It's been a busy few days. The good news is that it's been surprisingly social, but not in the ways I expected this trip to be.
When I planned this trip, I knew that traveling alone would be a bit hard. Having time to myself can be nice, but as an extrovert, I definitely recharge when I'm with people and the idea of spending hours or days at a time without talking to people other than to get help or food is pretty daunting. I hoped I'd meet people at my hostel who I could do things with, as I did in Hilo in February. Unfortunately, aside from hanging out with Hendrik my first day here, that hasn't really happened. However, that's led to way more surprising interactions.
Monday
After dropping lots of semi-desperate hints to the people in my hostel that I'd love company while exploring the city, I ended up setting out on my own. Most of the museums in Taipei are closed on Monday so I went to the most touristy of them: The Palace Museum. This is the one with all the treasures the Nationalists took from China when they fled to Taiwan. It's mostly antiquities, which aren't my favorite, but if I took a stepped back to appreciate how old the stuff is (the newest artifacts are from the Qing dynasty...) it was more enjoyable.
I took the English language tour of the museum because the host at my hostel recommended it and ended up chatting with the eight Germans who were also taking the tour. They're visiting Taiwan for three weeks with their Rotary Club.
After the tour, they asked if I wanted to check out the Shilin Night Market with them, so I tagged along for a bit. I definitely didn't feel like part of the group, but they were pretty welcoming and I had a good time before going off to dinner with Fiona, Brian, Margo and someone who's name is currently escaping me, all friends of Sabine's when she was here.
Tuesday
I woke up feeling extra lonely, but tried to think about the fact that I get to travel the world for a month and felt better ("Cone or Crap" philosophy). There were some Aussies staying at my hostel who mentioned they were going to the hot springs and I almost changed my plans to go with them, but they hadn't actually invited me and it felt kinda desperate so I stuck with my plan to do super tourist-y stuff. I went to see the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial, the National Taiwan Museum, and the Danshui (Tamshui) neighboorhood at the north end of Taipei.
The highlight was definitely the National Taiwan Museum. The museum has been around, and in the same location since 1915. The top floor is currently devoted to information about global warming and food scarcity. It was super interesting to learn how vulnerable Taiwan is to climate change and to see how the museum encourages "good behavior." I was also struck by the fact that those are unlikey topics to appear at an exhibit at the Smithsonian.
The other really interesting thing is that the museum is right next to the 228 Peace Park, which marks the February 28th massacre of Taiwanese protesters by the KMT (the Nationalist party that had fled China after the civil war). I definitely didn't (and probably still don't) appreciate the deep and complicated history of Taiwan.
Danshui was nice, but it's really just a romantic place to watch the sunset. I cuddled myself, but it's really not the same. I also explored an old fort that's there.
In the evening, I went to a night market (Shida) with an Israel and the Aussies who were staying at the hostel with me. It was a fun experience, but not super memorable.
Wednesday
Today I traveled to Hualien, on the east coast of Taiwan. I'm here mainly to see Taroko Gorge, which is supposed to be incredible, but on the encouragement of my hostel host in Taipei, I took an earlier train so that I could see Hualien. The people at my hostel here are super nice. When I first got here, I went to lunch with one of the employees and a German woman who's been staying here for a few nights. Afterwards, I rented a bike (all day for ~3 USD!) and cycled out to the beach. The weather wasn't fantastic, so it reminded me a lot of home. It was great to get some exercise and I feel way better tonight.
Hualien reminds me a ton of Hilo, and I love that about it. It's a cute town full of warm and wonderful people. I wish I had more time to stick around here and explore more because there's definitely more to see around here than the Gorge.
There's also someone at my hostel who's headed to Taroko Gorge tomorrow on a scooter and said it'd be okay for me to go with him, so it'll be a much better experience. Otherwise you're stuck waiting for somewhat unreliable buses and it's a much more difficult visit.
Other Thoughts
I really like knowing the tiny bit of Mandarin that I do. While it rarely comes in handy (last night, I tried to order in Mandarin and ended up switching to English to make sure I got everything right...), people seem to appreciate that I'm trying (and I just kinda like the attention). Definitely further emphasizing my desire to take Mandarin classes when I get back to SF.
I've also noticed a tendency to take pictures in order to prove to myself I'm doing stuff. It seems a little perverse, but I'm at least making a point of not just seeing the world through my phone's screen. I'm going to make a more conscious effort to only take a picture when there's memory I want help maintaining, rather than when I want to show all of you what I'm doing (sorry...).