But before the fun was the NTU Chinese Entry Placement exams. They were TOUGH. The speaking was not too bad; it was conversational style. It was clear I didn't get enough practice; they even asked me whether or not I didn't have any family members or friends I could lian xi zhong wen with. No, I don't have anyone to practice with, and I guess it showed. Still, it wasn't as bad as the writing portion, which was near impossible. No joke, I left about 3/4 of it blank. I heard from my friends who are more native speakers that the last few passages in the reading comprehension section were about pollution and politics; I mean I hardly know how to order food.
Wednesday we went to Xi Men Ding, a long ride on the MRT involving quite a few train changes. Xi Men Ding is apparently the Red Light District of Taipei, and apparently there are prostitutes of the women, men, gay and straight variety roaming around. However, you'd never think it; Xi Men Ding is very fancy and bright, dense and four stories tall with shops, arcades, lounges, clubs and restaurants.
It's amazing how incredibly vibrant this place is. It's not like an American mall; there are stores on the first, second, and third stories, and there are so many small alleyways to duck into and find new stores and places to eat with their own bright neon facades, streets and motorcycles running through it all. The restaurant we ate at is called Modern Toilet, a pretty popular attraction in Taipei but placed sort of down an alleyway away from the main Xi Men Ding area.
The food here sucks really badly but there is no denying the charm of this place. It's got toilet bowl seats, bath tub tables, toilet bowl-shaped dishes and urinal shaped drinks. For some reason all the food came out smelling slightly like poo... maybe it was intentional? Also worth noting: despite every seat being an actual toilet bowl (no plumbing obviously), the bathrooms at Modern Toilet do not have toilets. Instead, they only have squatters. Irony much?
Afterwards we went to an arcade and then a kareoke place. I've got to describe this kareoke place to all of you. It is called "Partyworld" and it is ridiculous. It literally is the size of a hotel; about eight or nine stories tall. There are bouncers checking IDs at the downstairs lobby, which is as swank as a 5 star hotel's. You sign in at a receptionist area and wait for a room to be available. You're taken up into your room and fed random dim sum food while you kareoke; there's even a buffet outside of the rooms on every floor should you get hungry. Four hours of kareoke for 300 NT (or 10$) per person. Pretty crazy, right?
Thursday was Mao Kong day. Mao Kong is a gondola that goes up to the top of a mountain outside of Taipei. Before that was a little lunch; we ate xiao long baos (dumplings) and pai ku fans (pork chop).
This place had a picture of Zhou Jie Lun (Jay Chou) eating there. We asked about it and the owner was very proud; he showed us where he sat, what he ordered, etc. It was pretty cute.
A bus and train ride later, we were on the outskirts of Taipei at Mao Kong gondola. The ride up takes around 15 minutes and 50 NT. The view is pretty spectacular on the way up, and at the top, but we were greeted by a torrential downpour.
All there really is to do when you get to the top of the mountain is drink tea and eat food. There are buses taking you to one of 10-20 different restaurants and tea places up there but we opted for a tea place that is just outside the gondola station given the downpour. They serve tea to you in traditional Chinese tea fashion, very fancy. The view though was really something else. Advice: go up at around 4 or 5, stay for the sunset, and take the gondola back down at night. The view of Taipei at night is as or more breathtaking than at day.
The rain in Taipei is really something else. I thought I'd lived through some pretty hectic stuff in Los Angeles and San Diego but nothing really prepares you for Taipei rain. Even with an umbrella, the only thing on my body that was dry by the time I found shelter was the top of my hair and my forehead. This stuff comes at you from the top, sides, and bottom; it's kind of ridiculous. And this weekend we will be experiencing our first Taipei typhoon. Fun!
There are people mingling around in our hallway. Usually it's pretty dead around here but this will be the first night I've ever seen people hanging around out there. Time to go join, so til next time, zai jian!
-Justin
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