Macau whores, Kaohsiung
I awoke just before 5:00 a.m. because of the noise echoing through and above the partitions of my room. I couldn't fall asleep again, so I went to find some breakfast. Now, in the mainland I can find breakfast anywhere at 5:00 a.m., but central Macau's restaurants do not open so early. McDonalds was also closed, and not 24-hours as advertised. Recalling how casino restaurants stay open 24 hours in Vegas, I figured the same applied in Macau, Vegas of the East, and walked to the nearest casino, the famous Hotel Lisboa. I circled the circular room, and, finding only card tables and weary eyes, exited to the "galleria" where I found a place to eat. I sat down and a beautiful young woman approached me and said, "Come to my room." I said no, and she left. My gaze followed her and saw she was with a group of four others. I paid closer attention to my surroundings and saw that only beautiful, well-dressed women and the occasional older man were eating in the restaurant; the same dozen or so beautiful, snazzily dressed girls kept walking the galleria, going nowhere, pausing to look at me through the restaurant's glass walls, gauging my interest. Were I not tird and hungry, I might have felt only discomfort, but I was angry that this "luxury" hotel--too expensive for me to afford--would put me in this situation and then charge me an outrageous 38 patacas for congee. What was my 10% service charge going toward, when I received more attention from the hookers than my waiter?
My food couldn't come fast enough; I've never eaten scalding hot congee so fast! I paid and left, glad to not feel like a cricket in a cage of lizards.
When I arrived at Rua da Felicidade, one of the same whores who accosted me before again gripped my arm with coos of "massagey, massagey," and when I refused her attention she desperately fell to the ground and cried that it cost only 100 and that she really needed money. I escaped and felt deep dissatisfaction with the world until I fell asleep.
It drizzled on the way to the airport, and poured as we took off. The EVA Airlines man at check-in scared me, saying without a pre-booked exit flight from Taiwan I might be denied entry to the country. I boarded anyway, confused as to why the agent would tell me this without offering to book me a flight. On the flight I started reading Amy Tan's new novel, Saving Fish from Drowning. Entertaining so far, but her age is showing, and she gaffed on a pu'er reference. She obviously only went to the Holy Mountain Trading website for her information.
After landing I entered Taiwan with no questions asked by any immigration or customs officers. I used the tourist counter to book my hostel, which used to only offer accomodation to people somehow related to government. The room has 3 beds, a large bathroom--even soap, shampoo, and towels. What a welcome change from the San Va Hospedaria! High on happiness about my new lodging, but hungry, I walked through the neighborhood and found a "Latin American" restaurant and had real cheese for the first time in a long while...scrumptious! Of all the things back home, I miss cheese the most. Hooray for places like Teresa's!
Kaohsiung has features of Los Angeles, Chengdu, and Honolulu. The people here treat foreigners and strangers very well. While this city is pretty, the people make coming here special. As I said, I was worried Taiwan would not be worth the cost, but if all goes half as smoothly as this, I will say it was worth going.
PHOTOS: The Love River by night
I walked along the charming Love River at night. The boats and bridges are covered in moving lights; the banks of the river host outdoor cafes and beaches where one can watch the boats float by, very romantic. But, alas, no romance; no one has a lue where the foreigner-friendly gay bar is. Perhaps the gay guide erred in the romanization of the address, complicated by Taiwan never standardizing their romanization. Instead, then, I stopped in a teashop and bought some Taiwanese oolongs, two different roasts of "high mountain" oolongs, then used the internet cafe to contact a friend of Scott's and infamous tea purveyor online, Aaron D. Fisher, who resides in Miaoli. He has offered to show me around, at least through Christmas, from what I gather. He seems nice, generous, amiable, but perhaps a bit...too willing to believe without critical thinking. But, not having met him, this is an unfair bias, perhaps based more on my own disdain for terms like "Master" and "most famous in the world." For now, I suspend judgment.
PHOTO: Kaohsiung church
Mark will be in Taibei until January 14, so I have some time to see him.
marshaln wants to meet in Hong Kong while he's there, and I hope that's possible. I'd love to see him show off his Cantonese ordering us some good dim sum.
My food couldn't come fast enough; I've never eaten scalding hot congee so fast! I paid and left, glad to not feel like a cricket in a cage of lizards.
When I arrived at Rua da Felicidade, one of the same whores who accosted me before again gripped my arm with coos of "massagey, massagey," and when I refused her attention she desperately fell to the ground and cried that it cost only 100 and that she really needed money. I escaped and felt deep dissatisfaction with the world until I fell asleep.
It drizzled on the way to the airport, and poured as we took off. The EVA Airlines man at check-in scared me, saying without a pre-booked exit flight from Taiwan I might be denied entry to the country. I boarded anyway, confused as to why the agent would tell me this without offering to book me a flight. On the flight I started reading Amy Tan's new novel, Saving Fish from Drowning. Entertaining so far, but her age is showing, and she gaffed on a pu'er reference. She obviously only went to the Holy Mountain Trading website for her information.
After landing I entered Taiwan with no questions asked by any immigration or customs officers. I used the tourist counter to book my hostel, which used to only offer accomodation to people somehow related to government. The room has 3 beds, a large bathroom--even soap, shampoo, and towels. What a welcome change from the San Va Hospedaria! High on happiness about my new lodging, but hungry, I walked through the neighborhood and found a "Latin American" restaurant and had real cheese for the first time in a long while...scrumptious! Of all the things back home, I miss cheese the most. Hooray for places like Teresa's!
Kaohsiung has features of Los Angeles, Chengdu, and Honolulu. The people here treat foreigners and strangers very well. While this city is pretty, the people make coming here special. As I said, I was worried Taiwan would not be worth the cost, but if all goes half as smoothly as this, I will say it was worth going.
PHOTOS: The Love River by night
I walked along the charming Love River at night. The boats and bridges are covered in moving lights; the banks of the river host outdoor cafes and beaches where one can watch the boats float by, very romantic. But, alas, no romance; no one has a lue where the foreigner-friendly gay bar is. Perhaps the gay guide erred in the romanization of the address, complicated by Taiwan never standardizing their romanization. Instead, then, I stopped in a teashop and bought some Taiwanese oolongs, two different roasts of "high mountain" oolongs, then used the internet cafe to contact a friend of Scott's and infamous tea purveyor online, Aaron D. Fisher, who resides in Miaoli. He has offered to show me around, at least through Christmas, from what I gather. He seems nice, generous, amiable, but perhaps a bit...too willing to believe without critical thinking. But, not having met him, this is an unfair bias, perhaps based more on my own disdain for terms like "Master" and "most famous in the world." For now, I suspend judgment.
PHOTO: Kaohsiung church
Mark will be in Taibei until January 14, so I have some time to see him.
marshaln wants to meet in Hong Kong while he's there, and I hope that's possible. I'd love to see him show off his Cantonese ordering us some good dim sum.