Above is the train schedule in the Tainan station.I'm in Taipei now for two days after taking the Slow Speed train from Tainan to Taipei. Everyone from the ticket takers to the station clerks to just fellow travellers have been helpful through out this trip. I don't know why, maybe:
1. I look so pitiful when lost
2. My white hair gets me special attention
3. Or maybe people believe helping old people gets them to Heaven.
Anyway I made it to Florence relatives in Taipei with the help of lots of strangers.
Taiwanese are genuinely good to this stranger. The trip was more than 4 hours long the High Speed Train does the same distance in less than 2 hours.
Below is the Train Station in downtown Tainan, I think it dates from Japanese time
(1895-1945)
The train ride north from Tainan to Taipei is a nice demonstration of a population density gradient. Out the train windows we see:
Tainan to Taizhong ---------Houses and small fields
Taizhong to Hsinchu -------Apartment and Houses and gardens
Hsinchu to Taoyuan --------Apartments
Taoyuan to Taipei -----------Larger and larger Apartments
all along the way there is NO unused land. By the time I reach Taipei I am floored by the population density. It makes me think the possibility of containing global warming is almost nil. We have two issues that never get play:
1. the world population will double by 2050
2. Mainland China and India will want to reach the affluence level of the US
None of the puny proposals for containing global warming address these concerns so I think it will be a growing crisis until "population control" becomes the goal.
The religious right has taken "population control" off the political agenda and wimpy liberal politican are afraid of the word. Even that wimpster, Al Gore, can' t get the nerve up to say the words. If you want to see what population density could be, come ride the slow train in Taiwan.
Below is a menu board from a shop in Tainan, each dish is written vertically with the price at the bottom. Knowing just a few of the characters gives you an idea of whats there. The first line on the left is my favorite, pai gu fan. This pai gu fan was different that what I had before, the pickled vegetables were the best part of the meal. It seems not all pai gu fans are not created equally.
4 comments:
I am so glad your blog is back. People are starting to miss your blog. Ok, here is the translation but start from right to left. Chinese is read from up and down and right to left. My old joke: Why Chinese students are always following the instructions? Because when they read, they nod their heads. The westener always shake their heads.
Beginning from the right:
1. Rice noodle soup - 35 NT
2. Boiled Vegetable - 25 NT
3. Won ton soup ( Taiwanese speaking) - 20 NT
4. Egg Flower soup - 20 NT
5. Fish ball soutp - 20 NT
6. Meat fish ball soup ( kun wuan ) - 20 NT
7. Meat ball soup - 35 NT
8. Meat ball cake( famous in Tainan) 2 - 35 NT
( You won't like this. )
9. Meat sauce over rice - 20 NT ( take out 25)
10. Pork Chop rice - 60 NT
By now, you probably recognize the character soup. After writing this, I am hungry now!
Is all of Taiwan so dense with people, or just the urban areas? It's good that you are getting the help you need. I like having some white hair--people do seem to be more likely to help me, too.
I am posting a second comment to make sure that I can do it. I hope this comes through to the blog.
I like your last line, "It seems not all pai gu fans are not created equally."
very funny.
Is there more to do in Taipei?
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