The Land Where It's Already Tomorrow, Chapter 06: Two-Wheeled Freedom

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My concerns about not being able to get out of town have now been resolved—I bought a motorcycle this (Friday) night. Joe brought me information on how to get an ROC driver’s licence, and asked if I wanted to check out some machines. I said sure, so he said, “let’s go”. We went to the shop at the corner, just to get an idea of prices, and the lao-ban suggested we go to the “factory” in Hualien where there is a better selection. We piled into the company truck, and an affable employee drove us to the city. I enjoyed the free Chinese lesson during the drive.The company truck was one of those lovely little Chinese cab-over jobs that would sell like hotcakes back home if anyone imported them. There’s even touch-of-a-button 4WD, for construction sites and that.I looked at a 150 cc Kymco “Grand Dink” (on my oath I’m not kidding). Then I looked at a row of 125 cc scooters, and my heart melted. I saw the girl for me. I picked up a late model Kymco (Honda clone). Only 3200 km on the odometer. Some of the others were less money, but not as nice. I took it for a test drive, and it seemed tighter and newer and more powerful than the 125’s that Lao-puo and I have rented in the past. I know I must be getting older when I have to put my glasses on to read the tachometer, but that’s no problem when my new machine is one of those twist-and-go automatic jobs.It’s funny. Of all the vehicles I have owned over the years, this one excites me the most. I must think of a name. “Esmerelda”. That will work! Since Lao-puo and I teach Marriage Preparation at our church back home, I have a word to the wise for new husbands. If you must give your machinery a female name, be sure to choose something obscure so you wife won’t think you’re naming it after some ex-girlfriend. If you go for “Debbie” or “Sandra” or something like that, you’re asking for trouble. Esmerelda is a tasteful metallic light blue, with a matching complementary (goes with my eyes and the paint job) and complimentary (matches my eyes and is free) full-face “brain bucket”. Joe loved that expression, and walked about repeating it and snickering.The lao-ban threw in a free lock. Violent crime is rare here, but property crime is as common here as elsewhere.Esmerelda cost a bit more than I wanted to pay, but there again so do most if not all beautiful women. Except Lao-puo. I chose Esmerelda over her rivals because she has:· Folding foot pegs, so that Lao-puo will be more comfortable when we tootle about.· Fuel injection, so that the exhaust emissions are lower.· Low seat. I asked lao-ban de nuer (the proprietor’s daughter) to sit on the bike to check it because she is Lao-puo’s height.· Low clicks on the clock. Lao-puo is taking the motorcycle safety course at home before she comes over, so she won’t be stuck at home while I’m working. I don’t want her getting stranded someplace coming home from Chinese class, just because I went cheap on a motorbike.As few and far between as they might be, and not readily apparent, there are advantages to being married to a chauvinist.I’ll tell you, it was sure nice to top up the tank for 50 New Taiwan dollars instead of 50 “new” Canadian dollars. We might just as well call them “new” dollars at home, for all the time that they spend in my pocket.Esmerelda easily handled the 70 km/h speed limit back to Guangfu with two of us on, and just for spice I cranked her up to 100 between the radar cameras that Joe pointed out.Joe is Buddhist, and vegetarian. He’s one of those gentle, kindly souls that people instinctively like. He did his national service in the ROC Marine Corps, and enjoyed it. This seems out of character for him.The only downside of the run home from Hualien is that I don’t like driving a motorcycle at night (especially when I can’t read), and for a few minutes we got stuck behind a semi—the exhaust from which could have been used at Passchendale.It takes about an hour from Hualien to Guangfu on the bike. I got us out of the city—piece of cake after Taipei—and then the country drive was quite pleasant.Mind you, Esmerelda will, to a certain extent, take the fun out of life. No beer. The slightest accident on a motorbike usually entails injury, and there is nothing more stupid than beer on a motorbike when the road is unfamiliar and you can’t read. Even though I’m scrupulous about impaired driving at home, that’s only because of Lao-puo. I drive to the party, and she drives home. That way it’s fair, and responsibilities are divided equally. I’ll probably live longer because of Esmerelda, and the irony of that situation does not escape me.I awoke early on Saturday morning, and Esmerelda and I had our first date. I took her down to the beach at Fongbin, about 20 km away. The road was one of those made-for-a-motorcycle types, with lots of hairpin turns and glorious scenery. My heart sang! Esmerelda can accelerate on the inclines, brake smoothly, and steer tightly. I was grateful for the braking and steering especially, because a guy came around a blind corner on my side of the road. There is wonderful green mountain scenery on the way down to Fongbin, with wild hibiscus and those gigantic ferns that I have only seen over here, and bamboo. Bamboo grows vociferously, and once it gains a foothold you can never get rid of it.I then continued another 20 km north along the beach to Jici, (Gee Chee) through take-your-breath-away-beautiful scenery. A blue ocean, blue sky, crashing surf, towering green cliffs. You get the picture.I keep thinking that I’m getting paid to live in the Garden of Eden. How does life get better than that?An 80 km round trip is plenty on a scooter, as they are only built for short distances.The driving skills required over here are quite a bit different from home. You aren’t allowed to take a motorbike on the big highways, and the secondary roads have nice wide motorcycle lanes along each side. The trouble is, every bus and truck on the road likes to pull over into the motorbike lane, so impatient tailgaters can get round them against a double solid line. The importance of keeping out of people’s blind spots takes on a whole new meaning. Driving in town is an obstacle course. You can never relax on a bike over here—unless you have insurance. I do, but I would rather enjoy Esmerelda than sit around, stitched up like a football, or even more plastered up than we got at that karaoke place during our orientation.For safety, it is important to wear something to increase your visibility. When I retired, my colleagues gave me a “tacky tourist” aloha shirt. It just about glows in the dark. Everyone kept a good safe distance from Esmerelda and me, possibly not wanting to be associated with such a lack of taste as I display when I wear what has become my favourite shirt.Joe said not to worry that I don’t have a Chinese licence yet, or that the bike cannot be registered to me until I get my ARC (green card). He said that the few cops there are around here know that there is a western English teacher in town, and they will leave me be.I had a pensive moment on the beach while Esmerelda was cooling down a bit, looking at the surf crashing on to the base of the cliff where I stood pondering the vast expanse of the Pacific. At that moment, I realized just how far away I was from all my friends and loved ones back home.It was just for a moment, though. People who let those thoughts take over usually end up getting back on the plane.My pensive moment vanished when I thought of yet another employee benefit here. Free indoor parking. The school built a little concrete ramp from the street in front of our building up to the sidewalk, and installed a ramp similar to the ones for disabled people, to get up the stairs. We park our motorbikes in the lobby of the dormitory! There is another ramp from the school grounds side of the building, for the convenience of teachers putt-putting up from that direction. Being somewhat refined, I at least kill the engine before taking Esmerelda indoors, but I’m the only one who does so.I laugh at the thought of what would have happened to a teacher at any school in Canada, if he or she rode a motorcycle across the school grounds and into a school building. I suppose that drunken clowns do that sort of thing at universities at home, but they get expelled for their trouble. All I need is someone to share all this with. I was talking to Amber last night. Evidently there was great excitement about my arrival, and now there will be even more at the thought of “ingwen lao-shi de tai-tai” arriving. We are tentatively planning to have a dorm party to celebrate Lao-puo’s arrival. This is my last free day, because the pre-semester meetings and whatnot start tomorrow. I will have very limited time for Internet access after today, and none at the weekend unless I can find a place in town this afternoon.I’ll go out now, and see if I can someplace to send off everything I have prepared off-line over the weekend.

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Photos

Setting Off
Going for a spin right after school is a great way to cool off.

Esmerelda at the Beach
It's a lovely ride down to Fongbin.

Quan Yin Temple on the Road
The way that some people drive, you need the Goddess of Mercy around here!