Xin Nien Kwai Le! (No, seriously this time)

I think at this point it's safe to say I've come to understand the benefits and drawbacks of living in Taiwan. The food? Definite benefit. The six day work weeks? Drawback. The cost of living? Benefit. The strong potential for rain every day? Drawback. However, one benefit that just has to be mentioned is the two...yes, two New Years celebrations. Just over a month ago, I described the scene that took place on New Years eve (the conventional New Years Eve, that is)—how there were people everywhere, incessant fireworks explosions, freezing cold weather, and plenty of alcohol consumption.

But this year I was able to experience my first Chinese New Year, which provided me with a much-needed six day relief from Hess and the crazy young ones. Chinese New Year, which is based on the lunar calendar and is far more culturally relevant than the January 1st date, was welcomed in by locals on February 3rd. Now, when I first got here, I was warned by natives and expats alike that Taipei completely died during Chinese New Year—that everybody, their moms, and their mom's moms got the hell out dodge to visit relatives living in mainland China or other parts of Taiwan. I initially made plans to go to Thailand, but when those fell through I was left with the unattractive prospect of staying put in Taiwan. Woe is me.

One of the best things about ushering in new years, though, is that it gives you the opportunity to make new years' resolutions. And since I didn't really bother to do that on January 1st, I figured this would be a solid opportunity (once again, when in Taiwan do as the Taiwanese do). I only made one resolution, and I kept it quite simple. In the past I've had trouble maintaining resolutions (who doesn't?) in part because I was a little too ambitious and strict with myself. The "I'm going to go to the gym X times/week" and "I'm going to save X number of dollars/week" promises had been broken too many times for them to hold any real meaning, and so I clearly realized that I needed to adopt a different approach.

I'm going to have a positive attitude and make the most of each day, no matter what is thrown in my direction.

Now there's a resolution. Sure, it's kinda cheesy. And it's not exactly original, either (carpe diem, anyone?), but oh well. After all, in a world that is as inconveniently unpredictable as the weather or operating hours here in Taiwan, our attitude towards everything is one of the few things we actually have control over. Which brings me back to Chinese New Year. Was I bummed I wasn't basking in the sun on a sandy beach in Thailand? Sure. But was I going to let it ruin my one extended vacation all year? Fat chance. Instead, I chose to view my situation of being stranded in Taiwan as a blessing and an opportunity to explore. I decided to take my resolution at its worth, and make the most of every day. And I decided to waste no time in doing so. I was going to start on Chinese New Year's Day. The glass is always half-full, my friends.

Tainan--Thursday, February 3rd
Luckily my roommate Ari, who is as financially strapped as me at this point, was in the same boat as me—lacking enough funds to travel and therefore stuck in Taiwan. Again, luckily, Ari had the same mindset as me. He was eager to explore the parts of Taiwan we had not yet experienced, and shared my enthusiasm for avoiding Taipei—a city that literally died over the holidays—as much as possible. After a little deliberation and researching high-speed-rail tickets, we agreed on visiting Tainan for a day trip. Oh the joys of living in such a small country. Tainan, Taiwan's former capital, is about 3/4 of the way down the island. Yet, the high-speed-rail can have you there in a mere 100 minutes. It's amazing to think how it takes my poor little brother something like 10 hours to travel from San Jose to San Diego, two cities in the same state. Anyways, we boarded our train at about 11:40 a.m., and after traveling at breakneck speeds of up to 170 m.p.h., arrived in Tainan just after 1 p.m.

HSR ticket. Ish was FAST.

It was then that the rumors I'd heard about the weather on the southern part of the island were verified. Sunny and warm—just what the doctor ordered after a miserably cold and dark January in Taipei. The weather was so unbelievably therapeutic and gorgeous that I actually forgot how Ari and I had no real plan after arriving. We were dropped off in the middle of nowhere and on our own to figure it out, but still we were relaxed. It only took a couples of minutes of us staring confusedly at maps written in Chinese before a friendly Chinese man helped us figure out the shuttle over to Anping, a small town on the outskirts of Tainan located right on the Tainan River, which hosts the 350 year old Anping Old Fort, our first tourist stop for the day. The fort, originally constructed by the Dutch way back in the middle of the seventeenth century, and later renovated and occupied by the Japanese up until 1945, was an impressive place. It was fun to imagine all the trade that colonial outpost provided at a time when the Dutch effectively had a monopoly on sea-trade, and it was especially cool to witness evidence, in the form of faded cannons and partially destroyed brick walls, of the many battles that took place there.

"I just wanted to show off my cannons..."

View from the top of a tower at Anping Old Fort

After this, we made our way around to a number of other temples. We briefly passed through the first ever Taiwan Confucius Temple, which I've already mentioned. Then we stopped by the God of War temple, where Ari politely asked if the U.S. could get some help in Afghanistan (I quickly told him that I didn't think the combined powers of Jesus, Mohammad, and Greg Mortenson could pull that one off...not to be sac-religious). And then we went to another temple, and then another. Soon we discovered that temples literally lined every street in Tainan, and so we became quite reluctant to stop at one unless it had something that looked unique or interesting (the furnace burning Ghost Money qualified as something deserving of a visit). In between temple pit-stops we indulged in some amazing food stall grub, which included fried octopus, squid (cooked to perfection by a guy who periodically took breaks to throw back some good old Taiwan Beer), and dried fruit. It was incredible how active and busy Tainan was. The previous couple days in Taipei had felt like I was living in a ghost land, complete with tumbleweeds and dead silence. Tainan was the complete opposite. The mood was festive and the streets were buzzing.

Before departing that evening, we made a point to visit the Hsioupei Garden Night Market, marketed as the biggest night market in Taiwan. And boy it sure was. I've talked a lot about the population density in Taiwan. I'd gotten so used to jam-packed areas that it's slightly absurd.. Still, what I experienced at that night market was entirely new. It was a claustrophobic nightmare. Everyone was shoulder-to-shoulder pushing to get through. At times I actually I thought I was going to pass out from all the body heat and simply get trampled. But luckily the lingering aromas of delicious food were enough motivation for me to stay conscious and work my way slowly but surely through the crowd. For my patience and dedication I rewarded myself with a beef roll and a couple of ice cream treats.

a pastry loaded with chocolate ice cream, bananas, and fudge...BRILLIANT!

Ghost Money...extremely common in Chinese culture, but for me just resembles indulgences way too much

So many people...

As I joyously ate, many locals and I exchanged new years' wishes in both Chinese and English. As probably 2 of the 4 total white people in Tainan that day, the locals were quite amazed to see our faces. It seems that in Taipei, the Chinese don't care to really talk to us as much because there's so many expats there that we're not really all that special. In Tainan it's completely different. Everyone stared at us, just about everyone smiled, and a good handful of people tried their best to communicate with us—even to the point of interjecting themselves in our private conversations. Perhaps it was a little over the top, but I loved it. When people say that the Taiwanese are some of the friendliest people on earth, they're talking about these people. Apart from maybe my weekend in Hualien, I've never met nicer people.

Around 10:20 we once again boarded the HSR, this time on our way back to Taipei. With stomachs full of great food and faces full of sun, we headed home. The day had been lived to the fullest.

To be continued with more Chinese New Year adventures...