Taiwan

Day 1 - Spider Reservoir

September 5, 2010

After a long 13 hour flight from LA to Beijing a 3 hour layover and another 3 hour flight we arrived in Taipei. Customs and baggage claim were surprisingly uneventful and we made our way to the pick up area where we were greeted by our hosts from Nation Chung Cheng University. It was our first time outside of an airport since we left LA and although we all knew it would be hot and muggy what we were met by was nothing short of a wet inferno. It’s true when people say you can’t prepare for that type of weather. 

We stopped at our first destination which was a Chinese buffet and we had our first taste of the local food. I had ostrich and a heart of some sort but the most unusual thing had to be the maple syrup juice (fondly referred to as Aunt Jamima juice). 

After lunch we made our way to the Cihu Sculpture Memorial Park and Mausoleum. The park is an honor to the late Taiwanese leader Jiang Jie-shi and features hundreds of statues of him. The park is beautiful no doubt due to the climate in the area. 

At the Mausoleum we witnessed the changing of the guards which is a highly honored and respected position for those serving in Taiwan. 

While at the park I had a very interesting experience.... squatter toilets. It’s a strange occurrence because they have plumbing, a built in fixture and they’re inside a stall... so why not just have a toilet? All the parts are similar but in this situation I had to worry about peeing on my own shoes. Also, don’t wear long necklaces... they will hit the “toilet” and/or floor!

We also visited the Shimen Reservoir which is one of the larges dams in Asia and is “the most important water supply channel in north Taiwan.” In addition to the sheer magnitude of the reservoir the views are amazing. Plus, I saw the biggest spider I’ve ever seen before which was a good reminder to keep the windows and doors closed.

We had a wonderful first dinner in Taiwan and the food just kept coming (I think they served us about 8 dishes). This time around there was octopus, sweet and sour fish, black chicken (which is not the same as blackened chicken), whole tiny fish, sashimi, crab and so much more. 

Needless to say we were stuffed from dinner and after 2 days without a bed or shower we were more than ready to head over to the university and get our rooms. I got to room with Jenelle which is super exciting since we’ve gotten along so well since the classes started. Relaxing and showering felt so good and although the beds were mainly just box springs it still felt good to lie down. I’m pretty sure I was asleep as soon as my wet head hit the pillow. 

All in all a very successful first day in Taiwan. I can’t wait to see what other adventures are in store.

Day 2 - Even Pizza in Taiwan is an Adventure

September 6, 2010

Today was a full day of lectures and a company visit but the morning started out with a breakfast sandwich - but not just any breakfast sandwich. This breakfast sandwich had a fish patty, hash-brown, egg, and secret sauce on it.  It seems so unusual to eat fish patty for breakfast but it was amazing! 

The first class was a on Taiwan’s position to be a major player in the global economic future. The class was taught by professor, Dr. Ming Chang aka Dr. Mike. from National Chung Cheng University. Taiwan is considered to have a very stable economic position in the world. However, Taiwan is not content with only consistently and is relying heavily on research and development to surge higher in the global business community. Taiwan used to be seen as only a county which assembled products for other countries they have switched their priorities to both design and produce their own products. Even with the economic tsunami of 2008-2009, Taiwan is rebounding quite well and is in position to have a growth year in 2010.  

We then took a short break for a Pizza Hut lunch. It’s funny how something we have at home can still be so different in other countries. This pizza had shrimp, fish, corn, and some unidentifiable sauces but still super good. 

After lunch we had a lesson on formal tea tasting and drinking. I always knew there were a lot of steps but never knew how complicated it was. From heating, to pouring, tossing, smelling and finally drinking it was a long process. There are three components to making the perfect tea: 1) heat of the water 2) amount of tea used and 3) time of tea submersion. We were able to try several teas and it was a very neat experience. 

In the afternoon we went on our first company tour of AVG products. AVG is a packaged food company specializing in healthy foods and drinks. We were fortunate that we were able to tour their bottling plant. I was amazed at the little piece of plastic that is heated to make a full size beverage container. AVG has a very specific and determined business and marketing plan to become the number one cold beverage company and with new markets in North America and Canada this goal is certainly within reach. 

Once the lecture and tour were over we went to Nice Matsuya department store which reminded me of Bloomingdales but with an upper floor of more reasonable priced woman’s clothes/items. The strangest part had to be that one floor was the equivalent of a ninety-nine cent store or dollar tree but with way more awesome stuff. I looked around for a little while but was a little overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff and the way the employees follow and watch you while you attempt to shop. 

The night ended with a welcome dinner in Chiayi at a really nice restaurant. The food was really good and everyone had a really good time. We’ve had a couple together and it was fun to have dinner as a group and spend time chatting and getting to know each other better. The night ended up with karaoke and even Dr. Lin and Dr. Kim got in on the actioin. 

Day 3 - Is This Practical?

September 7, 2010

We started the morning at Promise Technology which is a computer storage and backup company specializing in “cloud” computing and storage. The basic idea of Promise os to be able to store, protect, and share computer information in a simple and streamlined way. I’m sure there is a much more complex and thorough definition as to what this company does as well as the services it provides but I felt ridiculous asking them to explain how this process works as though they were describing it to a five year old but I think I’ve explained the gist. What I really focused on is the business model used in their international company. Each branch is locally employed and managed and works as a semi-independent company. This strategy ensures that employees at all levels are familiar with their community and customer base. Promise has also made a point in making sure they are seen as a reputable and trusted company and partner. They do this by teaming with major companies such as Apple. They have also made a point to not compete with their customers and instead focus on their core competencies such as storage and security. I really enjoyed the portions of the discussion that focused on their business structure the techno conversation was a little over my head.

We also visited Eco City which I wrongly assumed was a green technology company. Eco City is focused on making technology to aide the elderly and disabled to more easily perform day to day tasks. Many of the products we saw included sensors which would turn the lights on  or off when passed by. There were also motion sensors that with a swipe of the hand the television channel could be changed and the volume adjusted.  We also got to see a tiny car that could transport those less abled on short trips. I got a chance to drive it for a minute but there’s definitely a learning curve involved. As cool as some of the products were and as much impact as some of them may have on the future there were some things that seemed impractical. One of those things was a book lamp that moved as you moved the book which had a sensor in it. I can’t imagine how they would price and market something like that for it to really be competitive in the market. All in all Eco City was great to see some of the ideas and innovations that will undoubtedly be part of our future. 

After Eco City we were headed to Taipei. After the long drive we checked into our hotel and had dinner down at water front. For our first night in Taipei a group of us decided to check out the city. We went to the down town area called the “Red House” which is a strip of bars and hung out for the night. The taxi ride home saw more karaoke and a small fear of dying from crazy driving!

Day 4 - I Do What I Want

September 8, 2010

Today we visited the National Palace Museum. The National Palace Museum was constructed after a number of Chinese artifacts were removed from China in the 1940’s so they could be preserved and protected. During our visit we were able to see many different exhibits including the Jade exhibit and Chinese bronze exhibit. At the National Palace Museum I had my first encounter with the “personal space” difference between Americans and Taiwanese when a man got so close to me while looking at a carving that his face literally rested on my cheek. Needless to say it freaked me out a bit but was also a very funny moment – I’m sure there will be many more to come. 

After the museum we headed to Taipei 101, the world’s second tallest building after the Burj Khalifa in Duabi. Taipei 101 (also known as Taipei Financial Center) has company offices, a shopping mall, food court and many other buildings. We started with lunch downstairs in the food court and after ordering our food started the battle for a table. It was in the middle of lunch so seats were at a premium but Jenelle and I managed to find a place to seat. After we at we tried to throw away our trash but there was a woman changing the bags. We attempted to ask her where to put our trays but had a hard time understanding what she was saying. She pointed and we left our trays only to be yelled at in Chinese. (She obviously wasn’t telling us to leave our trash where we thought).  We just gave her a confused look and walked away. As we left we saw a Coldstone and decided that a little bit of home sounded good. After our ice cream we headed over to the tower and took the elevator to the top. The view was amazing and from way up there you could really appreciate the height of the building. We also went down a couple of floors to the outside observation deck. The wind that high was a nice break from the hot humid weather we’d been experiencing and it made a whistling noise as it came through the barrier bars. The view was great but we had to go.

The itinerary was switched up a little and we went to a technology shopping center that had floors of all things electronic: cameras, phones, computers, parts & pieces, etc. Honestly, I wasn’t really looking forward to going here but in the end it was a cool place if for nothing else than to get our first look at bargaining and deal hunting. I did end up buying a panda bear flash drive for a super good price so the trip wasn’t a total bust.

We had dinner at an amazing restaurant. The food was good and we had a really good night eating, chatting and enjoying the architecture and design of the restaurant.

The rest of the night was spent at one of Taiwan’s Night Market’s. It was great and I could have spent hours there. I didn’t buy much since the suitcase weight limit had to be taken into consideration but it was fun all the same.

Day 5 - Goodbye Taipei... Hello Shanghai

September 9, 2010

Today was our last day in Taiwan (so sad) and we spent the morning at the National Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. The Memorial Hall, like many other places in Taiwan, is a tribute to the leader’s important role in Taiwan’ history and independence. The site includes the Memorial Hall, Opera House, Concert Hall and numerous gardens. 

Next we were headed out of Taiwan and on to Shanghai, China. We had dinner and then checked into our hotel. We also got new roommates for our time in Shanghai so now I’m staying with Salam who is a total sweetheart and I’m sure will be a great roomy.  Our hotel is  super nice - I hate to burst everyone’s idea that I’m backpacking and roughing it through China but the reality is we’re staying in really nice hotels and the Swissotel in Shanghai is no exception. While I was settling into the room I got a phone call and jokingly answered it “Ni Hao” (which is hello in Chinese) assuming it was Jenelle or someone from our group. Note to self: do not answer the phone in Chinese again! It was not one of my friends but the hotel concierge who spoke to me in Chinese for a straight minute before I was able to tell her I do not actually speak Chinese. I had no clue what she wanted so luckily someone else called back. They just wanted to make sure our bags made it to our rooms. 

Jenelle and I decided to go down to the pool and jacuzzi. It felt great to cool off and relax for the evening and also fun for people watching!!! I also had a chance to use the internet and talk to some friends back home which helped me from missing them so much.