Having received our fair share of gay jokes in the past week, my French (man) friend, Guilhem, and I went on a bromantic weekend trip to Taipei. It wasn't the most active weekend, but it was a true vacation in that sense.
Also, we both had the great pleasure of meeting old (and new) friends. I was able to have dinner with Alistair (or is it Mr. Grant?), who was my college counselor at Harker. And Guilhem with some Frenchie Friends of his own. We also met a friend of a HK student from Taipei, who gave us a real local's take on Taipei! Without further delay, ladies and gentlmen here is your...
Top 5 Taipei!
5. Body Language Taken to New Levels
Our first experience with Taiwan was on the bus from the Airport to the Central Station. Having made a HK friend from our flight, we weren't too concerned with where we needed to get off, thinking she would help us out. With Guilhem fast asleep and me zoning out, we soon realized we were the only 3 (add the HK lady) left on the bus! First very upset that we had cut into his break time, the bus driver eventually got a kick out of our lack of common sense.
The best part of this adventure was asking the bus driver if we had time to pee while he took a break to smoke. He asked, "Shui Shui, MA" (You need to peepee?). But instead of subtly making a gesture to pee, he uses both hands to hold his imaginary "thing" (ding dong, etc.) and hunches his back. What are you packing down there, bus driver??! Also, the area to "Shui, Shui" was in the cargo--where, obviously, you can't leave your birds (see below).
4. The View from Atop
Taipei 101: The Crown Jewel of Taipei. People here are very proud of this architectural mega-monument. Once the tallest building in the world (thanks a lot, Dubai...), Taipei 101 was cool enough as a super tall building, but much more interesting in feeling the sense of pride Taiwanese felt for their building. Also, an old man next to us farted. I think he was scared of heights.
3. The Lincoln Memorial...of Chiang Kai Shek
You might be thinking..."Oh! How America-centric of Dans!" It's the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial! But, for real...check this guy out! I think it's about time for a side-by-side.
..and Abe. Alright, fine..just ignore the whole marble thing. Can you see it?
2. Do You Smell what the R.O.C. Is Cookin'??!!
Night Markets dominate the after-sunset food scene in Taipei. The largest one, ShiLin Night Market was a maze of food vendors, carnival games, trinket stores, and loads of people. Luckily, we had two locals to help us navigate through the somewhat chaotic market. Highlights of Taiwanese street food are the Oyster Omlette and Stinky Tofu. Wasn't quite brave enough to taste the latter...but man, it stank!!
1. Stumbling upon Gems
While I touted about routine just a few days ago, sometimes the unpredictability of travelling presents the most rewards. After visiting the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, we overheard some loud drumming music and followed it until we ran into a massive indigenous Taiwanese people's parade (I think that's what it was...).
The flamboyant costumes and energy of all the participants was remarkable! It would take pages to recall all the details, but two of the higlights for me were...
1. Green Man (any relation to this guy? or Grass Man from Saigon?) He blew fire!!
2. The Kids. While it now seems a bit creepy that I was taking photos of these kids, they were such troopers!
I've posted hundreds of photos from the parade here.Phew!
Cheers,
Danyal
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