Friendly Faces

Soon after our trip to Vietnam, Adam and I were visited by two friendly faces from home-- his dad, Pat, and sister, Laura. Along with suffering from jet-lag and inability to read or speak Chinese, the pair successfully navigated Hsinchu, checking out the museums and temples and even finding their own dinner while Adam and I were at work.

During Pat and Laura's first weekend in Taiwan the four of us jumped on the high speed rail and zipped to Kaohsiung, where we then climbed into a cab and arrived at our hotel in Kenting sometime after midnight. Kenting is at roughly the same latitude as Hawaii, so we were greeted in the morning to the sights, sounds, and sun of a beach paradise less than five hours from our home in Hsinchu.

We were lucky enough to stay at the Kenting Youth Activity Hostel, which is built in the style of a Fujianese fishing village and located on a secluded peninsula a short walk from downtown Kenting. To make the walk even shorter, we rented scooters for the weekend and spent Saturday exploring the whole south-east side of the point. We even took a short but picturesque trek to the southernmost point in Taiwan. Riding a scooter along the coast in the sun was relaxing and rejuvenating, and even proved to be tasty when we stopped at a roadside stand selling baked yams that had spent untold hours caramelizing in their own skins in a huge clay oven. Otherwise the food was the only disappointment of the trip, since we were forced to choose between various tourist traps attempting to cook anything but Taiwanese food. The culinary experience left something to be desired and made us quite grateful for the food we'd left behind.

On Sunday morning we dragged ourselves out of bed and rode to a nearby bay, where we'd arranged to take surfing lessons for the morning. Although the surf was "all blown out," to quote our ex-pat instructor, we had a great time getting smashed into the coral and smacked by our boards. We even managed to stand up and ride a few waves in. By the time our three hour lesson was over, though, Adam, Laura, and I were done being victimized by the ocean and were happy to call it a day.

After long, hot, showers and a big lunch, Pat continued the scooter-tour around the west side of the point and the kids went off in search of a hike. Although it took us a while to find one, we were eventually rewarded with a beautiful and mildly challenging hike at the Sheding nature park that offered us amazing views of the entire south-eastern side of the peninsula. Next, we took advantage of the location of the hostel and poked around Frog Rock, which was right next to the activity center's buildings. We all re-grouped for dinner and then cruised the night-market that appears on the main street of Kenting. The next morning, after taking in one last glimpse of the ocean, we begrudgingly got back into a taxi and set off for the HSR station. It was hard for Adam and I to get back into the rhythm of work that week after such a change of pace, but the trip was great for recharging our batteries.

Tuesday through Thursday Laura and Pat visited Alishan National Forest, which is a park located among multiple mountains and is accessible by either bus or one of the only narrow-gauge trains left in the world. Although the train wasn't an option on their way up, Pat went back down the mountain on Wednesday just for the opportunity to experience the unique railroad and Laura explored the trails that snaked up the mountains. They even woke up early enough to see a mountain-top sunrise over Taiwan.

Always on the move, that Friday we dragged the suitcases to the bus-stop after Adam and I finished work. We checked into our hotel in Taipei and Adam, Pat, and I explored a small night-market nearby and indulged in some of Taipei's famous "xiao-chi" (little eats). The next day we went straight to Taipei 101, but were met with unfortunately fast-moving clouds that suddenly appeared between the time we entered the building and the time we reached the observation-deck ticket counter. With a predicted visibility of zero, we decided our time and money could be better spent and set off in search of a Sushi Express so Pat and Laura could sample some of our favorite fast food. Next we walked through the 2-28 Peace Park and on to the Chiang Kai Shek Memorial (recently renamed the National Democracy Memorial Hall). After that we took a subway ride to Longshan Temple, probably one of the most famous temples in Taiwan because of it's size, location, and beautiful waterfalls and koi-fish in the front.

Before dinner we made a brief stop at the hotel to grab jackets and a cup of coffee and Adam was surprised with a birthday cake from the Hotel, a delicious treat that we saved for after dinner. That night Pat treated us to an authentic German meal in honor of Adam's birthday, an odd choice for their last meal in Taiwan, but a wonderful a change for Adam and me. Once we were back in the hotel, we stretched the visit out as long as possible by staying up and chatting while Pat and Laura packed, gleaning the last few bits of news from home. Even though their taxi whisked them to the airport early in the morning, Adam and I made sure to get up and see them off, knowing that they would be the last friendly faces from home we would see for a while.

Devin and Adam's Vietnam Trip

We went to Vietnam for four days over New Years. We spent one night in Hanoi’s old quarter, another night on a “junk” in Halong Bay in the Gulf of Tonkin, and returned to Hanoi on the third night for New Years Eve.

Neither Devin nor I were prepared for the vast differences between Taiwan and Vietnam. The Old Quarter of Hanoi dates to the year 1010, nearly 700 years before the Chinese even made their way to Taiwan. Hanoi’s streets are a hodgepodge of ancient dwellings, French Colonial buildings, and modern concrete monstrosities. There are no streetlights or stop signs. Bicycles, motorcycles, cars, and buses move down narrow streets purely on the strength of their horns. Crossing a street means walking slowly, extremely slowly, and making eye contact with every motorist in your path.

Halong Bay, a four-hour bus-ride from Hanoi, was a highlight of the trip. The bay is known for its collection of 3,000 islands jutting up from murky water into a misty sky. The islands were either formed through millions of years of tectonic activity and erosion, or by a gigantic dragon diving into the water. Depends who you ask. During our first evening we kayaked into a protected grotto that countless generations of Vietnamese fisherman have used as refuge during storms. Devin saw a flash of activity on one of the hillsides. When we paddled closer, we joyfully discovered three wild monkeys (complete with red faces and red butts) staring back down at us.

On New Years Day, we queued-up to view the embalmed body of Ho Chi Minh. This quintessential Hanoi attraction emphasizes the incredible reverence and love the Vietnamese still feel for their national father. After a long, bureaucratic process, we silently walked by President Ho as he peacefully lay in a bath of orange light.

Sadly, my time in the country was particularly colored by the poverty of those around me. Devin and I were frequently confronted with the reality that the average Vietnamese earns just US$ 50 a month. Our Caucasian faces gave vendors cause to follow us down the street, hawking oranges, bananas, pastries, bottled water, books, motorcycle rides, taxi rides, and marijuana. Seven-year old girls stood alone on street corners at 10:30 pm, offering pitifully, “Sir, gum? Sir, you want to buy chewing gum, sir?” Five months in comparatively egalitarian, westernized Taiwan had not prepared us for this.

With two degrees in American History, I found it impossible not to continually reflect upon what the Vietnamese call the “American War.” It was more than mere academic fascination - Devin’s father and three of my uncles served in Vietnam during the 1960s. The conflict continues to divide American politics, and probably will as long as the Baby Boomers keep running things. Today, the Vietnamese have neither a democracy nor a workers’ paradise, and we have nothing to show for the terrible price paid by US soldiers.

Vietnam left a deep impression on me. I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to visit. I’ll spend a long time reflecting on those four days.

Above: Typical Hanoi street scene. Note the woman in the conical hat selling things and the man on the cyclo (pedi-cab). Also, check the business name. It really says it all.


Above: A Halong Bay sleeping junk that passed our own vessel early on New Years Eve morning.

Above: Devin reclines on our junk as we come close to one of Halong Bay's 3,000 islands. Any monkeys?

Above: Back in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum.

It's not that we forgot...

Yes, we've been slacking on the blog again. We can claim to be busy, but that probably only buys us so much time. Here's a quick list of what's been going on in our lives since the last post, and hopefully we'll get time to fill in more soon.

1. We spent New Year's and a few days before in Vietnam -- Hanoi and Halong Bai.
2. Adam's dad and sister arrived on Jan. 2
3. The new teacher for the school arrived on Jan. 3
4. We went to the southernmost part of Taiwan (Kenting, Pingtung County) with Adam's dad and sister Jan 4-7 (while working full days on the 4th and 7th)
5. We moved offices at school and sent Adam's dad and sister to the mountains for a few days on the 8th.
6. My computer really really died (more than before) on the 9th.

We're headed for Taipei on Friday night to show Adam's dad and sister around on Saturday before they take off on Sunday, and then we'll try to recreate some semblance of normalcy after that. Between us we have some great pictures and stories from the last couple of weeks and I promise we'll get some of them posted!


p.s. Happy Belated New Year!