Taiwan -- Last Shot

Two Ways

It's the 26th now and I'm in Kochi, Japan. But looking back for a moment, on the 21st I had an interesting conversation with Victor about values. In Taiwan, he said, it's considered more important to be practical and efficient than to look good. Inky's apartment is a good example. From the street, you enter a battered metal door. You walk up four flights of old stone stairs. The paint is flaking off the walls and it doesn't look particularly clean. But once you reach the apartment door, inside everything is very nice. The walls are freshly and tastefully papered, the floor is recently tiled, the bathroom is nicer than most in Canada. From the outside, you would never know. Restaurants are often the same way. They don't look so hot... but the food is really good. So in some ways, Taipei city doesn't look good. But as Victor says, it is still a very nice city--very convenient. Everything is cheap, and often of good quality under the surface grime. Practical concerns are more important than appearances.

In Japan, appearance is valued more--and I have to guess that it outweighs practicality, based on the waiter I saw sweeping the sidewalk in front of his establishment in Tokyo. Partly it means everything takes a lot more effort, and partly it means everything is a lot more expensive.

Victor's perception of Western countries is that we succeed in taking care of both practicalities and appearances, and wondered how that works. My response was that it's essential to maintain appearances. It's impossible to attract customers without looking good, so businesses are forced to do so. But Canada appears to still maintain balance in terms of effort and cost.

I'm not sure--do we really do both in Canada? How/why?

Calla Lilies in bloom

We drove through the village of Juhzihu last Friday, in the middle of calla lily season. The area was full of calla lily farms, often u-pick-em style, and we had lunch in a tiny restaurant decorated with dozens of lilies.

See also: tonnes of new photos on my flickr page.

I am a Motorbike Babe

This weekend we went four hours via (slow) train to Hualien county, on the east coast of Taiwan. The trip was stunningly beautiful--we went mostly along the coast, and it was mountainous and incredible. In Hualien, we did a number of things--we went to see Liyu Lake (which is named after carp, because it is shaped like one), we went to a night market, we drove up into the mountains to Taroko National Park and saw many beautiful things. All these I will post images of later. The pertinent detail is only this: yesterday, from Hualien City to Liyu Lake, we rode motorbikes.

I have never been so scared in my life.

There are three of us--Inky, Victor, and I. Inky and Victor drove, and I clung for dear life behind Victor, no doubt making the whole affair much more difficult by being stiff as a board and freaking out if we went above 30kph--or, rather, freaking out all of the time. But, through a great exercise of sheer will, I managed not to throw myself off of the bike in sheer desperation, and here I am, alive to tell the tale. But really, I much prefer to drive than to be a motorbike passenger.

Yes, I drove! And yes, before you ask, that is illegal, because no, I do not hold a driver's license in any country. But I survived, and Victor survived riding behind me, so even though I only drove on long straight relatively low-traffic stretches, perhaps I have taken a first step towards a place among the many badass motorbike babes of Taiwan. It was awesome!

National Palace Museum

Here I saw a jadeite cabbage and a piece of rock that looks like meat.

.000001% of Taipei's motorcycles

I'm in Taiwan right now!

Kaminari-mon

I went even though it was raining. Kaminari-mon (Thunder Gate), a cool crane parade of some kind I ran into (more on flickr). I know I know, why am I blogging from Tokyo?! I should be out doing stuff. I think I'll take a walk.

1000Y/day in Tokyo

CHAOS!

If all had gone according to plan, I would be on a plane to Taiwan right now. Unfortunately, yesterday it was revealed that my working visa is single-entry... and yes, I knew that before, but somehow I didn't really absorb the fact that that meant "no leaving the country and going back in (unless you have a re-entry permit)." Oops. Alas, immigration offices are closed on weekends, so no re-entry permit for me. I had to cancel the flight, and for now my fingers are crossed for a partial refund or a reschedule from the travel agency, who I can't contact until Monday. Really really oops.

As a result of that situation, I'm learning two new games:

1. Konbini love-love game~!

When I did currency exchange, I was planning for 2 days, not 4. So this morning I had 1000JPY ($10CAD) in my pocket. It's Sunday, so the nearby currency exchange is closed, and my Visa doesn't seem to work in ATMs it should work in. What to do about food? No problem! The kobini (that's katakana for convenience store, for those not in the know) has saved my stomach. Any 7-11 or Lawson or whatever has tons of super cheap food. This morning I ate a 150Y steamed bun, and for lunch I have 200Y seaweed salad in the hostel fridge. That leaves about 600Y for noodles or a bento for supper. Close, but possible... sure can't do THAT in Victoria.

2. Musical beds game!

I'm actually extraordinarily lucky--there are free beds in the hostel both tonight and tomorrow night. They're both different rooms though, so I'm switching dorm rooms every day! And, also lucky, the hostel takes credit cards. Whew.

It's raining today, so my planned photo expedition to Kaminarimon is still on hold. I'll probably go to a nearby (free) craft museum instead.

That This is Real, This is Tokyo Moment

In fact, I had already been in Japan for four hours or so. It didn't happen when I looked out the airplane window and saw Japan for the first time. It didn't happen in the aiport, with all of the signs in Japanese. It didn't happen when a lady in kimono was next at the baggage delivery counter, and no, not when we arrived at the hostel, with its sliding door and vestibule full of shoes. Nor any of the moments between those, on the train, or walking past temples or even the Kaminarimon gates. No, it wasn't until Shibuya.

Kiyo suggested that we go out, if I wasn't too tired, to meet his friend. We took the subway down the whole Ginza line, from Asakusa station to Shibuya station. And it was there, as we left the station: the crosswalks at the corner of Shibuya Centre-gai. Centre-gai itself. The unbelievable masses of people, just crossing the street for no special reason. That was the Tokyo moment.

And then we went to an amazing little restaurant; we had to duck to get in the door, it appeared tiny from the street. But we went down, around, down, me thinking all this time "Well, this is the end of it then," three sets of three wide steps lined with tables, and there under the ground was the real centre of the restaurant. So cool.

And then I took the subway back to the hostel by myself, my first night in Tokyo out after midnight.

A fortuitous beginning indeed.