After the peaceful tranquility of the New Zealand wilderness, Taiwan is a city of sensory overload. I'm not sure I could've handled it even after Australia. Maybe directly from New York, maybe but it would depend how recently I had visited Flushing in my hometown of Queens.
My morning happened somewhere 30,000 feet above the earth. I can't tell you when or where, I just know it was somewhere between Auckland and Guangzhou, probably as I was telepathically wishing painful gastric issues upon the man in front of me who left his tv on and his daughters tv on. In the darkness of the cabin it was a jarring death ray to my sleep. Eventually the stewardess came over and turned them off for me and I thanked God for her kindness as I slipped off into sleep.
I got to Guangzhou at 5am. The lounge didn't open til 6:30am so I found a quiet, dark corner of the airport near one of the gates. I had gotten severely dehydrated on the plane but I refused to pay for anything when I could get it for free. So I put down my pocket blanket/tarp on the carpet, laid down on it with my head on my backpack and my shmegah scarf as a blanket. I closed my eyes and managed to fade into some semblance of sleep before the cold air had frozen the tip of my nose and I started shivering. I definitely noticed the difference going between 28C and 10C. I was not prepared for such cold so I ended up sitting in one of the chairs and continuing to read my book until 7:30am when I went over to the lounge.
Once I was back in the lounge I immediately asked for the shower. It was ice cold but so so nice to wash the grime of that flight and all the people coughing without covering their mouths. After my shower I ate dumplings and soup and drank lots of water in between cat naps. Then it was back on the plane and off to Taipei.
Two hours later and I was experiencing the greatest culture shock I think I ever have. Everything was so loud and smelled like Flushing Main Street and was so crowded. I began to regret the order of my trip immediately and I longed for the hot sun and cool mountain air again. Maybe it was just the slight cold I could feel coming on but I just was not feeling Taiwan at all.
Eventually I found my hostel which occupies the 7th floor and half the 8th floor of an office building. The other half of the 8th floor is an accounting firm (the letters CPA are pretty universal in any language). I went to my room and immediately repacked my bag. It's something I've been meaning to do since Auckland but never got the chance to. I noticed in the process that I had forgotten to take one of my GoPro batteries (or maybe 2?) out of my luggage so it was confiscated. All packed up I put out my clothes for the rest of the trip and was once again back to a bag with space to spare.
I decided to lay down for a bit but was soon distracted by my friend Andrew back home who was having his own adventure not only getting back to NY but with a new dating app as well. It was so nice as always to hear from him and have a bit of home again. I started to watch some videos and then as I started to doze off decided to just head out instead. It was suddenly very dark out so I was worried that everything may be closed. It wasn't until later that I realized it was only 6:30pm and that I was not only in a much colder city then before but one with not nearly as much sunlight.
I only had one thing on the agenda for the evening - go to the local night market. I had seen some videos of when my friend Karen and her husband Roraj were here a few weeks ago and attended the night market. It is like a carnival, there were pochinko style games in the beginning where you could win prizes and beyond that more food stalls then you could shake a stick at. I started to walk through and was immediately hit with the worst smell I had ever smelled in my life in regards to food.
Now before you judge me for judging another culture so harshly it's important to keep in mind that I am no stranger to Taiwanese, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese food stalls. Each has its own scent, and I don't always find them pleasant but I've never found them repulsive before. I wasn't sure what to do in this case. I pulled my scarf up over my nose and then immediately regretted wearing it because I was sure it would absorb the smell and then I would have to burn my favorite scarf. I think the culprit was the duck head stall.
Once I got passed the stench - literally power walking past a dozen other stalls until I could no longer smell it - I found the market extremely overwhelming. First I didn't speak the language. Then I didn't know the names of half of the foods - usually at home ill snoop around to try and tell what meat it is and then buy it. Third the lights and the crowds were so much to handle. Having not slept for a day it was a lot to take in at once. Eventually I stopped at a stall with a line of people and got in line. The gentleman who ran the stand, where they sold scallion pancakes, spoke English to me so I wasn't totally lost. It took a while to get one but once I did I was glad I had chosen that one. It was crispy and oily but not overly so. There was a sweet soy sauce and chili sauce brushed inside it and bits of Thai basil in the middle. I was ecstatic with my choice. When it doubt follow the crowds!
The next crowd was on line for a rice ball filled with meat and spice. There was an American or Canadian white guy with his Asian girl friend eating one not far away. The guy was talking about how amazing it was while I was finishing my scallion pancake. I found the stand where the guy was making them and watched for a few minutes as he expertly crafted these hot rice eggs. I thought about getting one but it looked like he only took mobile payments and the line had to be at least 25 people deep.
I decided to just walk back, my nose feeling a little stuffy and the exhaustion of not sleeping hitting me like a ton of bricks. I stopped at 7-Eleven on the way back and was so happy to see that it was like the ones in Japan. I picked up two huge waters, a vitamin juice to help with this stuffy nose, and a can of Strongbow (my favorite cider) Elderflower flavor (my favorite flavor - this strongbow elderflower is so good I may try to bring some home) then walked back to the hostel with my haul to have an early night in bed.
In a way I guess Taipei is a great transition home from down under - it's a little cold, a little dark, and a little bit smelly.
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