I have just returned from my one-week trip around Taiwan, which was definitely one of the highlights of my time here. Our group of ~30 people, including the tour guides and attending Rotarians, traveled all around the island in a bus. We had 4 guides for this trip. The primary guide, Samantha, was a Canadian-Taiwanese and did most of the translation work, as well as handling students' complaints. The other 3 guides were all male. One was nicknamed Pikachu; he was with us during the Penghu trip as well, and was very popular among the students. The second male guide was called Black Bear, and was as burly as his name suggested. The final guide was called Xiao Xin (which sounds like the Chinese way of saying 'be careful') and he was by far the most quiet; he was most willing to help us move our luggage in and out of the bus.
Our journey started with assembly in Taipei, whereupon we took our bus to San Yi and had our first DIY activity: painting wooden sculptures. I chose a cute little duck, rather reminiscent of a rubber ducky; the other options were a decoy-style duck, a swan, and a cat. After eating there, we moved on to Sun Moon Lake, which we toured via boat and cable car. It was raining very hard, but the cable car ride was beautiful, if a bit shorter than I would have liked. Outside of the hotel that night, a semi-miracle occurred: I found shoes in my size! I bought sandals, in American size 11. This is the second pair of shoes I have managed to locate in my size in Taiwan, and it will probably be the last.
The second day's first activity was a train tour of a former sugar factory which has been converted into a Culture Park. The train's top speed was 5 km/hr; while sitting in it, we got a good view of the sugar cane fields and the High Speed Rail (HSR). After disembarking, we toured the factory on foot; the steam-driven machines were huge and very impressive, if a bit rusty. After lunch, we went to a traditional farming village, where we had 2 more DIY activities. The first was dying bandannas with blue dye (I'm inclined to call it indigo, but I'm not absolutely certain that's correct); we made the patterns by using popsicle sticks and elastic bands to define the white spaces. While those were setting, we painted farming hats or fans. There was also an ox-drawn carriage which took the students on a tour around the village. The bandannas' color was set by washing them in a salt-vinegar-water mixture, then air-drying.
The third day included a tour of Tainan, then a trip to the Buddha Memorial Center. This center had an enormous sitting Buddha - the largest in the world. The center also boasted 3 shrines and 4 exhibits, each of which was extremely impressive and culturally diverse, showcasing how Buddhism is different in its distinct nations (India vs. China, etc.). In the afternoon, we traveled to Kaohsiung, where we frolicked in the E-Da theme park. The haunted house, bumper cars, and roller coasters were all very fun. As we were leaving, a downpour began and so the boys and a few of the girls began to penguin-slide around. This, of course, was highly amusing to the Taiwanese bystanders, as well as to me. Soaked to the skin, we all quickly walked to our hotel across the street, which was enormous and, like many of the hotels on our stay, rated 5 stars.
The fourth day took us to Kenting via the National Museum of Marine Biology & Aquarium, which I particularly enjoyed. I think the penguins were my favorite part, although the beluga whale comes in a close second place. We had a large, typical Rotary lunch, then went outside and waited. Before long, we were picked up by our expected ride: a fleet of camouflage Jeeps. We all piled in, 4 or 5 students per Jeep, then set off to the mountain trail. We had a short encounter with a police officer along the way, due to students standing while driving on the highway, but were let off with a warning. (This may have been because we were foreign, or perhaps because we were young. I don't really know. Regardless, I'm glad.) Once we got to the trail, we began our ride, which was rather similar to a roller coaster in that it had ups and down and crazy turns. That ride showed me why people enjoy motocross. Our route took us to a river, where everyone got soaked by the others' vehicles. As we were all prepared and wearing swimsuits under our clothing, shirts and shorts were quickly shed. When our ride in the Jeeps came to an end, we were deposited, wet and giddy, at the Go-Kart track. Each person got 7 minutes to do as many laps as he/she could; I managed about 9, despite my more cautious tendencies. After this, we were all loaded back into the bus and taken to our next stop for the day: Nanwan Beach. We swam and played in the water, then returned to our hotel. After dinner and checking in, we took a trip to the Kenting Night Market.
The fifth day included one of my new favorite activities: paintball. Each person got 60 yellow paint bullets, and we were all split into one of two teams: black and yellow. (The colors refer to the color of our face mask; other than this, our outfits were completely identical camouflage jumpsuits.) I was on the black team. The first round, with about a dozen people per team, lasted 15 minutes; I had about 20 bullets left at the end of this round, so I got to participate in the second round, which was 5-on-5. During the first round, I got a couple of good shots out (my preferred style is sniping) and in the second, I had a couple more from behind enemy lines. People had the option of paying to play a 3rd game, which I passed on. In the afternoon, we were scheduled to tour another village by bike, but it was raining so we had to cancel that.
The sixth day, our only activity was whitewater rafting. This was a 2-hour activity. My raft had 7 students and Xiao Xin; we were not the strongest of rowers, but we did establish a good rhythm and hit a few good rapids. Unfortunately, we all ended up with rather angry sunburns on our legs and (most of our) arms. I avoided the arm burn by wearing a long-sleeved shirt; this was a fashion faux pas, as I paired it with short shorts... but I don't regret that. In the evening, we had a good-bye party in the hotel, which involved karaoke, soda, and dancing. This party was also to celebrate Maggie's 18th birthday, which was today. Our curfew was at 12:30.
Today, our final day, had several activities and required an early start; thus, our morning call was at 5:30 AM. Needless to say, everyone was sleeping on the bus. Our first activity was river tracing, or walking upstream for a couple of hours. We walked in the river and next to it, crossed the river while holding hands, floated downstream, and finally jumped into the river. There were 2 heights from which one was allowed to jump: 2.5 meters and 7 meters. Everyone did the small jump, and most of the students also jumped off the 7 meter cliff. I did not. Instead, I attempted to skip stones, and failed rather miserably. We had lunch there: a delicious soup with lots of noodles, vegetables, and little meatballs. After cleaning it all up, we headed back downstream, where we all changed from our wetsuits into dry clothing and got back on the bus. Our next stop was the Visitor's Center and then the Secret Valley in Taroko Gorge; due to the weather, the rest of the Gorge was closed. We then continued around the city, stopping at various landmarks like Qishingtan beach. Finally, we went to the train station to say our goodbyes and eat a Pizza Hut dinner.
I had an absolutely amazing time on this trip. However, I'm definitely happy to be home; at one of my homes, at any rate. ^_^
