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Published: September 3rd 2006
Sweat stings my eyes; it's dark, polluted, hot and hectic. "How many blocks now?" I plead with Jennifer, who has the 'book'. "Five - six maybe?" she shrugs trying to peer at the map as we attempt to sneak a way through the traffic. Flustered, I wave frantically at an oncoming cab "Let's get this, or we'll never make it!"
We've been in Taiwan for all of an hour now, and here we are dashing manically through the streets of nocturnal Taipei in search of an English bar in the midst of the slightly seedy 'Gigi-gig area'. Why? Well why else would there be such a pressing need? England v Portugal of course, which kicked off exactly 7 minutes and 23 seconds ago. I know you watched it, and if you didn't, I can tell you exactly what happened; the usual.
Traipsing back to the hotel Jennifer is unsure how to console me as she is herself only a recent convert to the beautiful game, and is still slightly perplexed at the resulting power and emotions it can evoke over the 'enlightened' majority of the planet;-) But I am philosophical, as an Englishman this is virtually expected, and heretical
as it is to say, I'm almost sprightly, if anything it was dramatic and besides which - I AM ON HOLIDAY!
After the little run-in with my ex-boss I thought it would be wise to get out of the country and return to Korea as a regular tourist. As a result I'd bought my flight to Taiwan just the day before and given myself the luxury of a whole THREE days holiday! If I were to see anything at all of Taiwan it was time to get cracking. Fortunately Taiwan is small - 'roughly the size of Belgium' small (even though that phrase is usually used to shock you into realizing how big something small is)
We wake a little later than planned (we're on holiday right?), and by the time we've hauled our bags over to the train station its midday and 38C. Our train doesn't depart yet, leaving us just over an hour to 'explore' Taipei (that being the area around the station). We order strange food and a milk-drink full of tiny black chewy balls, people smile at us, and a foreign women dressed in a suit returns our niceties (very rare in Seoul). After
all of 20mins I've already formed my opinion about Taiwan.
Just over three hours from Taipei is my first and only stop on holiday, the seaside town of Hualien. On a recommendation we stayed at a very nice guesthouse as of yet not in the book, opting for the traditional style room with mattress on the floor, bonsai tree decor and sliding rice paper paneled walls. And luck would have it there's a festival starting down by the beach. We dash through the streets, making the inevitable comparisons with Korea; The Chinese script replaces Korean, it's more low-key yet more commercial, there is more variety, the streets are full of mopeds (Asia style) and people smile enthusiastically as we pass. I understandably assume this is because Taiwanese people are friendlier than Koreans, but of course, I'd never rushed through the streets of Seoul grinning from ear-to-ear. And this is hardly Seoul; a small seaside town - China-on-sea, if you will.
At the festival we pass from stall-to-stall trying a whole array of new 'Chinese style with a twist' type foods. Indigenous people wander around, kids perform on stage, and there aren't any tourists. The sea looks grey, dirty
Kimchi at Taroko Gorge
Jen has been totally koreanized!and uninviting, and yet beside the long harbor wall, people frolic in the waves. My mind tells me it is dull yet somehow it is still charming. I've got to get a grip of my excitement.
As the sun begins to set, we wander back through the streets, now neon lit; dipping in and out of them every time something catches the eye; it is about this time that the realization dawns, we're totally lost. In our haste and excitement we failed to bring a map and hardly even know the name of our guesthouse. People try to help us but nobody speaks a solitary word of English. I'm flustered, I NEVER get lost, I'm out of shape, embarrassed even; I've lost my edge. In my irrational panic we decide to take a taxi. The driver seems to understand and we drive around for a while before being deposited at a four star hotel. We look questioningly at the driver who replies with a big genuine hearty grin. I'm annoyed with myself and this poor guy thinks he's just taken us home. Jennifer takes charge, she finds someone who speaks English in the hotel and they find the address
for our guesthouse. We jump back in a taxi and then we're home; as simple as that! This travelling thing used to be my life…A frightening hypothesis begins to form in my mind… I've become a school teacher!
Even though time is short, as a former traveller, I still had some self-respect, and so we forgo the organized tour the next morning for the freedom of a hired moped.
Taroko Gorge is Taiwan's top destination. A Japanese built road winds its way through 20kms of wild towering marbled walled canons, and cascading waters, housing all manner of temples, crystal clear mountain streams, waterfalls and an abundance of indigenous wildlife. In short, a thoroughly rewarding day in a world class attraction I'd previously never heard of. But the origin of this engineering marvel however had me thinking 'They don't hate the Japs as well do they?'
Well not exactly: In 1894 China went to the rescue of Korea, but was defeated by the Japanese. Taiwan was one of the spoils of victory. They built up the infrastructure, tapped the natural resources and attempted to Japanacise. World War II saw the back of the Japanese and just when it
Female monk
Taroko Gorge was assumed the island would be given back to its previous owner China; they turned red and got involved in the Korean War. America suddenly saw the little island of Taiwan as something of geopolitical value and went to the defence of the KMT government in exile, who had fled to the island along with around 1 million soldiers and a good chunk of the Chinese elite. Martial law was instigated and the Taiwanese lived under a one-party state until 2000 (not all taiwanese were happy about that). Believe it or not, this little island became the Republic of China (ROC), as it is still called, and represented ' China' at the United Nations. However those commies in China grew to become quite important, and in 1971 the UN expelled the Taiwanese (ROC) "from the chair they illegally occupied in the UN..."
I enjoyed my new found freedom so much that day at Taroko Gorge, it awakened something that had laid dormant for the previous five months and so on a whim I decided to cancel all my teaching arrangements for the following week, change my flight, and gift myself, Jennifer and Taiwan with another 5 days holiday. It
was time to brush away the cobwebs, and get totally sunburned.
So early the next morning we climbed back on the air-conditioned train for our next stop, the most southerly point in Taiwan, and popular beach town of Kenting. The town was packed solid with Smiley Taiwanese tourists (forcing us to stay at Catholic Church/hostel) and literally boiling over with holiday fever. We spent our time driving along the rugged coast exploring various beaches and indulged in the almost forgotten practice of exercise, with a spot of body boarding.
Next up was Tainan, for a spot of culture. But before exploring the town in any great depth we took a side trip on 50CC moped-175km round trip-mountain adventure. Setting off to discover some of the indigenous villages on a bike barely big enough for one person; It was an ass-numbing epic, rounded off with us taking a short cut home on Taiwan's main motorway, and literally hanging on for dear life in the hard shoulder as Juggernauts screamed past with their horns blasting away in mortified concern.
Tainan is Taiwan's oldest town, with a Dutch colonial history dating back to the 17 th century. Tainan has the
most Buddhist and/or Taoist temples on the island of Taiwan, giving an interesting glimpse into what mainland China's religious institutions were like before the cultural revolution (although today it is quite common for high ranking Taiwanese monks to take MBAs - Mao must be spinning in his grave!)
It was very hot and very rewarding, and in my eyes at least, very Chinese. However even though I had grown accustomed to US helicopters flying past my house every day in Seoul, the shear sound and power of Taiwanese F16s overhead was a little disconcerting.
Throughout its history Taiwan's aim was to reclaim the whole of the Chinese mainland, and visa-versa, though any military move by mainland China wouldn't be approved by America. China refuses to establish diplomatic relations with any country that maintains such diplomatic links with Taiwan. And nowadays most nations have switched their recognition to the government in Beijing.
Just after I left, Taiwan broke diplomatic relations with Chad, who 'went over' to the side of the Chinese, which means the island is now recognized by just 24 countries, mostly small states in Africa, Latin America and the Pacific, who receive aid from Taiwan. This
issue is a hot potato that could in theory lead to World War III if a war breaks out between the US and China, though in reality this isn't going to happen. Meanwhile, Taiwan spends billions of dollars on defense every year (guess who's selling?) in an attempt to ward off the mainland. Pragmatically of course, it is impossible to see how a country of its size could defend itself against the might and vast populous of mainland China. And once mainland China gets its human rights record up to American 'standards' it would be hard to argue a case against eventual reunification using a similar model used for Hong Kong and Macau.
Jennifer has an extra day's holiday. So I return alone, late at night, with just enough time to rush around and see Taipei's famous tourist night market, which was disappointing unless you like watching snakes being skinned alive or bunny rabbits swallowed whole?
The following morning I dashed to see the biggest building in the world, Taipei 101, jumped on the airport bus and before I had time to finish watching my movie I was back in Seoul.
As a tourist destination Taiwan is
totally undiscovered. This of course makes the locals extremely inquisitive and very friendly. It furthermore means you'll know nothing about the place and since it has a whole lot to offer the tourist, for at least a couple of weeks, it will really feel like a tour of discovery. Just a short flight from the tourist congestion of South East Asia, it is surprising Taiwan doesn't attract more visitors. So my advice is to get over there while it doesn't exist, because when it does, you won't be able to move for the mainlanders.
In Seoul it rained for a month, which is normal in summer (blue skies everyday in winter), and we began working at our new school, teaching Korean kids on holiday from their $10,000 a term English public schools. We'd also moved out of our apartments and living in a hostel for a month was quite a surreal experience, since a new 'flat mate' would appear on the coach most evenings, totally whetting my appetite for my real departure and my real holiday...
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Kate Hildebrand
Kate Hildebrand
Sounds good!
How's the food?