The Wind on My Helmet
You heard it here first: I officially have a scooter!! I went yesterday with Adele to her house in the mountains to pick it up. She doesn't come to Taichung often so on the way out of town she got lost and we drove for about an hour and half to get to her place. I've never spent that much time on a scooter before, and let me tell you my ass was sore! I can say that the "sight-seeing" trip was pretty cool and it was doubly exciting as my first trip to the mountains *and* knowing I was going to pick up the "hog." Driving down the mountain was a little weird, but I didn't really have to use much gas and I didn't get lost so it was great! It's a 125 CC, and it's pretty big comparatively. It rides ridiculously smoothly and the body is in great condition. It's so quiet too! Brian and Susan have labelled it a steal at 12,000 NT!
Today Susan, Brian, and I went on our first adventure! First, we went to a big temple that has a *huge* gold-painted Buddha. It was actually bigger than the temple itself! It was a special day, we don't know the name, but we found out it happens three times a year, and there were plenty of people laying out offerings for their ancestors and gods. We were a little nervous that we were intruding, but a woman who spoke some English assued us it was ok to have a look around. The oven that burns the ghost money was on overdrive and smoke was pouring from the top.
Next, we went to the Martyr's Shrine and the Confucius Temple in town. They were amazing! Tucked back in these beautiful gardens, were these amazing temples with huge red doors with lion's head knockers, orange roofs, and stunning sculptures. I love the smell of the incense they use there. And even though it's on a main street, the walls and the plants block out the city noise so you can actually hear birds chirping in the trees. We spent a lot of time near the little fish pond in the corner, looking at the fish and feeling calm.
After that, we drove around looking for a tea house, but ended up settling for a pizza joint downtown. Then we drove back across town to go to the big Japanese department store, Mitsukoshi. The grocery store in the basement had some great imported foods and we actually found a wheel of Cheddar! That's something we had yet to see until today. Unfortunately, it was the equivalent of $100 USD for the wheel, but one day in the future it might be worth it to get some people in on it together and buy the wheel! We thought about seeing a movie in the theater upstairs, but the next one didn't start for two hours, so we high-tailed it back to the apartment complex to watch the movie they were showing tonight, Van Helsing.
It was a full day and we drove completely across town! I love it! I think I might have another adventure tommorow before work, but where will I go? Anywhere that strikes my fancy, says me! Taichung has a new appeal! There are so many places to explore...
Today Susan, Brian, and I went on our first adventure! First, we went to a big temple that has a *huge* gold-painted Buddha. It was actually bigger than the temple itself! It was a special day, we don't know the name, but we found out it happens three times a year, and there were plenty of people laying out offerings for their ancestors and gods. We were a little nervous that we were intruding, but a woman who spoke some English assued us it was ok to have a look around. The oven that burns the ghost money was on overdrive and smoke was pouring from the top.
Next, we went to the Martyr's Shrine and the Confucius Temple in town. They were amazing! Tucked back in these beautiful gardens, were these amazing temples with huge red doors with lion's head knockers, orange roofs, and stunning sculptures. I love the smell of the incense they use there. And even though it's on a main street, the walls and the plants block out the city noise so you can actually hear birds chirping in the trees. We spent a lot of time near the little fish pond in the corner, looking at the fish and feeling calm.
After that, we drove around looking for a tea house, but ended up settling for a pizza joint downtown. Then we drove back across town to go to the big Japanese department store, Mitsukoshi. The grocery store in the basement had some great imported foods and we actually found a wheel of Cheddar! That's something we had yet to see until today. Unfortunately, it was the equivalent of $100 USD for the wheel, but one day in the future it might be worth it to get some people in on it together and buy the wheel! We thought about seeing a movie in the theater upstairs, but the next one didn't start for two hours, so we high-tailed it back to the apartment complex to watch the movie they were showing tonight, Van Helsing.
It was a full day and we drove completely across town! I love it! I think I might have another adventure tommorow before work, but where will I go? Anywhere that strikes my fancy, says me! Taichung has a new appeal! There are so many places to explore...
posted by CJ at 6:42 AM
1 Comments:
(kris) Hurray for you on the scooter! Just be careful and don't do what I did at the ripe age of 14: get nervous, pull the throttle in reaction to the nerves, and tear off at top speed into a construction site (only to fly off into a pile of wood and mud). Me and the scooter didn't hang out too much after that....again, be careful!
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