Meeting Locals, Karaoke and Tourism

As a traveler in Taiwan, there are many adventures and experiences that you must prepare yourself to face. When traveling to a country which has a language barrier, meeting, and talking to, locals can be the largest and most interesting experiences you can have. There is something about talking to someone with very few understandable words, and still being able to get accomplish a goal.

While in Taiwan I have had the pleasure of meeting some wonderful people, and some less wonderful people. I have spent evenings talking with students and intellectuals who care about the earth, politics and living sustainable lives, and I

have met shop owners who over charge me for products because I am foreign. The other night there was a guy whose name we never learned given the language barrier. After spending some time at the karaoke bar with his friends, he wandered over to me and my friends as we sat near the street at a cafe. He began to break through the language barrier and drunkenly win the heart of one of me fellow female travelers. Now I don’t want to say that this guy was unattractive, but he was pretty haggard looking. After some awkward interaction he faced the truth, heard the fat lady sing, and realized that he had been rejected. Thinking he would leave we went back to our casual conversation. We were wrong. He waddled around and found he next target; another one of my lady friends. Toward the end of this second exposure, our new acquaintance takes it upon himself to heave the young lady into his arms and starting waking away with her. Immediately people from our group jump up in avid protest and got him to put her down, and leave. Ironically, this man had over stayed his welcome with the people who were visiting his town.

There have also been wonderful experiences I have with meeting local people. We have visited some universities and we have met some great students that have become our friends during the trip. One young law student named Cera helped me when I lost my camera, and, through continued conversation after our meetings, has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation for Taiwan and cross-culture relations. Another set of students, named Eva and Michelle, who I know read the blog, have become close friends of our group and have come to outings with our group. They were very hospitable when we visited their college, and they are a lot of fun to hang out with at places like KTV; the ultimate karaoke experience.

Yes you heard me karaoke. In Taiwan, karaoke is one of the largest social activities for all people, of all ages. It it quite the social phenomena. While staying here, I have seen old ladies on the top of mountains singing and groups of middled aged people drinking and singing the night away. What you have to realize is that there are entire buildings committed to a “luxury” karaoke experiences. One of most popular of these types of businesses in Taiwan is knows by its iconic acronym: KTV. At KTV you rent out a private lounge with your friends. A buffet with food and drinks is located in proximity to your room, and room service is available. In the room, you face a TV with a suped-up karaoke console with thousands of songs and videos loaded on it. you pay by the hour and it is fairly inexpensive from what I can tell, when you spilt the costs between friends. I am told that sometimes college students stay up singing and socializing all night with frie

nds. My travel group had the pleasure of renting a room for a few hours. It was an experience in itself to be at a place that specializes in karaoke. I will have to give it to Taiwanese. When it comes to singing into a mic with words on a screen, they know how to do it right. It was nice to get to relax and kinda do something a little less touristy. Not that I don’t like some of the tourist activities that we partake in, but you get tired of being fed commercialized stuff all the time. Only a few places we have gone have been like that, and even those outings have had their silver linings.

The first half of our trip consisted of meetings and unlead tours, via our professor, around the capital city of Taipei.

Going to night markets, seeing local sights, and learning about the political atmosphere of the area. We used the subway, the bus, we broke off an wandered the city on our own. It was nice. I felt like I was becoming a part of the culture, if only a little bit. Now though, we are on the tour lead trip around the island.You make a sacrifice when going on a guided tour. Our tour guide, a local pan-green Taiwanese man and his knowledge of the island is impressive. Today we went to an outdoor aboriginal cultural learning village with pseudo-theme park built in; tourist paradise with curio shops and well-commercialized products galore. Surprisingly, the food was not over-expensive here as it usually is at popular themed parks in the US. At first I had a hard time dealing with the fact that big business and tourism had over run this once indigenous inhabited area, over time I begin understanding the compromise.

While tourism can change the experience and “authentic nature” of a place. The amount of people the tourism draws, and the money they bring is great for the economy. double edged sword if I have ever seen one. It is good to know though that our tour will not be over stacked with these kind of stops. We have many scenic areas planned and we still get to go out at the local night markets at night, which is always a good time. I have added a picture of me on a boat tour of Sun Moon lake, one of the most popular tourist attractions in Taiwan.

There is a fine line between being a traveler and a tourist. Sometimes you have to be one and sometimes you have to be the other. Each one brings it’s own pros and cons, but the important thing to remember is that you are there. Always make the most of it. I’m sure going to keep trying. As always thanks for reading.

The Loss of a Comrade.

It has been a busy past couple of days, and regrettably not the most enjoyable. Picture this: Here I am finishing with a wonderful dinner with students from a local university. We make our way on to a bus, which is part of the amazing public transit system here in Taiwan; the 236 bus to be exact. This particular bus’ route traveled from Taipei Zoo to town, and back. At 8:10pm I took my seat on the transit vehicle. After traveling a few stops, we get off the bus and boarded the metro, but something was different. I soon realize that I am no longer donning the backpack that I use to carry my camera and personal affects on the day to day travels.

After a quick recall, I realize that I had left my backpack, laden with valuables, on the bus I exited moments ago. I jump into action trying to retrieve my backpack. I have one of my chinese-speaking friends, who has a local phone, call the transit authority and the police within minutes of losing my backpack. Interestingly enough, I also found out from one of my new taiwanese friends that there is a police radio station, that we called, that you can call and they will broadcast your lost and found report to try and help retrieve your things. Sadly though, regardless of all of my efforts, my backpack has not been found, or returned. It has been a few days since filing the reports and nothing has been turned in. My camera was in the backpack and it’s disappearance has given me a fair amount of stress. More importantly, my passport was in my backpack. The loss of my passport does mean a few things, mainly though, that I can’t get out of the country at this point in time.

Immediately after realizing this, we call the American Institute in Taiwan. The AIT acts as quasi-embassy. Taiwan, not being recognized by the United States as an actual country, does not have an official diplomatic embassy; however, given the good diplomatic ties between the United States and Taiwan, the AIT is given full legal allowance to act as a de facto embassy until an full embassy is established.

On the cab ride over, I explain my perilous situation to the cab driver. The cab driver, who was both humble and knowledgeable, went out of his way to help me as much as possible by taking me to the different authorities I had called. While there we went in with me to check and see if they had my backpack. After all this, we get to our last stop and as I looked down to see how much the ride would cost, he turned off the meter. When we tried to give him the money he wouldn’t take it because he said that he was just helping us the way he knew how. We eventualIy had to force the money is his hand and tank him for all his help. I stroll into the American Citizen’s Service office knowing that the people of this country are gracious and willing to help me.

After talking to the wonderful foreign service representatives, I am told that I could easily be granted an emergency passport to get out of the country. We decided to wait to put in the paperwork for a new passport because waiting means that if my old passport shows up, I don’t have to pay for the new one!

Having to run all these errands gave me the opportunity to spend some time away from the group I am traveling with. The professor sponsoring our group, and his colleague, both who are amazingly and wonderful for helping me, and I went to a local chocolatier shop to wait until dinner. What a treat! I had spiced hot chocolate and the smooth taste chilled my nerves a little.

Let’s continue to hope and pray that I can get my backpack back. In the mean time I am trying to have a good time! I am excited to make the most of this trip. Thanks to all who are reading. I have attached a picture of my backpack, seen above. If you are reading this in Taiwan and you took it off the bus, please give it back to me.

Ni Hau? (Not sure how to actually spell it.)

The weekend is here, which means we get a break from the diplomatic, educational and academic meetings (the one we have had so far), and do some more sight seeing around Taipei. (Also, I did find out that the correct pronunciation is “Tai-Bei”).

Our first stop was the National Palace Museum, which happens to be one of the largest collections of Chinese and Taiwanese art and historical artifacts in the world since the Chinese government had a lot of museums and pieces burned in the centuries before. Being major contributor sharing chinese history, the National Palace museum in Taipei is a large attraction for Chinese tourists. Dr. Rodgers, the professor sponsoring us on the trip, pointed out that the Chinese tourists could be spotted easily because of their rude behavior. My favorite part of the museum was the large exhibit on jade, asia’s green precious stone. While waiting outside, after finishing the museum tour, we got to spend some “quality time” with the professors young son of 3, whom he brought on the trip along with his wife.

The youngsters name is Kyle. Now Kyle, on this trip, began to play the game “Gotcha”. “Gotcha” is a variant of the game “Tag” except in “Gotcha” Kyle has a few rules:

1.) Kyle always wins.

2.) Kyle can “get you” as many times as he wants.

3.) Kyle can “get you” at any time.

4.) Even if you “get” Kyle, in reality, you missed.

These 4 fundamental rules make playing the game not only exhausting, but also no very fun; unless you’re Kyle.

All joking aside, having Professor Rodger’s family here with us is a true blessing. His wife is from Taiwan and helps us translate when needed, and they are always there to help and give advice.

After the museum we had our first traditional taiwanese meal. Some of it was not appealing, like the fish “logs” in a ginger soup with greens. Other things, like the chicken and fruit dishes were superb. It’s all kind of hit and miss. On the upside though, I am learning to use chop stick in a far greater capacity than I thought I ever would.

After lunch we made our way over to the t

owering Taipei 101. Standing 1671 ft. tall, it towers above the Taipei skyline. The inside is filled with nice shops, and the surrounding areas are newly renovated and make

up the “nice” part of town. While walking in the shopping centers leading up to the monster-building, we began to hear music, and crowds of people. The smell of food filled the air,

and there were swarms of people infesting a blocked off area. What could this spectacle be? A dog fair. A. Dog. Fair. Exhibits, clothes, food samples, competitions, dog amusement rides and all the other stuff that dog’s would never need all in one place. It was a struggle to pull away from the ridiculous, yet cute, canine carnival.

Standing in the top floor of Taipei 101 was decent at best. The building was so high, that the clouds started to obstruct the view of the ground. It was defiantly worth it though, for those few brief moments, to be able to see the lights of Taiwan for miles and miles.

I hadn’t eaten for sometime now and the asain meals the past few days had been wearing on me. So what is an american to do? Go to Chili’s of course and enjoy a cheeseburger with fries. At the restaurant area there was a older taiwanese man that approached me and asked me where I was from. I said “Texas” to which he replied “Yao Ming, Houston Rockets!”. It is awkward to know that complete strangers can come up to me and start a

conversation, without speaking my language, and still be able to make small talk. I can’t do that with just about anyone here! Ill get better though...hopefully.

Taking Taipei by Storm

Day 2:

This was our first whole day in Taipei. Jet-lagged, my body woke up, on it's own at around 7:30. First time that has happened in a long time. We ate breakfast at the Jiantan Youth Center, the food isn't as bad as I thought it would be, and since it is a major international city it has more than just oriental food available. It's much like the US in the sense that if you want italian food, you can find it; if you want TGIF you can find it. I like trying the local taiwanese food, but having the option to eat american food is nice. Anyway, after breakfast a few of us decided to take a walk around the surrounding areas before we had to leave for a meeting. We found a hiking trail that went into the Jiantan Park. As we climbed, I made small conversation with those around me, finding out why my peers came on the trip.

Most were intere

sted in international politics

and international culture, but some just wanted to get out of Sherman. At one stop on the hiking trail we found a temple that seemed very

traditional at first, but at closer examination, we found a woman singing karaoke. In Taiwan karaoke is a popular pastime for people of all ages, and there are entire establishments devoted to karaoke services. I added a picture of the woman. She was really nice.

We made our way down the mountain, and and we hopped on the MRT (train system) and shuttled over to Soochow University. We ate a delicious lunch with the students and staff, and had a Q&A session with them. Some of the profe

ssors that we talked to are some of the most respected intellectuals in the country and one of them,

a professor of political science, is a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential election. We discussed the political atmosphere in Taiwan.

I learned that there are two main political parties, with little to no third party politics. The two political parties are the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). The two parties are split along the single issue of national identity in relation to China. The DPP wants complete sovereignty and recognition from the international community. The KMT is more geared toward being united with china in the same way Scotland is untied with England. They are both their own country, but the United Kingdom binds them together.

We met some really nice students at Soochow and talked with them about the differences in student life here and in the states. It turns out that they take around 10 classes and meet in each class once a week or so, as compared to my semester schedule of 4 classes 2-3 times a week. All the people I have met here are all very polite and willing to help. It is from these people, and my classmates whom know mandarin chinese, that I have learned a few key phrases for getting around Taipei. Hopefully i can try and use the little chinese I learned more and more.

After our meeting we went on some sight seeing adventures, and ended up at an all you can eat mongolian BBQ joint that I will be visiting again! It was really good food at affordable prices. I'll write more on the prices of things later.

Then we went to Longshan temple, which is the center for Buddhist religious life in taipei. We talked about some of the religious customs, and we browsed Buddhist literature. It was strange standing in a place that symbolized such a different set of beliefs than my own.

It has only been two days, but I am starting to get a feel for the culture, but the contstant going and doing is wearing on my body. I dragged myself into bed at the end of the day, with sore feet and a sore back, a good nights rest is exactly what I needed.

The Flight, The Sights, The fun.

Day 1:

Broadcasting loud and clear from Taipei, the capital of Taiwan. Leaving from DFW airport we flew 3 hours to LAX, a short flight compared to the transferring flight to Taiwan. 15 Hours. This wouldbe my first international flight. I sat next to a man named Jack.

Now to understand this story you have to try and visualize what Jack looks like. The man is unkempt, unshaven, and wearing and un-matching leisure suit from the 1980's, solid blue smoke saturated jacket, with what looked like black and white tweed pants, pleated of course. Jack appears to have been drinking since early that morning, and reeked of booze. After taking our seats on the 747, Jack began to make, through slurred words, small conversation. He first said that he hated sitting on the inside aisle, and I apologized for this, as if it was my fault. A baby began to cry a few seats ahead of us, and he began to mutter under his breath something expletive about how he hated crying children. I tried to be engaged in the conversation, however difficult. He asked where I was flying and I explained the class trip I was on saying, "I'm studying abroad". new acquaintance. He answered he was going to Bangkok, his monthly trip. When I asked why, he replied, "I'm studying a broad, or two". What a first class skeez. In my astonishment to the fact that this man was talking openly about his personal life like this, I tried to change the subject by commenting on how long this trip would be. He agree but then assured me that he could manage because he had taken some "intense uppers and downers" before he got on the plane. This man was blowing my mind. He had now drunkenly told me that he had popped pills on his flight to Bangkok for cheap hookers. Soon after that he passed out breathing the smell of Crown Royal towards me. 14 hours, 5 or 6 in flight movies, 2 in flight meals, and a couple of hours of sleep later we started our decent into taipei. Jack and I had flown 7000 miles with each other and as time progressed he stared acting more and more strange. He started to have the shakes really bad. Like debilitatingly bad. He asked for a cup of water, and when it was put into his hands spilled it on himself from the shakes. I asked if he needed anything and he stiffly answered, "a drink". When we landed, I departed fromJack and wished him the best of luck. Welcome to Taiwan Riley.

We hopped on the tour bus and met our tour guide named Allen. He was entertaining, and gave us useful maps, and made small conversation with the group until we arrived at the Jintan Overseas Youth Activity Center. It functions as a hostel of sorts. Kinda like and overseas form of YMCA. The rooms were nice, the beds were inviting and I was beat.

I left Dallas at 9:30am on January 5th. I arrived in Taiwan at 10:30pm the next day. 37 hours? Jet lag was about to destroy my sleep cycle.

Here's a view from my room at the Jiantan Center.

In the distance, the tall building is the Taipei 101...the second tallest building in the world.