Plus Three

Just a bit of housekeeping here.

Something I did not mention before the crew arrived is that I went to a Taiwanese baseball game. Taiwanese baseball has an odd history, in that its history is odd. It started out back in 1989, and there were 2 separate leagues. Eventually they merged together, and at its peak, had 7 teams. Then in 1996, some players were approached by some shady types for game fixing, which was rejected and immediately reported to the authorities. They patted each other on the backs, said "That's some good policin', Lou." and went about their day. Exceeeept it happened again next year, and this time, they admitted to game fixing. And then in 2005. And 2008. And 2009. As a result, people don't really have a lot of faith in the fairness of these games.

However, I was coming in with 0 knowledge whatsoever. Game fixed or not, it's going to end with someone winning and I'm okay with that. I had no stake in any of the teams, I was there to see some guys run around a diamond and drink beer. I realize that last sentence was ambiguous, I mean I am drinking beer, not them. Although that would make for a better game. Anyway getting back on track I knew that the teams were actually corporate owned and operated, but what I didn't know is that they were still representatives of particular cities. It turns out my very own neighborhood has the privilege of hosting the Taipei Elephants. They were playing the Rhinos, which come from Kaohsiung. I know nothing about either of these guys except that I need to represent - therefore, my home team is awesome and that the away team is a bunch of talentless jackasses.

They had vendors there, and I did want to try Taiwanese baseball fare as well as find a hotdog. One was selling burritos, which turned out to be duck and vegetables - America, seriously, get on this idea. Another was selling pig blood cake so... nah. Anyway I had my beer, burrito, and hot dog, so I consider it a success. During the game I made up Rhino "facts" to entertain myself and bore Tiffany. Did you know, Rhino players pee on the seat, and never clean it up? They also are those guys who always push to get on the train before everyone else gets off. And here's the big taboo - after using the plastic chopsticks at a restaurant, they stick them back in the box. Terrible people, let me tell ya. They also lost 4-0, so they can take their sorry asses back to Kaohsiung. But I'd be glad to have them back for another game.

And right, that brings us to today. I wanted a "Travel around Taipei" day for myself, and set out to find the 4 gates of Taipei. I don't think this is on any travel guide, and honestly it's not terribly exciting - but there is a popular area called Ximen, which literally means "West Gate". I thought that it would make sense that there is a north, south, and east gates as well. It turns out yes, but they are certainly not marked well. They were the entrances to the city from a long time ago, when it was surrounded by walls and much much smaller. Now they're each about 1 subway stop away from each other, more or less. Except there often is no subway stop, so that requires a lot of walking. They do all exist except the aforementioned West Gate. It was demolished when they put up the subway station there, although I did find a plaque commemorating it's location. Anywho it was a fun mystery to find all these, since as there are areas named "North Gate" for example, the location of the actual gate itself is not mentioned on any site I could find. They were usually plopped down in the middle of an intersection, but really, how many intersections do you think there are in Taipei? Along the way I discovered there are actually 2 south gates, and the east gate is nowhere near the East Gate area of Taipei. So here ya go, photos of these darn things. Seeya next time, internet / future me.