipei, it did whip the winds up one day and the rest of the time it made it even more miserably hot and humid. I've never experienced worse weather in my life.

On the day when it was the worst, we went to Tanshui with Johnny and Tiffany and spent the day at a waterpark. This waterpark is a lot more fun than the parks here, mostly because they don't adhere to nearly so many safety regulations. One slide in particular that was a lot of fun is extremely tall, but it has about 6 – 8 pools along the way. The slide empties into each pool (which is filled with people) and then each one has several exits, which you have to fight your way into. The slides lead to the next pool, and so on. It's a lot of fun, takes quite a while to get to the bottom, and results in a lot of people piling on top of others as they come shooting out of the slides into the crowded pools. I'm sure there's a possibility for injury, in which case, you're a long way up and the only way down is through the slides. On problem with being on the slide so long, I sunburned beyond belief.

I'd collectively spent about 3 months in Taipei and on June 22^nd, only three days before leaving, Johnny takes me to a supermarket catering to foreigners. Dr. Pepper at last! Not only did I buy a nice, cool one to drink right away, I picked up a 6-pack to last me the next couple days. It was only halfway over the ocean did I realize I'd left one behind in the fridge. Oh the waste!

Better still, the foreign food store is across the street from a Roundtable Pizza! I have a fixed beacon of hope and home for future trips to Taipei!

We visited the botanical gardens, which I'd missed on previous visits, and I got to see something something very Chinese: The Lotus Blossoms. The blossoms were everywhere and the photographers and sketch artists were out on droves trying to capture their essence. I also made a few attempts with mixed results. We visited the gardens with Chu-Wan's friend Sam, then sat in teahouses and noodles shops for the rest of the day chatting. Sam was amazed when, not only did I order a "large" iced tea at the first tea shop (this was about a 16 ounce drink), but I had another 8 ounce tea at a stand in the street less than 2 hours later. I must remember to send him a picture of a 64 ounce Thirstbuster someday.

May last day was the Dragon Boat Festival, and Taipei was a ghost town. Chu-Wan and I made our way out to the park where the races were being held. Typhoon Chebi had managed to leave behind an absolutely cloudless, 60% humidity day with temperatures reaching just shy of 100 degrees. Without a tree to be found in the park, my sunburn could not endure for long and so we left to spend the remainder of the day indoors, since most things were closed in the city, anyway.

My last meal in Taipei was at the Basil Mint restaurant, my favorite (non-pizza) restaurant. On my last trip, the Basil Mint was closing down for a few weeks for a complete remodeling, but it was re-open now. The food was the same, all-you-can-eat, salad, spaghetti, fried chicken, fish, pork, beef and lamb buffet, and, after close examination of everything in the restaurant, I could not find one thing that had been changed during the remodeling, right down to the artwork on the walls – exactly as I remember it. It is possible that the word "remodeling" doesn't translate that well between Chinese and English.

And so it ended, stuffed and forgetting my last Dr. Pepper, we took the long drive to the airport, for a sad farewell, for Chu-Wan was staying behind for a few more days after I was gone.

I'm almost certain this won't be my last trip to Taiwan, but this time, the trip had the feel of "I've done it all." With that, future trips become less of a trip to foreign, exotic land, and more about visiting family. Sure, there are lots of things I'd like to explore at greater length in Taiwan, but I've touched on most of the major tourist attractions – now it's just a question of filling in the gaps.

In many ways it is sad that Taiwan is so poorly known as a tourist destination from the US, there's a lot to recommend it, and I would heartily recommend it to anyone with an interest in Asia, and especially Chinese culture. It's modern, it's relatively safe, the people are outgoing, friendly and helpful, the expenses are low and there are many things to see and do, both scenic, cultural and just plain fun.

So until next time on our next destination... zai jian!