So now that I've had my first vacation that involved leaving Korea, I've got some ideas of what to do differently next time. First off, I'll leave right after work on Friday. The whole getting-up-at-3:30 am to catch the bus at 4 thing was for the BIRDS! I was not getting to sleep before 1am that night anyway, so I was traveling on 2 hours of sleep. I did travel with just a backpack and a smaller bag for my passport. That actually went well. I am THAT good. As for getting back, I'll come back a day before my vacation actually ends, that way I'll have a good 24 hours to relax, sleep, do laundry, all that stuff that you have to do after a vacation.
That being said, it was a good trip. We hit Taiwan first, so naturally I'll start there. We had some hiccups with catching the bus to the airport, but the important thing is that we made it. The airport buses are friggin' LUXURIOUS! Big seats, reclining, leg rests, the whole 9 yards. The bus took us straight to Incheon airport.
Me waiting at the gate.
We had a bit of a walk to get to Jeju air, and we found that we needed to actually talk to a person to check in. That was ok because T had to check a bag. Then it was thru security (didn't have to take off my shoes, that was nice) and to the gate. We were a bit early, but we were also enjoying the wifi before we left and would be unsure of the wifi situation. The lady at Jeju air put us in the exit row, and asked if we prefer the window or the aisle. I like the window, T likes the aisle. So we sat that way. Turns out, their seats are 3 to a row - and no one sat between us! It was nice. I didn't sleep on the plane, but I did enjoy reading my kindle and relaxing.
So we land in Taiwan, get thru security, and head to the train.
They have a train that connects the airport and Taipei Main Station. We got a token for the train that day and one for the return trip. When we got to Taipei Main Station, we purchased a 72 hour train pass. We could use the metro, unlimited, for 72 hours. We ended up needing to purchase another one since we were there for more than 72 hours, but if you're ever in Taipei, I recommend this. Then we headed to the hostel. It took a bit to find, and it started raining, so after a while we just took a taxi. T was smart and had printed out the instructions along with the address written in Chinese. The taxi dropped us at UZ Hostel.
My capsule
An Asian toilet... they had 2 Western ones.
Showers - so clean, so nice, such great water pressure!
The hostel was a capsule hostel, so we slept in our own little capsules. It was really nice, except the A/C in the capsules wasn't great, so we had to sleep with the door a little open. Also, the people we were sharing the room with were kind of inconsiderate. A lot of making noise when they didn't need to (as in too darn late at night). It was CRAZY how clean the place was, though. The bathroom was nice, the showers were clean, the bedding was clean - it was incredible.
Taiwanese money - it was all considered dollars. No actual change. So it was insane - water was $25.
$100 was basically $3 in American money.
I just realized I forgot to tell you about the church! So I went to Mass on Sunday. I googled the church, because of course you do that, and I found one that had an English Mass at 11. So I walked to the church. It was pretty easy to find, which was nice. I walked in and a nice lady told me that the chapel was behind the altar. I wandered around a bit before I realized that she literally meant that the alter was kind of in the middle and behind the altar was a small area with about 5 rows of chairs. I was the first one there, so they asked if I would read the first reading. Me being me, I said yes. The priest came over to say hello and tell me that after Mass there would be lunch served in the back. I thanked him, told him I was from the US visiting from Korea and he got kind of excited when I told him that I was an English teacher.
Front of the church - Church of the Chinese Martyrs.
The smaller altar behind the main altar.
The mural that depicts all of the Chinese martyrs who were killed in Taiwan. I meant to look that story up, but still haven't.
To give you an idea of the set-up, this is the main altar with the smaller one behind it. So about 20 people showed up for the English Mass. It was really nice. Afterwards I did join the parish for lunch. It was great, they had pizza, some kind of Taiwanese dish, and a cassava thing from the Philippines.
They didn't tell me until after I ate it that cassava is actually poisonous! LOL. So this was a really nice experience. They asked if I'd be a parishioner, but I told them that I was going to have to leave by Wednesday. I met a lady who is the career counselor for a Dominican International School there in Taipei, and she told me that they always need English teachers, so she encouraged me to apply there. Most of the people that I met were actually from the Philippines, which was interesting. I've been thinking about applying ever since. I still like Korea, but Taiwan was BEAUTIFUL and it was nice there, and in the winter it might be great. LOL. So I finished lunch and then headed back to meet up with T and see what we were going to do next.
One of the temples we decided to see - it was built by 2 people - the front is different than the back.
Such amazing detail.
The temple was amazing on the inside... so much incense.
I loved this wall - the dragons are 3D.
Yay for lilies in the street!
Taiwanese bakeries are awesome, and the FOOD! So good!!!
Night market food.
Such great food! We went to a different night market every evening to have street food and experience the area.
Me at the market - it was SO HOT and HUMID. Also this is one of the tank tops that was sadly left behind when we left.
Dessert - milk ice, covered with sweet milk and fruit or chocolate, or red beans... or an egg, apparently.
WE went with the mango - this was invented in Taiwan, so we had to have it here. SO good!!
This... we were not brave enough to try... WHY the EGG!? WHY?!?!?!
T chilling' waiting for the metro... there was a lot of waiting for the metro or the bus or the metro or the bus. LOL.
Also, I found my whiskey ;) So this was the end of our first full day in Taiwan. The next day we decided to go to a waterfall.
I love their bus stops!
We went to the 'Niagara Falls of Taiwan' - Shifen falls. To get there we took a bus and went up into the mountains. The views were AMAZING - Taiwan is a BEAUTIFUL country.
Me at the bus stop - it was the end of the line.
We had to check out the museum of the indigenous people. The Atayal. The best thing about this museum was the fact that they are famous for a kind of pepper. It's called Wulai Atayal Museum. It was so cool to see! Also, how about this grasshopper?
They're famous for a kind of pepper. Here's some other things that they make with it.
Weapons.
Face tattoos. So they're a cultural thing that seems to be dying out. How the ink took would determine how marriageable the woman was.
Also, they were head hunters.
Heads.
I got a pinapple cake and pork jerky made with their special pepper - Maqaw. It has a great flavor - kind of citrusy and amazing. I really want to save it for people but it's not going to make it home... the jerky is AMAZING!
How they get married. Hehe.
On our way to the cable cars to go up to the top of the waterfall. Again, it was a super hot and humid day. Thank God for putting my hair back!
The waterfall.
Me at the waterfall.
And dreamcatchers. :)
On the way to the cable car. There were a LOT of stairs up to this point. We also really needed some A/C, but there was only fans.
How cute is this?!?
Where we just were before the cable car.
Monkeys!
Such a beautiful place.
WE SAW MONKEYS!!!! So many monkeys!!!
I also had ice cream.
We also got an... interesting... drink. That is a gelatin-like substance, that was put into the cup, and served over ice. You not only drank the liquid, you also drank the gelatin.
I think the syrup was sweetener.
It was good.
And me again - this was downriver from the waterfall.
A night trip to another temple was in the work.
Look how awesome the details are!!
And so many flowers - I had to take a pic of my fav.
More amazingness.
A great fountain.
This is soooo funny!!! Hehehe
Also, they had frogs and fish at the night market. It was soooo weird to see.
So we had food - it was like mongolian grill, only cheaper and made on the street. It was wonderfully cheap, too!!
More of the food on the street.
DUMPLINGS! Also made on the street - so good!
And I found decently priced mangos. Pre-sliced and amazing!
This was the end of day 2. Frankly, there was a ton of stuff we saw/did that isn't making it to the blog. Reasons include: 1) it's all a blur so I'm not sure what happened when, and 2) I don't want to bore the crap outta you. So that's the first couple of days. I'll do the rest of the Taiwan stuff later. I figure 2 posts in 1 week for Taiwan, same for Japan, then I'll fill you in on Busan (last weekend) and this weekend we are taking a nerdy trip to the Korean National Library, hit up my favorite used booked stores, and have some FOOD!
Sorry this took so long for me to get to, but thanks for your patience.
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