Taiwan

This blog post will mostly be about Taiwan because I forget what I wanted to write about BEFORE I went on this trip... but I would like to mention something before I begin and that is homesickness. There really is no place like home: I miss my friends more and more and I really miss things about Western life such as the way people confront each other, the way people find it rude to stare, the way nasty guys DO NOT pull up their shirts and show their gross bellies when it's hot (as you can see, I am growing a minor bitterness towards China...which is sad because the area I live in is pretty bad, so I can't consider all of China like this). I do't want to be that person, but honestly after Taiwan, I remember what the Western world looks and acts like, and I really miss it. It doesn't help that Guangdong (where I live) is known to be different than the rest of China in certain ways-- food and men (they're known to be ugly here while northerners are supposedly much better looking...) Audre and I were talking about this and she felt like this when she came back from Hong Kong... we got a little taste of civilization and now we want to go back to it. It's really sad but true, that in the airport I had an experience that proved to me China was different, and I was going back to it... In Taipei airport I was walking around before my flight. I went to the nice boutiques, looked at perfume and makeup and beauty products, then decided to go to my gate: D1. D1 was all the way at the end of the terminal and even down the stairs... as soon as I stepped down I heard a man hawking up nasty spit and aiming for the garbage. I heard a group of people screaming at each other when they were right next to the other person. I saw little kids running around and yelling. I heard a baby crying. At this point I remembered what it was like to be in China... and my level of happiness dropped MANY many MANY bars. I first sat down next to a group of people, then had to move because they were too loud and obnoxious. The best part is that the plane was delayed and when the airline started asking people to line up... EVERYONE got up. It didn't matter that they said rows 40-60 or people with small children... EVERYONE just decided it was time for them to line up. The lady working at the airport tried to control people, but it's pretty difficult to control more than a hundred people talking loudly... Lastly, surprisingly someone took a picture of me. I say surprisingly because I was still in Taipei...come on just give me a break! There are many more white people in Taipei than in China, so why are you taking a fucking picture of me at the airport while I am patiently waiting? That was the last straw and I think the straw that broke the camel's back, because now I am getting easily irritated with everything having to do with the ignorance of China as well as the lack of manners and respect. Awww civilization... Now I see why the gate was down the stairs...because the Taiwanese wanted to hide certain Chinese people from the rest of the normal community... hehehhehe

I must admit, I really expected Hong Kong to be what Taiwan was... great fashion, people lining up on the right side of escalators and letting others walk by on the left, lines waiting to get into the metro instead of everyone just pushing each other before people exited the train... this was the life and something that really made me appreciate Taipei! What I didn't like was that things there were SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive than in China... the first night cost me NT$1000, which is around 250 Yuan and $50 I guess. I didn't want to spend too much because the plane ticket to Taipei was SUPER expensive and I want to save money for when my sister comes to visit (which is in exactly 2 weeks!) I actually met up with Josie on Thursday and we went back to her parents' house in DongGuan and swam in a pool, went to dinner, and got foot massages! It was amazing and so relaxing...and a much needed break from Beijiao. We ate at a Thai restaurant and I had the best coconut drink thus far! It had pieces of jelly coconut or something...whatever it was, it was delicious! The next day Josie and I went to buy some illegal DVDs with her dad (I bought a few DVDs as well as a concert of Beyonce I think) and then we were off to the salon! We got our hair washed and massaged and our nails done! I painted my toes bright purple and Josie got a French mani. I'm not sure if I've ever written about the hair washing they have in China, but if not, allow me... basically you can get your hair washed at a salon, but they don't only wash your hair, they massage your scalp and neck and wash your hair around three times! It's so relaxing and a great experience because they DO NOT do this in the US, even if you pay $150 to get your hair done! First the girl at the salon washed my hair very carefully and massaged my scalp for about 20 minutes. Afterwards, she conditioned my hair and I got a coconut milk conditioning mask put on. While this was happening, some other girl was massaging my feet and painting my toes. After the coconut treatment for my hair, the girl massaged my neck and shoulders (which felt amazing because my muscles are ALWAYS tight in this area). She then moved on to massaging my arms and legs... and then I was almost finished! After she rinsed everything from my hair and wrapped it in a towel, I went to see a guy who would style my hair. Josie and I decided that I wanted curls and that was exactly what I got! It turned out great and it smelled great, and my toes looked ready for open toe heels. We then proceeded to have lunch with someone who worked with Josie's mom and he was super funny and lunch was also good (I was still full from breakfast because we went to a Dim Sum place and I tried chicken feet. I thought they weren't good and it was probably because I knew what I was eating... Josie likes them though!)

Later we got ready to go to the airport and Josie was freaking out because she didn't want to miss the flight, but we got there on time, got on the plane and flew to Taiwan. It's a little difficult to explain the dynamics between China and Taiwan because everyone has their own opinions on the subject (this means Chinese people versus Taiwanese people, old people versus younger people). When I asked Josie about it, she said something different than her friend Yvette, and something different than what Lily told me... but it makes sense because everyone has their own view on the subject of independence of Taiwan from China. On Josie's passport it says Republic of China and the Chinese passport says People's Republic of China...so that is a slight difference, but the way Lily explained to me is that Taiwan is under China and if anything ever happened with Taiwan, the Chinese government would come to their aide. Josie on the other hand said that Taiwan has it's own government and does not like to be associated under China... I asked why it was not considered independent and she said it was because Taiwan does not want to start trouble with China... this just confuses me because some Taiwanese want to be independent of China, while some do not... it's a little similar to the situation with Hong Kong. If Taiwan did ever start a war on independence... parts of China like Tibet and northwest China would also want independence...and it seems as if parts of China would fall apart, so the Chinese government cannot let that happen. In a book I read they said "Taiwan is as likely to become independent as Native Americans will get the United States land back from the US government"... or something like that.

Actually, the government from China escaped to Taiwan and set up their own government there after they lost the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese Communists (but the Republic of China government [now known as the Taiwanese government] got Taiwan because Japan lost it in WWII). Josie said something interesting... that Hong Kong should actually belong to the Taiwanese government because when the British got it after the Opium Wars (I wrote about this remember?), the Communist Party was not in existence, so the ROC (the Taiwanese government) really should own it. So complicated!

Anyway, our first night in Taipei we went out to a club called Luxy. It was very expensive but really fun. They had 3 dance floors and three DJs. One played hip hop (the biggest one), one played techno like music, and then there was an area upstairs for rave/alternative music for people on drugs. Not joking. Everyone was swaying like they were on some kind of substance. With the entry fee of NT$600 we got 2 free drinks which were not strong at all. We left the club went went to the 7 11 and got Johnny Walker and chugged it outside along with a chicken oil substance that is supposed to prevent hangovers (Josie's friend John suggested it. It was not good at all, and I don't think it REALLY worked, but oh well) We partied till the morning (around 4am) and then walked back to Josie's place. The next day we walked around downtown Taipei and went to the mall. It's very interesting because Taipei has about seven huge shopping malls that all have the same stores: Louis Vuitton, Prada, Chanel, Ferragamo... I don't really understand why one city needs so many of the same stores but Josie said Taiwanese people love to shop and some have a ton of money to do it... so it works! I was also introduced to a new Japanese store that I think I will shop at when I style my future condo... but I won't mention it here because I don't want people to steal my designs...hehehehe... Taipei had a lot of boutiques and stores with interesting and cool furniture and gadgets, so if I go back before I set up a new apartment, I think I will import some things from there... one of a kind and NO ONE in the US would have them! I always wanted different rooms in my future houses to have artifacts of all the places I have traveled... and I can just imagine all the crazy things I will buy when I go to the Middle East and Africa... actually China has some great pieces as well... very oriental and full of Jade (different than Taipei) Anyway we saw Taipei 101 but did not go up to the top and went to sleep pretty early because Josie had driving lessons in the morning and I was NOT going to go out by myself.

The next day was the 4th of July so I wore a white tank top with a blue and red skirt... We went to a small waterpark adn hung out in the pool, then we continued on to a market where they have tons of street food and little clothing shops. The stores were really nice, but I felt like I could find the same things in China for cheaper than buying than in Taiwan, so I didn't really get anything besides food! I tried some local Taiwanese food as well as a huge waffle cone filled with ice cream, fruit, and thick whipped cream which was sooo good, but I'm guessing also very fattening! I ate the WHOLE thing by myself! We actually didn't do anything to clebrate the 4th which made me a little sad, but Josie was tired early for some reason and I didn't know anyone else in Taipei so I had no choice but to go home earlyyyy. Waaa! Oh yea, in Taipei the metro is called the MRT, not the MTR or subway, and you have to look at your destination and see how much you need to buy a token for. The lowest price is NT$20, which is more expensive than in Guangzhou, but the taxis are cheaper in Taipei... around NT$150 for most places at night (you divide NT$ by 30 to get US $, and by 4 to get Yuan)

I guess the first few days that I was in Taipei were the hottest it's been for a few years there, but I didn't really mind it because I was used to the heat from China! We went to a small bar in the college area to use the internet and watch the Germany vs. Argentina game (ALL the bars either had a really high cover charge to get in, or they were all booked because I guess Taiwanese and foreigners in Taiwan LOVE soccer!) We spent a lot of time uploading pics on facebook in the bar because Josie's internet at home is really slow and sometimes doesn't work...and only one person can use it at a time. We met two Americans and a French guy there... that Josie would end up teaching Chinese to every week, who would in return teach her French (I joined them for their first lesson and it was pretty informative) Throughout the week we went to museums, to an old Taiwanese village (where everything looks like it did about 30 years ago in Taipei), to Sun-Yat Sen's old house, to the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, to the Taiwanese Museum, to the malls, to restaurants, to street vendors, to the park... actually in the park we were asked to put our clothes on because we were drinking and tanning in bathing suits, but I guess someone called security on us. The poor old security guard felt very awkward when he told us, in English, that some old men complained (it was me, Josie and John tanning). I also got to see some famous Taiwanese and Chinese actors... like the Taiwanese Johnny Depp (we went to his bar one night and he was actually there), some other Chinese guy whose career fell apart after pictures of him and other Chinese actresses doing dirty things leaked on the internet... Josie even had a small get together for a few of her friends for the Germany vs. Spain game... I fell asleep very early that night (well around 3AM, but the game ended at 4), so I guess people stayed over till then! In addition, I experienced my first earthquake EVER... I was sitting online very late and the building and apartment started swaying... at first I didn't know if it was just me being tired, but then I realized it was an actual earthquake. I felt the vibration and heard the teetering building. Josie was asleep at this time but the quake woke her up and we stood under a threshold and I had the feeling that earthquakes like this are very common in Taiwan! Josie said they were and she went back to sleep! It was pretty cool to actually feel a small earthquake..it felt weird knowing that the ground COULD just crack underneath me.

The last night in Taipei Josie and I and Antoine (the French guy) went to a really nice bar (Barcode) where there were a ton of foreign people... Antoine talked to some French guy who was an alum of the school he's going to and this guy was half Senegalese and half French! COOL! I think I need to go to France because a lot of north Africans go there, and I want to see what it is like. After a short lesson with Antoine before the soccer game that one night, I realized I really need to spend some time in France... it's so ME! I want to learn more about their culture, fashion, politics... and Paris would be a perfect city... expect maybe for the stuck up French I hear so much about. Nevertheless, all this traveling has made me want to travel more, especially to certain countries in Western Europe and north Africa! I can't wait!

All in all, Taiwan was so great and a real breath of fresh Western air. It was pretty expensive but interesting because of Chinese, Western and Japanese influence. Josie was a great tour guide and really explained a lot to me... about the food, politics, people! Hopefully someday I will get to go back and then have time to go outside of Taipei to the south and the east, where supposedly the natural area is beautiful! I actually really miss beaches and if I had time I would go to Hainan with my sister, but instead we'll stay on the mainland and explore here... but I think in October I might go to Hainan for vacation! I miss beautiful beaches!