Whoa…so this is a blog post that I started back in February. A lot has changed since then. We were both still getting sick a lot, and so we moved down from the mountain to my mom’s place in the city. It was just too cold (this was reportedly the coldest winter here in 40 years!), it was damp and mildewy. I think that was a big factor in getting sick so much. I’m finally feeling better and am trying to get caught up on some blogging! So here we go.
Mid-Feb / Early March
Getting acclimated to living in a foreign country is a combination of seeking out the best of the new, and trying to find the things from home you just can’t live without. This is kind of a mix up of the best and worst of Taiwan. First of all we love the public transportation here. It’s cheap and fast and clean. Busses always start their routes exactly when they are supposed to, you rarely have to wait more than 2 minutes for a train. Everything is very clean in part because there is no food/drink allowed on public transport. And if it’s busy people will line up in the cues and wait their turn to get on.
On the little 19 bus that takes us up the mountain, the driver introduces himself at the beginning of the route, and then thanks everyone at the end of the route, and everyone applauds the driver. There are always reserved seats for the elderly, and people almost always give up their seat for someone older than them. There are no left turn signals at big intersections either. People are just nice and let you cross multiple lanes of traffic without honking or being rude. They yield to each other and keep traffic moving.
I am now a regular at the little Chinese breakfast spot by Shilin station. I started out having to ask for the “inguen” (English) menu…then slowly progressed to pointing and saying “yiga”…and now they know my order. One clay oven roll with egg, and a small hot soy milk. Yum! The coffee places here make great cheap breakfasts and lunches too. Forget about Starbucks when you can go next door to Dante’s or Ikari Coffee and get your Latte and hot waffles or a grilled veggie sandwich for about $4 total! It’s like Denny’s only with good coffee. I’m also a regular at the little vegetarian food stand at Shipai, where I can pick up a small salad, noodle dish or veggie wrap for $1 on my way to the bus stop.
There are things that we miss though. Water pressure and consistent hot water is rare here. Unless you can take a shower in literally 30 seconds, chances are you will get blasted with cold water at some point. We have a tankless heater at home that works great…but when the water pressure is so low they tend to shut off. Other thing at the top of my list is Mexican food. You can buy refried beans and frozen tortilla shells at the Wellburns foreign grocery store…but it’s super expensive. And the only Mexican restaurant we found in the city that makes decent food is almost an hour away by bus MRT. We have made the trip several times. A mi me gusta Macho Taco!!!
I miss Taco Bell and Medford’s numerous and wonderful taco carts (and my favorite fellow taco connoisseur...you know who you are). I miss good hot showers. I miss Porters, and the PitStop, ghetto bars and micro brews. I miss frozen pizza, Rogue Creamery cheese and all my pho meat veggie burgers. And I miss being able to read and write. I’m totally illiterate here and that feels so strange! But I love the noodle bowls, hot soy milk and chinese breakfasts. I love the potato onion pancakes, rice, dumplings, numerous vegetarian restaurants, relaxing coffee shops and exotic foreign foods here. One street in Tien mu sports a beef noodle shop, a Thai restaurant, a vegetarian buffet, and Indian restaurant and Shrilankan food all in one block! I love how friendly the people are and how safe the city is. I never worry about going around by myself even at 4am. I love the cheap electronics, the super cute clothes, fun shopping districts, the hot springs, the jungle and beaches and beautiful temples everywhere. It’s a huge city in the middle of a beautiful island. I think this must be more like living in Honolulu…but much more laid back. There’s so much to see. We are just getting started!
Ever wondered what McDonald's looks like in Taiwan? Here you go. This one is in Tien Mu and is open 24hrs. They have a McCafe, and serve breakfast in the mornings. Everything tastes exactly the same, but I think the prices are a bit cheaper. And they don't have smaller menu items like the plain hamburger.
Here's a close-up of the lunch combos menu. Conversion of NT to US$ is 1/30. So if you want the burger plus corn soup and a soda that's 69NT or $2.30 US. Corn soup at McDonalds...they love corn here.
See what I mean about the corn? Corn on the cob vendors. Everywhere. Get your hot corn!
This is at a grocery store in the basement of this HUGE dept store in Tien Mu. I thought this was an interesting variety of sodas. You have everything from your mini CocaColas, Diet Shasta, Fanta and the Japanese Mountain Dew.
Yes that is Busch beer.
This is out front of Wellburns, the foreigners grocery store in Tien Mu. Imported charcoal briquettes...and Johnny Cat! LOL
Okay, so we went to ANOTHER Pizza hut. I think this is their flagship store. It looks more like the lounge of a swanky hotel then a pizza joint. The menu was different too. No plain cheese pizza here. And those are non-alcoholic cocktails... :P
The girl was laughing at me as I tried to explain I just wanted plain cheese pizza. And THEN I ordered a beer. She thought it was hilarious, and just couldn't stifle her giggles. So I ordered this veggie pizza instead. Tomato, basil..and green beans of course. It would have been okay except that instead of tomato sauce...the base was a sweet teriyaki sauce. Gag...
Sign in an elevator here. Looks scary!
Beer selection at 7-11. Yes that is 7-11 Select "THE BEER".
Painting with my mom in her apt in Tien Mu. Yey!
A rare sunny day up at Ping Deng Li. This is one of the hiking trails up to the waterfall just up the road from our little house there.
I love the jungle here, and the huge prehistoric looking fern trees.
My typical day's food. Clay oven roll with egg and hot soy milk. 50NT Then a veggie wrap (30NT) that I'd save for lunch.
A light lunch at Ikari Coffee with my mom. The buzzer thing lets you know when your food is ready.
Not sure if I posted this already or not. This is the skating rink in Tien Mu park just a block away from where I teach.
Oh heavenly MACHO TACO! We found out about this place from another blogger. They serve tacos, taco salads, burritos or nachos. You can get beef, pork or plain for each. And they have beer! The guacamole leaves something to be desired, but at least the food is fresh and the spices are right. No canned mushrooms, teriyaki or fish sauce. Phew!
Love these posters. Luchadores! Strangely enough, the only people you see at this little taco place are gringos!! :D
Mmm macho taco. Why must it be so far away. Our favorite mediteranian place in Tien Mu shut down a couple weeks ago. There is no more Shebaba. Wahhh! :( But supposedly it's going to re-open as Eddie's Cantina. I hope it's good.
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