Hello from the other side of the world or to put it another way: Greetings from a gloomy, cold and overly crowded southern Taipei. I guess I shouldn't complain about the weather, since my fellow Slovenians are having it much worse back in motherland. But then again, it would not be me. I always complain about the weather. My 2 days long journey from Maribor, Slovenia to Taipei, Taiwan is over. I am safe and sound and to my surprise everything went smoothly.
My flight Vienna-Taipei was scheduled for 11.05 on Sunday morning. Because there are no night trains in Austria, I had to leave for Vienna a day before and stay overnight. The Saturday, my last day at home, seemed to pass so fast, I started to panic. It was 1pm and I hadn't found a hotel yet, neither had I started to pack. I'm always doing these things the last minute and this time it was really a close call. Right before lunch, my girlfriend gave me a link to a hostel and I wrote down the address. After having lunch with my family, I started to pack as fast as I could. And luckily I managed to do everything on time. About an hour before leaving home, my friend visited me and we talked a little. I seemed fine, but when the time was over and I had to get my bags and leave, I choked up. It was that moment when it hit me, that I'm seriously leaving my home, my family, my country. I couldn't really say much to my friend and my sister, I was occupied with holding back my tears. I said goodbye to them very quickly and left. When mum drove off in reverse and I saw our house getting smaller and further away from me by the second, all dams broke and my tears started to flow down my cheeks.
The ride to the railway station was about an hour long and mum and I were talking the whole time. I guess that was our way to deal with my impending separation. We were headed to Wildon, a small town near Graz. As we were getting closer to the station, that feeling was coming back. I started to get a big lump in my throat, because it was time to say goodbye to my mum. In hugged her, but couldn't utter a word, because all dams and levees broke again. It's always embarrassing for me, when I can't control my emotions, but in that moment there was nothing to be embarrassed about. We waved each other goodbye when she drove by and I walked over to the train, slowly dragging my luggage along and sobbing.
From that moment on, everything went smoothly. I arrived in Vienna at 9pm.
I bought a subway ticket from Meidling Station to Keplerplatz, where the hostel was located. It's called Meininger - and it's a hotel and hostel at the same time. I was really lucky, because they had some beds available that night. It was also very cheap (17 eur for a night), but I had to sleep in a room with 2 girls (not that I'm complaining). But the truth is, I haven't had the chance to meet them, they came back very late and I was already half asleep. I heard them tiptoeing and whispering, but I was too lazy and tired to crawl out of bed and introduce myself. I didn't sleep well, I guess my head was full of images from earlier in the day. I was also worried of oversleeping and missing the flight, so I guess I slept with one eye closed and one eye open. I left my room at 6am and checked my mail and Twitter in the lobby. I left the hostel around 7, went for breakfast and then straight to the Vienna International Airport.
I arrived about two and a half hours before departure and I was very relieved, because I knew the first part of my adventure was behind me. I flew with China Airlines (a Taiwan based air carrier) and I have to say they were pretty good. Last year I flew with EVA Air and there's virtually no difference in comfort and service. I would say EVA has a slightly better food, newer planes as well as a very professional approach, when it comes to on-board service. China Airlines on the other hand had a more attentive cabin crew. We were given lots of drinks and cookies throughout the flight, which was very pleasant. I think, if I fly Vienna-Taipei again, I would choose China Airlines, because it's an 11 hours long direct flight. If you fly with EVA, you have a stopover in Bangkok and have to wait there for 2 hours. It's a bit troublesome.
We touched down on Taiwan's holy soil at around 5.15 am, one hour earlier than anticipated. Maybe the pilot didn't want to miss a date and had to rush, who knows, but that early arrival caused me a perfect meeting with my girlfriend. Instead of she greeting me when I come out, I had to wait for her (that's the second time it happened). But it's ok, I didn't mind at all. When she arrived at the airport, I spotted her first and she was all dolled up for me, looking so cute, but a little lost. She kept looking for me and it took her some time, before she spotted me. Once she saw me, she started to run towards me and I had to smile. Why she had to run, I have no idea. It was cute, albeit not necessary. When we finally touched, we were very graceful: A courteous hug and a cheek kiss and then quickly leaving the airport.
It was rainy and gray that morning, but I couldn't care less. I got what I came for: My sweet girlfriend in my arms. Even though I was tired and sleepy, I was so happy to see her. The journey wasn't easy for me, the exhaustion puffed up my face and I looked something like mix of a zombie and drunk grandpa. I'm happy that my girlfriend didn't mind being seen with such a man next to her.
When we finally came home and I could take a shower and rest a little I felt like rejuvenated. Well, not really. I was tired all day, but we still had a good time. We had a wholesome Taiwanese breakfast, watched some TV, took a long afternoon nap and then went to a night market in the evening.
One journey has ended and a new one begins. I have no idea, how everything will go, but I'm sure I will have many ups and downs in my pursuit of happyness. I will keep you all updated on how things will go from here. I won't share every detail, I never do that. Things are always complexer and deeper than they seem. Some things will never end up on my blog, which doesn't mean I don't reveal a lot (sometimes too much, I guess...). My next posts will be lighter, I will introduce some new night markets and interesting food to you. I'm hoping to taste food I haven't tried before and I keep pestering my girlfriend to visit as many night markets as possible. So far I'm doing well, but I think it won't be long, when she'll start to pester me to skip night markets and start to work out :-P
This should be fun.
[My LIFE IN TAIWAN page][All photos by MKL, 2011]
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