Day Trips
By Gerald E. McLeod, Fri., Dec. 6, 2002
Taiwan might be more than a day trip, but it sure is an experience. Recently, I traveled to Taipei to attend the wedding of my stepson, Chris Rydburg. It was a trip of a lifetime that opened my eyes and heart to another world.
For the first time in my life I have a passport. I never needed one to visit Seguin, as I once told a public relations representative who asked what kind of travel writer I was without a passport. Although parts of West Texas are far enough away that it seems like they should qualify, and parts of the Texas coast probably should require shots before visiting, the need for a U.S. passport never entered my life before.
To prepare for the trip, my wife and I enrolled in a language class. Chinese uses a series of tonal intonations to change the meaning of the words. By simply raising or lowering the inflection of a syllable you are saying either the number 4 or death. We decided it was too risky to subject our future in-laws to our Texas-accented Chinese. We dropped out after the second class.
The day of our departure finally arrived. I awoke that morning to a flooded bathroom floor and a busted heater hose on my car. We still managed to arrive at the Austin airport on time. I had my laptop computer scanned for chemical residue. The guy in the line next to me had his briefcase, laptop, and shoes scanned. At the loading gate several passengers were pulled from line to have the contents of their luggage inspected. If they had removed the contents of my carefully packed suitcases, I never would have been able to get everything rearranged in time to catch the plane.
After traveling through a 12-hour night, the airplane was finally caught by the sunrise as we neared the tropical island. A thick layer of clouds that blanketed Taipei throughout our stay soon obscured the coastline.
Taiwan is a lush land with sprawling cities and farms that run right up the sides of the steep mountains. Just below the latitude of Brownsville, Texas, the Tropic of Cancer cuts through the 13,843-square-mile island, about the size of Maryland and Delaware combined. With a population of 22.4 million, the country has about 3 million more residents than Texas.
That kind of population density concentrated mostly in the coastal areas requires a society that puts a premium on good manners and small cars. Everyone we came in contact with was pleasant and friendly. Their English skills were comparable to the average Texan's skill with Spanish. Phrases like "good morning," "yes," "no," "thank you," and fortunately "double latte" were universally understood. I tried to master a few rudimentary words of Chinese, but I slipped once trying to say hello and said "Neihi" instead of "ni hao."
Americans inevitably return from foreign cities envious of mass-transit systems. Taipei's subway and railroad systems are a model for the rest of the world. Fast, clean, and efficient, the railway system will get you almost anywhere inexpensively.
The Taiwanese people have a great appreciation for American society, music, and movies; but I couldn't help wishing that we were identified less with McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and violent movies. The individuals that I talked with wondered how things had changed since September 11 and expressed a horror at the brutality of the attacks. They asked if Americans were living in fear now like they do, with the threat of Chinese missiles only 81 miles away.
After six days of eating the best Chinese food of my life, seeing some of the most incredible sights of Asian art and architecture, and meeting the nicest people, it was time to come home. At the Los Angeles airport the customs agent asked me where we had gone and what we had done. I was speechless. There was so much to tell; how could I reply succinctly? My wife had to come to my rescue. "Oh, so you ate and shopped?" he asked. I just nodded, thankful that someone could compress the experience into a single sentence.
600th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of Day Trips 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.
