Now onto the real Hawaii--Maui

Time is pressing for me to wrap up this Hawaii journey as I'm leaving for NZ in 3 weeks and more likely than not I'll just never get to it when I'm back! This time, let's move on to Maui!

So after 5 happy goofy days with our friends Ashley and Yuting, we parted at the airport and Paul and I headed for Maui. So I read this great tour book "Maui Revealed" and the most valuable lesson I learn from it was to make a stop at Costco as soon as you landed Maui. Seeing how expensive things were at the centrally located metropolitan Waikiki, we cannot afford to miss our chance so Paul wasted no time to approach the help desk at airport. Deterred by Paul's eagerness, the guy at the help desk rolled his eyes and replied in a monotone "right off the airport, you'll see it next to the Big K on your left"--these boring, cheap mainlanders...

Once stepping inside Costco, I saw a whole row of "Maui Revealed" in piles selling for $10.99....I am just never tired of getting tricked into these gimmicks of these Hawaiians!! But the pineapples was selling for $2.99 so I guess it's all good.

We headed to Paia for lunch. It was a complete opposite of Waikiki--they have a whole shop selling nothing but "hemp" products just to give you an idea (although they claim that hemp is not exactly marijuana and you can't get high from hemp, but seriously why else would I want to wear hemp shirts or wash in hemp shampoo and burn hemp incense?!)

I had an okay mahi burger at Paia Fish Market (I'm being critical here for my own future reference--the food's really not that bad for a quick bite--my trip planning to NZ reminds me how I have no recollection of restaurants at all, I may have an awsome/awful meal but I don't recall the name or where it's located, my memory is pretty useless when it comes down to such preciseness, so now you know the real reason why I keep this blog), and we couldn't wait to try the crepe at Cafe Des Amis--Paul and I are huge fans of crepe, although it really is just the French pancake--and what a disappointment!! the crepe was really dull and the service was crap! The waitress saw the soft drinks we carried from Paia Fish Market and she just grabbed the cups and put it on the floor!! And you make crappy crepe?! That is just unacceptable!!

And when I asked for our check, she tried to grab the dish before I put tips on it. I told her to hold for a second, and I dugged our all the pennies and nickles and gave her $0.26 tips for her service. I probably should have left her none, but hopefully this was more insulting.

Service wasn't all that bad after this unhappy incidence. We checked into our hotel Diamond Resort at Wailea, the guy started apologizing for the weather as it starts to rain. But in fact, it was the best weather I had for the whole time I was in Hawaii, as my face was for once not soaked in my own sweat but in rain. So we wasted no time and head out south to La Perouse Bay.

(La Perouse Bay, the beach behind us is covered by lava rocks)

(On the road to La Perouse Bay, this is probably not the Hawaii in our dream, but so pretty nonetheless, you may see the lava rocks on both sides of the road)

The first night of Maui finished with a fine touch at the Pupu Lounge. Personally, I would never go to a restaurant that calls itself "pupu" no matter what language you're speaking. But it was THE best food and service we had for the whole trip!! Paul had a mahi steak and I had some local fish called walu (don't know what it is but really delicious) and the waiter was smoking hot! Even Paul was smitten although he would never admit it.

I'm afraid I cannot top it off with anything else, all other Maui stuff will have to wait until the next blog....

Identity Crisis of the Hawaiian

I'd better start writing soon about my Hawaiian trip coz it's already been a month and my memories are starting to fade quickly...

So back to the driver from airport. This dude is pretty friendly, being a veteran, he's traveled around the states, but he was obviously annoyed when the other riders casually said "back in the states..." and he said "that's what you all say, back in the states, back in the states... you know we are part of the states, right?"

Paul the nice guy tried to change the subject, and pointed to a union jack flag hanging on the street and asked him what it is. "Oh, we paid the British to design the flag" "Lie!", I whispered to Paul, obviously didn't have the guts to say it out loud. Apparently, Hawaii wanted to join the Great Britain as part of the common wealth. Don't know what the British guy was smoking, but they cordially declined the offer. The British are probably kicking themselves right now. I would.

So the Hawaiians are definitely Americans now, at least for the record, but one certainly wouldn't feel that way when one's in Waikiki. To me, Waikiki is more like a tropical Tokyo more than anything. Cheap and abundant Japanese food, (totally tanned) Japanese tourists in group, all the high end stores selling fur (that's right, fur, under the blazing sun in Hawaii!!!) I wonder if it annoys any Hawaiians like the invasion has never stopped, and most people I've talked to certainly hated Waikiki. But I absolutely love it!! Where else can you find such cultural dynamics anywhere in the world? Sure, it is touristy but aren't we tourists after all? And the delicious Japanese food (including Japanese version of Chinese food "ramen" & "gyoza" at Oh Sho Ramen, and Japanese version of Italian food at Paradiso Bar & Grill, bravo!!) more than made up for the touristy atmosphere.
But once you get outside of Waikiki, you're going to experience all the natural beauty of these tropical islands. hope I'll get to it before the memory fades, but I'll stop here as I have a wedding to go to tomorrow~
Until next time~

Aloha and welcome to Hawaii

"Just Tell Them Jojo Sent You"
So we landed in Hawaii. The meal on the flight made this domestic flight seem foreign and exotic. One certainly can't ask for much these days, you know?

What struck me first were the casual Hawaiians. A teenager girl (or boy, I simply could not tell) offered us a ride to Waikiki for $10. Sure we said, but where's the van? "It's just right outside, you'll see a white van... just leave the luggage with me and tell them JoJo sent you". Right, I was thinking, so you think I was born yesterday? Either the luggage or I will get kidnapped by your people I'm sure, but my luggage probably appears more valuable than me after five hours of flying. "Thank you Jojo, I think my luggage wants my company." Looking hurt, Jojo sent us with the luggage to the van, and a rowdy fat guy showed up and announced he was our driver. "Oh no, I guess they want to kidnap both the luggage and me...". But the guy proved to be very friendly and it was all good~

"Dr. K"
But the warm weather soon wears our guard down. Day 2, while we were waiting for a bus to Hanauma Bay, a stoic Japanese man by the name "Dr. K" jumped out of his van at the bus stop. "Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, $4. Bus, many many stops, me, no stops. Bus 1 hour, me, 25 minutes. Bus, very far, long walk, me, no walk!!" We were eager to start our day, so we jumped on the van without much hesitation! But of course, at the next bus stop, he jumped off from the van and repeated the same thing again. Seeing us, two American guys jumped on the van, paid their fares and were happily heading to Diamond Head. And at the next bus stop just down the block, Dr. K stopped again. My friend Ashley snapped "Hey, you said no stops!!" Being the stoic Japanese, of course he ignored our complaints and went on, "Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, $4." For some reason, people at this stop persisted better with this offer, so Dr. K repeated again "Diamond Head, $3(!!?), Hanauma Bay $4" "What?!!" The Americans started laughing at themselves as they see two Europeans getting their bargain ride.

As we approached Hanauma Bay, Dr. K wasted no time to sell the returning ride. "I'm here every hour at 12:30, 1:30, 2:30.... just wait me at this garbage bin" Excited about the day before us, we started hiking towards Hanauma Bay and sure enough, about a mile later, we saw the bus stop. A complete liar, by now you see, but we were simply too excited to pay attention to such trivial non-sense.

And this is what amazed myself the most. After a relaxing day in the water, we promptly packed all our belongings at 3:00 sharp and started hiking back, past the bus stop, under the sizzling sun, and right to the garbage bin waiting for Dr. K to show up. And we waited, and waited... And guess what, Dr. K never showed up! Finally we decided to F(orget about) Dr. K and walked back a mile to catch the bus. And just for the record, the bus didn't take an hour, and the A/C worked so much better than Dr. K's cheap white van!!

"F*ck, just don't go to Hanauma Bay again"
But our other casual encountering were much more pleasant. A Taiwanese mother saw us looking for a spot at the Hanauma Bay, she kindly offered to share her spot. And we started chatting with her & her friends, we took some photos of them, they took some photos of us, and they even offered us some watermelon. Without hesitation, we each took a piece. I was surprised of our intimacy, but it only felt right. Seeing our too-soon-too-close relationship, the Taiwanese father half seriously joked "each of you can take as many as two pieces of watermelon, go on" Not taking the obvious hint, each of us took the second piece and thanked him. It was not until later that we realized watermelon is very expensive in Hawaii. A watermelon cost $20 at the grocery store in Waikiki, 5 times more expensive than the one in California!! What's more ridiculous is that pineapple cost $8, and it is grown right next door!!

On another day, we stopped by this Japanese dessert place near our condo. They sell outrageously priced Oolong Tea, but we were interested in their macha shaved ice. The Japanese lady was excited to see us Taiwanese, as her husband is a Taiwanese whose family grows these Oolong Tea back in Taiwan. She looked totally disappointed that we didn't want to order any of her $15 a cup Oolong Tea though. Later her husband returned, happy to see some Taiwanese visiting their shop. He asked where we've been and we told him we've gone to Hanauma Bay in the past two days. "Gan! (Taiwanese "F*ck!") Not for two days!!" This time, it was me who was shocked by the quick intimacy. But he generously gave us all the good tips about nice restaurants and best spots to go. But whenever I asked him further details such as where it is located, he could not provide "It's right around the corner, next to that main street" Being the persistent me, I kept asking "which main street?" Struggling a little bit, he went "Gan, who knows what the street is called? it all sounds the same, it's just two blocks from here!!" But seriously, who can blame him? I can hardly pronounce Kapiolani or Kalakaua let alone remember which one is which. And nevertheless, he was resourceful and thanks to him we decided to extend our territory beyond Waikiki and head to North Shore. As we parted, he reminded us again, "Gan! just don't go to Hanauma Bay again!!"

---To be continued with our Hawaii Adventure---

Someone please hand me a gun

I haven't blogged in a while. Mainly because my life has been peacefully uneventful lately. But something on the news deeply disturbed me in the past week or so. Now there are lots of bad news happening around the globe everyday, but most of the bad news is always accompanied by some noble human behavior, particularly during the time of massive natural disaster. But when human behavior is the massive disaster, all we're left is despair.

This past Wednesday, the Supreme Court of the United States (I have to mark that clearly, as many family and friends of mine started to believe I have been irreversibly brain washed into an American who doesn't believe there's a world outside its territory.) ruled that it is unconstitutional to punish a child rapist by death penalty.

Just a week ago, Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State of the same United States made a grand speech at UN condemning the sexual violence happening around the war zones. And the usual "villains" of UN--China and Russia--came out and said something to the extent that 'and why is that my problem?' I was pissed at the comment, but I wasn't surprised. What else do you expect them to say? And seriously as if Rice speech was really going to change anything. But at least I live in a land where someone up there still has the decency to say something for the weak and vulnerable.

Just a week after, the same nation said but wait a second, they don't deserve to die. The case in point was a man in Louisiana who violently raped his 8 year old step daughter. What kind of human being would marry a woman he at least cared about enough to live together with, and go rape the child of this very same person? And you're telling me he doesn't deserve to die? Then who is? I know empathy is never my strong suit but I guess that depends on whether the empathy is toward the rapist or the child. But the Supreme Court said there were no murder involved. Being murdered (or just being dead) is a terrible thing, but there are definitely worse thing in life that made you wish you were dead--and being violently raped by your step dad or that friendly uncle you know definitely count as one.

So there were heated debate going on for a whole day on the radio. Even the presidential candidate Obama jumped out and made a comment against the decision (Obama, you would've won my vote on this one if you were not raising my taxes) and got shot down by others. Some say a child lies. True, I know several lying brats myself but that doesn't mean therefore the rapists don't deserve to die. And some even argued that since most of the rapists are usually the adults who live with the child victim, it is no good to further disrupt the child's life by killing the man who feeds (and rapes) her.

And as if the Supreme Court realized they were dead drunk and made a horrible mistake (I wish), they came out the next day with another ruling said it is the constitution right to carry a gun. Learn from these folks: If you cannot win the debate, try changing the subject all together! And boy isn't that effective? The world abandoned the issue at once and headed out to get themselves a gun. I am deeply disgusted but seriously thinking about doing the same. If the legal system cannot protect the weak and vulnerable, maybe I should seriously think about some self defense.

"Ka"-- the most beautiful nigtmare

As you may or may not know, I am unquestionably "Chinese" even by Chinese standards. Except for maybe one count--gambling. This traces back to when I was probably about 7 years old on one Chinese New Year, and each of us kid got a handful of red pockets. One of our uncles, maybe in the hope of winning back some of the money he just gave away, suggested that we play cards with "real" money, starting with harmless NT$10 (equivalent of US$0.30). Instead of playing it the childish way, like pinching cheeks or see whose palm gets hits, we were getting a peek of the adulthood. So everyone was game...except for me, I didn't want to play in $10, I'd play more comfortably in $1, I said. They refused at once, so I reluctantly joined as I didn't want to miss the fun. First round started, I was painfully sorting through my red pockets finding a $10 coin, while my little brother Alvis, who was 4 at the time, briskly pulled out $100 note and threw it on the table. Of course at the time we didn't quite understand that it all didn't matter as Mum was going to take away all our red pockets at the end of the day. I do remember the game sort of came to an abrupt end as mum pulled Alvis away from the table.

Now that is one horrifying thought, that I was simply 100 times cheaper than my brother!!! It's just that even at the age of 7, I knew I didn't have much luck to win much things anyway.

But here's the thing. Other than my very righteous mother who do not like gambling, I am the only Chinese who do not like gambling. But how come Chinese are known to be very frugal, and at the same time it is no denying fact that Chinese are the biggest clientèle in the gambling industry? Maybe we are frugal by nurture, because we were not blessed with abundant resources. But maybe gambling is also something we learn by nurture too, as there were not much to lose in the first place?

Anyway, luckily for me, Vegas is not JUST about gambling anymore. And even if I can't find a good restaurant in Vegas (have I mentioned about my bad luck?), there are still abundant things to do. So Paul and I got ourselves two tickets to Ka by Cirque Du Soleil at the MGM Grand.

We paid $150 each ticket at the category 1 section, only to find ourselves sitting at the last row on the left end corner. Well, I can't really claim my bad luck here as there was still one very sorry couple sitting to our left. But as shown in the photo here, where you sit really doesn't matter as this is truly a 3D theater. As I sat down, some villains were dangling over my head looking like someone's about to get hurt. I was impressed at once.

As the show was about to begin, an annoying guy took a photo with his camera--with flash, and his cell phone rang. The villains stopped at once, grabbed the guy on stage, threw his camera, his cell phone, AND the guy himself into the bonfire! Sorry if I spoil the fun, but that gives you a glimpse of how originally creative this performance gets.

From many aspects, Ka is heavily influenced by Asian cultures--Japanese kabuki, Chinese opera, martial arts... in fact, many lead actors are Chinese athletes. But as Paul very well puts it, somehow it transcends all its influences and becomes a unique performance of and by itself.

The storyline is a bit like Korean drama at times (here, another Asian influence), and the entire story was told and sang in gibberish, so for simple minds like Paul and I, there were some lost moments here and there, our exchanges in whisper went like, "Why's the villain up there dancing like the little girl?" (that's coz he likes the little girl), to "What has this got to do with the whole story?" (Nothing?), or "Wait a second, who is he and where did he come from?" But nevertheless, we were watching sincerely in awe.

I felt really bad to admit this but I actually fell asleep towards the end of the show (I had a very~ long~ day at Death Valley), which made the storyline even harder to follow (but Paul was wide awake and that didn't seem to help), and the visual scenes seemed a little bit nightmarish (just take a look at their costume and make-up!!), but all in a very wonderful way, I must say. It is like the most unimaginable nightmare one could ever dream of, so much so that it makes you want to close your eyes and going back for some more.

Surviving Death Valley

If I have a list of things to do before I die, seeing Death Valley once in my life would be on it. When I told my coworker I was thinking about going to Death Valley, she asked me what there is to see, a whole lot of nothingness, I said, and she gave me this crazy look and our conversation kind of awkwardly ended like that. I'm sure she's not alone. I've been nagging Paul for the last two years to go to Death Valley. I might have been suggested at the wrong time of the year, as it will definitely burn you to death during the summer months. The record high reached 134F (57C), ranked No. 2 in world's record.

It is also the lowest elevation point in USA, 282ft (86m) below sea level. Even more interestingly, it is only 100 miles away from the highest peak in USA (within the 48 contiguous states)--Mt Whitney at 14,494ft (4,418m).

But it was the name that intrigued me the most. And this place truly is as the name suggested. Nothing grows in this place. The combination of its heat, lack of humidity and minerals created this weird place on earth.

Two hours and one speeding ticket (所謂欲速則不達矣) later, we entered into the territory of the National Park. First we stopped at Dante's View. It gave us a panoramic view of Death Valley. From a distance, it almost looked like it was covered in snow. But it was just covered in minerals (although I like to just call it salt, the tour book insisted it was more than salt).

So without further delay, we hit the road to get a closer look. The temperature seemed to rise faster than our car managed to descend. Next stop was Zabriskie Point. While it's still on the hillside, the hot air already starts to accumulate.
Maybe I'm playing favoritism, but I think Death Valley is far more interesting than Grand Canyon. They are not really comparable besides the point most people travel 5 hours from Vegas to see Grand Canyon but who, besides us two morons, wants to go to Death Valley? But the thing with Grand Canyon is, after the 3rd view point you start to wonder what else is around to see, and it takes you all the way until the 8th and the last to realize it's all the same canyon. But with Death Valley, every stop point is something totally different: Dante's View, Zabriskie Point, Artist Pallet, Devils Golf Course and Badwater... it just makes you want to go on and on and wondering what earth's wonder you might be missing.
Speaking of earth's wonder, my travel companion might have something different to say. In Paul's point of view, the thing that made Death Valley so magnificently beautiful is because it is so ugly beyond imagination.
But one thing we definitely would agree with each other, this place is simply impossible for human existence. The rainfall averages about 2 inches around here, but each year it sucks 150 inches of water out of thin air. (How is it mathematically possible I do not know--our guess is the remainder comes from the melted snow)
We didn't go through the whole park as we got a show to catch that night. But I thought to myself maybe I'll take my dad to Devil's Golf Course to play a 18-hole one of these days...

I posted some photos here if you're interested.

No Luck in Vegas

2-night, 4-star hotel stay bid on priceline.com $230
3-day Rental car booked on hotwire.com $50
Gasoline $150
Mix of overpriced and cheap food $290
2 tickets for Ka by Cirque Du Soleil $300
Total money lost on gambling $20
My shopping spree $250
Paul's Speeding ticket $190
(OK, now you all know the punch line....)
Acting like we're spontaneous and wild..... Priceless!

You see, the fact that I'm able to recount every dollar I spent tells you much that there's nothing spontaneous about me, let alone wild. And while jotting the expenses down, I'm already sweating about being judged by my parents who already think I'm the spoiled daughter kidnapped by the greedy demon. My mum already disapproved of us losing $20 on gambling, she's going to faint when she sees this...

But that's the thing about Vegas nowadays. You still end up spending like crazy without hitting the slot machine. But this is what frustrates me: Finding a good restaurant in Vegas is like hitting the jackpot and so far I have had no such luck. I always start by spending a fortune, hoping fortune will finally return its favor to my stomach and taste buds. And then I always wind up in Chinatown, since at least the mediocre Chinese food won't cost me my already dwindling fortune.

But something beyond normal bad luck is worth mentioning about. It's the restaurant by the world famous chef (for those who watches Food Network anyway)--Mario Batali's Enotesa San Marco at the Venetian hotel. Since everything was sort of a last minute decision, we didn't make any reservation for food, figuring there are thousands of restaurants to choose from. Our first choice Bouchon (@ Venetian) was out of the question, Mario gave us only an one-hour wait, the shortest if at all.
And don't let Mario's khaki short, soul warming food on the TV fool you, the food was nothing like that. First it came a bag of burned cold bread, along with some kind of imported bread stick that tasted like its wrapping paper. The bread does not come with any butter or olive oil unless you ask for it specifically. We didn't, the bread is too burned to even bother.

Then the waiter who pronounces perfect Italian came with the menu written mostly in Italian. While the price on the menu seemed reasonable, everything is ala carte so each side cost $9 on top of the entre. I figured I'd survive without the $15 slices of cheese or the $9 fries. But obviously everyone around us couldn't resist to open their wallet and do what's expected in Vegas. We did order some drink and the wine was smooth and the Bloody Orange martini was heavenly, but it was also 50% more than what you expect to pay. Then our food came, I ordered Linguine Vongole, and Paul had duck breast. My Linguine came with 5 tiny tiny little baby vongole, and Paul's dish came with 5 pieces of bite-size duck breast and one tiny tiny little charcoaled carrot. Hmmm, maybe our waiter was extremely hungry, and the person in charge of the oven was obviously on vacation that day.

We spent about 5 minutes to finish the food and the rest of the evening feeling hungry and $100 poorer. What ever happened to cheap food in Vegas?

Taroko--The Park (Part II)

I've been actually struggling on this post about the single most significant highlight of my trip--the Taroko National Park. Because seriously, how do you really describe such a place? I think the same problem runs with anything nature has to offer, other than the "woo" and the "ahh", I'm sure my limited vocabulary is going to help run your imagination wild.

I think one of the few insights I got during this trip was everything is interesting if you are paying attention and know what you're looking at. This has our tour guide Mr. Chiu to thank for. I normally don't like to bundle up with a stranger for a day, but his attention to details made it so much more memorable. Well, that and the poisonous larva head he made me touch as well as all bunch of wild plants he made me eat, including this bloody red wild berry that made my tongue numb for the entire afternoon. I almost didn't survive to tell you all how great a tour guide he was.

Before entering the National Park, Mr Chiu, quite a butterfly geek himself, made a detour and stopped by a butterfly garden owned by Asian Cement next door (cement and butterfly? you got me). Now I'm usually not interested in insects and Paul is even less of a fan. But they have one of the largest butterflies here so if you're there, make a stop by, you might get some nice shots of these butterflies. I myself being quite the hopelessly slow photographer, was only able to capture the larva who was kind enough to let me touch its poisonous head...

Mr. Chiu also showed us all kinds of plants and ferns. I am the kind who never pay attention to such things so it's very different when someone could explain to me what these mosses and fungi were all about. See, once you get acquainted with them, they don't seem so scary no more. We became best buddies I even ate a few of them...

Very quickly on several places we went:

砂卡礑步道--Not so impressive I think, probably most popular because it is the most accessible track.
白楊步道--This is at the back end of Taroko, but definitely worth the time and effort to go to that one. There is a hidden fall at the back that made this place most renown in the international tour book, but unfortunatel it was closed for safety reasons. I'm not sure whether to advise you to bring a flashlight or not, as without it, it makes the flat track rather advanturous.
Tunnel of Nine Turns (九曲洞 Jiuqiu Dong), Swallow's Mouth (燕子口)--these are also very nice walks, but may need another day to complete all aforementioned four.

Eternal Spring Shrine (長春祠 Changchun), Tiansiang (天祥)--Other sites we briefly stopped by.

One thing about the park. Now, this is what amazes me about National Parks in Taiwan--they are free of admission. Being quite the cheap Asian myself (what? I'm not supposed to say that?), I get furious when they try to charge you entrance fee to a public beach (in US) or an open hill (in China). But I understand it's a tough job to maintain a place like that. But Taroko, located at the east end of the Taiwan's Central Cross Island Highway, a highway with so many casualties during its construction, some portion hand carved by the veterans because it is formed with marble. But for reasons I cannot understand, they kept it free. Still the park has very few tourists much to my surprise,

and probably kept the trash away from this natural beauty.

Which got to another question. Throughout the journey, we hardly see any foreigners in Taiwan. Taroko definitely have the most foreigners we see in Taiwan. But it is nothing compared to other Asian countries. It is probably due to very bad marketing. Had we proudly stated we got the best collection of Chinese antiques, or the best exotic food that won't actually harm you, and not to mention Taiwanese people love~ the foreigners (except for the Chinese, but wait until they show you the money), it would have been a great adventure for someone with wants to see the most authentic Chinese culture. (OK, understand not all of us Taiwanese people felt like we're Chinese but I think they meant Communist Chinese). I almost hate to post this (not like anyone but my family and friends will read this) because quite selfishly, I was hoping that this place remains to be the hidden jewel that I can always go back to.

Taroko—the B&B (Part I)

Having written something rather negative about Taiwan, I feel like I have to do some justice. Because after all, I had a tremendous good time in Taiwan and here’s one big highlight—our trip to Taroko. Coincidentally many people are asking us where to go in Taiwan, and both Paul and I would say "Taroko" without any hesitation.

Since we only had 7 days in Taiwan with so many relatives and friends to visit, I was creating a bit of a trouble for myself to go to Taroko. I think this is what most people fear whenever they think about East Coast Taiwan. But it's only a 3-hour train ride from Taipei. Plus it's a pleasant journey with a lunch box, some gossip magazine and an iPod. So the distance shouldn't be an excuse from not going.

Before I jump right in on Taroko, first let me introduce the Bed & Breakfast we stayed at. Actually it was a place my parents just randomly bumped into.… Since I don't believe in random luck, I really didn’t expect much. And Paul was even more skeptical and had bombarded me with all these questions—“So, about the B&B, is it a big family whom we’re staying with?” “So, will I open the bathroom and see the grandpa peeing?” “Would it be rude to turn on the light? What if I step on to his pee in the darkness? ”…

So I’m thrilled to please this sometimes difficult Hong Kongnese. To be fair, this is not the most luxurious hotel you'll ever come across. But I was very impressed with its thoughtfulness behind every little detail--the spacious "zen" shower stool instead of a jam-packed bath tub, the cup noodle and cookies in case you got hungry in the middle of the night…

I have to first make myself clear I'm just like most young folks, I hate all-inclusive packaged tour. But this trip has really changed my mind. First, they pick you up from the Hualien train station as "part of the service". Seriously, who really enjoys learning how to drive in a pitch dark foreign place? Since we were the only guests there the first night, the owners took us to this tiny unassuming place for a quick chow… Anyone who’s been to Taiwan knows that these tiny unassuming places usually cook the most delicious dishes so I was pretty excited… But have to say it was quite a disappointment considering I only have 14 meals (breakfast excluded) in Taiwan!! I'd suggest you go to the Hualien night market instead. But the disappointment was quickly washed down by a freshly brewed coffee after meal at the B&B.

We got up super early the second day as the owner promised to take us biking to the nearest beach. Besides crossing a major state highway, the ride is very safe as it mostly goes through back country roads. It was such a refreshing experience—the air fresh and the birds chirping, and you can see the ocean just steps away.

Just as I was embracing this whole scenery with all my senses, I heard a very loud and long cry with echoes. I stopped my bike, looked around, and saw this deserted cottage on the farmland not far away. The cottage looked so abandoned, the windows with no glass but just black holes that suck you into complete darkness. I stood there with horror: did I really hear someone crying? Was it from that deserted cottage? And the echoes? I was so scared it took me a while to realize it was some woman singing off-tune with a karaoke machine! While I got up early for my morning bike ride, she was still long into a very happy night… it was just bizarre.
After biking and before we headed to Taroko, we had breakfast before we head out to Taroko. We had the Asian style breakfast—but you can ask for the "western" style if you want to. After breakfast, we made sure to ask for two freshly brewed coffee before we hit the road.

After we got back from Taroko (which I’ll write in more detail), we headed out to have some traditional Taroko cuisine for dinner. Mum told me the Taroko cuisine is very "different"—that means she didn't really like the food. But quite to the contrary to what she'd described, it was quite delicious but really not that different from regular food you'd have in Taiwan! The boar was so juicy and chewy (just like pork), and the wild fern didn’t taste as exotic as I thought either.

To end our trip with another highlight, before boarding our train, the owner took us to a little bit north of Taroko, called "Clear Water Cliff". I had never imagined there still exists ocean this blue and this unspoiled in Taiwan. I hope the last photo here gives you a glimpse of how pure and beautiful this place is. In fact, that's how I felt about Hualein in whole. I hope my plain description of this trip entices you all to go see Hualien soon.

My Youth

Paul and I went back to Taiwan (and Hong Kong) during Christmas/ New Year. This is my first trip back to Taiwan with Paul, a (sometimes irritatingly) proud Hong Kongese, so as childish as it may sound, I felt like I have to show him the best side of Taiwan.

Since we stayed with my brother Alvis, who now lives in this rural part of Taoyuan, I felt like this is no way going to do justice to represent who I am—a modern, chic and metropolitan girl from the East District of Taipei (東區). So I couldn’t wait to show him my ‘turf’ and my equally chic friends back in high school. Soon as we got out of the subway and resurfaced to the ground level at the intersection of 忠孝/敦化, the epitome of chic metropolis back in the days, I couldn’t help but to exhaled with passion: “THIS!! IS MY YOUTH!!” Paul, having lived in Taiwan for two years and also heard quite a lot about the East District, looked around and gushed “Your youth has definitely rusted with age.” Ouch! What a blow! And that was (and probably still is) the best corner of the East District! But the East District, it's as if I'm taking a good look for the first time in years, indeed is aged and definitely needs a face-lift. The bakery 順成蛋糕 has been there for the last 25 years or so. All other stores have come and gone, but it looked the same for as long as my memory goes. I just couldn't remember whether it has aged or it was never that glorious even at its heydays?

And the same goes with much of the places we’ve seen in Taiwan. I did not see any sign of progress. Did Taiwan really have no progress over the last decade? Taiwan's GDP growth has been around 5%, which isn't bad at all. But it's all relative. When your neighbor has been growing more like 10%, suddenly it is worrisome. And I think after all, the infrastructure lies in the hand of the government. Maybe the government has been busy doing all other things?! I don't want to be all political because I think politics is overly quarreled (it's not a debate, there are not much fresh points made) in Taiwan, but all I'm saying is that it was a bit shocking for me to learn that China has caught up so much Paul is saying the rural side pretty much looks the same across the strait now (another blow!!)

I have never been to China so I cannot make that judgment myself. But here’s a reference point. I went to Tijuana Mexico last June for the first time on a business trip. While my colleagues were shocked and disgusted by the backwardness “just across the border”, I couldn’t help but see the resemblance of rural Taiwan—the signboard, the dusty roads, the lack of urban planning, and the windows with iron grating. I tried to keep it to myself because I definitely didn’t want people to get the wrong impression that Taiwan is this backward Third World country and have them mistakenly applaud my achievement of having come such a long way here. I am (proudly) the "rich middle-class Taiwanese" so how could I even think there is any resemblance of the two nations?

At the end of the trip, our big boss asked me what I think of Tijuana, I hesitated a bit but decided to tell him my observation, he chimed in passionately “that’s exactly what I say! It looks very much like rural China.” “No, no, rural Taiwan, I mean”, I thought to myself, “it’s a lot better than China, it HAS to be”

… or is it?

Here’s another reference point. Mum told me when she visited Hong Kong roughly 30 years ago, it wasn’t much different from Taiwan back in the days. Then she went back roughly 15 years ago. She was shocked how HK had progressed. I wasn’t there to see it for myself, but today? I would be kidding myself to compare Taipei to Hong Kong. That is just a ridiculous thought. And very sadly so.

I forgot who I was sharing this finding with. I think many people would have defended Taipei “But have you seen Shin-Yi Development District? Have you seen Taipei 101?” True, it has the tallest building in the world (soon to be past tense though so really what's the point?), surrounded by the most luxurious apartments and department stores. But that is just several blocks in the whole Taipei City, and the glory is not a resemblance of the whole nation’s progress. I wonder how many roads or other infrastructures we could have built or renovated had we used the money we spent on the 101 Building elsewhere.