Don't Stop Believing : 2013-02-03

After three weeks in the Philippines, Liam and I ventured off to Taiwan for ten days. Our flight landed in the capital city of Taipei where we spent a few days exploring all the major touristy sites. We went to the National Palace Museum, Taipei 101, 228 Peace Memorial Park, Shilin Night Market, & various temples scattered across the city. We ate freshly made dumplings and drank bubble teas daily, bought fresh fruit from the markets for breakfast and wandered night markets until the late evening. The days passed quickly as we fell into tune with the Taipei way of life and the energy of the city. After a few days we pulled ourselves away from Taipei and headed down the East coast of the Island to Taitung city.

Taitung moved at a much slower pace than Taipei yet, we found ourselves enjoying the city just as much. The night markets were plentiful, the food was delicious and the locals welcoming. Even though we only knew a few words of Mandarin we found ways to communicate & connect with the local people, all of whom were extremely patience and generous to us. We took a few days in Taitung to explore but also to prepare ourselves for the ferry to Green Island. The horror stories of the 'barf barge' had made there way to our ears and I was terrified of the 50 minutes of complete torture I would have to endure. Lonely Planet states that the ferry from Taitung to Green Island makes the majority of people extremely seasick, even on the best of conditions. Thus, when one gets motion sickness on almost everything that moves, even escalators and tubes, you inevitably know you will be puking your guts out.

On the morning we boarded the ferry I refused to eat or drink anything, even water, and took two motion sickness tablets. The first few minutes of the ferry felt like a gentle roller coaster but then my body began to sweat, shake and begin projecting anything in my stomach. I'm not sure which was worse, the convulsions of my body attempting to relieve itself from the complete pain or hearing and seeing everyone else puking up their breakfast. People were puking on the floor, in buckets, on themselves and many, many, people had their heads half stuck in plastic bags. Needless to say, whenever I think of Taiwan my first memory will always be the ferry ride from Taitung to Green Island.

The ferry ride proved to be worth the torture. The island is remarkably beautiful. We spent our days riding a scooter around the 20 km island, attempting to hike different paths, exploring the lookouts and relaxing in the saltwater hot springs by the sea. Our evenings were consumed with eating fresh sashimi, rice and bubble teas. When it was time to leave I had mentally and emotionally prepared myself for the ferry ride back to the main land however, the Gods must have been on my side because the seas were so still the ocean looked like glass. We arrived back on the main land with our stomach contents still safely intact and began the trip back to Taipei to catch our flight for the next adventure.