Taipei with the Bobomonster: June 2010

So, I'm back from South Korea now. The plane ride was about 2 hours and 20 minutes from Taipei to Seoul. I flew with Asiana Air, and for the most part, they're a Korean Airline. One thing I enjoy about flying with Asian airlines is the fact that their food tastes so much better. I remember flying with United Airlines internationally, and hating the food because it was all so bland. The best thing they probably had were their honey roasted peanuts. Asian Airlines have young and courteous flight attendants as well versus American flight attendants, whom are often stuck up or bitter. Anyways, onto Seoul.

Seoul was interesting! I felt at any given age you're at, there's something for you to do. Old people like to go hiking and trekking, while young people could to go clubbing and drinking. Not into either? There's a bunch of cultural museums and shows for really low prices. Most of the museums I went to were either free, or less than $5usd to get in. Seoul seriously reminded me of Taipei in terms of the way the streets looked, except, with more drunk people stumbling all over the place. The staple drink is that good ol' Soju. Usually when we order Soju in Korean restaurants in the Bay Area, we're accustomed to paying at average $12 a bottle. In Seoul, it's at your local 7-11 for a little over a buck! Dangerous! In the two weeks in Seoul, I've probably drank about four to five bottles. All the Americans/Canadians I've met here are either traumatized or sick of soju. It just gives everyone a "monster hang over".

Korea was quite expensive for some reason. I thought so, compared to Taipei at least. I was under the assumption that Korea would have been cheaper than Taiwan, but it really wasn't. I would like to compare it to being as expensive as the Bay Area! Things like water, chips, and alcohol might be cheaper, but eating out at restaurants and ordering beers were up there in pricing compared to SF. But to me, a vacation is a vacation, and nothing should ever hold you back on having fun, especially if you have the funds. Who knows if you'll ever go back? You might as well make it the best time possible with whatever time you have.

Korean people are very courteous for the most part, except when you get into the municipal station where every ones shoving and pushing one another. I thought people wanted to fight me during the first couple of days! As I observed further, it was just a cultural thing. People shoved and pushed because they didn't want to miss their exits. A couple of other things that struck my attention were grown men holding each other's hands. Women do it as well, but that looks ok. So when a group of men start holding hands walking down the street drunk, I kind of question the motive. After researching and asking a few friends, I found out that they do it in respect to each other. They do it because they care about each other. It's their way of male bonding. However, there was one situation that I had to question. It was half time during a World Cup game with Korea playing. While I was waiting in line for the pisser, a group of guys must have decided that it was a progressive idea to take a piss together in the toilet. How large was this group of guys? Four. Four guys had their dicks out pissing in the same toilet, all looking down making sure not to piss on each other (surely because they were intoxicated). If you saw my face, it was a face full of shock, awe, and disgust rolled into one. So… I wonder if that was male bonding as well.

The amount of English in Seoul was much lower than in Taipei. These are just my statistics from travelling around solo. Most of the people I've run into on the streets couldn't or didn't want to help me in terms of pointing me in the right direction. There's a huge gap in terms of what generations speak English. For example, while going on a few hiking trips, I would occasionally ask a few grandpas If they knew how to get to the mountains. They would reply back with English and we'd all of a sudden engage in some meaningful conversation. They always like to ask where I'm from, where I stay, and how old I am. Being respectful and thankful for their help, I reply to all their questions with a smile. The teenage generation up until college aged individuals seemed to know less or maybe they didn't want to be bothered. The biggest trend for the youth (ages 3-12+) now is to learn English. I asked someone what the reason was behind that, and he told me,

Him: "It wasn't really to just learn English, but it's more of a contest between mothers to show off how wonderful and educated and smart their children were".

Me: "What? So, these Koreans aren't even going to utilize their English? You're telling me that they do it because it's just an undisclosed contest, or jealousy war between Korean mothers to see whose kid was brighter?"

Him: "Yup. That's right".

What else? You can say that I went into Korea unprepared. The more I stayed there, the more things I found to do, with less time to actually do. I did two hiking trips, one being Saraksan, and the other Bukhansan. They were both extremely gorgeous locations, full of nature and fresh air. Compared to Taipei, Seoul didn't seem as humid and muggy. I was still sweating bullets, but it just wasn't as humid. Humidity really bugs me a lot. Older Koreans LOVE to hike. You'll see gangs of people fully decked out in thing sweat absorbing clothes, hiking boots, picks, axes, walking sticks, and large backpacks with who knows what's inside. They go full out when they go hiking. I mean, what the hell are they going up there with a pick and an axe for? Not all of them, but I did see a few people.

I do have to share my story with the climb at Bukhansan though. That hike was one helluva adventure! It was more of a climb than a hike. It wasn't your normal trail, that's for sure. There were tons of rocky paths to overcome, paths that didn't lead to anywhere and boulders you had to man handle. It was a good thing I invested in these $1 gloves before going up because if I didn't, my adventure would have been "just another hike". Going up was tiring and I was constantly checking the time and getting worried about making it to the top. I started late at about 4pm, so I wasn't sure how long it was going to take to make it to the peak. Mentally, I just told myself to keep on going as long as the sun was up, and that I did! At about 6:50pm, I reached the absolute top of my trail. Everything I was wearing was fully soaked in sweat, but the feeling of making it to the top was absolutely surreal. I felt like I used up all my energy to reach where I reached with my legs burning and cramping. I spent whatever time I had at the peak just to enjoy the stunning view, fresh air, and surrealism of it all. Checking my clock, I knew the sun sets around 7:40pm, and it gets dark around 8. I decided to head down at exactly 7:10, giving myself 50 minutes to descend to the flatter area with fewer rocks to maneuver over. I was mentally prepared to run, jump, and leap down as fast as I could to reach that time. You could say that the adrenaline junky side of me was coming out, and boy, it fucking came. It was like a countdown for my dear life. I had no flash light and my smart phone didn't have a flash light function.

While flying down, there was a point where I went off the trail and ended up at a small cliff. At this point, I had two decisions: 1 – go backwards and get back on the trail, or 2 – jump down one story and just keep on going down. I spent a good 30 seconds talking to myself. Conclusion? I chose option two and got a good grip on the cliff, hanging my legs down before landing. What helped me with my drop was a Discovery Chanel special about parkour tactics and how they absorbed the impact of their fall. I implemented the idea and it worked, but what I didn't realize was that I had to bounce back up. When that happened, I started sliding down the giant boulder I landed on due to a patch of leaves and bushes. What I had thought was ground, really was another boulder/cliff! This was where my heart started pounding. I was sliding leg first, hands back holding myself up to get a view of where I was sliding down towards. I swear, it was a scene out of Indiana Jones or something. Three seconds into sliding, I saw another dive down. By the 5^th second of sliding, I managed to grab onto a tree root to stop myself from falling down another small cliff. From there, I was able to just probably climb down by grabbing a few trees and leaping onto flatter areas while heading down. No way would I have wanted to dislocate my ankle or even worse, break a bone. I just didn't want to get stranded, that's all.

After all that it was more running, jumping and leaping to the flatter areas of the mountain. I'm glad to have survived and lived to tell about it. I mean, I knew I wasn't going to die or anything but mentally, there seemed to be some type of preparation for it (and no I am not suicidal). So this was by far the most epic adventure I've done, and it was done in Korea of all places. It made me feel young again! When you were a kid, did you ever have that feeling where you were invincible? That you were able to run and jump down a whole flight of stairs with zero hesitation of screwing up and ending up in a face plant? That was the feeling that I achieved. There was just so much adrenaline pumping, it brought me back to feeling like that bastard kid I was. You could say that as a kid, I was always running around China town bullying kids and taking lunch money from other kids.

How come I can't achieve that feeling anymore? It's such a rare occasion to be able to go wild and test my bodies limit without worrying too much. Is it because I've become wiser? Is it because I think too much, and that the consequences of such decisions often prevent me from acting or doing what I really want to? I feel like that's my problem most of the time. As an adult, I just think too much for my own good. It's unfortunate that I can't just be carefree anymore, but as adults, I have many responsibilities now. As children, we had our parents taking care of us, but now as an adult, are you going to return the favor? I know I am.

That's something hard to do with a broken leg or arm I'd say.

I would like to thank Angelique for hosting me! Without her, I don't think I would have gone. Even though she's super busy with work and all, I still managed to have a lot of fun. I hope she makes it into Japan! It's always nice to attain a goal, and ultimately achieving it. It's such a rewarding feeling. For the longest time, I was hesitant on making my move to Taipei, but I did it, and I have no regrets on doing so. I would also like to thank all her friends for showing me around, taking me out to great restaurants and giving me the opportunity to experience the craziest sports game I've ever participated in my life!

So right from returning to Taipei, I reserved my weekend for Frank! It was an awesome weekend, and I'm glad I was able to show him around Taipei this past Saturday and Sunday. This weekend has been one of a crazy one. I was literally running on a few hours of sleep from Friday night until Sunday night.

As Rob would say, "Who needs sleep? You sleep enough when you're dead".

After staying in Taipei for the past four weeks, there are a few things I would like to note. These things are mainly likes, and dislikes thus far that I've experienced.

To begin, let's start with the dislikes:

Mosquitoes - My number one fear at the moment. They've terrorized me to a point where I'm just paranoid every night before sleeping. Currently, on my right arm alone, I have 10 bites. I've begun to lose count. New ones just pop up when I wake up. I've decided to take on counter measures. I've installed an anti-mosquito repellent. It's a scent that's supposed to ward off mosquitoes. We'll see how well that works. I'm also going to be purchasing an electric shock lamp that attracts mosquitoes, but kills them when they touch it. My last resort will be a net that I'll sleep in. It looks like a tent, but instead, made with a net like material. That way, I'll just zip myself up and keep the mosquitoes out while I fall asleep comfortably.

Air quality - The air in Taipei is thick and smoggy, mainly due to the thousands of scooters in any given area buzzing around traffic. Add cars, buses, and factories, and you'll have thicker smog than LA.

Blue Skies? - I haven't seen much of it, but I know it exists in Taipei City. The skies are dull and gray for the most part, which make me feel dull at times. There's something about the power of the Sun that makes me feel more vibrant about everything. The weather conditions have been wet thus far, but when it's actually dry and sunny, the humidity and heat waves from the sun make me lazy and tired.

Cold hot cold hot cold hot - On the streets, it's hot, but once you step into a big building or restaurant, you'll get cold again from the blasting A/C. I think I've gotten sick because of this. Basically, you'll be walking around sweating outdoors, and then you'll go into a mall with blasting a/c. A few moments into it, and you'll feel like a walking popsicle.

Scammers - Just like in any country, you'll find your scammers operating. The scammers that I've experienced here scam through your cellular service. They'll call you, hang up, and wait for you to call them back. From what my room mate told me, never call back a strange missed call. What they do, is re-route your call to

China

, and you get charged up the ass while the scammer reaps the benefit of providing the business of calling internationally. I have no idea how this works, or even how much money the scammer even makes, but a scam is a scam none the less.

Drivers - They're reckless here. People die here everyday in scooter accidents because drivers are driving drunk. The scooter riders here are reckless too, weaving in and out of traffic. Every time I'm riding around in a scooter, it feels like the 50cc version of MotoGP. Everyone is out on a race. Everyone is riding around like there is no tomorrow. Pedestrians barely have any right of way. Motorists will just cut you off and come inches to smacking at times. I've seen whole families stuff themselves on scooters. It's ridiculous.

And for the likes!

Food - What can I say? You can eat anything here. It's just like in SF, except cheaper, and possibly even better in quality. From Burgers, to French, to Pho, and Japanese sashimi or ramen, they've got it here. Prices are very competitive due to the neighboring businesses that are competing for customers.

Municipal System - Because of its ease of use, affordability, and the fact that English is everywhere, I've been able to go to parts of Taipei I would never attempt to go. The MRT system is truly what our MUNI underground system should be. The arrival times are very on point. The trains, clean and air conditioned. I have nothing but praise. The only downside is that, when it gets busy, the train may smell like B.O

T.V - I know I stopped watching T.V back in the States, but I love the fact that there are five designated channels that show nothing but movies all day. While I was sick, I was glued to the television for days watching movies.

That's about it. So, I guess there are more dislikes than likes thus far. Don't get me wrong, I’m loving my stay here. I just felt like sharing with you what I'm going through here.
Some of you may wonder if I'm feeling homesick. Well, just a little. I miss my family, and most of my close friends. I miss hearing English, and being able to share what's on my mind with someone. It's hard here, because I can't express certain things in Chinese because my vocab just isn't quite there yet. I feel comfortable talking to people now, but not in terms of holding a full on conversation. Not yet..

I miss being able to drive freely. I miss my stinky dog named Mickey. I miss having the internet at any given moment (smart phones, or at home). Once you've been stripped of the simple things, you realize how much more you appreciate them. Lots of people don't drive here because they can't afford it. It's hard to make a living here, especially in the city where everyone is constantly competing with each other for their jobs. It's hard to understand the concept of "taking things for granted" until you really are left with the bare essentials.

Well, Korea is my next destination starting on the 10th, up until the 24th. I won't be able to update while I'm there, but I plan on coming back with a bunch of pictures of my adventure there. Korea will be my first destination out of Taiwan. Some others on my list include Bali, Thailand, Hong Kong, and finally, Japan as my final destination point before arriving back home.