11/21/13 Taipei
On a city bus on the way to breakfast
with my grandmother. I'm not sure where we're going. I'm taking care
to write in short spurts, as buses in this country are not known for
their gentle and docile nature. Actually, I give up-
Now sitting in yet another cafe, with
my dearest grandmother in front of me reading her paper, which I had
just braved the street to purchase. Breakfast was a club sandwich
accompanied by soup and salad. I've had a peaceful two days back in
the motherland, I've made two trips to the travel agency. Once to
submit my passport for an Australian passport, another time to
retrieve my passport, because for some reason, Americans do not have
visa-waiver status down under. I at a few times with Cousin Arthur
and his family(my Aunt and Uncle, who do not have Anglicized names),
and as Cousin Silvian returned from her honeymoon yesterday, I plan
on visiting her today.
Beyond all that, little of worth has
happened, with the exception of my 6 km evening walk last night from
Zhong Xiao Fuxing Station to Muzha Station where I currently reside.
Cousin Nancy had it in her mind to challenge herself to the “trek”,
and being the caring and worried older brother, I accompaned her, to
her eventual regret. For one, I didn't allow her to slow her pace or
give up once it became clear that the flats she was wearing were
extremely unsuitable for the task at hand. The entire exercise took 2
hours, about a fourth too long for my linking. I finished with a beer
from my neighborhood convenience store; Cousin Nancy sat on a bench
and would not get back up for quite some time.
As it's now the morning after, I feel
great. She is probably cursing me, her legs, herself, and life
itself.
I'm fine with that.
11/18/13 Brisbane Airport
Let's try it again! Plane ended up
grounded due to technical issues. We made ourselves comfortable in
the airport till about 0400, when the airline announced that the
plane wouldn't be fixed until tomorrow, and would send us out on the
same flight the next night. They had also found us all accommodations
for the day, and are paying for the food and lodging. Being as there
were 30 odd people in our group, the closest hotel they could find
with enough vacancies was in a suburb some 50 minutes away. Unable to
get a bus that early in the morning, we set off in a fleet of 10
cabs. At 3.3AUD a kilometer, each cab cost nearly 200AUD. We arrived
in Ipswich and checked ourselves in around 0700 in the morning.
Not caring to retire and potentially
ruin my sleep pattern, I decided to go out and explore the town,
accompanied by Anna, another tour member who was traveling with her
mother(who had retired for the morning). We first made our way about
1 km east of the hotel to Queen's Park, where we were told there
existed a zoo with koalas. There did stand such a place, but our bad
luck continued to haunt us: they did not open on Mondays. We consoled
ourselves with the nearby park equipment, including a zipline and an
awesome jungle gym. I also climbed into a provided hammock, but it
was not comfortably designed, and I quickly gave it up.
We made out way to the center of town,
where we explored the windows of unopened shops and waited for a
nearby art museum to open. I wasn't so impressed by the museum when
it did eventually open, as it was mostly geared toward a younger
generation than mine. A much younger generation. Abandoning the town
center, we moved westward toward the streets known as the Top of the
Town, where numerous second hand shops, cafes, and bookstores greeted
us. Snacked at one of the hipster eateries before walking into
“Paint”, which turned out to be a sex toy shop, and a few second
hand stores.
Last stop of the day was at the
Riverlink Mall, so called because of the train tracks that run
through it, as well as the river that it was built besides. I picked
up a bottle of Shiraz at the liquor store inside, as well as some
cheese and sausage at the grocers. After we returned to the hotel and
whiled away the afternoon in conversation over said provisions.
(Note: Anna is allergic to alcohol? She gets red and splotchy. Kinda
odd, kinda cute.)
A bus picked us all up at 1900,
bringing us back to the airport, where we now sit waiting to board
the same plane that left us in the lurch yesterday.
Second time's the charm.
11/17/13 Brisbane Airport
We had morning call relatively late
this morning at 0730hrs. We left about 0900, making the long journey
to the Antarctic Center next door. First order of business was a ride
on the Hagglund, the tracked Antarctic vehicle of choice, able to
traverse over snow, ice, and rock, over steep grades and deep water,
all of which was demonstrated to us. Kinda like a really bumpy
rollercoaster. This was followed by a short stay in the simulation
room, which basically was a room with some snow and ice, a slide made
of the same, and some wind generators demonstrating how cold it is at
the South Pole(Hint: it's really goddamn cold). We finished up with
the Blue Penguin exhibit. Shortest of all the penguin species, blue
penguins are also likely the cutest as well. Most penguins in the
exhibits were injured or disabled in some way, so this was more a
shelter than an exhibit.
Leaving the Center, we had a quick walk
in a neighborhood park before heading back to Christchurch Airport
for the three leg journey home. Our first two legs, Christchurch to
Auckland, then Auckland to Brisbane, went well. However, our last
flight is currently delayed, with no given reason. Three hours and
three delays past original departure time, there doesn't seem to be
an end in sight.
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