Happy New Year!
Philip had to leave LA a couple days before us for work, so Jules and I boarded a somewhat empty plane back to Taipei on New Year’s Eve. The captain led us all in a countdown to 2018 somewhere over the Pacific. Part of me smiled inside knowing that our new year was starting with more travels.
Jules and I gave ourselves a day to rest, and then, it was off to the races. Apologies to our poor friends and family on the east coast who had to brave the ‘bomb cyclone,’ Taipei has had an incredible week of unseasonably warm and sunny weather. Since rain is always right around the corner here, we had to take advantage of this anomaly and spend time outdoors.
A simple hour-long metro ride later we found ourselves at Bitan Lake (碧潭湖), also known as ‘Emerald Lake,’ which, in fact, is not really a lake. The ‘lake’ is an area of widening of the Xindian River, but the waters are pretty calm. Despite having logged plenty of flight hours, I still find air travel remarkable. To go from the cacti-filled dry heat of LA to the jade green waters of Bitan Lake in a day and a half still amazes me. Of course, Jules and I had to take one of those swan-shaped pedal boats for a spin. The two weeks in LA left us with mild amnesia regarding Taiwanese bluntness.
Me: Hi, we would like to rent a swan-shaped pedal boat for two people.
Pedal Boat Rental Lady (PBRL): OK, but you need to rent one of the electric motor boats.
Me: Hmm, but the sign says I can choose between the pedal or motor boat, and I would prefer to take the pedal boat.
PBRL: Yeah, but the winds are strong today and given that you’re a woman and you have a kid with you, then you won’t get far in a standard pedal boat.
Me: Did she just question my strength as a ‘woman’?!?
Me: Um, OK, so you’re saying that you won’t rent the pedal boat to me?
PBRL: You can rent it, but you won’t have much fun being blown around by the wind.
Me: Damn, that wind is picking up, so she’s probably right. But damn it, who is she to question how strong I am! Hmm, that couple on the water in the pedal boat hasn’t made any progress in the past few minutes. Ooo, I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of thinking I’m not strong enough as a woman.
Me: OK, I guess we’ll take the motor boat.
PBRL: Great. By the way, your Mandarin is very good.
Me: Grrrr…
Needless to say, Jules and I were very thankful that we opted for the motor boat and leisurely cruised around this stunning green lake, watching locals fish on the river banks and shaking our heads at the poor suckers who opted to go with the regular pedal boats. Afterwards, we crossed a 200m long suspension bridge built in 1937 and had fun being swayed around a bit by the warm winds. A yummy, lakeside late lunch and milk tea capped off a wonderful day of returning to Taiwan.
