day3: hualien

monday, 3/31/2008:

unfortunately, i always have a late start to the day. after getting up and getting ready, i realized i might not make the 10:30am train to hualien, so i waited to leave for the train station to take the 12:18pm zi qiang hao to hualien. the trip takes 3 hours, and on the way i ate another bag of lucky snacks and a bottle of kiwi juice i bought at a convenience store before boarding the train. one comment i have about trains (and this is true about the greyhound type buses in taiwan too) is that it is good that they have bathrooms, but it seems like a lot to ask of me to squat and aim for the "toilet" while the train/bus is jostling around. luckily there were no mishaps. and there was a sink and toilet paper!

i arrived in hualien at 3:20pm, and promptly went to the visitor information center that is in a building to the right of the train station as you exit out the front. although i didn't need it, i will have to say, the guy tending the info center has excellent english. he suggested some places that i could still visit by foot for the rest of the day. i walked to my hostel, formosa backpackers hostel, which took about 15 mins. after getting situated at the hostel, i headed back out into the city. my first destination was pine garden, which turned out to be a building on top of a hill. it was after 5pm by the time i got to pine garden. i guess i didn't set out from the hostel immediately after i got there, and the walk to pine garden was somewhat long and, honestly, kind of miserable, since it was drizzling. at one point i started to go up a somewhat steep hill that was also curving. i happened to be on the inside of the curve (on the left) and there was no sidewalk. the sidewalk was on the other side of the road, but i was too scared to cross the street to get to it, and i knew that pine garden was going to be on the left. as i tried to stay in the minuscule shoulder of the road, a ton of bicycles with middle school and high school boys came streaming down the hill. seems kind of scary! it was drizzling and the road was curved and they were just on the road and it was steep! most were two on a bike. some bikes were also in pairs, joined by having one biker holding onto another biker's shoulder. i finally made it to pine garden, and after going up that hill, at least there was a nice view of hualien, especially the harbor (picture). i think that was more worth it than the pine garden building itself. since it was after 5pm, the exhibits were all closed except one, which had all these household items made from banana tree trunks. the coolest was the cloth that was made from the fibers of the tree trunk, and the clothes made from the cloth. they weren't like, o these are made from bananas, they were quite fashionable! next it was back down the hill and i had planned on going to the night market by the ocean. but i got a little lost, and when i asked for directions, the guy made it sound like way too far away to walk. another day and i would probably have gone anyway, but i was already tired and it was not the best of weather, drizzling on and off. he suggested i go to the street of stone art craft, which was a little closer, and that was next on my itinerary anyway. ...not that it was too close either... on the walk to stone street, i thought i was lost again, because i had to walk through a part of town that didn't seem to have much going on, and it was dark by then, so i was somewhat uneasy, but alas, i kept on going and finally got to some neon lights! street of stone and art craft is basically a square, which is lined on two sides by many many small stores that sell stone jewelery and other stone crafts. hualien is known for its chrysanthemum stone, which is cut from fossilized coral (i think). this has a beautiful effect, with many patterns that look like flowers! these stones were really, very beautiful! most of the stores were similar, but every rock is naturally different and also cut different, so i spent quite a while sifting through all the stores and ended up buying two chrysanthemum stone pendants and a pair of coral bead earrings, each item at a different store. i had gotten to the stone street earlier than planned because i didn't go all the way to the night market, so i kept walking around the square until 8pm, at which point there was an aboriginal dance show. in the middle of the square is a small stage with a bunch of stools in front, and apparently there is a dance show there every night of the week. the dancers looked to be about high school aged and i thought they did a pretty good job and were pretty enthusiastic. at one point, when they were doing a bamboo poll dance, one girl's foot got snapped by the polls and she fell and twisted her ankle. one of the guy dancers that was on the sidelines for that dance immediately joined in and danced the girl part (because there weren't any extra girls), not a beat was missed. at the end they were selling these yarn braided headbands, a simpler version of what the dancers wore, for 50NT (~$1.50), and kept on saying how it was money to contribute to these kids students school fees, so then i got suckered into buying an ugly headband, but i was pretty impressed that these kids came everynight to perform (i'm sure it's not always the same kids), so i figured the headband was worth it, since the show is otherwise free.

in hualien i had also contacted a tour buddy! she had suggested the hostel i stayed at. she had classes during the day, but we were supposed to meet around 6pm! my uncle had lent me his cell phone to use during my trip in taiwan, and somehow, i'm really bad at using that phone... anyway, somehow i never answer any calls. my tour buddy and i finally got a hold of each other shortly before the dance show was about to start, and she came to meet me at the street of stone art craft. we watched the show together. then it was about 9pm, and i had been walking around the entire evening, since about 4:30pm, except the hour i had been watching the dance show. the idea of walking across town back to my hostel was quite depressing. when i saw my tour buddy, her little motorcycle, and the extra helmet, i was REALLY relieved. we went to eat. she took me to gong zhen bao zi, a wellknown shop in hualien for eating xiao long bao (little steamed meat filled buns). they were pretty good. then she took me to get pearl barley ice...which sounded REALLY GOOD, but i was kind of cold, so i opted for the hot version, pearl barley soup, which was still really good. it was nice chatting with my tour buddy. i had walked around by myself all night so it was nice to just sit, relax, eat, and chat with a new friend. then she took me back to the hostel.

the first night at the hostel i stayed in the private double room, which i thought was a good deal at 1000NT (~$30). the room was japanese style, everything on the floor, nice hardwood flooring, and very cute. i had a great night's sleep, finally in my own room after sharing a room and twin bed with my cousin for the past few nights!

WORTH SEEING: street of stone art craft

WORTH EATING: gong zhen bao zi's xiao long bao, i bet the pearl barley ice would have made this list

full set of pictures at picasa!

day2: hotpot, longshan temple, chiangkaishek memorial, taiwan storyland

sunday, 3/30/2008:

another day, another salty soy milk! on the way to the salty soy milk (this time with my other cousin and to a different breakfast shop, but also near home), we walked through the traditional market again. my cousin ate a "twins" (shuangbaotai), which is basically a piece of sugary fried dough that has identical halves. i broke off a piece and tried it...tastes like heaven. anyway, finally to my second bowl of salty soy milk and i also got a shaobing youtiao (flaky bun with stick of fried dough...i know it may sound the same, but this fried dough is totally different from the previous fried dough). the shaobing youtiao was also exceptional, way better than any i have eaten in the US.

we are never very good at getting out early, so that means, by the time we get back from our breakfast excursion, it's time to head out for lunch! today my grandpa, uncle, aunt, 1 cousin, and i go to a hotpot restaurant nearby! hotpot is only my very favorite meal! i order the lamb meal, of course. it's not much different from shabu zen in boston...i think even the dishes are the same! i'm pretty particular about the process of eating my hotpot. first i drop in the corn and tomato, they mostly contribute to the soup; usually i don't eat them. then i start eating my thin lamb slices, never boiling more than 1 or 2 slices at a time so that i can keep track of them so they never get over done. after a few slices, i start boiling my various meat/fish balls, as i continue with the lamb. i also start boiling the taro chunk, because that needs a while. if there is seafood, this is when i boil and eat that. then i boil and eat a few leaves of vegetables. then boil and eat the mushrooms, don't cook the mushrooms too long. then i start boiling the tofu products. then i eat the meat/fish balls. all this time, i'm continuing to eat a few slices of lamb in between. then i eat more vegetables. then i start to eat the tofu products. then i finish off the vegetables, lamb, and eat my taro chunk. now the soup is mostly empty again and i crack my egg into it and make and eat a poached egg! finally i cook the cellophane noodles. (omg writing this made me so hungry.)

after hotpot, i left the family and headed out to longshan temple to meet my tour buddy! when i was doing research on my trip, i came across taiwan's youth travel website and the wonderful tour buddy program! taiwan seems to be trying to promote tourism to taiwan among foreign youth, and so have created a host of wonderful programs! in the tour buddy program, taiwanese college students are trained and volunteer to be tour guides. this is awesome because college students are way more fun than middle-aged tour guides (no offense to them), the tours are one on one, and because these tours are free! when i got to the longshan mrt station, i found out that my tour buddy had also brought 4 of her classmates! they were so much fun and so sweet (picture)...hanging out with them turned out to be one of my most memorable experiences during my 3 week trip! the tour began at the longshan temple in wanhua, where the tour buddies showed me one of the more famous temples in taiwan, and explained a lot of its history and the cultural and religious practices in the temple. then we went to the nearby huaxi street tourist night market ("snake alley"), where you can eat snake and baby alligators and such. it was still afternoon when we went, so there wasn't a whole lot of activity, but we were still able to see some animals: snakes, baby alligators, etc. the tour was coming to a close, but i found out that the tour buddies were college students from taoyuan, which meant that to meet me in taipei they had taken a 45 minute train ride, so they planned on spending the rest of the day hanging out in taipei. i was 臉皮厚 and invited myself into the rest of their day!

...and this is where the tour really started! first they took me to eat shaved ice. then i found out they were going to go check out the chiangkaishek memorial, a place i have gone to a million times, but truly enjoy every time. it is a really nice, open, relaxing space in the middle of busy taipei! AND, i haven't seen it since it went through its name change and some other ridiculous changes in decor, due to politics of course. we went to chiangkaishek memorial, took pictures and saw the ridiculous kites that are hung in front of chiangkaishek as he sits in his memorial hall. next stop was dinner and the tour buddies decided to take me to taiwan storyland, which is next to the taipei main station mrt stop. this basement space is a mini-neighborhood that has been decorated to represent taiwan from the 50's to the 70's. the entrance fee is 180NT (~$6), but then you get 180 taiwan storyland dollars to spend in the "museum". inside are old streets, food stalls, restaurants, a movie theater, a school room, a police station, barber shop, dentist, western medicine, eastern medicine, a pub, little shops, games, and many more things i can't remember, all 50's-70's style. we ate at the food stalls; i had an oyster omelet. then we were walking around and one of the tour buddies had stopped to eat at this non-impressive looking food vendor that just had all these big dry buns hanging on his cart. but then we all tried some of what she got...and omg...it was SO GOOD! first the guy drizzles sweetened condensed milk in your bowl, then he puts in the big bun (which is really a flaky basically hollow pastry bun with a little sugary filling inside), then he drizzles more condensed milk on top, then he adds some hot water to the bowl, and then you eat it! i found out a lot of taiwanese people don't even know about this, but it tastes amazing! apparently it's called 牛奶碰餅 (niu nai peng bing) or i also heard it called 疏餅 (shu bing). after eating we explored the various streets and scenes in the museum, bought some souvenirs of candies, and played some games with our left over money. we played a very rudimentary pinball game! and we also all bought tiny diy models of famous places in taiwan! i have yet to start mine, but i'll post when i finish ;) then it was pretty late, so i headed back to shilin on the mrt and they took a train back to taoyuan...hopefully they didn't have class too early on monday morning!

WORTH SEEING: chiangkaishek memorial, taiwan storyland

WORTH EATING: salty soy milk, shaobing youtiao, hotpot, 牛奶碰餅 (niu nai peng bing)

full set of pictures at picasa!

day1: shilin traditional market, jinshan, yangmingshan

saturday, 3/29/2008

i left minnesota thursday morning, arrived in taiwan (and finally shilin, where my relatives live) late friday night, couldn't sleep at all that night, and saturday morning the activities on my trip came to an official start!

first thing on my agenda was having a bowl of salty soy milk. my cousin walked me through the shilin traditional market and then to the nearest breakfast shop. salty soy milk is one of my favorite foods! it's a bowl of hot soy milk (unsweetened) and then they add salt, a little vinegar, sesame oil, little dried shrimp, salted dried daikon, green top onion, spicy oil, etc. but the soy milk looks curdled, i think from the vinegar. don't let the curdled look stop you from drinking the most delicious soy milk ever!!

anyway, back home, and then my uncle came and he, his gf, my cousin, my grandpa, and i, went to taiwan's north coast area to see the little cubby, in a big tower of cubbies, where my grandma's ashes are stored. then winding through more and more traffic on the way to jinshan, we passed a zongzi (sticky rice and meat wrapped in bamboo leaves) shop in sanzhi, liu jia's zongzi, which is supposed to be well known. it was like a dozen small zongzi for 100NT (~$3)! the sticky rice was made perfectly so that each rice was it's own self, and not smashed together and merged with each other. i'm not a huge sticky rice fan, but the zongzi were made well enough that it was still worth eating. (i hate wasting stomach space and calories on bad food in taiwan, because i know i only have 3 weeks worth of eating!) then to jinshan youth activity center for lunch (the zongzi was a snack, hehe), which is my grandpa's routine. i had a drumstick and rice set, definitely NOT worth eating. from jinshan we wound through more traffic and stopped at these docks on the north coast. there was a lot of rapid water there, i think from an energy plant or something, i don't remember. there were people selling kites and snacks: grilled squid, fish balls on a stick, ...corn dogs (didn't expect that). also there was this scooper truck thing that i thought was really cute! it looked like a little dinosaur as it scooped trash and debris on the beach. and then we wound up yangmingshan. there we ate at a food stall on the side of the road, not that we were the least bit hungry. the bamboo shoot soup and the fried taro and fried sweet potato (picture) were SO GOOOOOD! especially the fried taro and fried sweet potato, which were lightly battered before they were fried. then we just turned around and wound back down the mountain because everyone was tired. next time i'm definitely going to go to yangmingshan by myself so i can see a few things other than just food.

then back home, at which point i was asked, "you want to have some dinner?" i was like, "o god, save me!" instead my uncle walked me to the mrt stop and back so i could learn my way. then i chatted with my other cousin, who didn't come with us. she has a table full of snacks in her room. and even though i was still beyond full, the snacks were just too cute!! she had taiwanese, japanese (she was the cousin who gave me those amazing japanese crackers i posted about before), and even american snacks (can you believe she loves snyder's pretzels?!). i chose a bag of taiwanese chips that she says are a staple for every tawainese kid. the chips are called "lucky" and are in the shape of hearts, spades, clubs, and diamonds! and are SO TASTY! then i finally had my first (although short) night of sleep.

at the end of every post, i will include a "worth seeing" and a "worth eating" section. almost everything on my trip was worth it, but the stuff i list at the end are high recommended and should not be missed!

WORTH EATING: salty soy milk, yangmingshan bamboo shoot soup and fried taro and fried sweet potato

full set of pictures at picasa!

ktv

i can only say, going to ktv is about the funnest thing i've ever done.

trip

i'm leaving for taiwan in less than 12 hours!

my plan is to take notes on where i went, how i got there, what was fun, what i ate. also documented with pictures. it will be a series of posts when i get back.

...unless i get lazy.

we the living

this is why i want to be a doctor:

"Comrade Commissar, you see, I love him. And he is sick. You know what sickness is? It's something strange that happens in your body and then you can't stop it. And then he dies. And now his life--it depends on some words and a piece of paper--and it's so simple when you just look at it as it is--it's only something made by us, ourselves, and perhaps we're right, and perhaps we're wrong, but the chance we're taking on it is frightful, isn't it? They won't send him to a sanatorium because they didn't write his name on a piece of paper with many other names and call it a membership in a Trade Union. It's only ink, you know, and paper, and something we think. You can write it and tear it up, and write it again. But the other--that which happens in one's body--you can't stop that. You don't ask questions about that. Comrade Commissar, I know they are important, those things, money, and the Unions, and those papers, and all. And if one has to sacrifice and suffer for them, I don't mind. I don't mind if I have to work every hour of the day. I don't mind if my dress is old--like this--don't look at my dress, Comrade Commissar, I know it's ugly, but I don't mind. Perhaps, I haven't always understood you, and all those things, but I can be obedient and learn. Only--only when it comes to life itself, Comrade Commissar, then we have to be serious, don't we? We can't let those things take life. One signature of your hand--and he can go to a sanatorium, and he doesn't have to die. Comrade Commissar, if we just think of things, calmly and simply--as they are--do you know what death is? Do you know that death is--nothing at all, not at all, never again, never, no matter what we do? Don't you see why he can't die? I love him. We all have to suffer. We all have things we want, which are taken away from us. It's all right. But--because we are living beings--there's something in each of us, something like the very heart of life condensed--and that should not be touched. You understand, don't you? Well, he is that to me, and you can't take him from me, because you can't let me stand here, and look at you, and talk, and breathe, and move, and then tell me you'll take him--we're not insane, both of us, are we, Comrade Commissar?"

Ayn Rand, We the Living, Part ONE, Chapter XVI

facebook

i'm thinking about deactivating my facebook (can that be done?).