Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go

I had an incredible trip back to the states, it was fun to see so many old friends and family members, and especially memorial to watch one of my best friends get married, but all things must come to an end, and so this trip has.  After only 10 days in the states, I re-boarded a plane, and, courtesy of the international date line, I ‘spent two days’ on that plane.  I’m relatively certain that I am experiencing jet lag for the first time in my life, but it seems to be working in my favor.  I haven’t slept later than 8:30am since landing and I have gone out to get breakfast every morning (which, as unhealthy as I know it is, is a meal which I often skip).  I’ll be interested in seeing how long this pattern lasts.

My first few days back in Taiwan have been pretty low-key, which has given me the chance to readjust to the heat, food, and language (which, I’m sad to say, it appears that in only 2-weeks I have lost a chunk of my comprehension for Mandarin).  On Saturday I went on a solo exploration of the road out to Nantou County.  I didn’t start my scooter trip with any particular destination, but about an hour outside of Changhua I happened upon a site that was closed the last time we tried to visit it.  The signs in English refer to it as the “Rainbow Bridge”, it is a suspension bridge which connects two mountain cliff-sides over a huge-drop off.  The areas surrounding the entrance and exit of the bridge are filled with vendors selling fruits and juices (particularly pineapple, which is common in this area), meats, and trinkets.  I really like the bridge area, but it is hard to say why considering it isn’t time consuming, you don’t physically do anything (except walk), and it probably shouldn’t cost any money (but perhaps the entrance cost is to deter people from repeat visits or stupid actions in an area which could be dangerous). 

Looking out over the "Rainbow Bridge"

Following the bridge I set off back towards Changhua and got sidetracked by an area called Alice’s Garden.  Having seen signs for the garden before, I decided to take a detour and explore it.  Alice’s Garden is a vaguely Alice in Wonderland inspired attraction with large fields for games, playgrounds and obstacle courses for the little (and not so little) kids, a restaurant, and characters from the movie/book scattered everywhere.  The garden seems to be a popular couples destination, with many of its attractions being love themed, and several even including instructions as to how to have luck in your relationship (begin by praying to the Moon Grandpa for happiness, then ring the bell of happiness 9 times to call for Cupid, then write your wish on a lock and attach it to a love-guardian tree, and finally, throw the key into the wishing pool so no one can unlock your love).

I wrapped up the weekend a trip to one of west-coast beaches in Tongxiao.  I’ve commented on it before, but it will never stop amazing me how few nice beaches there are on this island, but Tongxiao was an exception, especially for this coast.  The sand was soft (and clean), the water was nice, there were bathroom and shower facilities, and the most amazing this is that there were people in the water!  Between the fact that so many people don’t learn how to swim here, many beaches have ‘no swimming’ signs, and the fact that it is ghost month (so it is believed that the spirits can get you if you are in the water), I was really surprised by this.  I will say, however, that in the style of most of the beaches I have been too, the water never got deep (this beach stayed between waist-chest level).

I’m happy to be back in Taiwan and I am excited to officially start my 2^nd year here.  I can already imagine the adventures I will have, and I hope they include travel off of the island (to surrounding islands as well as surrounding countries).