Getting Sunburnt in Taiwan

Obligatory Dome of Light image!

Would you call me insane if I told you I left home a day early in order to head towards the path of a typhoon? Because that's exactly what I did. But before that, a little backstory on how this all happened...

Back to Taiwan, part 2

About a month ago I was finalizing my plans for this summer. As mentioned in the last post, I went on a bit of a travel spree when I first arrived. In a sense, I wanted to replicate it this year too. My original plan was to spend a week up north in Tohoku and Tokyo. After comparing prices, I changed course and bought a plane ticket back to Taiwan again. This time basing myself in Kaohsiung instead. As the dog days of summer rolled by, something concerning caught my attention. A new typhoon had formed in the pacific and was projected to reach Kansai around the same time as my flight out (August 16th). As the typhoon was projected to make landfall on the 15th, I decided to book an extra day in Osaka in anticipation of Shinkansen services being cancelled on the 15th and potentially the 16th. And that's how I ended up heading towards a typhoon and hiding in a hotel room as it passed by. The bigger concern as I listened to the sound of rain in my hotel room was whether my flight would actually depart. And fortunately enough the skies cleared up and my flight departed, albeit with a ~40 minute delay.

My flight landed without incident and I boarded a THSR train bound for Kaohsiung. I must admit, I can't wait to see how the new N700S series trains will look like. No projected delivery date but hopefully soon...

The biggest difference between this visit and the one in April had to be the heat and humidity. There's nothing like walking outside for <5 minutes and getting drenched in sweat. Fortunately, I learned my lesson from Japanese summers and brought a towel. No more dripping sweat everywhere! The heat still sucked though...

I wasn't much of a stamp collector before but I spent many hours in both Taichung and Kaohsiung collecting stamps at each station. It was a fun journey going from station to station and seeing my stamp book (just a blank notebook I bought) fill up. I guess I can call myself a "train station otaku" instead. About halfway through collecting stamps in Taichung, I made a pit stop at the original Chun Shui Tang and enjoyed some noodles and bubble tea. Did I pay too much for a bubble tea? Yes. Was it good? Also yes. I am of the opinion that being stingy while traveling is a sin (joke). I don't think that one should splurge everywhere and eat expensive meals every day, but refusing to spend money to experience things while traveling feels like such a waste. Don't spend money on things that you aren't interested in, but at least try some new things. You didn't spend money on plane tickets and hotel rooms just to drink Starbucks and eat hamburgers, right?

I think that after spending a week in both Taipei and Kaohsiung, I prefer the latter. The city reminds me of home with the ferries that whisk people from the mainland to the island, the light rail that runs along Pier 2 and its galleries, and the just the city in general. It's not perfect of course. No city is after all. Most travelers and residents prefer Taipei for many reasons, but for me Kaohsiung is a city that I have seriously thought about living in while I was there. And I still continue to wonder about the uncertain future and where to go after my time here ends. Maybe there, maybe somewhere else. Who knows where the wind will blow us to next?

In this sea of scooters, another day begins. (Credit: Unseen Mangakas)