Fun in the Taiwan Sun

Hey, family and friends, and welcome back! As promised, with this post I'm going to talk about what I've been up to for fun this past month in Taiwan.

I have to admit that the during the first couple weeks here, the culture shock definitely hit me. It really is a humbling experience to be dropped into a country where you know nobody, and somehow have to forge new friendships and a social life out of nothing. 

My first week here, I was living in a "hostel" that was really more of a big apartment in which the landlord rented out the other rooms. It was difficult to meet people and my fun consisted of exploring the nearby neighborhoods by myself (not that it was all bad...it's actually quite a bit of fun just wandering and taking in the sights, smells, and sounds). 

Moving into an apartment with a few other ex-pat roommates was my way of meeting some new people and hopefully getting a bit more of a social life. Fortunately, it couldn't have worked out better, and I've had a few good adventures because of it. 

Let's jump right into it.

Taipei Nightlife

Judging from the handful of nights out that I've had in the past month, I'd say that Taipei has just about any type of establishment to satisfy one's desires. I've been to one of the biggest clubs, a couple bars/pubs, and places that are somewhere in between. 

The clubbing scene here seems pretty solid, albeit expensive. Only been to one true "club" so far, so it's probably a bit early to pass too much judgement. Definitely was a lot of fun, but for me, most nights out at the club are a bit predictable. Loud music, beautiful women, lots of dancing, and a cab ride home circa 4am (not that there's anything wrong with any of that!). Chances are, clubbing will be an every now and again treat rather than a weekly occurrence for me.

As much fun as a night at the club can be, I'll always be one that prefers to belly-up to a bar with a pint of beer, and some good conversation. Unfortunately there really aren't any areas around the city with a high concentration of bars that would work well for a bar hopping night. There's a decent bar called "Revolver" that's about a 15 min walk away from our flat. Been there with the roomies a few times. The place has an interesting mix of modern art on the walls, plays what I'd call underground rock music, and has pretty reasonable prices. Wouldn't say the place is outstanding, but it's always been fun. 

The crown jewel of the bar scene so far has been a place called "On Tap". To me, it feels like a pub that would fit right in if it were located in Chicago, New York, London, or any other western city. The lighting is dark, the interior is brick and dark wood, and there are TVs playing sports (at the time I was there it was the English Premier League). After a month in Asia, it was great to get a taste of home. To top it off, the bleu cheese burger and fries that I had was outstanding. Coming from Wisconsin, I'd say that I know a thing or two about a great burger, and I'd put this one up against any other that I've had in the past (granted, I was eating it after a day of drinking at a pool party. Perhaps my judgment was a bit clouded. May have to go and give it a second try just to be sure. What a damn shame...). 

One other place I'll mention is 1001 Nights. The overall theme of the place is like an Arabic Shisha lounge, but there's a great liquor selection at the bar, and a dance floor with a DJ blasting out latin vibes. Can't even explain how eclectic the mix of everything is, but it's been fun the couple times I've been there. 

Wai'ao Beach

A few weekends back, I had my first day at the beach here in Taiwan. The whole thing was kind of a spur of the moment decision and I ended up going with a couple of my roommates and one of my roommate's friends. After a little over an hour of travel on a bus and a then a train, we made it to a beach called Wai'ao on the east coast. For me, nothing is more relaxing than a day on the beach. Can't say it's the most beautiful or most exciting beach I've ever been to, but it beats the hell out of chilling in the city on a weekend. A picture speaks a thousand words, right?

I'll for sure be heading back to this beach again. Hopefully sooner rather than later!

Havana Pool Party

One of the many reasons I chose to go through my recruiter, Reach to Teach, to line up a job here in Taiwan is the fact that they put on monthly socials for teachers to get to know each other. This month, the social happened to be a Havana Pool Party here in Taipei at the Taipei Water Park. The pool parties are a weekly occurrence throughout the summer in Taipei, complete with a DJ, bar, and plenty of good looking people.

Wish I had a good picture to post of the place, but I wasn't thinking about it at the time.  Google "Havana pool party Taipei" if you want a taste. I'm sure you'll get the idea.

Only weird thing was that one side of the water park (nearest the DJ) was a bunch of 20-somethings that were drinking, dancing, and generally "actin'-a-fool", while the other side of the pool was families that were trying to have a normal day at the water-park. Seemed like everyone on both sides was having a good time, though... I know I was! 

First Holiday! -- Camping at Sun Moon Lake

After just a month of teaching, I got to experience my first long weekend thanks to the Moon Festival, aka the Mid-Autumn Festival (took place on Monday the 8th). In short, the festival celebrates the moon at it's fullest and brightest stage of the year, and is similar to "harvest festivals" that western countries may have. It all goes back to a legend from about 600 AD in China. I'm not going to go through the intricacies of the holiday in my blog. If you want more info, there's always Google. Anyhow, the holiday gave me an extra day off to leave the city and do a bit of traveling, and I ended up going on a camping excursion to Sun Moon Lake.

The idea to check out Sun Moon Lake was originally from my roommate, Mayra. As the day came closer, our group of travelers grew to 10, and we were able to reserve a campsite for all of us. Ended up being 5 guys and 5 girls. It took us about 1 hour on the high speed railway and another 2 hours by bus to reach the lake. Here's what the place looked like.

Wasn't anything luxurious, but it was more than adequate.

Before I start spewing a bunch of pictures of the lake, I'll just say that it's one of the prime tourist locations around Taiwan...and with good reason. Even tourists from mainland China frequently make the trip to Sun Moon Lake. 

When we arrived, we decided to rent some bikes for the day. Here are a few photos I snapped while cruising around.

Also had some awesome food around the lake. For dinner, I had some stir-fried deer. Apparently, deer is a pretty common food among the local aboriginal tribes. Couldn't tell you if what I ate was actually venison, but it sure as hell tasted great. For a snack in the afternoon, I had a bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich with peanuts, fried vegetables, and cilantro. Too Good. Check it:

I should also show a picture of one of the beers I found in the local Family Mart.

BUSCH! Tastes just as shitty in Asia as it does in the US! (Could be a new marketing slogan right there....sign me up, Anheuser Busch!)

By the end of the night, most of us were sitting on the nearest pier drinking cheap Chinese vodka, shooting the shit, and contemplating everything from philosophy, to politics, to the most trivial things imaginable. Couldn't have scripted a better way to spend a night. 

The following day, a few people went home early, but a few of us stuck around for the day. The 5 of us that decided to stay later went on a boat cruise around the lake. I snapped a few more pictures.

We left the lake by mid-afternoon, and soon enough it was back to reality in Taipei.

To be honest with you, it seems like just a couple days ago that I was leaving my comfortable life back in the states to begin this adventure in Taiwan. Writing this post has given me a chance to do a bit of introspection and realize just how lucky I am to be here having all the experiences that I am. Plenty more adventures to come. 

Hope you enjoyed, and I'll talk to you soon.

Cheers!