Checking Out

I woke up early to finish packing my bags. I just about managed to fit everything in. I still had quite a bit of stuff that I didn’t want to throw away, so I donated it to the communal kitchen — things like ramen, ziploc bags, my laundry basket, and the plants I bought.

I took the elevator down one more time, handed over my keycard, and walked to the nearest bus station. I walked that same street I’ve walked so many times: past the 7/11 right next door, past the street vendor on the corner, past the metro entrance. These sights felt so familiar in such a foreign city. While riding the bus to the airport, I looked out the window. Past the familiar streets. I recognized the towering buildings, the bus stops, and the busy roads. Leaving the city I’ve called home for two months felt bittersweet. I’ve had so many good memories here, but I am also ready for a new adventure.

Flying to Taiwan

My next destination is Taiwan — Kaohsiung, to be exact. The flight was fine; I slept through most of it and watched series through the rest. After landing, I filled in the designated landing form, passed immigration, and got my bag. I had to declare my medication at customs, so I walked through the red booth.

Of all the locations I’m visiting, this process was the scariest for me. I had quite a bit of trouble applying for a medical permit before leaving, so I emailed the doctor general office personally to ask for one. They sent me an email back saying I didn’t need a permit, but that “sufficient documentation” should suffice. I’m planning on staying here for a week, but since I’m traveling to Hong Kong afterward and also still had my reserve medication, I had more than double the amount of capsules needed. I showed them my medications and paperwork, more than 10 pages of it, and they in turn asked me some prying questions. I was able to redirect them to my documentation for each one. They spoke a little bit of Mandarin with each other and eventually let me pass! That is a relief!

Getting to the hotel

I exited the metro with all my bags and arrived in a completely different city. There are still big high-rises and neon signs, but there are way more mopeds, and the signs are once again unreadable. Also, it’s very humid and still somehow 25°C. I’m happy I stowed most of my sweaters in storage.

The street my hotel is on has a bunch of street vendors right on it. I looked at the stalls, but I had a hard time understanding what they were selling, and most of it looked like offal, so I decided against it. I walked into the building where my hotel was, went up to the desk, and said, “I’m here to check in.” The attendant looked at me blankly, made a hand signal, and pointed up. I looked confused back, so they pointed at a board with information about the floors. Turns out my hotel is only on the 12th floor. Communication is going to be interesting here.

Getting some food

After a short snap, a shower and a change of clothes, I walked to a nearby street market. Right on the street — as in the first of the four lanes — there were food carts selling all kinds of dishes I didn’t really recognize. The second lane was taken up by parked mopeds, so I had to walk between them and the oncoming cars to browse for dinner. I used the same tactic I’ve used before: buy something that looks good, browse a bit more while eating, then buy something new when I’m done. I had to take out my phone a few times to translate and do a lot of pointing, other shop owners called over their English-speaking colleagues. I ended up eating braised pork, scallion pancakes, soup dumplings, and finished off with some milk tea. All of which were excellent!

I walked back to my hotel room, taking in the city lights and busy streets. It felt strange suddenly being in such a foreign place. I had grown accustomed to Seoul, and I’d been to Tokyo before, but this place felt really different. Unreadable signs, unfamiliar foods, and unsual customs. Walking there, I suddenly realized I have Free Will — I can just do stuff! I can just buy a plane ticket to the other side of the world and see what the folks over there are up to.

Let’s see what kind of fun things they have in store for me tomorrow!