Island Tour Day 2

Big City

Having walked about 10 km the day before, my legs were useless, and the sun was blazing on top of that. In the morning we just grabbed a quick breakfast and lazed around until past 10 before leaving the hotel. Speaking of which, what’s fun in Hsinchu? All the friends I know who study there just go to Big City (the mall). I happened not to have brought a small daypack, so I decided our first stop would be Big City! Carrying our big hiking backpacks, only day two and our legs were almost spent, so I looked up the bus to Big City on my phone. The arrival time… that can’t be right, walking would probably be faster! And so our walking trip continued.

Along the way we spotted a building that looked like a historic site; getting closer we realized it was the Hsinchu City Government. Not sure if it was an actual heritage site or still in use, so we didn’t go in. On the road, the closer we got to Big City, the more people were heading the same direction, and they all looked like students. But logically, students at schools on a 16-week semester had already broken for summer, 18-week students were still battling final exams, and high schoolers were far from any break — so why so many people? A bit strange. Still, the strangest ones in Big City were definitely us two, wandering a department store with full hiking backpacks — it felt way too weird. The lockers only took coins and we happened to have none, so we bought what we needed quickly, left quickly, headed back to the station, and caught a ~12 o’clock train to Taipei.

Turns out we misjudged — we thought it took just an hour to reach Taipei, but our pass only allowed local (Commuter) trains… an hour is the speed of the Tze-Chiang express. In the end it took about two hours to get to Taipei, and by the time we reached the Palace Museum only two hours remained before closing. Way too much time spent on trains.

National Palace Museum

We took a bus that dropped us right at the museum’s gate and went in to “exchange” for tickets. Why exchange? Because showing a student ID gets you in free! (The counter staff were also saying something about discounts with an ID card or such.) Inside we found a lot of things that show up in Chinese textbooks.

Olive-Kernel Boat

They carved an olive kernel into a boat, complete with passengers’ expressions, window patterns, and interior furnishings. Without a magnifying glass it just looks like a very special olive; only under the lens do you see how intricate it is. (But since phone cameras zoom in with poor quality, don’t open the photo.)

Auspicious Qilin

Since ancient China had no giraffes, they described it using parts of many other animals.

利未亞洲西 亞毘心域國，產獸名惡那西約。首如馬形，前足長如大馬，後足短，長頸。自前蹄至首高二丈五尺餘。皮毛五彩，芻畜園中。人視之則從容轉身，若示人以華彩之狀。

Also, I have no idea why all the rare beasts of ancient times had to eat people.

利未亞洲有獸，名意夜納。形色皆如大狼，目睛能變各色，夜間學人聲音，喚誘人而啖之。

At the Main Gate

After closing time, we figured since we were already there, we might as well walk out (there’s a bus stop at the gate). Halfway there, a group of Koreans intercepted us — they came up and asked
: English ok?
: Of course
: Can you photo me? (said in a very broken way)

I was stunned. I thought, what is he saying? Reading it would be fine, but I was caught off guard. After a bit of back-and-forth, I realized he wanted me to take a photo of them.

E Inn (Internet Café)

Once in Taipei, accommodation all looked expensive, so we decided to spend the night in an internet café. This one was near Taipei Main Station, tucked in an unremarkable alley between two stalls, with a dim staircase. On the second floor there was a small counter that ran all the way into the computer area, like a computer classroom with cubicles. Next to the counter, a wall was covered with movie posters, with some lounge chairs along it; the clerk asked us to wait there.

Then the clerk started right off with, “How long are you staying?” I thought, come on, it’s my first time and I don’t even know the prices. So the two of us stood at the counter studying the price list. There were two options:

• A: Come in after 8 PM — but people were apparently already waiting for the 8 PM overnight package, so there was no guarantee a spot would be available.
• B: Go in now — but it was only 6:30, and we’d have to pay extra for the 6:30–8:00 gap.

We went in right away — if we waited and there were no spots, that’d be a real hassle. On the fourth floor was a hallway two people wide with Japanese-style tatami rooms on both sides; shoes were scattered in front of every cubicle. Sliding open a tatami room’s door revealed two computers on a desk, and underfoot was tonight’s “bed” — well, not really a bed, more like a big floor cushion. After heading downstairs to fill up our drinks, we started gaming in our room — after all, a typhoon was coming and it was raining outside. The internet café had Steam, so we could pick up our home saves; I opened Hollow Knight and played until around 10 PM. Then I thought I’d try out the newly released Sword Art Online: Awakening Echo — but the download was huge and I’d have to wait, so I went to shower first.

The showers were on the same floor as the cubicles — there were two of them, and the water heater cost NT$30 for 15 minutes (though looking at its countdown timer, it seemed to give more than that). (I wonder if you could skip paying and take a cold shower — nobody was watching, maybe you really could.) Toiletries had to be bought at the counter; if we ever stay again, we’d bring our own. After showering, I suddenly realized this place wasn’t very secure — the cubicle doors can’t be locked, so one of us had to stay inside at all times. You could even infer info about the other guests from the shoes outside their cubicles, so we immediately brought our shoes in and kept gaming.

The download took forever, and we finally got into the game — but I hadn’t brought a controller, and with keyboard-and-mouse controls I spent an hour or two still stuck in the tutorial, then suddenly lost all interest. The game has way too many skills, and none of them feel unique (i.e., must-use). Even though this is probably the closest thing to SAO that exists, the system wouldn’t let me play as a solo player, so I dropped it.