Taiwan was not on our itinerary. Originally, SAS planned to stop in Japan with two days each in Kobe and Yokohama. That all changed after the tsunami for obvious reasons. I’m not sure why Taiwan was selected as our new port; South Korea and the Philippines were also considered. The majority of the shipboard community preferred either of those over Taiwan.
A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving. ~Lao Tzu
This quote embodied our approach to Taiwan, although I didn’t find it till afterwards. At the time, we were running out of steam. With just 2 days between Vietnam and Hong Kong, Hong Kong and Shanghai, Shanghai and Taiwan, it felt like we were in a constant state of transition. It’s hard to explain, because the voyage IS a life of privilege and opportunity, but we were exhausted the morning we berthed in Keelung, Taiwan. No plans. No agenda. And no money, as we’d find out quickly.
We donned our raincoats about 11:00 and headed out to find an ATM, explore Keelung, and grab some lunch. Gray clouds hung low and the rain drizzled steadily, reminding us how we’ve missed a wet winter back home. Keelung is an industrial, working-class city, easy enough to walk around in, but kind of smelly and noisy. No English signage to speak of. After attempting to withdraw money and getting our card spit out at three different banks, we had a revelation. We’d given our bank at home a list of all our ports, but Taiwan wasn’t on the list; Japan was! Lucky for us, currency exchange was available on the ship (this was only the 2nd time on the whole voyage) so we exchanged what American dollars we had, then set out again!
We tromped around in the raindrops for a few hours and discovered a playground, temple, and giant Buddha, all on this mini mountain called Jhongjheng Park, close to downtown. William counted 97 steps we climbed to the top. 
It was eerily quiet, except for some low singing and chanting we heard coming from behind the Dafo Zen temple. Wish we could have learned some information, but none of the signs were in English, so we just admired the massive, colorful shrine. 
From the temple, we spied the Guanyin Buddha Stature afar. Jason convinced us to try and find it. I thought it seemed miles away but we scouted it out and landed there about 20 minutes later. As with the temple, we couldn’t scare up one English phrase anywhere, so we respectfully apprised it, snapped a few photos, and moved on.
Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was due to the national holiday – but nobody was out and about. Our webbed feet came in handy, and the kids did a great job trudging around town in the raindrops.
The next day we rode the train to Taipei, the capital, and then hopped on the subway to Beitou. The whole trip took about an hour and forty five minutes. Our goal: soak in the natural hot springs. Northern Taiwan is well-known for its hot springs. I envisioned a quaint little mountain town based on the guidebook’s description, but really, Beitou is just an extension of Taipei.
The tall buildings bump up against the lush, green mountains, and the streets bustled with people seeking a respite from urban life. Beitou started out as a hot springs resort by the Japanese administration and had its heyday in the WWII and Vietnam eras as a place for troops seeking some R & R.
The hot springs bubble through the center of town and we walked along the creek looking for the public soaking pools. Three pools laid out the heat with progressively hotter temps and two pools were ice cold. 
We changed in the outdoor changing rooms then looked for an opening. As you can see, the soakers were sardined into the pools. All the anticipation fizzled within 5 minutes. The high sulfur content irritated our skin. William started complaining first that he was itchy, then shortly after Vivian’s and my legs started to sting. Oh well. Lucky for us, our home state boasts its share of therapeutic hot springs!
Back in our street clothes, we trekked up to Hell Valley, where the steamy, open sulfur pits offer a close up look at the natural thermal activity responsible for the hot springs. What a sight – thick mist mystically rose over a greenish lake. The smell of rotten eggs (thanks to the sulfur) seared our olfactory senses. Speaking of eggs, I noticed that hard boiled eggs are sold everywhere as a snack – from street vendors to 7-11.
On our way out, Vivian spotted this exquisite butterfly.
After about three hours, we’d glossed over the highlights of Beitou, so we rode the subway into Taipei for a look-see. Conveniently, the subway and train station are housed in the same massive terminal, just on different levels. Our map directed us to the 2-28 Peace Memorial Park, which we randomly chose to visit since A) It was within walking distance, and B) We seem to visit parks in every port.
The 2-28 Peace Memorial Park pays tribute to the tragic massacre on February 28, 1947 that killed thousands of Taiwanese by Kuomintang. Time for your quick and dirty history lesson: The Japanese occupied Taiwan from 1895-1945 (which explains the Japanese influences we observed) until it became part of the Republic of China. Chiang Kai-shek, the leader of the Republic of China, fled with refugees to Taiwan in 1949. Today, Taiwan’s status is stuck in limbo. Taiwan residents regard themselves independent of China, but Beijing (China’s capital) considers Taiwan a renegade province. Officially, Taiwan has never declared independence from mainland China, even though they operate their government as a democracy.
It’s kind of confusing. I do know that our ship was prohibited from traveling straight to Taiwan from China, so we stopped at a tiny Japanese territory island (one of the few they got to keep after WWII) for several hours. Japanese immigration came on the ship and did something bureaucratic to create the illusion that we didn’t pass Go and collect $200. (Sorry – William and I have been playing a lot of Monopoly these days instead of math worksheets.)
But I digress. The manicured park was beautiful, as you can see from the photos, and the kids burned off a ton of energy. William was feeling especially spunky, playing Spy and Ambush. The cooler weather makes him a happier traveler, for sure.
Soon it was dinnertime. I’d detected one restaurant possibility on the quarter mile route to the park, so we retraced our steps, and after a few false starts, finally found it on the second floor. Not one word of English could be found on the menu, but it smelled inviting. I couldn’t even tell you if it was Japanese, Mandarin, or Taiwanese. We struggled for a while, since there weren’t pictures on the menu to help us out. Fortunately, a kind soul at the next table, spoke the teensiest bit of English and offered some assistance. I decided to order what she was eating (garlic noodle soup), Vivian ordered regular noodle soup, and Jason took a wild guess and ordered a mystery meal to split with William.
You know what? That dinner goes down on this voyage as one of my best memories. None of us got worked up trying to decipher the menu. We all ate our food, enjoyed it, and the kids didn’t whine or complain once. Gazing around the plain rectangular space full of Taipei locals, listening to the golden-oldie songs like Every Breath You Take, You are the Apple of My Eye, and Yesterday, I thought, well. We have arrived.
By the time we finished dinner darkness hovered over the city lights and we hustled to the train station. The train back to Keelung was delayed (Hurry up and wait!) Another helpful local explained the symbol on the schedule that indicated a late train. Jason noticed a group of SAS students climbed on what they thought was the Keelung train so he followed them on and set them straight. And they needed some direction to correct their impairment, if you know what I mean.
William amused a couple of teenage girls on the train ride with his version of cards. They kept staring and smiling and soon enough offered William and Vivian a piece of candy.
On our third and final day in Keelung, Jason and I went running. Keelung reminded me of Manaus with the smells and traffic. I didn’t have much stamina that morning, so it was a good thing Jason put in some miles on the treadmill before we ventured out.
The remainder of the day we poked around with Kaila and her mom Christine at the park and waterfront. Having a playmate makes it way more fun for the kids, naturally.
Christine introduced us to Mos Burger, a Japanese fast food restaurant for lunch. How clever is that sink right there next to the counter? Can someone please explain why no American chains have caught on to such a brilliant convenience!
Both Jason and I ordered rice burgers. Mine is the seafood rice on the right. If you are someone who likes seafood and rice, (like me), this is one heavenly burger!
So, that was Taiwan for the Nice family; our last international port. Eleven days at sea (and mostly smooth sailing) geared us up for our final port: Hawaii!
Experiential Passage 