An afternoon on Ubike

START WHENEVER YOUR READY
Ubike gives one the opportunity to roam around and discover the city.  Left is a baseball field and below right is a very nice sunken  Park called Maple Lake.
Temperature:  around 25 degrees, cloudy with glimpses of sunshine, light breeze, humid. The air sort of embraces you with a warm Taiwanese acceptance.

There are bike stations like this one on the left all around the central city area.  If you park the bike within half an hour it costs nothing. Then you just pick another one a few minutes later and start again. My ride of 4 hours or more cost me less than C$1.
In the background you can see the BRT station which is a glorified  bus stop. The BRT glides through the city centre in a dedicated lane.  That one is completely free as long as you swipe your card. Unsurprisingly, its very popular. (not sure why its free)  The card works in Taipei and Kaohsiung as well.

THESE BIKES ARE IN GOOD SHAPE
This station beside the city hall has many bikes.  The van transports them to other stations if they get out of balance.

The man who operates the van on the right also maintains the bikes.  I thanked him for his efforts.  He did not seem surprised to be thanked so I guess he gets that a lot. I think he's putting air in a tire.




SHOPPING ADVENTURE

On the right is a kind of Walmart type operation.  Plenty of friendly staff on hand to help you.  (No English) It seems to have lots of stuff so I bought an electrical cord, pens and a notebook.

I also visited a huge Japanese/Western style department store with 13 floors.  I didn't like it.  There was too much evidence of expensive frivolous brand name items for sale and annoying tinkling music all the time.

Found a good place to eat for further notice.  The staff seemed delighted that I intend to return.  As you can see they lack customers.
Couldn't resist the passing parade of dinosaurs.

Speaking of dinosaurs, here is a big screen that includes 'yours truly' in the picture.  You stroll on the background while the virtually animated dinosaurs appear on the screen with you.




LOTS TO SEE!

There is a Science Museum on the left and a lively temple on the right.  In case your wondering; the seats are adjustable but cannot be removed.  The bikes have three speeds which is quite enough considering lots of traffic and no hills.

The sign for motorcycles would be more accurate with the addition of a couple more arrows.  They come and go from all sides.
Bicycles are at the bottom of the food chain.  You proceed like a rabbit, with 360 degree awareness.

This card (on the left)  is called the 'Yoyo ka'
I use it every day for buses and bines.  If my funds run dry I can just top it up at the nearest 7/11 of which there are many, many, many.

The photos I took may give the impression that there are not many people about.  Not true.  I simply try to avoid making them feel uncomfortable.

Finally, this tea shop is extremely important in an other story which may be published at some point in the future. Stay tuned.

There are a thousand ways to kiss the ground

Exploration need not involve huge distances in Taichung.  There's a couple of Art Museums and a huge natural History Museum with a long green way connecting them.  Lots and lots of people too, but I usually don't intrude on them by snapping their photos.
 I walked through the massive greenhouse too.  My thoughts roam between loving the variety of things to discover and musing about how it would be nice to have someone to discover them WITH.  Solo exploration does have the supreme advantages of complete freedom and never having to wait for the other person.

Also, there is plenty of inner space to enjoy one's own responses to it all.  The natural history museum does such a great job of outlining the evolution of life with images and dioramas (dioramae?)  Since life has gone to so much trouble to survive and reproduce over millennia in changing circumstances what is the point, from an evolutionary perspective, of continuing to live past the years of production and reproduction?  I pose the question with an inner certainty that there is indeed a point, but am reluctant to try to put it into words.  Give it a try - now there's a challenge for the reader.  From dragon flies to opera; where are we going?

 Tall buildings with floor after floor of leafy balconies look down on the Taichung Opera house.   I think its under renovation right now, but for an urban neighbourhood its quite attractive.

So now I come to the encounter with the polar bear.  There was a certain kinship as I'm sure its a Canadian bear.  Perhaps the idea was that we can look both backwards and forwards in the same moment.

...A condition of simplicity

I set off walking this morning to explore my new neighbourhood.  Found a great place for lunch, where of course I have to practice my infant language skills.  Spent some time going from street to street looking for the English language bookstore.  This kind of walking is so intriguing because every street is completely new.  I never know what I will find next..  There are lovely strips of green that take you past museums, temples and...who knows?

Eventually found the bookstore (quite by accident on the 4th floor of a quite beautiful new building.) I have this wonderful feeling of lightness - as if I was just born and am looking at a new world with a sense of wonder.  Since I have no memories of this place there's no time, just a continuing present.  It occurred to me that this is the way we ought to live; we can find the sense of wonder anywhere.  Maybe this is what TS Eliot meant in Little Gidding:
"Quick now, here, now, always

A condition of complete simplicity
(Costing not less than everything)"

Every day is a new beginning

I am wondering if I was starting to go a little crazy living for a month in an 8 bed dormitory above a busy night market with people from so many different countries coming and going every day.  A little crazy.  And at least half of everything was taking place in Chinese so that I often had only the vaguest idea of what was being said.
How did I end up in such a position anyway?  It just kind of crept up on me.  My basic needs were met and I certainly was learning every day.  It wasn't until I actually got into this room (with its private washroom, desk and internet cable) that it dawned on me that my life had spun dangerously close to an edge of some sort.
Last night I think I was grumpy towards Jin Yao, even though she has done nothing but help me.  I went to bed late and spent the night contending with mosquitoes and insecurities, my mind spinning out of control. Supposedly we think about 17000 thoughts per day, on average, and I certainly used up my quota that night. Don't think I slept at all.
In the morning, deciding I had better take control of things I packed up, checked out and took a taxi to the university.  Had a photo and address of the place so I did arrive on the sidewalk beside Taichung University with my bags, but unfortunately did not recall correctly the address of the Guest House.  So shortly there I was sitting on a park bench with my luggage looking at a solid row of large unrecognisable Chinese apartment buildings - not a great feeling.  Luckily I had a phone number which connected me, after a significant strain on my mandarin telephone conversation abilities, to the right department.  The lovely Juju came and rescued me.  I was close, but had turned left on the wrong street.
The story has a spectacularly happy ending because now here I am in a delightful single room (see photos in the previous post) just around the corner from the university where I will study for three months.  It feels like pulling into a safe harbour after a month on stormy seas.

A new life can begin...

 This is the International Guest House of Taichung National University of Education.  My 3rd floor room is basic, but very clean and comfortable - has everything I need.
 Internet access and private bathroom plus a TV which only speaks Mandarin.

There is a common cooking area just in case I get creative; however the street nearby also has plenty of good food available at very reasonable prices.
Below is the main gate of the University where I will attend a course starting March 2nd.
 The brick building on the right is a police station, so I feel very safe.

I'm planning a big step tomorrow - signing up for a three month course at Taichung University department of education.  One huge advantage of this is that they have accommodation at a reasonable price.  I can have my own room which is three minutes walk from class!  Why didn't I do this before?
The staff at the University were very welcoming and gave me all the information and forms to fill out.  They seem well adapted to foreigners.  I guess there was no way of really finding out the details by doing it online.  I needed to see the place, meet the people and get the right recommendations. Also the semester starts after the spring festival on Feb 18th and I couldn't start in the middle of a semester.
It has been such a benefit to have the help of Jin Yao.  She teaches at a university, has all the connections and knows people who have graduated from this place.  Its been great being surrounded by a thousand options, but suddenly a whole lot of new doors have opened and I can see a pathway into the future.  It feels good.  Taichung University also encourages what Jin Yao calls 'long life learning' so there may be things I can teach as well as time goes by.

Chen Jin Yao at Sun Moon Lake

Had a happy day with Chen Jin Yao.  We went back to Sun Moon Lake.

 I must be starting to think in Chinese, but it feels like I must have been granted extraordinary luck during one of my temple visits.  My trip has been guided by the theme of openness to new experiences and this one definitely qualifies.  Jin Yao knows this place very well, in fact she seemed to be related to about half the people we met.  We enjoyed ourselves driving around the windy mountain roads; stopping at the Tea Factory, high pagoda, aboriginal village and other places.

 Sun Moon Lake has many impressive temples.  The one in the pictures attracts visitors from all over the world and they seem to like to give large amounts of money.  I really liked the temple to Xuan Zang, the Buddhist monk who spent 17 years during the Tang dynasty walking to India and back.  It has actual monks and felt very peaceful.                                                                                                                                    

 Tonight I will return to the Toastmasters club which will be a lot of fun because I'll see the people again who I met 2 weeks ago.

Tainan day 3

Someone said that travel is all about the people you meet.  Examining my inner response to what happens in a day I find that this is mostly correct.  In the ancient Qing dynasty tower I stood talking to a student from Beijing and a photographer from Korea.  Meanwhile, a Chinese girl is watching me with a kind of knowing smile on her face.  She's wearing a sweatshirt from Pinetree Secondary school.   I think, "isn't that in Coquitlam?"  Turns out her father is an artist and a professor.  He works in Taiwan and his wife and children are in Coquitlam.  Oh, there he is.  Delightful man with longish hair swept back and a distinctly 'art professor' look about him.  I feel as if I'm  in a kaleidoscope, entranced by the extraordinary, beautiful and ever-changing patterns.
Then there was the street vendor of corn (ripened in February).  It was delicious! When I bought some they said: "Thank you for supporting local farmers".  I put a photo of it on FB.
A saying of Charlie Brown goes: "I hate good-byes.  Why do we always have to say good-bye?  I hate good byes. I need more Hellos."
So I'm having so many hellos, but there's a price.  The price is having to be not attached.  Its different from detachment, which would mean a sense of distance.  Meeting people without being attached allows us to appreciate the exact moment and in that moment is the possibility of a heart connection.  It's not difficult, it's in the eyes; in fact you have close yourself somehow to avoid it.  I wonder if that is what Jerry Jampolsky was referring to in his book, "Love is letting go of fear."

Tainan

Arrived in Tainan around 1 pm, no problem. Had no real idea of where to stay. It felt good just to be on the road again.  My theme for the day is to see everyone as myself.   Of course they look different,  but it's just a disguise - we're all the same being looking out at our own multi faceted reflections.  People say that Anping is interesting so I asked directions and waited for the #2 bus, and waited, and waited.  So many busses! Finally it arrived and took me on a lengthy half hour tour of the city.  I could have made the entire trip in that time by walking.  Never mind, the city seems more relaxing than Taizhong.  Traffic is slower and buildings are a bit smaller.  Anping has a 17th century Dutch fort made of brick.  It's right next to the huge, ornate temple to Matsu.  I took a selfie. Went into the tourist info centre.  Talked to a very helpful young man who informed me that there are no hostels because the govt does not recognize them. (Quite false info; there are lots) He did succeed in phoning one  and procured a taxi for me.  The taxi took me to the hostel which is located all the way back at the railway station.
I'm quite delighted to be limping along with my atrocious command of mandarin.  It's not pretty but I seem to be communicating so much better than before.  Many people speak english about as well, or badly,  as I speak mandarin.  This results in a creative, humorous  mixture that seems greater than the sum of its parts.  More reflections of the single being, talking to itself.

The Lucky Guy

Tosca has roots in this area

The road to the dam in the evening light

Lesson in taking a selfie

Sun Moon Lake just before sunset

 I WAS lucky!  The Taizhong Toastmasters had been planning a weekend to Sun Moon Lake and I happened to arrive at the meeting three days before the event.  Right away I knew I wanted to go and was delighted when they said OK.
Drove up with Bill and Miranda (Bill is a retired guy who married Miranda an has lived in Taiwan for some time.)  We went up the cable car.  Took lots of photos which are on my Flickr site:

simontruelove's albums on Flickr

www.flickr.com

In the evening we stayed at Jason's (parents') mansion in the hills.  Next day we went on a number of trips on scary,winding mountain roads to Aboriginal sites and the dam that supplies water for the lake.

This only a part of the club

What made the trip the most fun was the people.  Some are local and some have come from far away, but they seem to share a bond of support, caring and having fun together.  It goes far beyond the original goal of encouraging members to develop their public speaking skills.  I could never have managed so much exploration of the region by myself.
Tomorrow I go on to Tainan, but I will return to Taizhong and hope to keep in touch with them all.