Day 6: Taichung, Topeak, and arrival in Tainan

Feb 4

Taiwan is a small island country not much larger than Massachusetts but with three times the population: 23 million (and 22 million cell phones). 75% of homes are connected to the internet, but it is not safe to drink the water, even in Taipei. In the last few decades, it has had an extremely flexible and fast-adapting economy, changing from being a leader in textiles and cheap consumer goods to high-tech and computer chips. And it has a well-maintained highway system with signs in both English and Chinese.

Chiang Kai-shek's KMT made Chinese the official language of Taiwan in the 50s, and most everyone speaks it, though as you move south in the country more people (especially the older generation) also speak Taiwanese and / or Hakka, indigenous languages. English is a required class in all schools, so the younger people tend to understand and even speak it well, as well as plenty of older people. I learned that Taiwanese are informed about U.S. politics and that the U.S. has military presence near Taiwan to protect them from potential Chinese (communist) attack.

Taipei is the largest city, in the north, Taichung is in the middle, and Tainan towards the south (I believe that "pei" means top, "chung" means middle, and "nan" means bottom).

JC used to work for a company which imports and distributes bicycle accessories from a Taiwanese company, Topeak. JC helped me get in touch with a guy named Mike from Topeak to get shown around, and on Monday morning I took a train from Taipei to Taichung, about half way down the country, where Topeak is. With each mountain tunnel we passed through, the sky seemed to get brighter until finally there was blue sky for the first time since I arrived in Taiwan. I was met by Mike in his car, and he brought me to Topeak, an office of about 30 employees. We had an interesting conversation about the bicycle industry and Topeak's place in it. I had grand visions of being led to a huge factory where lots of 10-year-old boys with small hands would be assembling bicycle pumps, but learned that Topeak outsources their production. Then Mike grabbed one of his sales workers, Delia, to join us for lunch at an Italian restaurant across the street. It became clear during the meal that Delia was going to be my host for the rest of the afternoon, showing me around Taichung. During our lunch conversation, Mike and Delia were listening attentively to what I showed interest in, and determined that I would enjoy seeing the electronics market and the science museum in Taichung, correct on both accounts.

After lunch, Delia took more time out of her work day to show me the NOVA electronics market where she helped me score an 8-gig SD card for about $30, less than half of what I paid for the same thing in the U.S. a month before. While we were price comparing, she called her cousin who worked downstairs and got her inside advice. I was in good hands.

The science museum was closed since it was a Monday, so we just had a nice walk back to Topeak. Mike and Delia spent some more time showing me around before we all left in Mike's car. I told them I was visiting my friend of a friend, Pei-yu, in Tainan after visiting Topeak, and they got in touch with her to coordinate my travels. On the way to the bus company, we stopped while Delia jumped out to get me some authentic Taichung "sun cakes". When we arrived at the bus company, Delia bought my ticket and told me they would call Pei-yu to tell her when I would arrive. Throughout all this, Topeak was picking up the tab for lunch, cab rides, my present, and my luxurious two-hour bus to Tainan. This was my first encounter with what I learned is standard but amazing Taiwanese hospitality and generosity.

Pei-yu met me at the Tainan bus station, deftly navigating speeding scooters and agressive car drivers, and brought me straight to a night market. It was packed with people and rows of vendors providing everything from food to baby bunnies to the popular basketball game common in American arcades. We tried a number of interesting and generally gross foods including spicy fried fish balls (no, balls made of fish. Fish don't even have testicles.), and congealed pig's blood. Not exactly my cup of tea: frenzied, senseless consumerism and fried food. But fun to witness.

My Topeak hosts had helped me make a reservation in a hostel in Tainan, but when Pei-yu found this out she called to cancel the reservation, saying that I would be staying at her place. And so began my second encounter with Taiwanese hospitality.