Bubble Tea and Biking: A trip to Taichung

All it takes is a quick glance of my bank statement to realise the gravity of my bubble tea “issue”. What was originally an occasional treat has now morphed into a full-blown addiction, as the literal hundreds of bubble tea chain outlets beckon sweetly to the innocent passerby every second block. With this established, I will attempt to transfer the sheer degree of excitement felt upon hearing we would be visiting the birth place of this nectar of the gods.

From a temporary base in the beautiful city of Taichung (台中) at a hostel that had us almost in tears over the white bedding and blissful showers, we were able to explore the city and surrounding areas. Over the course of 2 1/2 days we would bike on hire-able Ubikes in a congealed stream of manic traffic, battle through the train station crowds of people returning home for the Chinese New Year and dine on only the finest of cheap night market cuisine. Because it ain’t Taiwan without night markets.

So. First and foremost on the agenda was visiting what can only be described as the holy grail of bubble tea. Chun Shui Tang Cultural Tea House (春水堂) is credited with being the first tea house to serve the now immensely popular bubble tea. Its founder, Liu Han-Chieh, came up with the idea of serving tea cold after seeing coffee served cold in Japan. With 1983 came the addition of black tapioca balls, transforming the traditional tea into what it is today. While the branches of Chun Shui Tang now sprawl over the country, with some offering the experience of making your own (!!!), the very original tea house is located in Taichung. It was only our duty to pay homage to the drink that gets us through every day.

For those not so inclined to bubble tea (Are you ok? Do you need a hug?), do not be put off by my gushing. Bubble tea is only one item on a menu of hot pots, side dishes, and traditional noodles, so whatever your taste you will be left with the task of rolling yourself from the floor-level table like a fleshy bowling ball.

Side of Gong Fu Noodles!

The front of the haven

 

Warning: Emerging from this tea cavern may triggered a glum inclination to search for the nearest form of exercise. Should you give in to this guilt, you will find bikes (aka native wildlife of Taiwan) available to hire at almost every corner. Taiwan’s biking culture is one of my favourite things about the country and cruising around the city on a sweet Ubike ride will never fail to lift your spirits.  Although specifically bike-designated lanes are hard to come by, navigating traffic isn’t too traumatizing of an experience. I mean, as long as you don’t value your life tooooo much.

On our second day in Taichung we took a 3 hour bus ride out to the county of Nantou (南投) to see, and hopefully bike around, the beautiful Sun Moon Lake （日月湖）. Initially the ‘seeing’ part proved most difficult, but with a bit of squinting we eventually found the giant body of water through the shrouds of mist. While we definitely could have picked better weather to accompany us, who else can say they biked around a giant lake and emerged looking they they’d taken a dip in it?

 

In stark contrast, the next biking expedition had us puffing through 31 degree heat along Taipei’s Dahan River. Here more than 100km of biking trails link up three rivers, so I’ll blame the sticky tires for only permitting us to accomplish 6km… We returned resembling more melted wax statues than human, but the opportunity to escape city bustle and get lost in the sunshine was one of the best in the entire last four weeks. Yingge District (莺歌）guys! Visit it! Enjoy it! Drink it in! Just remember to take some sunscreen. How Taiwan managed to go from 4 to 31 degrees in the span of a month terrifies me.

And lately FOOD PICS! This is becoming a permanent segment it seems…

Taichung’s famous ice cream

Cheesy potatoes! Found at every night market

Peanut chocolate bananas~

Seriously underrated duck roll

Ice cream pancake!

Dim sum at its finest

A slightly classier dim sum

 

 

 

 

Who wants to go camping? – AIESEC Winter Camp

As a daughter of two trained teachers, I was raised with an inkling of the toils that accompany controlling classrooms of reluctant students. It wasn’t until I was thrown into this position of massive responsibility myself however, that I realised how much of a mere inkling that had been. Teachers, I take my hat off to you. Your perseverance in the face of many a bored and 6 -wait, make that 7- sleeping students has gained yourself another admirer. I have yet to earn my Steel-Skin Suit, but this 4 days AIESEC Global Neighborhood Winter Camp certainly provided insight into the importance of being challenged.

Being the youngest of the EPs (Exchange Participants i.e all us international adventurers) and with an age gap of only 1 or 2 years between me and most of the high school students, I was initially a bit apprehensive about my leadership abilities. Is someone equally befuddled over big future life decisions really equipped to chaperon, nay, LEAD a team? The number of people caught sleeping on the first day did not inspire confidence, but we soon learnt this was not a trend linked solely to interest of whatever topic was being discussed. Apparently Taiwanese students are just perpetually tired. Every day brought a new photo collage of both students and camp leaders taking a cheeky nap.

Points for cutest team?

Trying to rouse some sense of engagement and participation was like pulling teeth at times, characterized by much groaning and eye twitches. However, when such efforts paid off, the success was candy-sweet. Watching kids who’d spent the first day face-down on their desks star in their team’s final drama performance stirred up surprising levels of almost maternal pride. My own confidence swung like a roller coaster at times, although hearing a crowd of 60 kids holler out “KIA ORA” did send unforgettable spine-tingles. I couldn’t resist bringing a spot of politics to the table, quite literally laying out a New Zealand flag on the desk and conducting a vote akin the current flag referendum happening in my country. I may have attempted to convince them that their kiwiana prizes would be worth million in a few years as our impending possible flag change would make them highly-sought after collectibles! In the end though, merely the ability to distinct between the Australian and New Zealand flag was considered a success. FYI John Key, based off a small survey sample, majority of Taiwanese high school students made faces at the recently voted second flag.

See! Bubble tea works! A parting note from an adorable delegate

“So Shannon, I hear you attempted to buy your team’s love with a full round of free bubble tea…what do you have to say about this?” Hah, who me? I would neeevver….*shifty eye glance* While there may have been some spoiling, I can confidently say my team’s sweetness was at least 80% genuine. On the last day the darlings compiled a thank-you video filled with lovely messages that had me tearing up watching it in the middle of the hot pot restaurant. Feelings, man.

On a final note, let’s discuss hot pot for  moment. Hot pot, or 火锅, is a chance to open yourself up to new experiences. After dumping everything into boiling soup for undoubtedly all the wrong cooking times (#novice), you really have no other choice that to try everything. Tripe? No worries. Weird sea vegetable shaped like a pig ear? Sweet as. Black squid noodles you ooze out like icing from a piping bag? Bring it on. By the time you’ve ventured through those, discussing Maori Land Rights at a Taiwanese high school camp will seem like a piece of cake.

Hot pot spread!

红豆饼 aka Red Bean Ice Pyramid aka Mountain of deliciousness

Photo credit: Michelle Voo

 

The whole gang!

#repping

The classical art of trash disposing

We’ve all been accused of liking “trashy music” at some point or another. And while there is nothing wrong with a bit of junk tunes, now you have another reason.

It turns out a household of 11 girls equates to a lot of trash. Who would have guessed? After a week of carefully picking our way through the Mt. Doom equivalent of garbage accumulating in the kitchen corner, we had to face the reality. Unless we wished to increase the population of living creatures under this roof, it was time to delve into the mysterious world of trash disposal in Taiwan.

Now of all of the many, many wonderful ways in which Taiwan is unique, I can honestly say this stands out in the top ranks. First off, under no other circumstances would it be considered normal for a whole neighborhood to be drawn out of their houses to the tune of “Für Elise” like children to the Piped Piper. Hoisting pink bags of waste-offering, we wait eagerly for the yellow garbage truck to come lumbering around the corner. This is never a subtle affair, as tunes usually associated with ice cream trucks ensure you know exactly what’s on its way. Variations include Tekla Bądarzewska-Baranowska’s “A Maiden’s Prayer” or if you’re lucky to be around during a festive season, Christmas carols or traditional Chinese songs. The full diverse range of “trashy” music!

Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration concocted this scheme in an attempt to eliminate the vermin and odor previously clogging the designated trash-centers. When the music sounds, people rush to hand-deliver their trash directly to the sanitation workers. Unlike its ice cream doppelganger, trash collection here runs on a regular schedule, so you don’t have to leap up from dinner to catch the truck. Unless, like me, you see this as a momentous occasion that is worth a slightly cooler dinner. I’m sure the novelty will wear off after a few trips up and down the stair, but until then let me revel in these simple excitements.

Check out the video below to see the show in action!

Taiwanese night markets: The birthplace of food babies

It is popular belief that a trip to Taiwan without any night market expeditions is a complete waste of time. This I can confirm. If you haven’t experienced being shuttled along a conga line of insane smells and over-enthusiastic stall hawkers, what are you even doing?

Today I am dedicating an entire post to a tale of the craziness that has been night markets. This begins with the renowned Shilin Night Market (士林夜市) and continues with Raohe St. Night Market (饒河街觀光夜市), the oldest of its kind in all of Taipei. Shilin Night Market is considered the be the largest and most famous night market in the city and consequently we arrived with high expectations

Here the labyrinth of alleyways and sprawl of side streets made travelling in large groups even trickier than it already is, so by splitting up into small groups we were able to cover more ground and try truckloads of more food! I didn’t realise how much fruit I normally chow through back home until coming to Taiwan and being bowled over by how expensive it is here! We were immediately drawn to the vibrant fruit stalls and passed by drooling like malnourished puppies, counting our coins sadly.

My favourite 糖葫芦！Candied strawberries, tomatoes and haw berries

Hong Kong style egg waffles (鷄蛋仔) and papaya smoothie

What I want to be buried in. Mango shaved ice (芒果冰）

The infamous Taiwanese fried chicken (鸡排）!

 

 

As the rules of the universe dictate, one can spend a whole day clothes shopping under a haze of financial guilt that is magical lifted upon entering the gates of a food market. I will stand debating the pros and cons of each potential new clothing item and feel victorious when my self-control prevails, but this dissipates immediately in the present of pepper cakes. Or iced tea. One does not simply pass by a stall of those amazing ice cream pancakes with peanut brittle and cilantro either. We stumbled into Raohe St. Night Market quite accidentally by following a trail of colourful light arches…a rainbow road of some sorts? This was an absolute treasure find and we actually had to turn around half way to prevent any more draining of the wallets.

Mango green tea (芒果绿茶）

Pepper cakes (胡椒饼) have taken the number one spot ❤

Ice cream pancakes with peanut brittle and cilantro! My goodness!

So in conclusion: There will be queues, you will move at snail-pace at times, you may have to try stinky tofu to appease an insistent friend, but nothing outshines the food babies you will be bringing home at the end of the day. If anyone needs me, I’ll be camping in a small tent behind the 胡椒饼stall.

Eat well!

 

 

Dog Squad and Durian Coffee

The one and only downside of eating out every meal in a city of some of the best street food in the world is the frequent tendency to feel like a slug. Accompanied by two consecutive days of 4 degree weather, and the motivation to get active is dismally low. Luckily, there is one ‘sport’ that keeps us moving. My friend Peter has dubbed this ‘extreme sightseeing’ and we are slowly but surely fine-tuning our unique skills in this area. Let me explain. Extreme sightseeing involves getting hopelessly, ridiculously lost under the guise of ~exploring~ while secretly grappling with the growing fear that this is end. Extra points if it takes more than 40 minutes to find your way again and there is a bonus round involving three wrong turns for the really keen. Results are best if your partner is equally skilled at the art of losing one’s way.

Sadly, the grey reality of this is the two most directionally-challenged girls of the group having to include 40 extra minutes when planning trips to account for detours and an almost embarrassing reliance on Google Maps for salvation. What can I say, we make a great team!

Leading the way!

Taipei University is home to a clan of loyal dogs that wander at leisure and can be found napping in the corners of classrooms or leading lost foreign students. Well, semi-leading. These particular dogs have an attention span that rivals my own. There names, 黑帅，黄帅 and 牛牛, directly translate to Black Handsome, Yellow Handsome and Cow. I do sense a touch of favoritism there.

When we do eventually make it to our location, the whole day is spent working busily on our presentations for the camp coming up in only a few days! Over the course of three days we are leading a camp for a truck-tonne of high school students. The thought of attempting to control a classroom of teenagers for an hour by myself is terrifying, don’t get me wrong, but I’m excited to see how we all step up to the challenge.

The whole gang exploring the city

Training day one!

Wonderful Weird Find of Today: Durian coffee? I don’t know man, desperate times call for desperate measures

All day every day

It is only to the credit of the constant Bubble Tea running through our veins that we are able to do all this. So far we have not gone a day without trying some new combination of flavours. A word of wisdom: When in a foreign country, never leave the house without your phone. Not only is this your lifeline to familiar faces, its dictionary services are invaluable. Save time staring gormlessly at a jumbled menu by butchering googled pronunciations instead! So far nothing has beaten the Original Bubble Tea flavour. That coupled with the Malaysian girls’ Durian coffee has left my taste buds in rather a confused state.

Ciao for now and enjoy the food porn!

Very over-priced sushi

素菜蛋饼：Veggie egg pancake

Interesting melon bread of some sort?

萝卜糕 and 锅贴: Fried radish cake and potstickers

When you accidentally order two whole meals

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome to the Coven

The storm has settled and the chaos has temporarily subsided, or at least reached such a stage of absurdity as to become hysterically hilarious. Our current accommodation situation resembles that of a steely boot-camp designed to chisel young women into fine machines of endurance and grit. If 11 girls in one apartment with two bathrooms rouses images of hair nests infestations, a minefield of shoes and the constant smell of damp laundry, you would not be far off the mark. Add to that a swamp of sleeping bags and no hot water, and you have the next Army Corps in training. Well, perhaps with more makeup products. And a lot more hair. Did I mention everything is covered in hair?

We are all convinced the weather also has a role to play in the process, as even the locals are expressing surprise at recent record low temperatures. Saturday is predicted to hit 4oC and this Wellington girl can only yearn fondly for her coats and woollies left on the other side of the world. Don’t worry guys, 5 crop tops and 2 pairs of shorts will be fiiine!

Moaning aside, everything from the moment we leave the house is totally enrapturing. Firstly, Taiwanese dogs’ style puts us all to shame. They are by far the best dressed out of everyone! I would bring an outfit for the pets at home but I doubt they’re up to the fashion challenge. Secondly, there exists this weird phenomena of a beautifully clean city with zero rubbish bins. Has everyone here secretly evolved to absorb their own trash or something? Also noteworthy are the prolific toy dispensing machines that I am constantly being dragged away from because apparently it isn’t “responsible” to spend all my trip’s saving on plastic balls with chubby cats trapped inside.

Free him.

Monday night saw us at  XiMenDing 西門町, a shopping district that lights up at night with colourful alleyways and…..interesting food options? I have yet to try one of the three shown below, although can assure I am not leaving the country without some attempt.

西門町

Yes you read that right. Dinner for another night?

One last thing before I let photos do the rest of the speaking. Um, why has the world not caught on to Taiwanese transport systems? I have clambered aboard more subways and buses today alone than I have in the rest of my life combined. This access is essential as the district we are living in ( San Xia 三峽區) is quite out of the way of everything. Also the small successes of catching the bus alone while completely lost in a wash of traditional characters is truly one of life’s sweetest.

Training day #1!

Longshan Temple (龍山寺) Taking photos felt intrusive, so here I mainly soaked up the reverence and respect that resonated around

Bon Li Piao Historical District (剝皮寮歷史街區) was a glimpse back in time! Really beautifully preserved

228 Peace Memorial Park is as tranquil as you get in downtown Taipei!

And as promised, behold the glories of recent food purchases:

 

Shattered

In the last 40 hours I have had 3 hours of sleep, navigated 3 airports and their unique labyrinths of queues, had 0 coffees and been fully drenched twice  while also managing to remain in the original clothed, un-brushed state of departure. Surely this is some kind of grossness record. I wonder how much longer before vegetation begins to wilt in my path. 

To be completely honest though, I do feel as if I’ve just been floored by a freight-train of universe push-back. Everything from luggage, cash conversion, last minute accommodation changes and my utter unpreparedness for Taiwan rain has thrown me into a bit of a tragic state. 

Perks: 

• Shannon survived THREE airports worth of gate signage , confusing bathrooms and corridor mazes
• Unpopular opinion alert- Airplane food is actually fantastic. There is so much satisfaction to be derived from the neatly divided food tray compartments. It’s like Christmas morning with all the unwrapping!
• We landed right next to an Eva airline plane plastered with Hello Kitty decor which was totally badass
• Taiwan convenience stores are where it’s at. I’m sure they’d rival anywhere with their staggering selection of drinks alone. 

Lows:

• I haven’t changed or washed anything in over 40 hours and am waiting patiently for my metamorphosis into the Grinch
• Sleep-deprivation gives me the emotional strength of a 2 year old coupled with the fragility of a weak hip
• I have absolutely no idea what’s going on

Hopefully soon you will see a post of gratitude and wonder for this amazing city, but for now I need to go peel myself from this plastering of filth and find a bed. 

 

First glimpses from the sky!

  

Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport does impress

  

A walk through the university grounds

  

It has begun!!

 

Suitcase Woes

I have a love/hate relationship with suitcases. On the one hand, the many tags and zippers are a gift to the easily entertained. Wheeled ones are immensely satisfying to roll across a tiled airport floor and if you’re imaginative, there is always room for more snacks in the abundance of secret compartments. However, the innate function of suitcases for packing things continues to cause me great distress. Time and time again I have been found on the floor making sounds akin to a walrus, surrounded by a chaotic barricade of things I’m sure I might need probably at some point in time. Who’s to say three hairdryers won’t save a life one day?

Tomorrow I will clear the remaining mess off the dining room table into a carefully weighed bag that will last me the next five weeks in Taiwan! It is with great excitement, some apprehension and a lot of maps that I am setting off to this gorgeous country to join an international team of young volunteers serving as cultural ambassadors to primary and middle school Taiwanese students. I owe it to the organisation skills of Victoria University of Wellington’s AIESEC team and the support of the New Zealand China Friendship Society that enables me to do so!

With any luck I’ll be able to keep this blog reasonably up-to-date and if all else fails, food pics never did anybody any harm.

Stay tuned and stay groovy! x