Taiwan: Day Thirteen

On Day Thirteen, New Year's Eve, we grabbed the early train to Taipei.  We were staying in a different hotel than Chad, May and the kids, so we parted ways at the Taipei Main Station to get situated in our respective hotels.  Once we found our hotel we were too early to check-in so we dropped our bags off and tried to find Chad & May's hotel.  This was a very frustrating experience.  Our city map was wrong and Taipei's streets are very confusing.  After about an hour of searching, with Chad on the phone, we jumped in a cab, handed the driver the phone so Chad could tell him where we needed to go, and were promptly driven around the corner where Chad was waiting outside for us.  Seriously.  Around the corner.  The cab fare was less than a dollar.  It was embarrassing.

After finding the group we headed out for some lunch and then parted ways until later in the evening when we would begin the march to Taipei 101, the tallest building in the world (at that time) and where our New Year's festivities would be taking place.

On our way back to our hotel, just a few blocks away from it, we stumbled upon this beautiful little street market, which we enjoyed immensely throughout our stay.

We rested for a bit in our hotel, once we were able to check-in, and then we headed out for the evening.  It was quite a distance from our hotel to Taipei 101 but we weren't about to get there via subway or cab due to the crowds that were expected.  No one wanted to be stuck underground in this crowd, or sitting in a cab surrounded by a sea of people.  So, we walked. 

The festivities were similar to New York City's Times Square New Year's Eve festivities.  Taiwan's biggest names were performing for a live audience estimated at 560,000 plus a television audience.  Neither of us had ever done anything like that before.  We usually try to avoid large crowds, if possible.  But, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and we had a great time.

What was amazing about this experience was the crowd.  There was no pushing or shoving.  All movement was controlled and polite.  And silent.  We noticed there were no noise makers, or general revelry, while we were walking away from Taipei 101, after the fireworks.  It was really very eerie to have that many people moving in a giant, silent wave.   

The walk back to the hotel was much faster than the walk to Taipei 101, but isn't that how it usually goes?  We said goodbye to Chad, May & the kids on the corner of their street.  This was it for us.  They'd be going their way and we'd be going ours. 

We want to take this opportunity to thank Chad, May and the kids for our wonderful vacation.  Words cannot express the gratitude we have for their generosity and for making our trip so unforgettable.  We learned and experienced more about Taiwan by living with them for two weeks than we would've ever learned on our own.   

For instance, they taught us that the Taiwanese don't get parking tickets, although they have people that look like they're handing them out.  In actuality, those people are live parking meters.  They come around every so often and put a ticket on your windshield for how much you owe for parking.  If you're still there when they come back around, they simply replace the original ticket with another one.  Then, you take that ticket to any 7-11 convenience store and pay it there.  They also taught us that police cars always have their lights on as an advertisement that they're there keeping the people safe.  You only get out of their way if their siren is on. 

These things and much more are all things we would've never known had we not had Chad & May. They helped us with the language and answered all our stupid questions.  They drove us everywhere and picked out nice hotels and restaurants and gave us guidance with our itinerary.  They were gracious and generous with their time and their home.  Both the kids were very patient with us, too.  They shared their home with us and their lives and their Christmas and New Year's Eve.  We cannot express our gratitude and only hope that one day we will be able to show all of them the same kind of generosity and hospitality they showed us.