Taoyuan Week's End

Another hectic half-week began in Taoyuan and ended in Tainan, which essentially draws a straight line from Taipei to the south end of Taiwan ("nan" is south).

Day 8: Thurs., 7/3
- Have seen (well, heard) lots of cicadas, but have yet to see a cockroach, despite their infamy.
- Bussed to the 12-story Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. Lesson learned: Department store shopping is really expensive. We ended up shopping 'round the street vendors outside anyway, though it always pays to ask around or check twice for quality out there. (The Taipei Mall was also a lot cheaper, especially the older downstairs shops.)
- Mom flew in, so now I'm no longer on my own in Taiwan.
- Had a headache most of the day...apparently it's unwise to not blow-dry your hair before shutting yourself in with the air conditioner. Something about getting your scalp cold.
- My (rather young) grandaunt visited, leading to a turntable dinner at "Mama's Kitchen," the big highlight of which was the "ten-ingredient rice." The rice is cooked with a bunch of beans and other grains listed on a big poster. Personally, I liked the soup that had bubbletea 'pearls' with bacon.
- The un-highlight was me unknowingly eating the pig's blood dish.
- It's gross.
- Well, it's kind of like tofu.

Day 9: Fri., 7/4
- Went to the government office thing (right around the corner from my grandparents' Taoyuan residence), and got my Taiwan citizen ID. Woo. It involved waiting around a lot, signing my Chinese name, getting photos taken, and paying a couple hundred Taiwan bucks.
- Currently it's about $1 US = $30.4 TN, you do the division. -A calculator's handy to have when shopping, btw, or know your 30's times table really well. Also remember fractions and percentages are opposite; if the sign says "2 zuh" that means 80% off. 3/4 is said " 4 fen zhi 3.)
- Breakfast was takeout from Countryside, which we've eaten at multiple times. It's a nice little breakfast place, with everything from chocolate sandwiches to healthy (and really good) burgers.
- Juice in Taiwan is awesome.
- Fruit in Taiwan is doubly awesome. There are giant fruit markets - I recommend trying everything. Even the usual stuff, like pineapples. Especially that and mangos, if you're there in summer, since those are in season and really, really sweet.
- Took a whole bunch of free buses back to the Taoyuan downtown area, with the big department stores (Tonlin and Shin Kong). Taipei has the best free bus network. Learn the characters for 'free' and go to any bus sign that has it, and you're all set for transportation around the city.
- Biking is also great. The whole "healthy living" slogan is very much the current thing here, so many train systems work to accommodate people bringing bikes on board.
- Bring an eating buddy, go to Tonlin, floor B2 (food court) and get yourself a fresh mango shaved ice. It's worth it. Then go to a market and buy some green mango popsicles...they're already my favorite popsicles ever. They're very much fruity, mango chunks and all.
- Lunch demonstrated the whole "food is cheap" concept firsthand - for 4 people with a bunch of little dishes and 4 main dishes, the bill came to about US $7. This was the Sheng Jia Noodles Restaurant next to IKEA; ambience was a bit lacking, but the food's decent.
- Dinner (the non-stop food thing becomes a bit much at this point; walking everywhere or standing on the free buses - more like hanging on for dear life while the world swerves and brakes - helps.) again at the 'Da si shi' or 'Big Four Like'. Really good 'jiow' dumpling thingers and the little plate of raw papaya with ba-sheng fruit sauce is a new personal favorite.

-Happy July 4 for the U.S.-ers!

Day 10: Sat., 7/5
- Got dropped off by the Taoyuan train station, and ended up at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi again. Had a really good lunch at "Off Time"; for a decent price, we took the "shared main course" option which comes with additional individual salad, soup, appetizer, dessert, and drink for an extra $5 U.S.
- The restrooms in the Shin Kong apparently won quite a few "cleanest restroom" awards. They are well worth a visit; we ended up hanging out in the restroom waiting room because it was so nice.
- Went to a mini outdoor late-night festival; a lot of these are always around, and are usually worth checking out for fun. There's just a bunch of vendors and makes me think of a combined flea market venture and late night snacking.
- Last day in Taoyuan until I return in mid-August.

Day 11: Sun., 7/6
- Got dropped off at the THSR: Taiwan High Speed Rail. It's bullet-train-ish (about 300 km/hr), and the fastest but most expensive mode of long-distance transport in Taiwan, barring planes.
- Free busing is provided to and from the HSR to promote its usage.
- This means if you aren't riding it during rush hour, don't get conned into buying a seat ticket, buy the cheaper 'any free spot' ticket, which is farther down in the train but you'll most likely still get a very comfy seat. It still cost about $30 U.S. for Taoyuan to Tainan, the 2nd to last stop.
- Get a window seat, the scenery is wonderful. It also goes by really fast; crossing half of Taiwan took about 20 mins.

Tip: On public transportation, don't lag. Bus drivers, trains, cars - nobody waits for people to slowly get up, drag their luggage out, and leave a bus. If your stop is next, get to the front of the bus asap, or you may end up on a really long ride to nowhere. Even if you're 90 years old with rheumatism, it's not gonna wait. That said, if you do look 90 you're guaranteed a seat as per the courtesy (younger people automatically lend their seat to the ones that look like they need it), unless the bus is already filled with 90-year-olds, which pretty much did happen on the public bus I was on before.

- Arrival in Tainan, 1:30pm ish.