isteacher. : Taiwan Day 3

On the Saturday we got up a bit late, but still before 10 :P We had decided to go north, up to the Confucian temple and to Danshui, a small town north of Taipei proper (though still on the subway line) that was right on the coast. I had the North Van of Taipei vibe going up, and that was about right.

First though, we needed to book our tickets for the train ride to Taroko the next day. We went to Taipei station and, being baffled, went to the info desk. After travelling in Korea and SE Asia I was expecting a challenge, but the two girls behind the counter spoke perfect English. Actually what I found in Taiwan was that, while the average Taiwanese spoke much less English than the average Korean or Thai, the ones in positions where English was needed speak it very well. Even at Seoul Station or Bangkok International you will get the "you want to go to there?" or "the next train runs until 9pm" English, but not in Taipei. They were great, writing down everything we needed in Chinese to show the guy selling tickets and explaining it all to us in flawless English. While there I also noticed a Chinese woman talking to another girl behind the counter. Neither were native English speakers and yet both were communicating in English. I guess on Taiwan there are people who only speak Mandarin or Taiwanese and so they communicate in English.... maybe that's why the girls English was so good.

Anyway, after that pleasant surprise we hopped on the MRT stopping at the Confucian temple. While it was impressive Geoff and I both noticed that we were a bit templed-out. Korean temples use much of the same designs as the Chinese ones and, after a couple of years of seeing them, it has lost it's exotic-ness. We stayed about 15 minutes then headed north.

Danshui was indeed the North Vancouver of Taipei, but with some Kits and Coal Harbour thrown in. Upscale, seawall promenade selling food, souvenirs and sunglasses. We began to walk around and ran in to Laura (bus girl from the first day). After a quick chat we opted to head north to see a bit of Taiwan's colonial past. Taiwan has been colonized by no less than four powers, though only the Chinese and Japanese got any further than Danshui. The Spanish built a fort here in the 16th century which was taken over by the Dutch shortly after and which remains today. They were later driven out by the Chinese who colonized the western half of the island. Only in the 20th century was the whole island colonized when Japan annexed it in 1905. More about that in the Taroko section but needless to say, it was unpleasant for all concerned. Danshui then, is the only place in Taiwan that you can see Spanish, Dutch and Chinese forts (and for good measure a huge British consulate built in the 19th century from the ruins of the old Dutch fort - Danshui was one of the ports China opened to the west in the 19th century after the Opium wars).

As usual, we decided to walk it. It took about an hour and th efirst place we hit was the Spanish/Dutch/British fort. It is in remarkable shape given the age, but most of what is there dates from the British era. The British actually maintained an embassy here until 1970, when full recognition was shiften to Beijing. Today it is a relic with amazing views of the Taiwan Strait. Pictures do it more justice that words. We then walked to the Chinese fort, which dates from the 19th century and was actually built by German colonists then in Qingdao (a German colony until WWI). Not surprisingly, it looks very European.

After a walk through European colonialism we opted to walk the last 2k to Fisherman's Wharf for some more street food and a mainland Chinese pint. Fisherman's Wharf is the northernmost point in Danshui and is right on the ocean. Apparently it can get quite unpleasant during typhoon season but on that day it was gorgeous. Tired from walking, we enjoyed the snacks and the ocean view for at least an hour.

We then hopped on the ferry back to Danshui proper and, in the process, we managed to sail on the Taiwan strait (however briefly). I'm a bit of a nerd when it comes to that sort of thing and putting my hand or foot, or just sailing on and getting spayed by, water from different oceans and seas is something I keep track of :P

Arriving back we decided to go back to Shilin for dinner and shopping. Our first stop was the spicy noodle house. I ordered the Super spicy (big spicy being Thursday nights choice) and it was spicy. I wish that the next time I am told in Korea that food is too spicy for me I could make the Korean saying that eat these noodles with me. After the noodles we opted for some skewers and, being in China, ended up with Ostrich and peppered chicken hearts to go ith our beef. It was really good :) At the market they have old Hong Kong Kung-fu movies on the big scren so we grabbed some fruit juice, meat and watched a bit of the movie. It was wall to wall people but I also managed to buy shirts and souvenirs, but by 9 you couldn't even move so we did our best to escape and grabbed a cab. This is where I missed Korea a lot. Our cabbie had zero English and it was hard to explain Taipei Main Station to him. He actually took us to Chiang Kai Shek memorial hall first (though after seeing it we decided to check it out properly later). He was nice enough to give us a discount so I'm sure he wasn't driving in circles to rack up the meter as happens elsewhere in Asia (when you can get them to turn the meter on).