Two Attempts for the Same Trip

Monday, June 4, 2007--Taipei

Today was filled with troubles. First, I didn't get away as early as I had planned, but I left the apartment at 10:00 which wasn't bad. I wanted to head out to a small town called Jiufen. The owner of the apartment had told me I could catch a bus directly there from in front of the Living Mall which isn't too far from here. I headed out walking there. Then came Problem #2. The maps published by Lonely Planet are more vague along the outer areas. They aren't as accurate, don't show all the streets, and tend to go off scale. By trying to follow what was on the map, I got myself way off track--not so that I didn't find my way there, but so that I had gotten there via two legs of the triangle rather than the one that would have gone straight there. It was 11:15 by the time I reached the mall, and I saw a bus to Jiufen driving by! But where did it stop? Problem #3 became finding the bus stop for that bus. No one in the area seemed to know. Finally, I was guided to a bus stop and told that was it. By then, it was 11:30. I thought I should go ahead and eat quickly and then wait for the next bus, since I was told they would come every 20 minutes. I went into a nearby place and ate what was put before me. It was the usual rice bowl with 3 vegetables chosen from a group that was available and a type of meat chosen from a smaller group. That seems to be the regular meal here in Taiwan. I ate quickly and returned to the bus stop where I waited 40 minutes with no bus coming. (I saw two on the other side of the street that were returning from there.) It was getting close to 13:00 and was really too late to be leaving to go so far, so I just gave up.

I went into the Living Mall to explore it. It truly is a unique architectural design. There is a huge sphere which contains a department store. It is partly outside the rest of the building and partly inside the atrium of the 12-story (with 7 basement levels) shopping mall. There are regular escalators which go from floor to floor, and then there are express escalators which jump about 4 floors from floors on the sphere across the atrium to floors on the mall. I checked what was showing at the Cinemark Theater (only typical American hits) and what was for sale on the floors for home furnishings (nothing modern). Then I left.

I took the more direct way back home by keeping Taipei 101 in sight. It is so tall that it can be seen from almost anywhere in town. But then Problem #4 developed. I realized that my stomach was upset and I needed a toilet FAST. It had been 2 1/2 hours since I had eaten, so it had to be due to something I had for lunch. I started rushing home. By the time I realized my need, I was in the "void" I call it where there are hardly any services--only offices. I began to realize I would not make it home, so I headed toward a department store I knew was nearby while hoping the Marriott Hotel I had seen while walking the area would actually come before it. A block from the store, I began to wonder if I would make it and started noticing where there were hedges. I don't know how, I but I reached the department store and there was an information desk just inside the door. The lady directed me to the second floor near the elevators. I was loosening my belt as I walked past the elevators and was opening my pants as I walked through the men's room to the stall. I made it, but barely. It's rare I have stomach problems when traveling, and that seems to have been an isolated incidence; my stomach has been fine since.

After all that, I just returned home to relax, read, and be on the computer. I kept thinking how lucky I was that the bus never came. What if I had been on that bus and the need for the toilet had arisen?

Tuesday, June 5, 2007--Taipei, Jiufen, and the Pingsi Branch Line Railroad

Another day, another try. This time I followed the directions in the guidebook and I started early. I left the apartment at 7:45 and took the metro to the Taipei Main Station. There I caught the next train leaving for Reuifang. The only bad thing was that it was raining. But I was determined to make the trip today no matter what!

On the train, I sat with a very nice gentleman named Mr. Huang who spoke English well. He was headed for a meeting at the Nuclear Power Station #4 which was beyond my stop. We talked all the way and he took photos of us with his cell phone.

In Reuifang, I immediately went to the window to buy a Day Ticket for the Pingsi Branch Line Railroad, a railroad that goes through a canyon lined with small towns and nice scenery. Unfortunately, the next train would not be for 1 1/2 hours and there really was nothing to do in Reuifang. I had intended to take the railroad trip in the morning and early afternoon and then go to Jiufen afterwards. I quickly reversed my plans. I went to the tourist office to get the various times for the train and then caught a bus to Jiufen.

Jiufen is a wonderful place. And it was made even more wonderful by the fact that the rain stopped just about the time I got there! It is up in the mountains and has two tourist streets--one is narrow and covered and lined with small shops selling many kinds of homemade candies and treats as well as other items for tourists. The other is a stair step street that is lined with old houses which serve tea. I wandered the covered street 3 times enjoying looking at the shops, visiting with the shop owners (and tasting their samples occasionally), and taking photos. There were two small trucks on the street. One was the fish market delivering fresh fish to the residents and the restaurants, and the other was the meat market doing the same with fresh meat. I got photos of both of those, too. I went inside one of the tea houses and took a photo, but I really didn't want to have a tea ceremony all by myself. I took the step street down and the bus stop was right there to return to Reuifang.

Two Korean women were also waiting for the bus. One of them spoke some English, and the other spoke some Chinese. Together they were making it. I told them 1/2 plus 1/2 = 1! They had a great attitude toward it all. We all caught the same bus, but they continued when I got off.

It was time for lunch and about an hour before the next Pingsi train, so I searched for a place to eat and chose a small place beside the station. It was the same procedure as every time before. The only variation this time was that the vegetable dishes were a little different and fish was a choice instead of meat. I chose a tomato-scrambled egg mixture, a green vegetable of some kind, rice, and fish. The fish was tasty. It was some kind of a flat fish. The vegetables were cold and needed some salt. But they were fine. While eating there, a parade of some kind came by. I could hear the music and see the tops of the floats. I was sorry I couldn't run to the street and enjoy it as it passed. After eating, I stopped at a street stall operated by a granny of a lady selling a local sweet delicacy--fried patties of a sweet potato mixture. They were crispy on the outside and mushy inside. She put it in a piece of paper and then slipped that into a plastic bag for me to take to the station. I munched on it as I waited for the train. It really was too sweet and too greasy, though; so I only ate about 3/4 of it.

By the time I took the train the sun was out. I went to Jingtong, the last stop on the line. It is best known for its old train station built by the Japanese and still in its original style. It is a nice station. But there is more to the town, too. I also has a small, narrow shopping street. There are also the ruins of an old coal mine and an old mining town. I quickly saw everything I wanted to see and still had time on my hands, so I just walked to the next train station back down the line. Then when the train came, I took it back to Jingtong and then in reverse to go to my next stop. Since I had a Day Ticket, it didn't matter.

My last stop of the day was Shihfen. Unfortunately, the sun had passed by the time I got there. It is really the biggest stop on the train route in terms of things to see and do. I immediately headed out of town following the route that would take me to the scenic area including the largest waterfall in Taiwan. I was 2/3 down that route when the rain broke loose. Not just rain, but RAIN! I pulled out my umbrella and headed on across the extension bridge. I came to the smaller waterfall and got a couple of photos trying to hold my camera while also holding the umbrella and keeping my bag up close enough under the umbrella that it wouldn't get wet. I headed across the second extension bridge and took a photo of the small train as it passed beside me. I could see the spray from the bigger falls in the distance, but the rain was just becoming too much. To get to the other falls, I would have had to go down lots of steps, pay an entrance fee, see the falls and then walk back. I began to wonder if that would take too much time in terms of the return of the train that had just passed me. I didn't want to stay out in that weather any longer than necessary. So I figured, I've seen Iguasu Falls 3 times; how could this falls compare? I turned around and rushed back to the station.

I had the most pleasant experience there. Two boys entered the station. One said hello to me and told me his name. Then the two of them pulled out ceramic potato flutes and started playing songs. They were good. Then they sang a song in English as a girl played the flute. They were the cutest kids. I got photos of them and spoke briefly. Their English was limited, tough. The one boy was especially charming. And he's obviously intelligent. He's going to grow up to be successful, I'm sure.

I made it back home at 19:00--almost 12 hours after leaving. It was a long and full day, but it was a good one even if there was the spoiler of the heavy rain during part of it.

Note: Tomorrow, June 6, will be the third anniversary of the date that Arne had his stroke.