Taipei

It has been too long, around two years to be exact. Still, it seems like I remember this place like I live here. The diary commences..

Day 0: The new Eva Air
I was thoroughly impressed by their upgrades. Despite getting only 3 hours of sleep on a 14-hour flight, it didn't seem too bad. Eva's got this new remote control device that allows you to do three things: watch movies at your own pace, play video games, and do interactive stuff like follow the plane's flight progress. You basically have six movies on demand and it allows you to pause, skip, whatever you want. I ended up watching everything except "Paranormal" for obvious reasons. Why would you want to watch that in a plane?

The minute I get to my cousin's I get to see some friends I haven't seen since the last time I was here. I've been in zombie mode for about 5 hours but I don't care. I need to make up for lost time. We walk in the drizzling rain to the night market and I devour two bowls of 米粉湯. If you don't know what that is or can't read it, you are missing out in life. It's like going to California and not knowing what In-n-Out, Din Tai Fung (if you're in Socal), or Coy Palace (if you're in Norcal) is. People drive a long ways to come to Tong Hua night market to eat their soup. Oh well, I guess if you've never had it, you won't know what it's like to miss it.

Look at how happy I am in this picture.


Day 1: New Years continued
So we are in day 3 of Chinese new years which means everything is still closed. I haven't been able to get my haircut which sucks because my hair is beginning to look like weeds growing on my head. We had lunch at Ikari Coffee which turned out better than expected. I wish coffee shops in America had semi-real food also. At least more than cheap salads and random pastries.

I love Chinese new years in Asia. It embodies everything that matters in life. Many generations gather to cook, eat, and hang out together; it's so fun. There are fireworks going off every hour from different households around us. Everybody also gambles together, if not for real money, at least going through the motions of playing cards or Majong. There really is no feeling like it in America, not even Thanksgiving.



I was planning on destroying tonight at Majong but when the dust settled I ended up losing 90NT (about $3) playing for 10NT a point. That game is tough when everybody knows what they're doing and you are tossing tiles out and feeding everybody. Rest of the night will be a movie, fried 年糕, and maybe some cards. I am really looking forward to Thursday when I can finally get a haircut and then go sing karaoke!

Day 2: Always the worst day
For jet lag. The first night, I was able to stay up till 3:30am and wake up around 10:30am. Last night I was gone by 11:30 and I was awake at 7:30. It sucks because both my cousins sleep like I do in the states: waking up before noon is a crime.

Lunch was at the mall next door and the rest of the afternoon (we got home at 3pm) was pretty chill. Did some P90 - yeah that's right I brought it with me, that's dedication! - and played some online games with my cousins. Dinner is at one of my favorite places across the street, it's like a cross between Verde, A&J's, and Ophelia's if anyone remembers the place that used to be next to Marina's. They got giant sized drinks and they serve single portion hot pot or beef noodle soup among many other various small snacks. It's a great price too, you can usually get away with spending about $6 for food and drinks. It's a great place to chill or play cards or whatever you fancy.

Day 3: HAIRCUT!
Yes, this is going to be the highlight of my day. We're going to take a 'before' and 'after' picture to see just how ridiculous my hair has gotten. I think I've officially gotten over my jetlag because I woke up at 12:30pm today and guess who else was awake? Yeah nobody.

It's surprisingly cold in Taiwan right now and I'm actually getting somewhat sick. My inside of my nose has that itchy feeling you always get when you are about the sneeze. It usually results from dust causing congestion but my cousin's place is super clean and I've been blowing my nose to no avail.

The plan after my awesome haircut today is going to be eat some Japanese grilled BBQ old school! They bring out red hot rocks to put under your grill and you really get that authentic feel. Add on some beer and life could not be better. After lunch we're heading to KTV to meet up with the kids who were in Sweden with Carrie. I haven't seen them since Sweden and she hasn't seen them since she got back so it should be a fun, small reunion.

Day 4: King of the hill
There is no comparison to KTV in Asia. I can't speak for any other countries, but Taiwan is the best I've been to. Yesterday's place had a cafeteria with really decent food along with the normal amenities: music videos, high quality sound, high quality mics. There's something about having authentic music videos that really gets me. I can't stand it when I go karaoke in America and you have a black screen with yellow lyrics on it or even worse, some 80's girl in a bathing suit looking out into the ocean. I mean it's just a buzz kill, kind of like going to a terrible bar with overpriced drinks and bad music.



Lunch was at Mos Burger and it was ridiculously good. I'm not sure if any exist in the states but I've never seen one there. It originated in Japan and it's all over Asia now. It's kind of like In-n-Out with more variety but lower quality. My cousin ordered me a jalapeno chili cheeseburger which was better than anything you can get at Jack in the Box or Carl's Jr. Best thing about this place other than being open 24 hours? Burgers are only $2.50.

Party tonight with some Taiwan Beer gold label and snacks. FWIW Ten Ren Tea in Taiwan is amazing. The pearls here are out of this world. I seriously might be unable to drink it in the states ever again.

Day 5: 鼎王
Today is a big day. Two years ago when I was in Taipei, this new hot pot place opened that originated from mid-Taiwan. The place was absolutely nuts. If you wanted to make a reservation, you'd have to do in months - not weeks or days - in advance. If you wanted to go for open seating, you'd have to go at 2pm to get a seat at 8pm. I mean if you thought Boiling Crab was bad, this is literally 4 or 5 times worse. On the final night of my trip we went out to get it to take home (which took about an hour) and sure enough, the hype was real. In a way I can't describe, it was the most savory hot pot I've ever had. Unfortunately, I could only eat it for maybe 20 minutes because I had to rush to the airport for my flight back home.

It's similar to a movie plot where a boy meets a girl in a subway. Great conversation, great chemistry. Before you know it, a horde of people squeeze through and the two get separated, only knowing each others first name and never knowing if they'd ever see each other again. I have been waiting to come back to this place for years, already forgetting the flavors that I once enjoyed. It's like the boy looking for the girl in the movie except not remember what she looked like but trusting in himself that when he sees her again, he will know. Ok maybe it's not that bad, but I could write a poem about this place, seriously.

Today at 11:30am, we met again.


Dinner was with my dad's side of the family but we all went. It was a bit overwhelming because my dad has six siblings and five of them were there. A lot of small talk and fake smiles later, dinner came to an end. A depressing conversation occurred between one of my uncles and myself. We are pretty chill so we joke around a lot and tonight he went straight to the point and told me, "You gained weight again." There are so many things this short sentence entails. First, I did mad cardio before I came to Taiwan so I was not at my fattest point. Second, I lost more weight eating non-American portions of food, so way less caloric intake. Third, I walk almost everywhere here so additional weight lost. Fourth, what's with the "again" at the end?! Adding insult to injury.

Day 6: 淡水 and a new music video
I guess I would describe this place as old town Taiwan, about 45 minutes north of Taipei by the MRT. It's got a lot of traditional food that you can't find anywhere else but it also has a lot of modern stuff. It's located right on the shore of north Taiwan so a lot of couples go there. I am prepared to eat as much as possible today.









As advertised, we ended up eating non-stop for pretty much the entire afternoon; snack after snack. However, oddly enough it wasn't overwhelming. All of us were content the entire time but none of us were bloated. I also got to experience a ten minute boat ride that felt a lot like a roller coaster. There were times were we were flying in the air because the waves picked up. To be honest I kind of wish we were going faster so we could pick up more air.

After we got back we ended up KTV-ing again which was good practice for my terrible voice. One of the main reasons I enjoy going is because people always sing whatever the new hot songs are which helps me kind of keep up with new Chinese music. The past couple times we went we sang a 13-minute song that is literally made up of several lines from 20 to 25 songs put together. It's performed by a Cantonese artist but all the songs are well known Chinese songs including Tong Hua and Bu De Bu Ai. When you put all the lyrics together and watch the music video, it actually adds up to a pretty heartfelt story. If you have time, here's the video - incase you can't read, you will need to know that the four characters on the cupcake liner at the end says "but it hurts a lot.." - don't worry it's not a spoiler.



I also got some new shoes somewhat spontaneously. When we arrived at the KTV place, I was told that my Rainbows were not welcome - yes they have dress codes for these places in Taiwan - but since I was planning on buying new shoes anyway, I figure why not buy them tonight? We were already in one of the biggest shopping districts so my friend took me around the corner and I got some classic Adidas shoes with the turtle shell cap in the front.



Day 7: Ramen, shopping, and TV shows
We went for ramen for lunch and as difficult as it is for me to say, it was on the same level if not slightly better than Tajima. After that was an entire afternoon of shopping in East side. It's where all the college kids go because they sell high end brands like Bathing Ape and a bunch of other stuff I've never seen and can't afford. There was a line of about 20 people for Ape which was quite stunning. I really don't get how you can spend $100 on a t-shirt and feel good about yourself afterwards.

The night continued with dim sum for dinner and a short bus ride home. Some people just came over and I'm beginning to think my cousin's house is a lot like Willie's house back at home. People just call her and come over; it's pretty convenient for us to see everyone this way.

We watched some Chinese talk shows and they're totally different than the states. They come with sound effects and words that pop up on the screen. Reminds me of Batman in the 1960s but in a non-dorky way; it makes everything funnier. Anyway, one of the shows is called, "Are you a college student yet?" and they have a bunch of different sketches and competitions involving college students. It's a very lighthearted show, comparable to a talk show in America. Tonight they had a "hotness" competition, putting two girls at a time from different attributes - sexy, cute, etc. - behind blinds and slowly roll them up from legs to body to face. A panel of students act as judges and they break down the two girls, deciding who has hotter legs, body, and face. At the end they vote on who is hotter overall then move on to the next attribute with new girls. This show sounds really shallow and it totally wouldn't fly in the states but let's be honest, it's not because we are classier, we just take it to magazines and websites like hotornot.com instead.

Day 8: A story of foolishness from my youth
I fell asleep with a mosquito in my room last night and woke up with 5 bites. This is extremely annoying because I take pride in the fact that I have not been bitten by a mosquito in Taiwan after I worked here for a summer. It's how you differentiate between a "tourist" and a "local".

One of my really old friends just got married in December. We never hung out a lot after 10th grade but we always kept in touch over the years through email. Seeing him get married gives me so many mixed feelings from joy to nostalgia to regret. I am first and foremost extremely happy for him and his wife, I don't think I knew anybody who had a heart like him. There used to be four of us who I guess "ran together" starting from 5th grade through 10th. Now, all four of us don't really hang out with each other and we're all in different places. One's married, one went to play poker, one got into drugs, and one is kind of unsocial I guess you could say. My 6th grade teacher told our parents that he thought we would all be good friends for life, but high school and college does funny things to people.

While the splitting up of our group was somewhat natural and one of those things that just sort of happened once we reached high school and met new people, I actually remained close friends with the person who just got married. I used to go to his house frequently during lunch or after school. We got along great but I can distinctly say there was a point in high school where I actively chose to hang out with other kids over him and it really has to be one of the most retarded, regretful things I've ever done in my life. Everybody wants to be cool in high school and I wouldn't say either of us were popular early on in. It's just not something we cared about, but things always change. I chose to hang out with "more popular" people instead of just sticking it through with him and as a result, we lost touch over 11th and 12th grade.

We both went to different colleges but I would visit his college because a lot of my friends went there as well. When I did go, we'd always try to meet up and though things were never really quite the same, we still had great times hanging out. He stayed studious throughout college and went on to pursue a masters in bio med while I dropped out to play poker. The only reason we even began talking again was because he had heard that I was playing cards professionally and emailed me about it. He's probably one of the very, very few people that I actually spent time talking about what was going on with poker and school and life at the time. Most people ask because they want to hear some crazy story, some absurd amount of money, or just something to entertain themselves with. This guy I thought genuinely felt the same way I did: that we were great friends and never really had a fall out per say but definitely lost touch through the years.

What different roads we took. I haven't talked to him for a while, but I know he was a man of faith in high school. Nothing he has said or done tells me that has changed. Maybe, hopefully, this can be a commonality that will cause us to meet paths once again in the future. A part of me thinks that if there were such a thing as parallel universes, I would still be great friends with him and be on a similar career/family path. I loved bio in high school and had a knack for it; it just made sense to me. Some of the decisions I've made - like not majoring in bio - felt like 50/50 decisions but only in retrospect. The timing of my life always felt off by a couple years for everything I did. I easily could have ended up in different circumstances had some small things gone a different way. But I try not to question the man upstairs because I know that when all is said and done, the timing of everything was right on cue.

Some more new music.



Day 9: 九份 & 基隆
Went to northern Taiwan today. 九份 had a very traditional feel to it like it's remained untouched for years. The name of the town comes from a long time ago when only nine families lived on this hill. When one of the families went down to buy groceries or materials they would buy nine portions to help each other out. It's very peaceful and has great scenery; you can see hills covered in fog for miles.

The second place we went to was 基隆 and it's a place with lots and lots of food. It's inaccessible by MRT, only by car, scooter, or train, yet there are tons of people there because the food is that good. They have so many specialties that are specific to 基隆 it was quite an experience for my stomach. I had pot stickers, 肉圓, pig ears, and 鐤邊銼. In total the food cost only 165NT which is less than 8 bucks! I'm definitely going to add this place to my must-go list for future visits.

More music by 丁噹 which sums up my thoughts at the moment.

And a nice duet!


Day 10: Who can survive?
As my days here come to an end, I am constantly reminded how much I enjoy being here. There really is nothing I don't enjoy (other than the semi-polluted air) from food to entertainment. However, when I'm chatting online and am asked how Taiwan is, there is some disconnect. It seems food is the only thing people can relate to. After that, people just don't seem to care.

I'd say I'm more "Chinese" than most people I know in that I can understand the culture and humor here but my English is still better than my Chinese. Is this something I'm proud of? I'd say so. It takes a lot to have so much interest in another culture and it's not like Asia is that far from us, it's our heritage. Imagine trying to understand South African culture or something like that. But even so, I find that there are very few Asian people who care about Asian culture. Is that weird or what?

Other ethnicities are fascinated with our culture and yet it seems like many of us are ashamed or uninterested in it. When people talk about Europe or South America, suddenly everyone is excited. "Oh wow, this is what siesta is like in Spain?" "Cool, this is what Mardi Gras is like in Brazil?" But Asian culture? Ew, you fob, gross. Like being from Asia is a bad thing. I'm not saying we should all go out and try to dress and talk like we grew up in Asia, but at least not be repulsed by our heritage, our roots. We automatically have negative association with anything that has to do with fobs that we don't bother learning anything other than survival Chinese - 你好 - and the names of different foods we want to eat. If someone were to put you in Italy, wouldn't you want to learn Italian beyond "ciao" and figure out the difference between table wine and grand cru? Why is it any different here?

Let's list some examples of things we do: Nodding your head when a waiter puts food on your table, tapping the table when tea is poured, opening the lid of the teapot when it needs to be refilled. Notice a trend? They all have to do with food! Would it really hurt to take more interest in who you are and where you're from? Keyword: from. You can learn so much more from Chinese culture other than food etiquette. Respect, honor, and community are very prominent themes here.

Anyway tonight we had sukiyaki for dinner and it was a buffet. We had 22 plates of beef between the four of us along with veggies and noodles. Check me out holding an entire plate of meat with tongs.




Day 11: Leaving/Recap
Today we're going to take it easy and eat some beef noodles for lunch and hotpot for dinner. There's really nothing planned other than seeing people.

There are two things I want to really quickly touch on. First, I know everybody loves New York. But let me be honest and say New York has nothing on Asia. Ask anyone who's been here for longer than a week or without their family. Seoul, Tokyo, Taipei, and Hong Kong. Anything you can do in NY you can do here. The only thing NY has that they don't are Broadway shows and if you're telling me that's the sole reason why it's better in NY then you are unreasonable because they more than make up for it in other areas (see: food, KTV, cost of living). Anyway, I just had to write this because I get a lot of (mild) heat when I say NY is overrated and I know some people agree with me!

The other thing is a lot of times people ask me why I moved to SD. Or a better question is how do I know it's the right place? It's very simple. No matter where I go, I always look forward to going back to SD. There is never a feeling of defeat when my trips come to an end. I have my fun and I immediately feel right back at home.