The East coast of Taiwan is by far the more beautiful side of the island. Taitung (pronounced Taidong) is almost directly West of Kaohsiung, just a little bit to the North. Lamar and James did the crazy thing and rode their motorcycles over the mountains; Mike, Ruth and I did the lazy thing and took the train through them. Thanks to some serious connections through our friend Grace, we managed to secure train tickets after the general public got told they were sold out. All above board of course, it pays to know someone who knows a high-ranking train conductor ☺.
We were not very ambitious in finding a hotel. From the steps of the Taitung train station one can see a large lawn, some scooter rental shops and a single sign stating: HOTEL. We looked no further. Since it was Chinese New Year and the entire population was on holiday we weren’t very hopeful of finding a room with a view. The room we were shown was big enough for all five of us with the added benefits of having great water pressure, a strong flushing loo and hot water within 3 seconds of turning on the tap. YAY!
The first afternoon we just rode around the city trying to get our bearings. We discovered a park by the ocean where kites were for sale and stopped to have a go at it. It was my first ever experience flying a kite and with a kite runner like Mike Mason on board, we had no problem getting it airborne. Thanks to some commitment on Lamar’s part, we reeled in our kite since Mike got carried away and allowed the whole reel of string to unwind. I’m sure our kite was halfway to Kenting at it’s farthest.
In a very primitive movie theater we went to see the latest Mel Gibson directed movie,
"Apocalypto". I felt sick for all the violence, but it was a thought-provoking movie. It’s about a man who tries to save his wife and child amid the horrors of surviving a Mayan attack in the jungle. The movie really made me think about our society today. Human sacrifice was acceptable to Mayans, to Aztecs and in the Bible we read of people sacrificing their children to their gods. Today we allow abortion. It's not the same as human sacrifice to a god, but it's killing for convenience which almost makes it worse. Honestly, throughout the movie I was wondering what I was doing in the theater, watching scenes that were not even remotely entertaining. I was appalled. I prayed to Jesus in my seat with my eyes closed. Thank you for delivering us from this. Thank you for dealing with evil on the cross.
Collosians 2
13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The second morning we took Ruth to the hospital because she was coughing like mad. Not only was a very friendly doctor able to see her immediately, but he could also speak English fluently. He prescribed the usual seven bags full of pills but she got noticeably better after taking her medicine, so it was a blessing.
Our next stop was Taitung’s brand new crocs shop. Crocs are shoes made of PCCR, a closed-cell material that virtually eliminates odor. No one will clear a room with smelly feet if they are wearing a pair. Nothing dainty about them, but they are well ventilated, great for wearing in rain or shine and extremely comfortable. The material also discourages sweating, making Crocs even more suitable in Taiwan’s muggy climate. In this country crazy fashion is the name of the game, so having big fat shoes doesn’t matter at all.
The girl in the tiny little Crocs store never had a better day: first Ruth and I bought a pair each and an hour later we all crowded into her little store again so that Lamar and Mike could each buy a pair. In between the visits to her shop Mike had purchased the most psychedelic pair of sunglasses imaginable as you can see in the pics.
The wild shopping trip reminded us of the real reason that we went to Taitung for : GETTING OUT OF THE CITY. We rode north up the coast and stopped for a windy while on a black sandy beach. We attempted reading while lying down on the sand with our heads propped up on a huge washed out log, but between the sand blowing in our faces and Mike sharing Mao's torturing methods in our ears, we weren't really loving it. It was however quite funny when Mike ceremoniously shut his enormous, hard covered, biography of Mao and declared, " I've decided: Mao was a real jerk."
He was wearing his new shades, which did not exactly lend more credibility to his opinion...
James led the way to a scenic area with beautiful rock formations. It reminded me of some parts of the South African coastline, especially since the ocean was less tame than what I usually see around this island.
That night we played a board game at the hotel that Lamar had to explain by translating the German instructions into English. It entailed building postal routes between cities in South Germany, Austria, Poland and Czech Republic. Super fun!
The last day was a short one. Lamar and I went for a run and then we all packed up to leave. During breakfast at a small shop I marveled again at how we’ve become accustomed to living in Taiwan. Lamar was entertaining two little Chinese girls who were enchanted by attention from a foreigner. None of us were surprised when two doors down from our shop a man set off incredibly loud fireworks. The resulting smoke-cloud drifted in our direction and I watched if the cook was going to mind. Not in the least it seemed - just a neighbor scaring off the ghosts.
It was a great trip. Now it's back to school for the last term before we leave for Canada! Woohoo!
