Chapter 1.3: Taiwan Day 1

Day 1:
First off, thanks to Connie Yu for the recommendation for Picasa. I think its a much better/easier way to organize photos on blogs. Her blog pwns mine, so all I can do it imitate it.

The first two nights were kind of confusing, John, Eddie and I stayed in Lang, Kenny and Josh's room. Thanks to the guys btw for letting us sleep in their beds. They were gone busy rebuilding typhoon struck houses in the southern part of Taiwan, respect. They all came back beaming and said it was both ridiculously hard work and one of the most rewarding trips they've ever done. So the school campus on the bottom is the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology - AKA NTUST. It's the sister school of NTU which I am told, is the most prestigious school in Taiwan. It took me a few days to figure out why everyone on campus looked so nerdy, and then I realized I was living on the science and technology portion and it suddenly all made sense.

So together with John, Eddie, Jose, Melissa, Cindy, Tam and Nicole, we set off our first day to go hiking in a national park. I don't think we ever found it, but we did stumble upon an awesome temple simply named, "The Old Temple". During the process of wandering the mean streets of Taiwan looking for the park, we found a nice little park with a little mini zip-line. The park made for some good pictures. See accompanying Taiwan album in my FB.

The Old Temple:
This temple was expansive. It had huge sweeping views of the Taiwan skyline and every square inch of it was ornately decorated. And when i say decorated, I mean intensely and painstakingly hand crafted. The walls illustrated stories through 3D carvings in wood. Each scene, wall and surface was unique and the whole thing was just breath taking. I really think that Asian temples are just as good if not better in a lot of ways than western style temples. They are just as grand and have more detail, as far as architecutre anyway. I found it to be fascinating. It was of course humbling thinking about how many hours went into the place where I was standing. Just to feel the sculptures and run my fingers in and through the 3 dimensional sculptures made me appreciate all the artisans. The pictures literally jumped off the walls. Just behind the temple we found a long staircase that must have travelled up about 40-50 ft. We almost missed it, but I'm glad we didn't because that was the beginning of the hike.

The Hike:
The top of the stairs can never be seen. From the very first flight of stairs, they just kept going up, winding around and climbing ever higher. At the top of the first staircase, we rested and bought 3 scoops of ice cream for 60 cents US out of the back of an old man's scooter. It melted quickly and got very sticky. It was not very sweet but it was refreshing. It was a welcomed snack. About an hour of climbing later we reached a spot that had two benches. Nicole, Tam and I sat down to rest. Nicole started writing in her journal and I wished so badly that I had brought mine. Instead I just consciously memorized everything that was going on so that I could later write it in my journal. I was semi-successful. I took a nap on the bench listening to the bugs hiss around us in the bushes in surround sound. There was a man we saw who sat alone at the crest of a hill. He was still there when we returned down the mountain. He deserves his own special category, I ran back to sneak a picture. He just looked so serene alone on that hill overlooking Taipei I could not help but think about what he was thinking...

The rest of the day was filled with walking around the Shopping District. It reminded me of LA Chinatown extended for many blocks on all sides. I was very tired and sat by myself just taking in the city for an hour or two while the others shopped. The pungent city smells of pollution with the occasional whiff of sewage seeping up through the vents. The city is grimy and noticably worn but it is still full of life everyday and every night. The pollution is heavy and stifling making it difficult to breath. I remember LA air fondly now amidst the huge intersections of dozens of scooters each tooting along making the city streets smell like breathing in go kart fumes.

I am exhausted today. A bed is very much welcomed and I am too tired to think of the days to come. But I know there is much more to do...