Mystery Land Music Festival

We had heard that there would be two days of music and dancing in the mountains. So, we loaded up the motorcycle with a tent and a few other things and plowed 9 hours down to the south of Taiwan. There will be more posted soon!!! Jacqui wants to tell this story... and she's really busy with work right now. cheers til then.

Dakeng Scenic Area :: You need a bike to hike!

We found the Stairway to Heaven!

DaKeng scenic area was a wonderful surprise when we arrived in Taichung city. We had heard a lot about the hotsprings and mountain trails in Taiwan, but DaKeng surpassed any expectations that we had. It takes us about 15-20 minutes on motorcycle to get to the start of the trails. To this date, we have only conquered 2 of the 8 trails. The best part about Dakeng (and Taiwan as a whole) is that there seem to be no rules.
These trails are excellent. Hundreds and hundreds of wooden logs are wedged together to form gapped, helper-steps up the mountain. In some spots, you can see where logs had, at some point, collapsed down slippery mountain slopes. Not to fear however, as a new series of lumped logs has been placed over the disaster area... making it... more dangerous? Taiwan just screams "OPEN YOUR EYES! If you think something is dangerous, then turn back! If not, then you have no one to blame but yourself". It's a great concept: being obligated to your own safety.

The trails have different levels of difficulty, we have yet to tackle the most difficult. It is always a fantastic time once you finish a trail, because there is usually a big party happening at the trail end. We usually have several people eager to offer us a fishy treat or just willing to attempt an English conversation. I'm not sure if it is a stereotype in Canada or not... but it should be: People from Taiwan are the most kind and gentle people you will ever meet.

We hope that the pictures of DaKeng we have posted will do the area some justice. More soon about DaKeng. Apparently, there is someone named Boston Paul who has a music/art/book house in the area..... XPATS are known to cram his house and throw amazing musical sessions... we'll let you know.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, with two contracts signed, we could begin looking for an apartment that would be convenient for both of us. We did some looking on the internet and made some phone calls... but nothing was really happening there... Then, we followed up a lead from Jacqui's coworker. We met an insane woman named Miss Lee, who could speak English quite well... although obviously crazy... she would end up being our landlord....yikes. She showed us a beautiful 3rd floor apartment (3 balconies, kitchen, 2 huge bedrooms, 1 big office, 2 bathrooms, rooftop hangout, free gym, underground parking, 24 hour surveillance, internet, fully furnished, utilities included, department store right around the corner, right in the middle of the city)... this was the first real apartment that we had seen... but we we're still living in a hotel.... and sometimes you can just tell a good deal when you see it. We signed the contract and moved in the very next day. Almost forgot, all inclusive rent = less than 500 CDN per month.

Gotta love that Taiwan!

Meet Our Pets! Dukie & Black Dog

We picked up some wheels. Some older wheels, but they roll none the less. For Jacqui’s 15 minute drive across town a 19?? SYM Duke 125cc. Creatively named “Dukie” by the rider herself, this monster is held together by duct tape. We purchased the scooter from a foreign teacher who was leaving Taiwan in a hurry. We met him at a local department store to check out his sweet ride. A failed attempt at using the kick stand, left the seller in a real pickle as his scooter crashed to its side in the middle of a busy street….. “So, do you want it?” he said…, as the scooter lay dead on the road. He wanted 2000NT dollars… we gave him 1000 and we went on our merry way. For 30 bucks Canadian, we walked away with a scooter that rolled…. but real loud (no muffler). Since then we have put on a new muffler for another 30 bucks Canadian and she has run great for over 2 months.

Next on the list of purchases: a cruiser. We had always planned on driving around the island on motorcycle adventures, and so we headed out to find something that would work for us.

A couple weeks looking in the English teacher ads, and we found a nice cruiser that hadn’t been run in over a year. In Taiwan, repairs are dirt cheap, so we were looking for something that had some serious flaws…. We took a gamble on this bike… we’ll let you know how it turns out in the long run.

The bike’s owner had moved to Hong Kong, so it was his friend who was selling the bike. The bike was in terrible shape. It obviously needed an oil change, some basic fixes... and god knows what else. We talked him down to about 200 bucks Canadian and took the gamble.

Next, we found a great local guy who fixes up bikes and speaks enough English to communicate. He completely overhauled the bike (shocks, fuel line, chain, engine treatment etc…). Eric did a really great job on the bike and she has run great for well over a month. We hope to get a year or two out of the old girl. Oh ya, she’s old alright…. 1993 125cc SYM Husky “The English Teacher Special”. It only has a 125cc engine, which is very small compared to a north American bike….. trust me though…. with the traffic here, you don’t want to be going any faster than 70. She cruises very gently at about 65 on open roads. We’ll see what happens.

Taichung City :: XPAT oasis

We packed up our gear in Hualien.... two huge black suitcases, two huge double backpacks and a 12 string guitar. We were loaded down pretty heavy to say the least. I suppose if you consider the fact that we were moving... not just travelling.... the load was pretty light. Have you ever seen an Asian train in a movie? you know... packed to the brim with lads and lasses... well its true, there are lots of people here. Getting those bags on, and off the train, was definitely an experience we won't soon forget.

We ended up crashing in a Lonely Planet recommended hotel which featured a great view of the train station. Little did we know, we would end up living in the Fu Chun hotel for a month or more... on and off. (let me explain the on and off bit)

The School was called Little United Nations Academy. We found the job ad on the very popular tealit.com (teaching english and living in taiwan). The positions seemed great. They were looking for two teachers, the pay was very high, no experience needed and was located just outside the city centre, where rent would be much cheaper. Perfect! we got a call back within a couple days and went in for an interview. The school was gorgeous, the students were fantastic (we had learned a few things about demo lessons at this point... the dos and don'ts) and we got the jobs! We were quickly moved out of Fu Chun and into a practically rent free apartment near the school. We were so happy that we went out and bought some pillows and a duvet for our bed. Semi-settled at last!

Looking back on it... we realize now that there were lots of signs that things we're just not right with the school. The staff being obviously unhappy was one sign... but there was many... we don't really want to go into too many details.... it was ugly. real ugly. we got fired after one day and had to move our increasing mound of crap back to Fu Chun hotel.
(The main reason that we got fired, if you must know, was that we were making a big stink about the contract they wanted us to sign. The contract allowed them to have complete control over our stay in Taiwan and afforded potential teachers zero rights in the event of a dispute. There are lots of contracts like this in Taiwan... sign them at your own risk. Technically though we didn't get fired as we never got around to signing a contract.)

This was the lowest we had been in a long time. Taiwan was kicking the crap out our spirits. We took a day to clear our heads.

We were left with no choice, we worked together, got super serious, and were dedicated to getting the best of this Taiwan we thought we were so prepared for. Out of nowhere, a Joy English School contacted us for interviews. We went in there with our best suits on, and wowed them. They were only looking to fill one position, although they wanted to hire both of us. We had realized by that point that finding a job for a boy in Taichung city would be much more difficult... so Jacqui allowed her much less desirable male friend to sign the contract and begin work the next week.

There are two types of schools in Taiwan. Buxibans or cram schools, which operate after regular school hours... 3:00pm - 9:00pm, and privately run elite English kindergartens... 9:00am - 5:30 pm. Joy is a Buxiban. Jacqui on the other hand started a small bidding war for her teaching services, between several competing private kindergartens. Because we had come to Taiwan without any contracts or paperwork, we were essentially free agents in what seemed like a dead market.... but things were really starting to pick up. Jacqui had a whole series of interviews and demos... schools we're telling her to call them back before she signed with a different school. Finally, we had the upper hand. Jacqui ended up signing a great contract with one of the most elite kindergartens in town. Season Arts offers very competitive pay and a top notch facility. The private kindergartens also allows teachers to participate in (paid) field trips, activities, cooking lessons, songs and dances.... they are real schools. The Buxibans on the other hand have a very strict curriculum with a lot less room for creating relationships with students.... but you get to work at night for only 6 hours..... which would you pick?

Moral of the story = we both found jobs in Taichung city (where the action is) not in some little tiny village in the middle of nowhere. The only thing left to do was the mound of paperwork. We won't go into details but.... it's quite a bit of hassle. Jacqui ended up getting her Resident Visa/A.R.C ( like a social insurance number) one day before she would have to fly to Hong Kong. phewwww! EAT OUR SHORTS TAIWAN! WE GOTCHA!