Taiwan, Republic of Awesome
Hi everyone! Long time no post. I've been in Taipei for the last couple days, doing a little high-intensity eating before I head to India for a month. I don't have my camera cable at the moment, so pictures will have to wait. Taipei is the shit, though. There's a really high density of restaurants, for starters. Just out on the street, there's food everywhere, and at the night markets, it gets really out of control. I went to the one near Shida University last night, and went pretty crazy with the dumplings and sweet potatoes and smoothies and what have you. The best thing is that most of the stands give free samples, which is a boon for people in the completeness business. English is surprisingly rare, so I've mostly been getting along with finger numbers, pointing, smiling, and my two phrases, "hello" and "thank you." I tried saying "zaocai dian" ("breakfast shop") this morning, but even when I was actually in one, they had no idea what I was trying to say. I've basically just been going around, eating substantially more than is possible, and in between meals going to temples (and the food streets nearby) or the tallest building in the world (and the amazing food court in the basement) or Yangmingshan National Park (which I think of as Stinky Mountain, after its strong sulfur odor; tried to go to a cafe there that has Blue Mountain coffee, but couldn't find it). People are super friendly and helpful: the shy dorky guy at the train station food court (way fancier than you would ever imagine) helped me shout the slogan for the Japanese sweet stand, and my noodle-eating buddy today taught me better chopstick technique. Also, everyone else seems to have the right priorities: big crowds at the noodle and boba places, and the Internet cafe I'm at right now not only has a comic book library built in, but also a variety of free drinks. As far as I can tell, they have all the necessities of life here: A/C, food delivered to your seat, magazines, and loud video games. It's also striking how laid back and polite everyone is - people are hanging out and joking and smiling everywhere, and constantly thanking each other for I don't even know what. Very different from the PRC, from what I remember.