Running out of words to say, so here’s what’s left.
1 | Google Has Better Pictures
The school (NTHU) organised a short trip for us to Kaohsiung and Kenting, unfortunately the aftermath of the the typhoon, which included intermittent rain over 3 days and the closure of many attractions, meant that we had to skip many of our intended visits, thus the lack of pretty pictures to share.
Didn’t see to many disappointed faces in our crowd, as we enjoyed what we did manage to do. You can look up the scenic places on Google, their pictures are often, if not always, better than the ones I take anyway.
2 | Summer Breezes Can Get Really Strong
During my last weekend in Taiwan, the year’s first typhoon hit the island. The warnings came early, but the locals didn’t seem to fazed by the news – businesses were open until the last minute.
Nevertheless, as I discovered when I stepped outside to buy dinner just as the winds on the outer fringes of the storm arrived – a category 1 (weakest) typhoon is still a typhoon, and you really don’t want to be outdoors.
3 | The Missing Ingredient
If there’s a flavour that is lacking in Taiwanese food, it is a strong garlic taste (i.e. found in Bak Kut Teh and Lor Mee) and I miss it.
That’s all I wanted to say about this.
4 | Don’t Be A Hero
While hiking alone in the mountains around Pingxi Station, I made some new friends. It began with them asking me for directions and I telling them that I was as clueless as them, and we ended up climbing together. They were locals, but thought that I too was a local at first, from my mandarin-speaking accent (and fluency?), which I take as an enormous compliment, considering my C6 ‘O’ Level Mother Tongue grade.
It turned out to be a real blessing, as some sections of the trail were unexpectedly difficult, requiring a helping hand or two, where tackling them on my own may have ended badly. As my mum will always tell me, “Don’t be a helo, you are just a human bean.”
This will be the final post, thanks for reading!
