Friday was a betty boop polka dotted shorts and yellow polo kinda day. :) I decided to head over to the 101 building for a sky high view of the city in the morning. It is the second tallest building in the world or something crazy like that! And the elevator goes 89 floors in 37 seconds. Woah is right!
Yes, my ears did pop 2 or 3 times on the way up and down. xD
The view was nice, though kinda hazy. I didn't stay long, as it's just a building with a high view (let's be honest here!), but I did mail my Dad a postcard from there. He now has one from me while in the N.Seoul Tower building and the 101 building. :) I like to think he really enjoys getting little surprises like that when I can.
I made my way back to the hostel to grab some cash before walking down the street to find a quick bite to eat for lunch. I ended up choosing freshly steamed dumplings from a street vendor, and boy am I glad I did! They were delicious and the best dumplings I've ever had! On Nom Nom!!! I also bought some milk tea, but it tasted gross to me sadly. :( After eating on the steps of the subway station, I boarded my first of 3 trains heading towards the coast. It was a 45 minute ride in total, but all above ground offering this great view of the city, mountains and surrounding landscape as we moved. I was in heaven! I listened to my music and snapped photos for the whole ride, taking in the breathtaking scenery. Semi run down buildings stand close together with wide, open streets running between them. Dark, mysterious mountains lie in the distance, half shrouded in storm coulds and fog. It is such a beautiful country really.
I disembarked at the last station and caught the bus to the fishermans wharf. It was a great board walk area with a little bridge and local shops. I strolled along, enjoying the ocean air against my skin again and smiling at the calm joy within. I sat and enjoyed a mango/passion fruit smoothie (yum!) while sketching the bridge into my sketchbook. I then thought, "Well, the sunsets from here are suppossed to be spectacular, and I still have an hour, so let's see if we can find the beach nearby." What the hey right? So, doing what I do best, I start walking. I walked out to the main road, turned left, and walked until I saw a small tiny trail that looked good. After coming away from the trees and bushes, I stumble upon a white sand beach with a stretch of black/grey rocks between the sand and ocean. The water had receeded and you could walk among/on the rocks out to the water. There were maybe 3 or 4 people there, all far away, and I was able to enjoy this isolated beutiful beach during sunset almost completely isolated. It was a dream come true, similar to my field of flowers. Only this wasn't tainted by other people nearby. It was mine, my moment, my space in time to enjoy the beauty of God's work and reflect on how lucky I am. Love captured in a moment. Joy.
I decided after the sun had set to grab a quick meal, snap some photos of the bridge and surrounding area at night before making the journey back home. (It was also at this point that I had to super glue the heel of my shoe back on, as playing on the rocks destoryed it! Woops! xD )
A shower and outfit change later, I'm excitedly exiting the subway and making the short walk to the Friday night dance in Taipei! The directions looked simple enough- walk straight, turn right at the first intersection, and it was on the corner of the second block. Easy pesy right?
Wrong.
I walked to the end of the block, turn right and walk straight. I reach the end of the block, cross the street and continue to the light of the next street. I double check the name of the street, expecting to see the name of the road it's suppossed to be. Red flag! It's not the road I need! I had somehow walked past it. I double back and see a small sign between two buildings, so I follow it around. It's at this point that I take my headphones out and see people milling around in this retaurant type place. I decide to go in and see if maybe that was the location. After wandering around for half a minute looking dazed and confused, I open a door and try to walk into the bar area. A girl stops me and says the dance is NT$350. Yay! I found it!
The lesson wasn't over and I didn't know anyone, so I plopped a seat at the bar, ordered myself an apple juice, and just watched. The lesson ended around 10:15ish, and the live band began. Oh yeah, it was wonderful! I was itching to dance honestly, so when I saw guy standing on the edge of the floor doing some low key charleston moves, I asked him to dance. No one else was dancing, and it was a small room with a small floor. The 9 member band played a semi-fast song for us that lasted probably 5 or 6 minutes, but it was awesome!!! We had the floor to ourselves, and I found out later that he has been dancing for 10+ years. No wonder he was so good and he had moves I didn't know! He asked me to dance again, to which I happily replied yes! That night, when I wasn't dancing, I was talking to someone new who approached me! Way to go Taipei! I meet and talked with more people from the Taipei scene in that single night then I did in the first four months of being at the Seoul swing scene I think. It's a little sad, but Koreans are very shy and nervous to speak in English. That night, the scene celebrated two birthdays, had one semi-jam circle (it only half formed for part of a song, lol), and a random chorus line form which I was part of! While small and young, I would definitely rate this is a must on any dancers travel list. :D
The next day I wandered around a local area that Akira recommended to me, which was really nice. It was simply a downtown local area where kids go to play in water, new bridal couples get photos taken, and river front access with one of the bridges there. I didn't stay long, as I wanted to go to the National Palace Museum, and planned on coming back later. Since it was around 1, I figured it was a good time to grab food. After wandering around, I found a tiny hole in the wall vegetarian place on a back street. Despite it's location, I was surrounded by locals sitting down and served a delicious meal of noodles with veggies and marina type sauce. Yum!
Okay, the National Palace Museum. It houses the largest collection of Chinese art in the world. I will be the first to admit that I am a huge geek for museums. When my ex took me to the Chicago Museum of Art, I was in 7th heaven- literally nearly running from one piece of art to another the entire 3 hours we were there. So naturally, being the nerdy, geeky, museum loving girl I am, I was excited! By day 3 though, my legs were sore from 2 days straight of walking for about 10 hrs/day, and my heels hurt so bad walking down stairs that I limped. Therefore, my ability to stand for long periods of time, and my patience of slowly strolling through a large, crowded museum was near 0. I breezed through that place, WAY faster then I should have! It just didn't have anything I enjoyed as an artist (mostly pottery, glaze work). The few rooms with religious relics and calligraphy were my favorites, and I spent the most time there. There was this crazy long line on the top floor to see some famous jade piece, and when I saw it, I laughed and turned around to start leaving the museum. I was done, and I knew it. While unquestioningly it is an excellent collection, it was not for me. If I had come on a weekday when it was less crowded, I was less tired, I might have enjoyed it more. But alas, I did not. I came on a Saturday at the end of a 3 days straight self-walking tour of Taipei! I rate it highly, but would change when I go next time around. Don't miss the gardens right next to it though, they are simply beautful and a great stroll with to enjoy the fresh air afterwards! I spent a fair amount of time there honestly- what can I say? I love nature!
After a meal at a local restaurant (first sit down meal the entire trip!), some night shots of the bridge and a shower, I collapsed onto the couch and wandered around facebook for a while. I ended my time in Taiwan by enjoying a fun conversation with Akira, a guy from Hong Kong, and a guy from Malaysia! I felt like an intellectual, discussing everything from daily life, language differences, to huge political issues, current events, and our opinions of various countries. You can't experience things like this anywhere else, and I felt very blessed to be able to participate in this modern day salon. People say the US is a melting pot, but I gotta tell ya, I have meet more people from various parts of the world at hostels and international lindy events that I ever have in the US. Truely amazing way to end my time.
Sunday morning I said goodbye to this country, and begin making plans for when I could come back next to visit and teach for a few months. Current list of countries I want to live in: 7. Number I have succeeded in living in: 2 (soon to be 3). :)
Taiwan, I grossly underestimated how amazing you are! I apologize from the bottom of my heart! Sitting on the plan Wednesday evening, all I could think was how I wished the plan was going to Cambodia (that country stole my heart). But now that I have seen and experienced your beauty for myself, I can honestly say that you are the best kept secret I've stumbled across so far. I imagine that there are tons more still to be discovered, but I am patient and they're not going anywhere. No need to rush life.
和平，爱，& 摇摆舞
丽塔
No comments:
Post a Comment