Superbowl to Taichung

Taichung, Taiwan

Superbowl gameday was different. I had to wake up for 6 a.m. (as time is 13 hours ahead here) so I decided not to sleep. I knew the bar was about a 45 minutes walk away but figured it did not matter. As I was walking to the bar, I hoped the place was open. I got there just before kick-off and it was absolutely packed. There was even a cover charge. Since I made no reservations before hand, I had to stand in the back for the full 3 hours. Here I was, in Taiwan at 7 am, in a bar full of locals and foreigners watching the Superbowl. Everyone was having a beer with their bacon and eggs breakfast. Everyone had jerseys of both teams too.


The game started and was great. The whole place was cheering for the Saints. I ended up meeting some people from Singapore and Montreal. Ironically, it was the first time I was able to see American commercials. During the game everyone chattered and whatnot, but when commercials aired, the place went dead silent. Every time a good commercial came on, the local Taiwanese people would cheer with excitement. Although the game was awesome, it made me miss home, not being able to watch the game with friends... Colts lost, probably saved me some money.

During the game, someone came up to me and said he was a reporter. He asked me a couple questions and then I asked him a couple about Taiwan. A couple hours later, surely enough, I was named in an online article of the Central News Agency of Taiwan (equivalent of Canadian Associated Press).

http://www.cna.com.tw/ShowNews/Detail.aspx?pNewsID=201002080010&pType0=aSPT&pTypeSel=0

If you scroll to the bottom, you will see my name written in English characters... I am still trying to figure out what it says in Mandarin. May take me a few weeks, or even years. If you know what it says, let me know.

After that, I went to meet up with Dave and we were on our way to Taichung (Southwest city where Dave plans to look for a teaching job). On the way there we needed to grab some lunch. After much deliberation, we ended up in a random place, that was in an underground mall, that served Pho and just happened to have a TV mounted on the wall. While I was at the bar earlier in the morning, there were many news cameras, documenting the excitement of the NFL in Taiwan. I didn't think much of it. As Dave was eating, he saw on TV the clips of the Superbowl. I said, that is actually the bar I was at earlier in the day. He asked me what I was wearing and the next second, I was in one of the clips. Being on TV in Taiwan was pretty hilarious, but the crazier thing was that we actually caught the news clip. Figured it would be a good story.

After that we bussed to Taichung for $4. The seats on the bus were huge and they had Star Wars playing as a movie. Great value bus ride. Got there, and had no idea where we were. There was only one man we could call: Chris Munro (Friend from QC who landed in Taiwan few days back, also to teach English). We jumped in a cab and went to a hostel to meet up with him.


We went to grab some food and met up with James Jones and another friend of James (both teaching English in Taichung). Also tried some beetlenut (something all locals chew on, constantly through out a day) that night. Dave loved it. He has a good story about it.

After sleeping in the hostel that night, we made our way to James house the next day. Having never met him, he generously offered his place to Dave and I for the next few days (more on him later). Spent the rest of the day walking around. Had a delicious Western breakfast at a nearby restaurant (ironically the most I've spent on a meal so far) and then hung out.

Taiwan is so lit up at all times, on all streets. If I were to open a business here, it would be selling signs and neon lights. Here is the street right beside James house. It is not even considered to be a main street of the city.


Later that night, had an amazing meal at a small little restaurant which James took us to.


Then on Wednesday, James came home early from teaching and said we were going on a day trip to a waterfall on the outskirts of the city. He arranged to borrow some scooters for the afternoon. I had never driven one, but I figured driving along mountain area was the best place to learn.


On the way to the falls, we stopped at an amazing temple. The gorgeous thing about Taichung is that it is surrounded by mountains everywhere.





We got the the waterfall and began swimming. Of course, to get into the water, you needed to jump from a 30 foot rock. Obviously I was afraid, but did it anyways.


Few others came up with us and it was a beautiful afternoon. This photo is Chris and James jumping off the cliff at the same time.

This photo is a group shot. James, Chris, Myself, Dave, Andy (teacher from England who has been here for years), and Merrill (visiting friends in Taiwan from Florida).


We then went for another amazing dinner, which featured duck for about $6.


After that, spent the night playing Euchre. Overall great day.

The next day just hung out and went to play some basketball. Went to a local court and found some Taiwanese kids. Probably around 17 years old. We got schooled in a 3 on 3... Kids in Taiwan are amazing at basketball. I will not make up excuses. Every night on TV, they show high school basketball games. For a whole week I thought it was college, they just got great fundamentals. After the game went to an arcade that had dozens of batting cages. Baseball is so huge here as well. They have a picture of their National team on their $500 bill. Learned how to hit a ball, from Merrill the American.

Yesterday, I was sitting at James's house with Dave and the walls started to mildly shake, along with the floor. We looked at each other in confusion. Within 4 seconds it stopped. It was just a tremor; not forceful enough to be considered an earthquake. It was pretty cool as I never felt a tremor before.

Today (Feb 13th) a group of 10-15 people (mostly English teachers) here are taking a trip to Taroko Gorge to celebrate Chinese New Year. It is this amazing canyon area in the middle of Taiwan Island, known as the biggest tourist spot. I am going along for the ride and staying for just for the evening. Should be an awesome six hour scooter ride. I am taking a train solo from Taroko to Taipei tomorrow and then will be in the airport for hours before the flight; but it is part of the fun. I fly on the 15th from Taipei to Hanoi, Vietnam to meet some other friends.

Taiwan has been amazing and I am very sad to leave it. Definitely an amazing place which no one ever talks about. The gracious people, the amazing food, the bright lights; everything about this country goes unappreciated.


Most Valuable Buds

James Jones is unanimously named the MVBs of this leg of the trip.

James Jones a.k.a., The Nicest Guy I've Never Met, treated us with amazing hospitality the past few days. Provided me with a bed to sleep in for a few nights, took me out to so many great restaurants and set up scooter excursions for both the day trip and the trip to Taroko. He also has the greatest smile in Southeast Asia.



I cannot thank him enough. He has earned his title of MVBs and then some.