Today was my third day with Jen, and my last in DaJia. Tomorrow we are heading up to TaiPei.
I woke up today, as I do everyday, to the sound of the garbage truck. Here the garbage truck comes everyday, at 7 am. And it plays music, like an ice cream truck. Loud music. I guess the theory is that the people will hear the music and run out with their garbage. I wanted to run out with a gun.
Breakfast was good, they have this thing where they make sort of a tortilla, and then they put an omelet on it, and then they put cheese and bacon, and then fold it like a quesadilla. All in all, today was a good food day. I had a snack of snausage balls on a stick at the mall, a green tea latte, and some Indian food for early dinner. And the weather was perfect, not too hot but sunny.
Jen and I got on the scooter and went to TaiChung, the nearest actual city. I was about an hour by scooter. Things I learned along the way:
- an hour on a scooter is really hard on your bum
- rice up close is basically just grass seed
- Taiwanese people bury their dead next to the road
We went to a 12-story mall, and to an outdoor swap meet sorta place. I bought some "tea" there that oddly reminded me of some parties I went to in college.
The whole scooter thing here is almost too crazy to even describe. I have a motorcycle, that I drive in California traffic, so I'm not exactly a wuss. I used to own a scooter. But here there were like 90 lb girls scaring the crap out of me. We drove home at about 6p, so it was sort of rush hour, and there would be easily 30 or 40 scooters packed into the equivalent of a bike lane at a red light. When the light changed to green, all hell broke loose and it was survival of the fittest. Everyone just floored it, and it reminded me of the shotgun start of the swim at shari's triathalons. And there would be school kids, women in suits, moms with babies on their lap. Even dogs. And cars had no problem just cutting in front of the scooters to turn, or opening their doors on the side of the road. Once I got past the "we are gonna die" stage though, it got to be kinda fun. It was a lot like the go cart ride at an amusement park, and at some point I just jumped into the mix. I am now of the opinion that Americans need scooters.
Also, another cool thing they have here everywhere that we need are drink sealers. They have a machine that takes an ordinary soda cup and basically puts a saran wrap kinda seal on the top. And I mean a seal, you can turn it upside down and shake it, which they actually do with the iced coffee. You then have a pointy straw that you jam in the plastic, for a leak-proof arrangement. They do virtually every drink that way, from water to coffee. Jen's theory is that they were designed by necessity, so you can drink on the scooters. Maybe, but it's cool.
A not-so-good thing they have are the toilets, which are basically a hole in the ground. You are supposed to squat over it and make your duty. Needless to say, I am avoiding bran and fiber. The part I found oddly amusing is that there was a handle on the wall maybe 2 feet off the ground, I guess in case you really have lean into it.
Jen and I are home now, we are watching a movie and then heading into town for some Jack Daniels and food from the street vendors. She is also trying to talk me into getting some beetle nut, which they sell from clear glass kiosks with flashing lights on top and little girls with mini skirts inside. I am thinking there is something Jen isn't telling me about beetle nut.
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