一剪梅 (A Spray of Plum Blossoms)

I previously wrote about my time in Borneo and I mentioned a song that I heard while eating breakfast at a hotel at the foot of Mt. Kinabalu. The tune was mesmerizing and beautiful. The traditional Gu Zheng (古箏)combined with violin and drums left an impression on me. I have seen few things as beautiful as the landscape that morning in the jungles of Borneo. The music, perhaps to a western ear, sounded like sweet, and yet stereotypical, Chinese music. But for an American travelling Asia, it fit the bill.

Fast forward two months later, in Rao He night market. I was with a Taiwanese friend and this song just happened to be playing at a music vendor we were walking by. I recognized the song instantly, although the instruments and tempo was different. My friend recognized it instantly as a classic Taiwanese song from the late 60's. So much for my thoughts that it was probably 2,000 years old. Apparently it is a very popular song amongst the older generation, but also a classic amongst today's youth as well.

I've decided that I'm going to learn this song. It will be my third song, but I think it will be my favorite. It's the kind of song that I could wip out at any restaurant with a karaoke machine and totally impress the locals. Of the other two songs I've already learned, one is a kids song, and the other, while a contemporary Taiwanese song, isn't exactly the kind of song I could see myself singing (Shero, by S.H.E.). Think Kelly Clarksonesque. I only learned it because the grammar and vocabulary is simple. Still, most younger Taiwanese are blown away if I even sing a few lines. I can't wait to see the look on the old timer's faces when I bust this one out.

A few links for various versions of the song

http://www.petalia.org/Songs/flash/hoamai.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6HpyAHXLco
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDJbBcskBsY

More Sabah

After our excursion to Mt. Kinabalu, we headed back to Kota Kinabalu to regroup. Vacationing in the tropics wouldn't be complete without some beach action, so we decided to take a boat to the nearby islands. We decided to go to Mamutik island because it had the best reviews from most people we talked to. To get to the island, we had to take a boat along with about ten other people. The weather was beautiful and the boat ride was really fun. It felt good to be on the water again.

When we arrived at Mamutik, the beach was packed with people. We were planning on camping out and we were a bit disappointed, but at 4PM when the last boat left for the mainland, we were the only people left on the island. Aside from five local staff, we had the run of the entire island to ourselves. The snorkeling was simply amazing. This part of Borneo is world famous for the quality of it's coral, but having never snorkeled in the tropics, I had nothing to compare it to. I don't have an underwater camera, but it was beautiful. My favorite part was bringing bread out into the coral and letting it go. Hundreds of fish would swarm all around you, trying to get their share of the food. It was a wonderful experience.

We went back to KK the next day in the early afternoon. The week was starting to wind up, so we decided that we had to go out to the bar at least one night. In case you don't know, because of the large Muslim population, alcohol is highly taxed in Malaysia. Borneo is nothing like the party free for all that can be found in Thailand. With that being said, there are some bars to be found. We first went to a place called The Cock & Bull...It was easily one of the worst bars I've been to in my life. It didn't take long for us to try another spot, Cocoon, and this one was much more fun. We stayed out late, drinking Johnny Walker with some local students, listening to a live band playing every cliched cover you've ever heard.

With that, I had one more day in KK. Tyler and I bummed around town for most of the day, catching a movie (for only $1.25) and spending lots of time at the arcade. Tyler is machine when it comes to Tekken. My flight back to Taipei left at 7AM, so another English teacher from Taiwan who was staying at our hostel and I shared a cab to the airport.

Overall, the trip was awesome and I couldn't have asked for more, except for some decent weather on the mountain. While the party scene is much more scaled back than other southeast Asian countries, the outside activities were top notch. Most people spoke English, and those that didn't spoke some Chinese, so communicating wasn't a problem.

Sabah, Borneo

It's been a while since I've written anything here. That's a shame. I've been quite busy, so it's not for a lack of topic that I haven't written. I think it's that it's difficult to put into words the daily experience of life overseas. The sights and smells, the tastes, and the emotions are all so different and indescribable and yet become so mundane within only a few months or even weeks. I'll try to slowly bring you all back up to speed over the next week. So first things first.

My trip to Borneo was amazing. I met up with a good friend there and we spent the whole week exploring jungles and beaches. He had been traveling throughout southeast Asia and was finishing up his trip in Borneo.

I came in on a Saturday morning and the first thing I noticed was that IT WAS HOT! Kota Kinabalu is only a stone's throw from the equator and it felt like it. I immediately began sweating as soon as I stepped off the plane, and I didn't stop until I finally got back to my apartment in Taipei! Because of the temperature and the flora,Taiwan a tropical feel, especially the further south you go. But Taiwan was nothing compared to Borneo. With lizards, palm trees, and giant bugs everywhere, there was no doubt that I was no where near the temperate climate I had grown up in.

The food in KK was amazing and quite cheap, although nothing compared to the prices I've been told you can get in other SE Asian countries. I only had one lousy meal the whole week. The city itself is pretty boring. The city center was pretty compact and had a few shopping centers. Centrepoint was had a few good arcades and a dirt cheap movie theater. Tyler and I ended up watching to films and spending more than a few hours playing Tekken. The Wisma Merdeka was a brand new shopping mall that is brand new but only about 1/5 full. A strange thing about KK is that they had more than a few Kenny Rogers Roasters. If you've ever seen Seinfeld, then you know the place. I had no idea it was actually a real place though.

Tyler and my first trip was to Mount Kinabalu. We took a minibus to a town near the moutnain. On the way we met to middle age, married hipsters, traveling throughout Asia. They were originally from Pennsylvania. When we arrived at the town ,Kundasang, I felt like we were going to be in for a boring night. It felt like a logging community on the far fringes of civilization. Big trucks driving up and a down a 'highway' that was little more than a dirt road. Luckily, quite a few people spoke English, so we were able to get some food and realize that the town was not exactly where we wanted to stay for the night. The chicken soup we ate was delicious...some of the best I've had in a long time. It may have been the fact that we had been up all morning and afternoon, only eating fruit and granola.

We hitched a ride with some guy who was heading back towards the mountain. Hitchhiking was pretty easy. Although we only had to go 2km but we had to pay about $2. What a rip off! We stayed at a cheap hotel that was about 1.5 km from the entrance of the National Park. The room was frugal, with shared facilities, but since we were the only guests in that particular building, I only had to share with Tyler. We just relaxed the rest of the night, reading and watching a movie. We had a big day ahead of us and we needed our rest.

We woke up in the morning at sun up, maybe around 6:45AM. The hotel made something that resembled an English breakfast...but failed miserably. Although it was unimpressive, it was food so we scarfed it down and drank the free coffee while they prepared our box lunch.

The hotel was situated on the edge of a cliff and I took this time to really soak in the beauty of the place. The staff was kind enough to have a soundtrack to the beginning of our adventure up the great mountain. During the entire breakfast, the haunting sound of the traditional Chinese flute and lute filled the air. It was enchanting and, looking out over the beautiful Kundasang valley, I was really thankful for the experience.

(although the music uses some modern instruments, and thus wasn't quite 'traditional', I made sure to write down the address so you can hear exactly what I heard - Hoa Mai )

I promise I will make a new post tomorrow, but for now, we'll treat this as a two parter...

Borneo Excursion #1

I'm currently in Kota Kinabalu, the capital of Sabah. Sabah is a Malaysian state in Borneo. I'll write more about the trip in the coming days, but for now, check out this blog. At the hostel I'm staying at, I met this interesting guy who is here studying ants. Here's the blog.

http://www.antweb.org/borneo.jsp

Cheers 乾杯

Great artist in Taiwan

My friend Kananji was recently featured in a story at Waakao. He's one of the most talented artists I've met here in Taiwan, and I know more than a few. Add him on facebook and listen to his tracks, and if you live in Taiwan, check him out sometime.

Taiwan Adventure Volume 5 - Kenting

What happened here? I posted this earlier but...well it didn't post. Without further ado, here is the wrap up of the Taiwan Adventure.

After a less than spectacular time in Taitung, I was excited to make my first appearance ever in Kenting. Kenting is billed as one of the most beautiful places in Taiwan, and certainly one of the best beaches. Unfortunately, the weather continued to be awful during my stay in Kenting. On Thursday, for a few hours around noon, the sun came out. Other than that, the weather was only cloudy and rainy. Despite this, I had a great time.

I first arrived in Kenting around 4 in the afternoon and met up with my friend Tim. We went to a campsite that had a "music festival" I use quotations because there were a maximum of 50 people at the concert. I had a great time though and met some cool people. The music was good trance and house all night long.

The Campsite



Two Taiwanese girls selling homemade bags

The next day we got a fresh start and headed down to the southern most point in Taiwan (最南點). The campsite we stayed at was a great location. My friends Lucas and Iain, along with his family, came down as well. Other than exploring around a bit, we didn't do too much on Wednesday. We all went to a Thai restaurant, which I wasn't impressed with, and then I rented a scooter. Renting a scooter is essential when in Kenting. I thought I could get by using cabs or buses, but they just can't be found outside of the town of Kenting, and when you can find one, they aren't cheap.

After a long night of sitting in front of the campfire, I woke up early and headed to town to get some coffee, gas and some breakfast. When I came back, everyone was up and watned to head into town for breakfast. I took this chance to explore the beach. At this part of the coast, there is no sound. It's all rock that has been weathered away by the waves . What is left is a long stretch of crags and valleys. I took some great pictures and had a great time exploring.

Once everyone came back, we all decided to take a drive along the coast. The drive is beautiful, and would only have been better if the weather was nicer, and I didn't have to drive. Because the road twists and turns along with the coast, I didn't have much time to take in the scenery while driving. We stopped at a few places along the way, but halfway through our drive, it started to drizzle so we didn't get to do all we wanted. I did get to stop at a really interesting bluff, overlooking the coast. The winds were so strong that you could stand at the edge of the bluff and lean out over the ocean with the winds keeping you from falling off. The landscape was so amazing, I just can't wait to go back.

After all that I decided it was time to head back to Taipei. I left with Tim and Lucas and went to Taichung. I took the HSR...I really love that train. It's so fast and you don't have to deal with any of the annoyances of air travel. Although I don't mind buses and slower trains, when you want to get somewhere quickly, nothing beats the HSR. I didn't do much in Taichung except rest.

Overall the trip was a wash...entirely because of the weather. I did get to practice speaking Chinese, and even throwing out a few Taiwanese phrases. I met some interesting people, and had some experiences that I will remember forever, so it wasn't all a loss. This was the first time, though, that I've ever had a vacation ruined by weather.

While in Kenting, I only had 2 people compliment my Chinese ability, I can only the reason for this being that they see plenty of foreigners coming in and out. So, the final tally is

Keelung - 7
Hualien - 6
Taitung - 4
Kenting - 2

Taiwan Adventure Volume 4 - Taitung

Wheeew, after a long few days I'm finally back at the keyboard. With a dead phone, and limited access to a computer, it's been tough to stay connected to civilization.

First, after a great time in Hualien, I headed to Taitung 台東. I don't have much to say about Taitung, other than that it is a dirty and ugly city filled with dirty and ugly people. Unless you plan on heading to Green Island or Orchid Island, or you are using the city as a staging point for seeing the rest of the countryside, don't go.s

With that being said, the countryside between Hualien and Taitung is impressive. It was the only place I've ever been in Taiwan where it really looked like farmland. Large fields, and sparse population really had me feeling nostalgic for home. One thing I noticed about the farmers in this area was that they seem to be much more well off than farmers elsewhere in Taiwan. I saw plenty of large, new houses, and nice new cars.

I only had 4 people compliment my Chinese ability so that brings the tally to

Keelung - 7
Hualien - 6
Taitung - 4

Taiwan Adventure Volume 3 - Hualien

Following yesterday's disastrous weather I was less than optimistic about my chances for a great visit on my first trip to Hualien. So when I opened the window this morning to find the sun shining brightly...let's just say it was a great start to the day. On the way to Ba Du八都 train station the Taxi driver told me I spoke Chinese very well, so that brings the tally in Keelung to 7.

The train ride was decidedly less breathtaking then I had expected, although I was able to take in a few impressive views of the ocean. In some places the strip of land separating the ocean from the mountains can't be more than 200m and yet the Taiwanese were able to build multiple train tracks and a highway along the coast.

I'm staying at the Formosa Backpacker's Hostel & Bar. It's a nice enough place with friendly staff.

During the afternoon I mostly walked around the city and along the coast. There is construction taking place along the beach, so the view in some places was little more than a corrugated metal panel. Needless to say I decided not to rent a bike and ride along the metal walled bike path. After what was a fairly uneventful afternoon I headed back to the hostel for a quick nap, after which I headed for a night at the night market.

The Night Market was great fun, albeit a bit packed. The only problem was that there wasn't a large variety of food choices. And it was all the same stuff I can eat in Taipei. Luckily I was able to find a niu pai 牛排 place. A niu pai is essentially a grade C quality beef steak served on a hot iron skillet with noodles, an egg, and a generous helping of black pepper sauce. While niu pais can be found all over Taiwan, they are suspiciously lacking in Taipei. They are also delicious and this place didn't let me down. I ended up talking to the boss, Mr. Chen 陳先生, who was a really friendly man.

He told me about his grandfather who came from Japan to work in the gold mines at Jiu Fen and ended up staying because he met a local Taiwanese woman. He also told me about his travels to South Africa, which sounded like a great memory for him. I wasn't able to understand everything he said, but I understood enough and it felt really gratifying that I am able to now have these experiences with everyday Taiwanese people that would never have been possible if I couldn't speak Chinese.

I finished the night by sitting on a bluff overlooking the city and ocean, watching fireworks blasting from all sounds. Someone was preiodically releasing chinese lanterns into the sky, which I would watch as they floated off into the foggy night sky. Overall, Hualien was great and I can't wait to come back.

Tomorrow I head to Taitung at 10AM. I'm not sure what I'll find, but I'd like to check out a farm. Who knows...

And before I forget, I received a total of 6 Chinese compliments in Hualien, but two people also told me they thought I learned to speak in Beijing...I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult.

Keelung - 7

Taitung - 6

Taiwan Adventure Volume 2 - Keelung

Well, the first day of my grand vacation has been mixed. Everything went smoothly, which is a plus. My hotel was easy to find. I was able to get a seat on a train, so I won't have to stand all the way to Hualien. But, it rained the entire day. I wanted to hike up a mountain to get a view of the vity, and I would have if the rain was a bit lighter. But I just couldn't take the risk.

My hotel is right next to a famous night market in Keelung. I figured that since Keelung is a port city, I should eat some of the local seafood specialties. I ordered some Pang Xie Geng 螃蟹羹, a thick soup made with bamboo shoots, mushrooms, and crab. The soup was ok but the crab was delicious...succulent even. I also had some oil rice 油飯, basically rice cooked with special oils, and mushrooms.

Also, while eating my food, my friend suggested I count how many times I am told that I speak Chinese so well. As of now, Keelungians have told me six times. We'll see how the other cities stack up. Tomorrow I depart for Hualien at 10AM. I'm hoping that once I get further down the coast, the weather starts being a bit more friendly.

Taiwan Adventure, Volume 1

It's time for my big adventure to start. I'll be leaving shortly for the train station and will head to Keelung. After Keelung, I'll continue down the coast until I reach the very southern tip of Taiwan, Kenting. After Kenting, I'll turn north and head back up to Taipei on the west coast. I'm excited and optimistic, although the weather could certainly make the trip worse. I'll be posting a blog update every evening, so check back.

Hotel Party

Being one of the most densely populated places on the planet, space is at a premium in Taiwan, particularly in the cities. Because of this, some of the things that I always took for granted in Minnesota are done much differently here. One of these is the way in which any sort of get together is done.

Most people live in relatively small apartments. While they generally aren't dingy or run down, and can comfortably fit a family, homes just aren't equipped for large gatherings. So, Taiwan is filled with places that cater to people who just want to hang out with their friends or family. KTVs are hugely popular. At restaurants it is common to sit at the table for hours and hours.

Of course, this presents a big problem for young people. Most people live with their parents until they are married. And if they do get their own apartment, it's generally not a place conducive to large gatherings. So, there are many hotels that cater to young people who want to party with their friends. I went to just such a place last weekend in a suburb of Taipei called Zhong He, 中和. It was a birthday party, and the hotel was very nice. It was more like a townhome than a traditional hotel room. Inside there was a huge TV, equipped with karaoke of course. We had a great time and the other foreigners I was with are already planning our own party. Now if we could only find a place with a decent selection of American songs!





Also, I came across this place while looking for some pancakes the other day. A pretty funny building.

Back in Action

After a long Hiatus, I'm back. And I'm back with a new commitment to regular posting. It will happen. It's been a few months, and I have a lot of things to talk about, but I'll address them all in reverse. So, yesterday, I went on a field trip to Wulai 烏來. It's a picturesque community in the mountains south of Taipei. It's famous for it's hot springs it is a busy weekend and day trip location outside of Taipei.

My class went to Yun Xian Park 雲仙樂園, which is a resort high up in the mountains, only accessible by a cable car. Our class was given a tour, on which we learned about some aboriginal culture, as well as some of the local flora and fauna. The resort was certainly geared towards families, but because of the season, most of the fun thigns were shut down.

I had a pretty good time, but I always thought my first trip to Wulai would be more on my own terms. I have visited the area around Wulai, but I had never actually been to the town.


A match made in heaven.


I caught Annie by surprise