Taiwan 2004

July 2nd:

Our flight from Seoul/Incheon arrived at Taipei International around 11 in the morning. After the grandeur of Incheon, Taipei's terminal was decidedly less...uh...'grand.' I assume it has something to do with Taiwan's status as a second-class world citizen (or 'renegade province,' as the 800-lb. gorilla across the Straits likes to say).

The weather is hot, a bit sticky, and overcast. Rain trickles out of the sky. As we jump on the bus for the trip into downtown Taipei, the bus driver warns us against putting bags in the luggage compartment. We find out why as the bus pulls away from the airport and the rain begins to descend in sheets.

Upon arrival at the downtown bus terminal, we make our way to the subway station and I begin trying to orient myself to the city, the map in the Lonely Planet, and the subway map. Taipei's subway system is as nice as its airport is grungy. The map is far more accurate than Lonely Planet's (typically) poor version. Both manage to confuse me and we wander unnecessarily through the rain for about 20 minutes before getting our act together and locating the YMCA (our digs for the trip).

Both the traffic and rain are heavy. The city FEELS busy. As we step out of the subway station, we hear endless strains of teen pop from a line of music stores. The tunes seem to blend with the pace of activity on the street.

The YMCA is much nicer than expected. We have a large room (with bath) and the staff is extremely helpful (they all seemed to speak good English). Based on the weather reports, we extend our stay by one more night...and get a better room rate in the process. After check-in, we plan our activities for the day. First stop: lunch. Next stop: the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial. After that? Who knows.

We hit the street and start wandering, looking for anything that catches our eye. Eventually, we come across a sushi place...you know the type, it's got the conveyor belt full of small dishes that circle endlessly around. We start grabbing dishes at a frantic pace.

After lunch, we hit the subway again, arriving a short time later at the KSM Memorial. Flanked on either side by the National Theater and the National Opera House (identically-styled buildings), the Memorial is an impressive piece of work. We check out schedules at the Opera House and the Theater (nothing interesting during our visit) and then head to the Memorial itself.

From the museum downstairs ("Let us tell you what a great man Chiang was!"), we head back upstairs to watch the most ELABORATE changing of the guards ceremony I have EVER seen (much less imagined). Five to ten minutes of rifle tossing, saluting, marching and spinning leave us wondering how they manage to memorize even half of the ceremony...or do they just make it up on the fly...? Either way, very impressive to watch.

On the way back to the 'Y,' we find ourselves pulled in (once again) by a Starbucks. If there are any two trends to our vacations, they'd have to be...rain and Starbucks. What's up with that? Will that work as a book title if we publish our travel memoirs...? ANYway...I spend about 30 seconds trying to describe my order visually to the counter girl...who responds to my gestures with near-perfect English: "So you want a tall green tea frapuccino?" Um...yeah. That would be nice.

My ordering efforts have tired me. We take a short nap (okay, I know..."rain, Starbucks, and naps." Cut me some slack here). Waking up (refreshed and ready for action), we head out in search of what is reputed to be the BEST dumpling restaurant in Taiwan. Upon arrival, we find that is also the most BUSY restaurant in Taiwan. Ack. We scoot around the corner and duck into another restaurant nearby. The food is great, the beer is served in big bottles, and it's all cheap. You can't ask for much more than that...

We finish dinner and begin some serious exploration of the city, passing by Longshan Temple, and a small night market.

In the same neighborhood as the night market, we come across what appears to be a small expat community tucked in along Shida Street. Picking out the most interesting pub (the Peacock), we plunge inside. The atmosphere is lively without being overwhelming. We sip a drink or two before calling it a night.