So Long, and Thanks for all the Trips (Taitung, Kaohsiung, and Taipei, Taiwan)
The title of this (final!) blog post on Asia is an homage to Douglas Adam’s last book in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, which I think is a fitting end to my Asian saga. It will be a short post, one for completeness and to symbolize the end of a massive personal project of mine, and a wonderful public journal to look back on as the years go by. Want to check out the other 40-some odd stories that encapsulated my time abroad? Click here.
Taitung
We spent maybe two nights, and there wasn’t much memorable, except for the one pizza place we went to that had a white guy on a banjo, which was quite bizarre for a big Taiwanese town. Lena went to an art installation while I crashed.
Kaohsiung
From Taitung, we took a wonderful scenic train ride to Kaohsiung, which is Taiwan’s second largest city (after Taipei) and is situated the Southeast corner of the island.
We went to another art installation, a big open space with overhauled warehouses and fun contemporary art installations. The art was cool, but most of the place felt like it was a glorified shopping mall, with artsy boutique stores and shops.
Another day, we went snorkeling at the nearby Liuqiu (Leech-ew) Island, taking a fairly large ferry. The good part was that we were snorkeling with 5 or 6 sea turtles. The bad part was the surf was quite rough and rocky, and it was quite difficult to safely make it back to shore. Thankfully, we were able to do so with minimal scratches. Strangely enough, the Taiwanese there were very unhelpful and irritated that we needed help. It was a bummer since the rest of our time in Taiwan was filled with warmth and openness.
Getting back home was also quite the adventure. I’m not sure why, but we decided to take transit instead of an Uber back home, and it all felt like we were in a daze from the rough surf and struggle to get out of it. We found the bus stop on google, but with no clear timetable or schedule, and that bus would take us 45 minutes or so to the southern end of Kaohsiung’s North-South Metro line. Thankfully the bus did come, and the driver was helpful in making sure we knew where we were going. We rode through the suburbs and neighboring towns back up, enjoying the timeless drifting of staring out the window as dusk falls and street lights illuminate the world. A quiet moment of tranquility and peace after a disorienting and tough experience was what we needed as we headed back to the hostel.
Back in Kaohsiung, another fun moment was thanks to our craving of Western Breakfast and my perpetual sweet spot for pancakes with maple syrup. We found a place on google called “The Magic Spoon Brunch House”, and checked it out. It was the shop of a very friendly Canadian expat, who made some mean potatoes, along with comforts of coffee, bacon, and pancakes (with 100% pure maple syrup!). We got to meet some other expats untied by their missing love of Western food, and we liked it so much we returned several days later.
Taipei (and the end)
Heading back to Taipei, we got to take Taiwan’s Bullet Train, which goes from the South to North in just over 90 minutes, including 3 stops. We decided to skip much of the Western part of the country, as there just didn’t seem to be much to do that would be worth the hassle of a stopover. We headed back to the hostel we first stayed at in the city, and spent our time enjoying the last bits of Asian food, culture, and immersion before our 12 hour red-eye to Los Angeles. I made a point to write, write, and write, and got several articles done during that time stretch, which I was very happy to catch up on.
Our last real excursion for the while 7 months involved hiking up the Elephant Mountain to get a stupendous view of the Taipei 101, Taipei Skyline, and even a view of planes taking off and landing at Taipei’s Songshan airport. We caught the tail end of the sunset, and were joined by a host of tourists, both international and local, coming in to soak in views of the formerly tallest-building in the world, one that looks to be a 7-layer cake.
Our very last day of the trip, November 13, 2019, we headed to catch our 11pm flight, I took one last look at all of the formerly-unknown Asian Airlines and destinations, and boarded our China Airlines flight to LA, en route to Portland the following day. One goal I had of mine to finish the trip was to finish the Ken Burns 10-part docu-series on the Vietnam War, which I did so as we flew. Finishing that was a fitting way to end the trip, having irreversibly soaked in seven months of adventures, ideas, challenges, and friendships that will forever change the way I view myself, others, and the country I call home. Whether I decide to write reflections on the trip is for a different day, but as far as I’m concerned, this blog is done, finished, over with, a project that took upwards of 211 days from start to finish and forever a memento of the one of the most important and influential experiences in my life.
To Mom, Dad, Uncle Jimmy, Grandmother, Cousins Lance and Sarah, Lena, Curt, and everyone else who read even 1 article or clicked “like” on Facebook, thank you so much for your support and interest — it has meant the world to me.
To Forrest, Sam, Stuart, Kobi, Michael, Singkham (and friends!), Guus, Max, Tobias, Erik, Ken, Ruby, Thiago, Bjartmar, Erin, Samsul, Marion, Endo, Mochi, Kai, Brandon, Junior, Ralf, the hundreds of stray cats I got to pet, Stu, Tatama, Jake and everyone else I met on the trip, it was such a pleasure to have our lives cross paths and I wish you all the very best in life.
To Lena, thank you for being the best travel partner life could give me. I love you so much and I can’t wait for all the adventures that still await us :).
