Hello all.
Now that I bought a notebook, I can do a better job at recording my thoughts during the trip. It's difficutl to remember stuff at my advanced age when I can find an Internet cafe. Tiawan, according to the literature I've read, so one of the most "connected" countries in the world. However, the vast majority are home connections - Internet cafes are rare compared to some other countries.
So for the past two days, I've been on Little Liuchiu - a small coral island in the Taiwan Straight which separates Taiwan and China. It was heavily bombed by allied forces during WWII (since it was in Japanese hands). Today, I visited a Japanese anti-aircraft dugout and caves where the villagers lived during the air raids.
The island is beautiful, but the people are very poor. Everything is run-down - looking like it was built in teh 70s and not kept up. It is very hot (Alabama hot) but is also extremely humid (Charleston humid) - 80-90%. Today I spent much of the time looking for the perfect place to take a nap - and I tried a LOT of spots near the shore and under trees - getting a breeze off the water. Very nice.
I rented a scooter and was dashing here and there. I admit I started a bit slow, until a 12 year old girl whizzed by me4 like I wasn't moving. In order to display my manhood, I was forced to step on the gas.
So, what's with the garbage truck. In the US, kids come runnign when the hear the ice cream truck. In Taiwan, the garbage truck plays a very catchy tune when it moves through the street. When people here the song, they come running with their trash. The trouble is, I can't get the darn song out of my head. I wish I could record it. Maybe I'll try to find it on the Internet so you can be pestered by it to.
More later. I'm now in Taitung (on the East coast).
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2 comments:
Hi, Kevin,
Just wondering how many times you ended up running around that little, tiny island cuz 13K AIN'T very far.
Dad read your blog the other day. He had no idea what he was looking at and he had to sit REALLY close to the screen. Every few minutes I hear him laugh and I'd know it was time to scroll down the screen for him. He said "sounds like Kevin is having fun". I agreed and then he said "time marches on". I interpreted that to mean he's pleased that you're having fun.
Take care and have fun...alison
Leave me alone !!! Today I did six miles and rode a mountain bike about 25 miles. But, I'm in terrible shape for our run. Maybe I'll just take a really really long time in DC - sit down for a nap, stop for lunch, etc.
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