After the music event in a little mountain town in southern Taiwan, we decided to journey on, packed up our tent and hitchhiked (yes, my first hitchhiking experiencing to Simon's surprise) into town and caught a bus, then a train to an island called Shao Liuchiu, which is a small, coral island about 9km (or 5.5 miles) around. We rented a motorscooter after some haggling and bargaining. (In addition to some prices being inflated for Chinese New Year, the fact that we are foreigners does not help in keeping prices down.)
The island is quaint, lush with green trees and bush, completely surrounded by coral cliffs and rocks and has more than 10 temples on it. The first night, we skipped pitching a tent and stayed at a small resort in a cozy wooden cabin. The resort looked out over the ocean and was peaceful and serene. The day we arrived, I also celebrated my 31st birthday. It was a quiet and relaxing birthday dinner with a filling hot pot meal, whisky and cokes and some good discussions about turning a year older and if it made me feel older and wiser. The jury is still out on the older and wiser decision...
The town is a fishing town and the local people look different than most Taiwanese people I've encountered in the larger cities like Taichung and Taipei. In the larger cities, it's a cultural fact that lighter skin is better. People spend much time, money and energy into keeping their skin pale with sun parasols, hats, gloves, cremes, etc. In Shao Liuchiu, the people are naturally brown from the sun and the shapes of their faces and eyes was unique and different. I really loved the genuine kindness that we experienced along the way. I often feel sorry for the people who speak to me in Chinese. As I butcher the beautiful language, I am often met with smiles, patience and somehow, a little understanding.
The next day we found an even cozier accomodation in a hotel near the harbor. The room was cheaper, had cable TV (which we don't have at home) and was so close to the ferry dock, that it would have been impossible for us to miss our boat home. (Well, I suppose some major natural catastrophe could have prevented us from getting home, but you get the point.) We spent the day driving around the island, which doesn't take long (at one point, we were looking at a map puzzled that there was part of the island we hadn't explored, but 5 min. later convinced that we had seen everything.), exploring temples, beaches and coral cliffs. As some of you know, I love to rock climb and haven't done much since coming to Taiwan, unfortunately, but Simon's all about getting off the beaten track and encouraging me to follow him, let my fears diminish and take my life into my own hands by following him to some sharp, rock cliff. All in all, we had a good time.
After a few days on the little island, it was time to go home, as we were dirty, smelly and broke. We climbed onto a boat at 10:30am and by 3pm, were home to Taichung. I forget how small Taiwan really is, as we traveled by boat, bus and train and a few hours later, home again home again. This weekend has been spent, taking a short hike to Dakeng, having hot pot with some good friends (yes, it's true, I'm addicted to hot pot and am already thinking about the appliances I need to buy in Seattle to keep up with my addiction for the food), cleaning up and preparing for the week.
May the year of the pig bless you with much joy, happiness, good fortune and fond memories.
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