Yule 07

It was a busy pagan winter holiday season but good times were had by all.

First there was the Yule eve party...

We got home at five am and started opening presents... quite a haul. Then after a few hours sleep we got up and cooked up a big brunch for the Koahsiung pose.

It was the brunch that kept giving, moved to the roof and didn't finish till late...

Good times had by all

Maolin National Park

Thought I should take advantage of my three day weekends so headed off to Maolin, about two hours drive inland, for a couple of days of camping...

Sitting in front of the last 7-11 before the park.

Enjoying the fresh mountain air, the serenity, my phone rings... hi M&D!

Ended up camping here next to the hot springs... just what you need after two hours on a bike.

The Bike Incident

About six weeks ago, R called me and asked, "Have you seen my bike?"

It's usually locked up outside out apartment building and had seen little attention since we bought a second motor scooter. It was borrowed from her school, who we'd paid a 1000 NT deposit. It was a piece of crap, but it was our piece of crap.

"No, I haven't" I replied. "Are you sure you didn't leave it at school?"

"No, someone's stolen my bike!"

We'd resigned ourselves to this and moved on with our lives... until last Saturday night.

I'd had a long and arduous day at work finishing at six. We were due at an American Turkey Holiday dinner at seven. I couldn't be arsed walking up the stairs just to march back down in ten minutes, so I told R to meet me out the front and we would go to have a drink first.

So, I was waiting out the front of the building, rubbing my eyes and wondering why she was taking so long when I heard the unmistakable sound of a scooter moving down a road, sideways.

Looking up, sure enough, I saw a bike coming to a lateral stop just at the corner not twenty meters away. I went over to assist. A couple of locals were already on the scene and were pulling the shocked young girl off the otherwise deserted road.

She didn't appear to be injured but was close to passing out from the shock. I urged them to leave her there but I decided to leave them to it. They didn't need my help so I started to head back to my scooter where R was pulling on her jacket and looking over at the commotion.
Several of our neighbours had come out to watch.

"That looks like my bike." she said.

A young boy was getting off a bike and walking toward the injured girl as I put on my glasses to see.

"Yes. Yes it does."

I strode over to get a better look. Sure enough it had the new seat I'd bought for it and even the stickers with the school's name in English and Chinese.

With the family looking on I picked up the bike, throw it over my shoulder and, without a word, walked past the bystanders.

I passed R who was yelling: "Wu'dah! Wu'dah!" (Mine! Mine!) with incredulity at our neighbours.

I put the bike in the basement, got back on our scooter and R got on the back. The old boy was staring over at us. I stared back at him as if to say "You gotta problem?".

At R's request, I let him be and rode off - happy to get the bike back.

We still haven't heard from them.

Politics Kaohsiung Style

..."Ku later admitted that he had rented two buses to transport voters to an election rally for Huang on the eve of the election and paid them on the return trip from the rally for their votes for "a candidate in the Kaohsiung mayoral election and a Kaohsiung City councillor candidate".

The court found that although the two defendants admitted they had paid NT $500 per person, the money should be considered payment for time and energy spent at the rally, rather than as a bribe as defined under the Public Officials Election and Recall law.

The court said that payment made at campaign events organised by groups to solicit support for a specific candidate are not equivalent to vote-buying."...

Page 3, Taipei Times - Friday November 30, 2007

Dragon Drummers

Kaohsiung...

Looks like:

A reconditioned two-stroke engine

A thick gray blinding blanket of haze

A concrete building covered with billboards

A myriad of multi-coloured flashing lights illuminating canyons of roads between buildings

Smells like:

Giant plumes of blue-gray two-stroke engine exhaust

Spices of Chinatown

Open sewers

Rancid cooking oil

Sugary sweet bread

Sounds like:

A clapped-out two-stroke engine

Chinese opera outside my bedroom window

Ballady Pop everywhere you go

Wailing ambulances

“Welcome Shoppers”

Tastes like:

Two-stroke engine exhaust

Salty soy

Greasy pork

Japanese Rice

Bad imitations of Mexican food

Feels like:

Two-stroke lung disease

Sweat running down my back

Scooter sunburn on hands and feet

Excessive icy air-conditioning

An industrial hangover

Our Temple

Lotus Pond

BBQ

Thanks to all the crew who came and had a great time on our roof.



Special thanks goes to Rose for the delectable seafood and those two girls rocking the grill all night - I have no idea who you are, but you were doing some sterling work.



A special mention also go our crazy psycho neighbours for calling the cops at quarter to ten. Tolerance is a admirable quality. I hope you get some one day.



Thanks also to the two coppers who were really nice about it.

War Machines

You can always tell when there is a typhoon coming,
when they bring in their war toys.



This shot was taken from our roof this morning.

Relections on a Murder

See:

http://odysseyinc.blogspot.com/

Hsiao Liouciou

We finally had two days off in a row, so we headed out to a little island off the coast - Hsiao Liouciou

We bought a second-hand tent which managed to keep the rain off. Mostly.

Fishing off the harbour, over looking the mountains of Taiwan.

Nice little beach nestled amongst the green. You can just see the factories on the mainland.

Love this road sign.

Mountains in the clouds.


It was a surprisingly easy weekend. An hour from our front door down highway 17 took us to Donggang port where we caught a ferry with our bikes. The ride took half an hour and could then scoot straight to the camp ground which was very nice.

Dining options on the island were pretty dismal but our limited language skills ensured we got fed. Next time we will bring the cooker.

It was also a very cheap weekend away, which is rare for Taiwan. Hotels are ludicrously expensive. The tent has already paid for itself.

Thanks for your Comments:

See:

http://taiwanodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/08/kenting.html

I was scooting along one day and this caught my attention. Enjoy

Lunch with Students

One of the bonuses of this gig is having students buying you lunch.

Guanziling

We were going to go diving on this important weekend... a weekend off that I might not have again for a long time.

The weather seemed to have other ideas... typhoon.

So we headed to the mountains instead.



Guanziling is a little town in the mountains famous for its healing volcanic hot springs.

So we headed out there and checked into a "spa resort", beautiful room - with an en suite jacuzzi that pumped water from the hot spring.

They even gave us a pot of cool mud to apply after soaking.

It was glorious.

Kenting

For our first trip out of town we thought me might head to the big beach tourist destination.

Kenting is a National Park established by the Japanese during their fifty year occupation of the island in the first half of the twentieth century.

There is a forest attached to, what was, some amazing beaches.

We only got as far as the main beach, just to get the vibe.

The Chinese are not a great ocean going people.

Swimming usually involves rolling up the trouser legs.

If you go in past your knees the life guard comes out and tells you to come in.

The same protector of the beach then flicks a ciggie butt onto the sand...

The main street is awash with beach fashions, none of which seem to make it to the beach.



Later in the evening we strolled out of our (quiet expensive) room to find ourselves trapped in a sea of market stalls - indulging the local passion for consumption.

Next time we will be sure to head further into the Park.

Taiwan Riding

Taiwan roads are dominated by scooters.

The Chinese fondness of bicycles has met the internal combustion engine.

Luckily Kaohsiung was first laid out by the Japanese;

Wide streets with median strips and organised road names are the norm.

I spent a fair bit of time on a bike in Thailand.

It is: "same same, but different" as they say.

The Thai drive like they walk - very slowly.

Everyone putters around with the whole family on one bike, never in much of a hurry.

The foreigners rule of the "fast lane".

The Chinese however, seem to be a people in a hurry.

They still stack their bike with all their worldly possessions - including the family, but they are also moving at high speeds.

They can keep the fast lane, and I will keep my skin.

I'm quite attached to my skin.

I have never seen so many scooter accidents as I have here.

Knocking into people seems to be a normal part of life.

It's lucky that health insurance is universal here.

It's needed.

I can think of some reasons why there are so many accidents here:

Speed - as mentioned.

Traffic lights - are all timed which makes driving very slow. Also:

Green light = proceed with caution; and

Red light = proceed with caution

Cars - although they seem to be more aware of bikes than other places in the world, there is some pretty shocking driving around. It sometimes takes up to three people to parallel park.

Rain - in Thailand during the monsoon, when it starts raining, you pull over and take shelter. What ever you are travelling to, is obviously not worth getting wet for.

Here, when it rains, it people drive faster (and crazier) to get out of the rains as soon as possible.

Potholes - this is partly about rain and partly about road construction, but pretty regularly during the monsoon large sections of road seems to disappear.

This is especially dangerous when such holes are filled full of water - you never know how deep it is and whether you are going to be sent on a one-way trip over the handle bars.

To their credit however, people do stop to put a traffic cone over the hole or at least a tree branch, and it is fixed up within a couple of days. On the other hand this does leave you with a patchwork of a road.

In conclusion here are some tips for the scooter life:

1. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel, so to speak.
2. Never trust anyone or anything.
3. Stay at least a doors width away from parked cars.
4. Make sure your brakes and horn are fully operational at all times.
   
5. Constantly think about what it's like to come off.
   

Dragon Boat 2007 - Video

New Scooter - sorta

Kymco Apex 1500cc

Dragon Boat 2007

The origins of this festival are lost in the mists of an ancient culture.

It is thought, that a revered poet throw himself in the river, at frustration with the corruption of the government.

The people loved him so much they threw rice in the water to prevent the fish from eating him, while boats scooted across the water looking for his body and beating drums.

Today, the result is: a day off work, families getting together, rice dumplings being prepared and a shirt-load of blokes getting in a narrow boat and race to grab a flag at the other end of the river.

It was definitely all the fun of the fair as we rode down to the river. Fairy floss, ice cream and corn-dogs competed for space with the Coke girls and a plethora of stalls promoting every variety of community group.

When the gun shot was heard, people crowded along the banks of The Love River, to see the brightly coloured boats race along the short course.

Well worth a look if you happen to be somewhere near Chinese culture.

Living Cheap in Foreign Parts

When you arrive in a foreign country, with hardly any money, no language and a long time before the first pay cheque, there are ways to minimize your expenses until you can afford to start living.

Here are a few tips we have come up with -

Food:

No Western food, as it is foreign they charge a premium.

Noodles and veggies, cheap easy and healthy, instant noodles are your new staple.

Eat on the street, for less than two dollars you can get a meal of soup, meat, two veg and rice from those roadside buffets. It also means that you just have to point at what you want.

Get a job that provides free lunch.

Housing:

If you don't get a job that includes housing in your contract, go for something cheap, maybe on the sixth floor with no lift.

Find something close to where you work which will cut down you transport costs.

Transport:

Just walk, the locals who never move anywhere without burning fossil fuels will look at you like your an idiot in this heat, but it is cheap.

Learn the bus system. Extremely difficult when you cannot read where it is going but just jump on ans see where it goes, you can always get on the same one going the other way.

Borrow a bicycle, good exercise and quicker than walking.

Borrow a scooter, with no registration or brakes, or maybe stick to the bicycle.

View from the Star Ferry, Hong Kong

View from the Peak

Hong Kong Visa Run

Well, there was nothing for it.

We had to leave the country, get a longer visa and come back in.

This is not an uncommon phenomenon in our job, but one we could ill afford; especially when you live on an island.

Mister Credit Card to the rescue and we were off to sunny Hong Kong.

We landed in the early evening and took the bus to Causeway Bay. After wandering around for a while we found the hostel we had booked online. This was made harder by there being no signage but we worked it out from all the foreigners we saw coming and going at the address we had.

The next morning it was straight down the travel agent's. Why not the embassy or consulate, I hear you ask...

Well, to most countries in the world, Taiwan is not a country but a rouge province of China - one with it's own flag, president and currency.

After finding the place, with no little effort we took a number, filled out the forms and waited.

When we finally got to see the administrator she seemed allot more interested our abilities to fill in a form, than our intentions in the country... good for us, as we would be working illegally until the paperwork came in.

We got that done, left our passports and agreed to come back at four to pick them up.

So we were left with five hours to kill in this strange island city of Hong Kong.

What to do?

We had some insiders tips on the best things to do on the cheap in this very wealthy little town.

From the travel agent's we walked to the peak tram.

This hundred year old public transport system was built to service the rich colonialist who were getting tired of their coolies dying while carrying their fat arses up the mountain to their massive houses with excellent views.

Today it is more used as a tourist attraction as the rich colonialist have fast German sports cars to carry their fat arses up the mountain to their massive houses with excellent views.

You get a great view over the city and the lush tropical forest on the other side.

I was more fascinated with the giant birds of prey that were circling and would sometime plunge into the undergrowth for a tasty lunchtime morsel.

We rolled down the hill again and caught an open-topped-double-decker bus down to the harbour. For a spot of lunch and to book a seat on the Star Ferry.

For a small fee the Star Ferry will carry your rich colonialist arse around the bay to give you a better view of this city state.

It might have been better at night to fully appreciate the Asian obsession with neon branding.

We went and got the passports before heading back to the hostel for a kip. In the evening we went over to Lan Kwai Fong - the expatriate nightlife area. We could just afford a beer if we were to be able to catch the train to the airport the following morning.

Here you can see a myriad of bars set on a steep hill in an area which must once have been home to opium dens. Smoking opium seems to have gone out of fashion... drinking imported beers seems to be in.

One thing that amazed me was that the local population seemed to be (mostly) all bilingual. They would swap between perfect English and Chinese without batting an eyelid. This is surely what the English teaching profession is working towards - to go anywhere in the world and the locals will understand you demands for more alcohol.

Anyway, that is about the size of it. Early next morning we took the super fast train out to the airport and we back to Hong Kong's slightly shabbier cousin - Taiwan.

Anyway, that is about it.

Greetings from Taiwan

Welcome to the latest instalment of The Odyssey.

Due to poverty and the lack of internet service, transmission was temporarily suspended.

Well that is due to change now that we are online at home.

However, the connection is so slow we can't even upload photos.

This is due to change soon.

So, what has been going down? I hear you ask.
Well, allot and a little.

They say that moving house and changing jobs,
are two of the most stressful things one can do in life.

Try doing that with moving to a new country where:

you can't speak the language

you have no job arranged and

you have no money

Makes it an even more stressful.

Every day though,

you find,

life gets a little better...

in one way or another.

We now have jobs.
Even though I am doing two things that are generally against my religion:
working with children and
working on weekend.
Even worse:
working with children on weekends!

But for the time being,
I have to think of the credit card,
grin,
and bear it...

R has a pretty good gig though,

working with the little kiddies,

she likes it which is the main thing.

However, she it on mornings and I'm working nights.

At least we get a little time together.

Apart from that we have an apartment.

Up another flight of stairs, which I was not happy about.

But it is cheap and spacious and it mostly furnished.

So that is the deal up to now pretty much.
There is a lot to talk about, this new country of Taiwan.
(is it a country? apparently. Most other countries don't seem to think so though)

But that will have to wait until next time.

We are off for a ride around town.

Stay in touch.

A

Kaohsiung Fireworks

More from Golden Lion

This lion is not golden

This evil looking dude seems to be everywhere.

Even with his cute little bow.

Children of the year of the monkey.

Temple exit

Temple entry