I do apologize, once again. You won't find this entry on Facebook. I hope you won't even seen it. This is a message in a bottle to my future self.

Future Weg. Your grandmother just died. You have only one grandparent left.

And it sucks. Remember the E-mail dad sent you? "Call me as soon as you get this.", more or less. That sentence has never preceded anything good, ever. Grandma was in the hospital, but there had been positive news and signs of recovery. Apparently not. But of course, you knew what had happened before you called. Anytime someone that old is in the hospital, statistically they don't leave.

I remember back in my psychology classes, learning about a disease called Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy (alright alright, you Googled how to spell it), or "Broken Heart Syndrome". Basically, the longer that a couple has been together, the shorter one spouse lives after the other dies. You guessed grandma would survive a year. You guessed wrong - it was about 2 months. Then again both were in their late 90s, so the stats were not on their side.

And here you are, on the other side of the world and you can't do a thing. Of course, what could you do if you were there? Right now you're thinking "This job isn't as good as the last one, you could easily just say to hell with it and come home". And right now if you were asked to do that, you'd do it. You're not sure what to do, just like the last time. And the time before that.

Three grandparents dying in less than a year, when you're not even around. This is a terrible thing to get used to.

Just a quick one today.

I don't have to go into work until 4:30 today, and as luck would have it I woke up not 5 minutes before the musical garbage truck swung by. I'm usually only available once or twice a week to throw away my trash, so I knew I had to jump on this opportunity. The neighbors shot me a grin when I ran across the street in pajamas and fuzzy slippers.

But I was awake anyway, so I thought today I'd go to Luzhou, the previously mentioned area located in an offshoot of the subway. I had said something about it at work, and I got a response akin to "Why would you want to go there? It's just another part of the city."


Well, they're right. Luzhou doesn't have much going for it, it's simply a residential area like Xinzhuang. But it's on the MRT, and I need to eventually go to every stop, so away I went. Before I go anywhere though, I always look online for one thing, anything, to travel to. It always seems more fun when you have a goal in mind. Today's was a brunch place called O2 (subscript 2). Which, for anyone who knows me well, they know I cannot resist a chemistry themed brunch place. I got the American breakfast for kicks, which, let me tell you, is most certainly not an American breakfast. (Seriously, when do we ever eat a salad and 3 french fries with breakfast?) But regardless, it was pretty damn delicious. I also am going to make the incredibly lofty claim that they had the best bacon I've ever had. Yes, I know the implications of what I am saying. But seriously - damn good bacon. I eagerly await all challengers to the bacon throne.







I walked around a bit before seeing a sign to the Luzhou Family Historic Site, apparently who the district was named after. I showed up and the guy told me it was $100 (a little over $3 US) to get in. I felt this was a bit much, and I guess he could tell by the look on my face. So then he asked if I was a student. I said yes and suddenly the price is $60 - still too much, but I didn't come all the way out here to do nothing. Seriously, student ID - it's amazing.

And honestly the place itself isn't that great. A typical old Chinese house with nothing really of note in it, except maybe the photo on the left. I also found a funny machine in it, so I guess I might as well post the video I made of that below. Actually, I have a ton of videos on my phone that I never post just because it's too much of a pain to upload them to Youtube and link them. Maybe a future blog post will be all my videos - some are so old they're from China.

So check Luzhou off the list. I'm almost done with my MRT exploration. All that's left is Nanshijiao, and both ends of the blue line. Hope to have those done within the month.

More blogs? Surely you jest, Weg.

But I am not jesting! In fact, I have never jested! And since at work I said I never use the future perfect tense, even by tomorrow, I never will have jested!

So today I had planned to go to Nanshijiao, which one of my coworkers lives at. She said there was a monastery up on the hill, which sounded cool. But instead I saw the green line out to Xindian, and like a ADHD kid seeing a butterfly, I said "Now I want to go to there!"

I looked in my handy dandy Taipei guidebook, and found nothing on Xindian. Then I looked online, and found exciting information such as the population being roughly 300,000 people. The mayor is Wang Mei Yue. And it is home to Jinwen University. EXCITING STUFF GUYS.





So despite taking the time to get out there I didn't really have high expectations. After getting off the MRT, there was a sign to the Bitan Scenic Area. I figured someone went to all that trouble to put up a sign, so I might as well go look I guess? Anyway I was pleasantly surprised. Bitan is a giant suspension bridge over the river. And on the river, there are tons of paddleboats you can rent. And, not gonna lie, I really wanted to rent one. But I figured on the scale of sad things to see, "White dude alone in a boat shaped like a swan" ranks pretty high up there.

I found just on the other side an alley that had pictures of a mountain. They also had a table full of water bottles suggesting a donation and asking you to take some water. I walked through this alley, and there was a sign that said "Hemei Mountain Summit - 900m"

Hemei Summit

Did I just stumble onto another fucking mountain? Yes I did. God damnit. So now I'm hiking up this mountain. It's really not terribly high, but it is quite steep and is situated on the banks of the river - which makes it look even taller. It had a pretty steep grade for the most part, that I was getting seriously winded on the way up - much more than the mountain I had climbed Sunday. And towards the end, they must have run out of motivation and lumber, because the stairs were knee high. So despite the trail only being a kilometer or so, it was pretty much straight up. By the time I got to the top, I wanted to die.

Even the birds speak Chinese here!

One cool thing about this mountain though, is that nobody really knows about it. I mean sure, I know the locals do, and I'm sure some people in Taipei have heard of it, but Google doesn't turn up many results. Mostly blogs about other people that have done it, not other travel sites. And it certainly wasn't in the Lonely Planet book. And I was the only person at the top. And I heard complete silence for the first time in months. So now I can say I'm a resident, because I know something cool that you won't find in any travel guide. Suck it.

I decided since I am apparently climbing mountains now, I am forming the Taipei Everest club. That is, during the course of my time here, I want to climb mountains that cumulatively will equal Mount Everest in height. I've got a while to go, but there's no shortage of them around. And as senior member of the Taipei Everest club, I nominate Weg to be Executive Mountaineer. I accept, welcome aboard.

On the way back I stopped at Xiaobitan, which is a little offshoot station from the green line with no reason to be there. Why? Because it is my goal to visit every MRT station at some point, and I knew I'd probably never be down here again. Anyway the line it's on will apparently link up with another offshoot station to form the new light green line, but it's not done yet. The thing is though, Xiaobitan seems to be a rich area of the city that built this station just to say "Well, we're going to build our own MRT Station. With beer. And hookers. In fact, forget the station." But they didn't forget the station, they built this expansive, pretty place that more resembles the hanging gardens of Babylon. Except, there is nobody there. The place is Silent Hill creepy. And as you can see from the photo, everyone is hard at work. I went around the neighborhood, and it was full of expensive restaurants and deluxe apartments, but nothing of note.







I had an early start, so there were still a few hours of sunlight left. I had heard Gongguan mentioned in conversation before, so I thought I could stop off there. The only "attraction" of note was the Taipei Drinking Water Museum. Yes. That is what I meant to type. And I had seen plenty of adverts for this place around the city. But then again, I've also seen adverts for the Subway Evacuation Museum, the only "hands on" subway evacuation museum in the world. You mean there's another one that isn't even hands on?!

Water, you and I are going to get intimate

Anyway, the Gongguan station has the wrong exit marked. Knowing I was lost, I brought up Google Maps which, if you're in the area, might as well be called The Drinking Water Museum App. Seriously, it's huge and there's nothing else around it. It was like Larry and Sergei punched me in the face. It's actually located in a water park, but the water park was closed! Seriously Taipei. I don't care what the calendar says, it is not winter. It's like... 75 degrees out today. If not for public decency laws, I wouldn't wear pants. Take off the coats.


But on the way out I saw a dragon.

Retarded Dragonite, I choose you!

Hey I'm getting pretty good at this blog thing.

Another weekend in Taipei, so I was moping around thinking where I'm going to go today. I had thought of going to Luzhou, this place that has an offshoot from the subway line we're on. I thought, "Hey, if they bothered to build a subway out there, there's gotta be something good."

But instead, I was recommended to try out Neihu, which coincidentally the giant ferris wheel is on the outskirts of. Well I charged into the city proper this time, not really sure what I'd find. And I decided not to bother with the bus shortcut, and instead took the MRT the whole way. One thing I never bothered to notice before is that on the elevated, Wenhu line, there is no driver at either the front or back of the train. So if you bother to get in one of those cars, you can see the city zip by. I thought this was pretty cool, especially when it went past the airport. When I got off at the station, and you know those signs that tell you "Exit 1 has this and this attraction, Exit 2 has that and that..." etc.? Well the only thing listed was a park. So uhhh, let's go to the park I guess? And it's not a bad park, although there were parts under construction that significantly detracted from its scenicness. Nice bridge though.

And from the top of the bridge, I saw a sign that said in English, STAR CAKE. It's weird that when you're constantly surrounded by a sea of Chinese characters, English really stands out. So I went over to see what these star cakes were, and it turns out they're star shaped pastries filled with stuff. I got a wild strawberry and a peanut butter from a guy in a van. Because they were a little cold by then they were so so, but I bet they're amazing fresh.

Near the star cake guy there was a sign to a hiking trail up a mountain. I wasn't sure if the distance specified was the height of the mountain or the length of the trail, but 1 km didn't seem that bad either way. Future Weg shortly thereafter wanted to punch Past Weg in the face. Regardless of which one it is, 1 km straight up is not exactly a leisurely stroll. But I did make it to the top, eventually. And it turns out the other side is significantly easier to climb up. Well forget you old men and women, I did it the real way. Also I climbed 1/9th of Mt. Everest, so like, line up ladies.

Significantly exhausted by this point, I headed back down. Wouldn't ya know it, that was is a lot easier. I thought I had taken a wrong turn though because the trail I took just kind of ends in some dudes garden. I'm glad the dude wasn't out to see my trekking through his vegetables. In retrospect, that trail I took was probably not the designated route. Anyway, I walked back towards the city proper, coming across where they're building the new American Embassy. There was also a teppanyaki place, which seemed fun. It was a very small joint with not a lot of room available. So I sat down at the first available seat, and the woman next to me shot me a look that said "What the hell is this white guy doing?" I realized something was up, so I asked her if it was okay for me to sit there. She looked very confused and then the waitress guided me over to a booth hidden back behind drinks.

I still don't really know what exactly happened there. Clearly I have dishonored her ancestors, or something.

I was told by someone I should write more. Well fortunately I did something worth writing about.

Today I went up to Tamshui, the last stop on the north end of the red line. A small fishing village on the coast, I didn't really know what to expect up there. But I thought it might be fun to see the ocean, and see whats going on up there.

As to be expected for a fishing village, if you're looking for seafood it's a great place. All manner of fish, squid and who knows what is being sold at the local stalls, both fried and staring back at you. And for some reason, the last time I saw the ocean in Qingdao, I didn't notice that salty ocean smell. I've not smelled that beach smell in quite a while, so it was interesting to experience again.

Hi China! You're somewhere out there!

As far as tourist things to do, there's not too much. I mean I did go down to the ocean and wave hi to China. But the only real thing of note is an old fort the Dutch built several hundred years ago. There also was a historic British consulate next door. I checked out both, which were nice enough but certainly not worth making a trip up there to see only them. They were on the grounds of a university, which I actually thought was pretty cool. Maybe it would have been cooler if they were converted into classrooms. Anyway, I'm just going throw out a bunch of pictures.

PSA! Always check to make sure your dentist is not a land shark.

Sorry about the beer choice - only macrobrews.

Maybe you noticed the German flag, but Tamshui has quite a few international restaurants, at least compared to the rest of the city. In the mile or so I walked, I saw a few Italian joints, Thai, Vietnamese, French, and even Irish. Well Irish fast food at least. Of course Tamshui is small enough they may be the only places.

However afterwards I trumped them all by eating at a Swedish place. It's quite famous. Maybe you've heard of it?

As if there were apartments smaller than mine.

That's right, Ikea! There's one fairly close to my place in Xinzhuang, but I had never stopped in until now. Some mashed potatoes and meatballs hit the spot after a long day of walking around.

So overall, Tamshui... not a bad stop if you're up north near Beitou anyway, it's a nice place to kill 2 hours. Unfortunately there are no idyllic beaches to sip tea at, I understand they lie a bit outside of town. But you can hang around and watch boats go up and down the river, while old Taiwanese men spend their retirement fishing. Also, the ice cream cones as tall as your head are 30 cents.

So, there's that.

"Two posts in a week? Weg, are you ill?"

If you're looking for photos, this entry will be lacking. When I was in China, I think on my month anniversary I took a time out to summarize my initial thoughts on the country. As I was walking home today, I realized I had not done that yet, and thought now's as good of a time as any. Even though I've been here for a month and half now.

So for starters, Taiwan, I don't mean to be insulting, but you are 95% China. The few differences I can point out are pretty superficial. Although, it may be more accurate to say Taipei, you are 95% the Hangzhou-Shanghai area. Taiwan isn't as diverse as China is, though I do hear the south and the north are on opposite ends of the spectrum, politically. Regardless for the most part, I think(?) my thoughts and observations on China carry over pretty well. So I'm going to focus on the 5% that's different.

For starters, Taiwanese have the incredible ability to be more and less shy than Chinese at the same time. Chinese people were more hesitant to start a conversation to begin with, but once you cracked the ice, they had a tendency to speak more. Here, the transition isn't as extreme. They have their guard up less at first, but are not as talkative once you get going. Which is funny really, because this country has free speech. They are more open to talking about controversial subjects, yet somehow they talk less overall. In short I have to say socially, I like how Chinese handle themselves a bit more. As long as you take that initial first step, it's like you're one of their oldest friends. Here it's a gradual thing. It may be because Taipei is such a world class city, but Shanghai wasn't exactly like this either.

The politeness I've mentioned before, but it's a mixed bag. On the one hand, all the pleases, thank yous, non pushing to get on and off public transit. It's nice. But on the other hand, it just doesn't feel right. I kind of enjoy being caught up in the rat race. It makes life more exciting. The subway doors are opening? Well yippee ki yay, it's go time. Old ladies and strollers be damned, you are not going to let lumps of flesh get in between you and the crowded corner of a metal tube. Here people queue up, shuffle in an orderly manner, and say excuse me.

Just not as fun.

One thing China and America can definitely take a lesson in though is how conservative they are here. I don't mean politically, I mean in terms of resources. They turn off the water when lathering their hands for christ sakes. They turn off the lights in the room even when they will only be outside of it for a few seconds. They don't have windows with drafts so big you could drive a truck through them.

And yet, their trash system is the most fucked up, insane system I have ever seen. Want to throw something away? Too damn bad. Hold onto it when the musical garbage truck comes around. When does it come around? Either at 8:30am or 6:30pm. Give or take an hour each way. On what days? Ya got me. I tried to write it down, and after two weeks I saw no patterns emerging.

What, you wanted a dumpster that the trash man could easily pick up and take? No, fuck your common sense and fuck you. Keep that smelly trash in your room. Also it has to be in a special pink bag you can only buy at certain places. Finally, separate it out into food waste, plastic, paper, and metal. When the recycling truck comes around, you can deposit it on that specific day. When does it come around? I don't know, because I don't try and live my life around when I can throw a bag into a musical dump truck.

You know the drill. "I never update, but I did something exciting so here's what I did, what, you wanna fight about it?"

I had a very stressful 1 hour of work today, playing Eye Spy and Chutes and Ladders. I mean honestly... no human should have to play games, err, work, an entire hour each day. My new coworker Joanne had mentioned there is a curiously tall ferris wheel somewhere on the Wenhu subway line. I decided that was as good a reason as any to venture out, and friend April volunteered to come along.

I had planned to take the subway the whole way, because subways are awesome. But she had a better idea. We could go to Shilin, then take a bus on over, cutting the time by about 15 minutes and the cost by about $10. Seemed like a literal win win, so why not? We took the bus over, and it turns out this ferris wheel is on the roof of a big gorram shopping mall. We explored the overpriced stores for a bit (seriously, $50 US for a shirt? DIAF) and popped on up. I was excited to see the ferris wheel is not the only thing up here. They also have a life size Batman (awesome), a LEGO store and merry go round, as if you needed anything else in your life. LEGOs are pretty expensive here as well. I mean, they are in the states too. But even a basic, small set that should be $300 TWD is $700. I just feel that at this price you are depriving kids of LEGOs, which I believe is banned under the Geneva Conventions.

My UK student ID has again served me well as it saved me $50 on the ferris wheel. ALSO, April was able to use it to get me a student transportation card. That means now all subways and buses in the city are half(?) price to me. This is beyond amazing, considering I use public transit 4ish days a week.

Listen, I'm a student of life. It still counts.

So yeah. It's a really high ferris wheel. We waited on the clear cabin, because how often are you going to come out here? I also knew there was a restaurant nearby called the 5 Dime Driftwood Restaurant, which photos on the internet have showed me were crazy awesome. After a detour to the MRT to find our bearings, we walked the grueling two blocks or so. The photos on the internet or my phone do not do this place justice. It's kind of a mix of Native American, New Age, and China all rolled into one. We sat next to a lake with a canoe in it, filled with white koi fish who became my eternal friends when I threw a piece of food into the water. They pretty much never left the side of the table since. Also there were carvings of wooden boobs everywhere. But they made a great marinated chicken, and April's shrimp and noodles weren't half bad either.

Afterwards we stopped by Shilin Night Market, which I've written about before but never ceases to amaze. We went to a part I had never been to before, which had 18% more absurd T-Shirts than normal.

And now I'm having a beer while cobbling back together the pieces of my laptop. Mom sent me a cable to fix my screen, which is working, but the screen is on one side of the desk and the keyboard is on the other. So, progress?