For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go.

I travel for travel’s sake.

The great affair is to move.

So it was time to get a little social. I met a few nice people over some late-night drinks at the hostel and the next day, after saying goodbye to Lisa from Swedan, I went to the National Palace Museum with Hao from China and Monica from Taiwan.

No cameras were allowed inside the museum, so these photos are not my own, but there were many great exhibits. I enjoyed looking at the paintings done over centuries, some of the landscapes were my favorites.

There were bronze artifacts dating back past 1050 BC, some interesting and rather heavy-looking wine containers.

They also had very old swords with gold inscriptions.There was an entire exhibit hall dedicated to the various God and Buddha statues that have been popular over the centuries. But what everyone really came to see was the jade. They had jade of all sizes and colors; it was crafted into beautiful jewelry, statues, snuff boxes, and dishes.

The real prize? A naturally occurring piece of jade that looked just like a chunk of pork belly.

And of course, no hunk of pork would be complete without a piece of jade crafted to look like a cabbage.

We spent many hours at the museum, I don’t think Hao wanted to leave. He was busy looking at the rare books and calligraphy, but Monica and I had started to get tired so we had a coffee break.

A little internet ressearch told me there was a five day music festival happening at a nearby beach. Since I had been there over a week and not done any partying, I figured this would be the perfect chance. I met a girl named Jackie who really wanted to go so we boarded a train and headed to Fulong Beach.

The Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival happens every year, right on the beach. The word hohaiyan roughly means waves and oceans. The day we went showcased rock music from all around the world. One of my favorites was a band from India, least favorite was a heavy metal band from Quebec (too bad cause everyone was excited to point out the Canadian music to me).

The place was bustling. Everything you could ever desire was for sale, music was playing from two big stages and almost every little booth along the way. Once you got passed the train station and shops, you had to cross a bridge out to a sandy peninsula. This is where you could swim, dance, eat, or lay under a shady umbrella.

I liked the technique of digging a hole in the sand to make a beach recliner. It made you sandy, and walking through the crowd was hard without tripping over people. But it was a comfortable way to rest your feet after dancing in the sun. We stayed late into the night. The show ended with some fireworks and everyone crammed onto the last train back to the city. Did I mention that it was all free?

I went back to the festival the next day, but a typhoon was passing through to the north and it was very windy and rainy, so I didn’t stick around to party in the mud. I went back to the beach after the festival was over and enjoyed swimming and sun without to much crowds.

I still had my home base in Taipei, the longest I have ever spent in a capital city. It is just so clean and full of friendly people that I couldn’t leave. It also has a very convenient public transport system, so I could do day trips all over northern Taiwan. My next stop was the Tamsui River.

Tamsui means fresh water, though the place is not that big, it has three universities and an old fort. Due to its location, historically it has been quite influential in Taiwanese history.

This is Fort Santo Domingo, originally built by the Spanish in 1628. One night in 1636, a group of locals angered by Spanish tax attacked the fort and razed it to the ground. The Spanish rebuilt it with higher walls, but the Dutch took it over in 1642. The Dutch renamed it Fort Antonio but the locals called it Peh-oe-ji, or fort of the red-haired. After the second opium war in 1868, the British took control of the fort and made it their trade consulate. After the British broke off diplomatic relations with the Republic of China’s government, the building was turned into a museum. It has beautiful gardens and a row of old canons, each one from a different time period and nationality.

After the fort, I toured around the gardens of the universities and enjoyed the rest of Tamsui.

 

I am growing tired of the city, so i bought a really nice tent and am now going to head out. I can secure some of my gear, along with my laptop, in the basement of the hostel, so I may not be back for a little while, but I shall return with good stories assuredly.