the Taipei/Taroko/Hot springs chronicles

Before you start reading, please read this post first explaining why I am going back and posting entries about a trip I took 2 months go. :)

Jan 7, 2011
I made it! The flight actually went pretty smoothly. It was very cold on the plane and for some reason I didn't have a complimentary blanket during the first leg, so it was hard for me to sleep. After my 5 AM layover in Alaska though (that was a really bizarre experience. they have all these stuffed dead animals hanging around, like mountain goats and deer with huge antlers) I asked for a blanket and then passed out for about 5 hours. I then watched The Social Network (pretty good, actually, I recommend it) and a teen movie that's loosely based on The Scarlet Letter (also surprisingly good). 

I felt like I got good rest on the plane and the food was decent too, so I was in okay shape by the time we arrived at 7 AM local time. I grabbed my luggage, got through customs with no problem, and my aunt and cousin were waiting for me! They had actually been there for an hour as I deplaned and went through all the processing. The first thing my aunt did was take a picture of me. :) She said I hadn't changed at all. She and my cousin looked much the same as I remembered them. They actually don't speak English as well as my uncle and cousin Tom, so it was slow going trying to communicate at first, but I think we're starting to settle in.

We took an hour long bus ride into the city, and as we were driving on the highway, past all the buildings and mountains, and then into the downtown with the scooters, taxis, streetside food stands, terrible driving, signs and stores everywhere, all my Asia memories came flooding back. It did feel like a homecoming. There were memories from my first trip to Taiwan that came back to me that I haven't thought about in years. I felt thrilled - I made it! I'm actually here! This is actually real! Walking up to my uncle's apartment, where I stayed for so long the first time I was here, was a surreal and wonderful moment.

I had breakfast at a food stand with my aunt and cousin and have been chilling in their apartment ever since, watching Taiwanese TV and finalizing some details of my travels. I feel like my body is going to crash in an hour or so but I wanted to fulfill my promise about internet access and send you an email first.   

Jan 9, 2011 (AKA the Glasses experience)

Today I went to get new glasses! It was actually less scary than I thought it would be, and it was much easier to communicate with the people in the store than it was with the haircutters. My uncle loves taking pictures, and he basically took a photo of me with every pair of glasses I tried on, with some hilarious results. I really wanted square frame cool/hipstery glasses and there are definitely some I tried on that looked pretty wild (ex a white pair and a bright red pair). I've never worn square glasses and it took me awhile to get used to how they look on my face. In the end I settled on a pair that are dark purple (almost black) with beveled sides (what are those called? ear hooks?) and even some glitter on the inside. They're definitely the most glitzy glasses I've ever had but I like them a lot. :) I then got my eyes checked by a nice guy who was patient with my 30 second translation delay. The Taiwanese eye exam includes tests I've never seen before, and it was also the first eye exam I had where I didn't have to read rows of letters.

My aunt is a regular at the store and brought Casey there, so she kept playing the, "look, I bring you American customers!" card. I got a nice discount, and the whole thing, including the eye exam, the lens, and the frame will cost me about $115 USD. Not bad!

After that we took the very nice and high tech metro to Chiang Kai Shek's house to do something touristy for the rest of our day. There's a limited amount of tickets to tour the actual house and they had sold out by the time we arrived, so we walked around the gardens instead. With two shutterbugs there (my uncle, and my cousin who has a fancy Canon with a lens) it took quite awhile, but it was really beautiful and the weather was nice.

My cool new Taiwanese hipster glasses.

At the gardens of the Chiang Kai Shek residence with my aunt.

 Jan 12, 2011 (Taroko)

 Today we went to Taroko Gorge, and I am SO glad we included it in our Taiwan itinerary. It was absolutely breathtaking. Sheer cliff faces, a turquoise-colored river, caves and tunnels and Buddhist temples rising out of the mist - it was incredible. If I'm able to get some of my pictures uploaded I will definitely send you some. And one of my relatives took a day off from work just so she could drive us there and serve as our personal tour guide. It was ridiculously generous of her and she really made our day special. We spent about 4 hours there and then my cousin took us back to the city to get something to eat, and then dropped us off at the train station. Jason and I proceeded to conk out until we arrived here to Zhi Ben, where we had a female taxi driver (!) take us to the resort. 

With my cousin YiQing at Taroko Gorge.

Buddha statue at Taroko.

 Jan 14, 2011
I did get in another soak in the hot springs last night after dinner. Jason and I then watched "Drumline" on TV and some random National Geographic programs before going to sleep. This morning we hiked partway up the trail behind the hotel to enjoy the views and the weather. The clouds finally cleared this morning and we were able to see blue sky. It was also t-shirt weather, which felt wonderful! :) We caught a 11 AM train today down to Zuoying (a Southern coastal town), where we then transferred to the high speed rail. It was a lot more expensive than we anticipated (almost $45 USD, which is a lot of money here!) but we were able to take the express high speed rail (I didn't even know there was such a thing). It took us only 1.5 hours to get back to Taipei! It would've taken us 6-8 hours on a regular train. It was incredibly fast and smooth, high tech, luxurious, and a lot of fun. I wish the US would invest more in an up to date and efficient rail system, because it's definitely the way to go. I was able to travel around the entire country in 3 days by train!

Hot springs at Rainbow Resort (in background)

My hot springs outfit. Swim cap required.

Hiking trail

On the high speed rail!

transitions/honoring my travels

It was difficult to come off of my trip to San Francisco and readjust to being a full-time (unemployed) adult in DC. I suddenly had all this time on my hands to just be with myself, and live with my insecurities and neuroses. And oh the neuroses! The inner tape that constantly plays messages about how I'm not doing enough, but I'm also during too much, and crap my checks got lost in the mail, and I haven't sent out enough job applications, and my room is a mess, etc etc. But I think during these transition times some wailing and protesting from myself is to be expected, and I am trying to be compassionate and patient with myself. There are a lot of joys to be found in alone-ness too - sleeping in, enjoying leisurely breakfasts with hot tea and the paper, taking brisk walks to enjoy the sunshine when I feel like it, reading, practicing mindfulness. I've also spent the last week or so enjoying a visit with Kaitlyn, consulting for a few hours at my old office, going climbing, enjoying the UNC victory over Duke, honoring the memory of a friend, working with a grassroots community organization, and finally getting a VA license. 

On Monday I heard back from an organization that I thought was going to be a long shot, and ended up getting an interview offer! I went through a pretty serious 2 hour long interview yesterday and was asked for my references today, so hopefully I'll get some good news. I felt calm and confident while I was there, and I met some great people who are doing work I believe in, and I feel excited and good about the experience. There's definitely a part of me that wants to play it down because it's still not a sure thing and I don't want to be disappointed, but for now I'm going to allow myself to be excited, and get my hopes up. :) Now that there's a chance that I'll be employed again soon, I wanted to take some time to revisit and process my trip to Asia. I realized today that part of me hasn't really wanted to upload all my photos and post my travel entries in this blog because it means having to really say goodbye to the experience, and to acknowledge that they are firmly in the past. It means I have to confront that all I have of that time now are the photos, and my words, and my memories, which are rich and vivid and full, but only an approximation of what it was like to actually be in Taipei, or at the ruins of Ayutthaya, or in the clear blue waters of Koh Chang.  But it's important to remember the experiences again, honor them, thank them for what they taught me, and fully dedicate myself to being here now. 

So I will start posting edited versions of the emails I sent to Megan telling her about the day-to-day experience of my trip. This is mostly for my benefit so I have a centralized place for all of them - you're definitely not obligated to read them (or really any of this!) if you don't want to. But if you're interested in the nitty gritty "here's what I saw and ate and felt and thought" of my trip, this is the best way of reliving it with me. :) You can also supplement the experience by checking out all my pictures on Flickr. Here we go.  

Jason and I at Shi Lin Night Market in Taipei

My aunt and uncle outside of their neighborhood metro stop.

Buddha statues at a temple in Ayutthaya.

Cambodian style temple in Ayutthaya.

Enjoying a margarita on the beach in Koh Chang.