writing the old ones down. i've got some retroactive storytelling to do. first: fatbat mike's grand tour of kaohsiung last saturday. he would probably want you to know that he's a much better tour guide than we know! fatbat claimed that pingtung john and i were among his most mellow tourists ever, and therefore sampled only a small fraction of the activities that he would normally program. by "mellow" i think he meant that we were more likely to walk slowly and laugh loudly than to motivate in any way towards the next destination... sound familiar anyone?!
fatbat did great, and made us both extremely happy by giving us our first view of the sea. specifically, the taiwan strait to the island's west. kaohsiung is the 2nd largest city in taiwan and one of the top 6 largest ports in the world. and so our view largely consisted of massive container ships and port paraphernelia. my happiness increased even further when we boarded a ferry headed for chi jing island, about 10 minutes from kaohsiung.
chi jing is especially popular for its fresh seafood and beach. we beelined for the beach, and were shocked by the sight of heaps and piles of driftwood as far as the eye could see. driftwood covering the sand, driftwood washing up in the waves, driftwood knocking against driftwood... and one of those huge container ship stuck in the sand immediately offshore. we climbed the wood, walked the beach, tried to board the marooned ship (no dice), and ate whole grilled squid on a stick, quail eggs, and bean curd & red bean shaved ice. enthusiastic members of the clean plate club!
one outstanding sunset and several hours later, we made it to kaohsiung's "dream mall." comparable to the twin cities' dreamy mall of america. while they did not have fancy silver shoes in my size, they did have a bob ross store. with salesgirls who continuously demonstrate bob ross technique on their own easels. fatbat mike is clearly highly impressed with their skills-- or maybe it's just the overwhelming quantity of quality bob ross merchandise. "just like so..."needless to say, i loved every bit of the kaohsiung tour and hope that fatbat will not hold the mellow pace and endless questions against us.
monday night, my taiwanese sisters and brother introduced me to their crew of pingtung-based b-boys. i loved not only their moves but also their music-- budos band in pingtung city! who knew??? at 1 in the morning, we drove down to the island's southernmost tip and one of the most popular vacation getaways in taiwan, kenting. it was beautiful. we fit 9 people into 2 hotel rooms, swam in the ocean, did headstands on the beach, and rocked the bumping night market. and i got to see peter & andi, an american couple teaching in the area.
on thursday, my new friend amy took me to her fruit factory. amy is taiwanese and speaks fantastic english thanks to 10 years in denver. she also runs the family fruit distribution business. farmers drive their trucks into the warehouse and drop off their fruit. workers sort the fruit by grade, then package it and ship it around the island (and beyond). currently available are papayas, bananas, guavas, pears limes, lemons, and a few straggler mangoes and pineapples. as one might guess, amy's farmers (and therefore business) were seriously impacted by typhoon morakot. while the government will offer assistance to farmers, distributors will not receive any financial aid. the fruit factory will stay open in part by sending trucks on fruit recon missions to the less-damaged north.photos: quail egg girl; kaohsiung to chi jing ferry; disaster beach; kenting national park; fruit factory booty (huge bag of mangoes not pictured)
Great Post T-Eileen! That Ferry looks retro-futuristic and those fruits look delicious. Save a mango for me! Also, I epect your landscape painting skills to be really amazing by the time you get back.
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