November 23, 2008
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Train Ride – Going somewhere? Or going nowhere?
So once more I am on the Taiwan High Speed Rail, heading south. It is a great means of transport, and not terrible value. There are TV ads all the time for it, but the way I see it, the trains are way above the 60% full they need to be for profit to be made (I am going on the airline profit model – as they are in competition with the airlines, it is hard to see how they can go on a much different one).
You’re supposed to turn off your cellphone (or at least put it on to silent mode) but no one does. You are also requested to lower your voice during conversations, but again, no one does. There are constant rings at the loudest, most obnoxious volume and “Wei?” answering, but today at least the sun is shining, and that can only be a good thing. Of course, it was not that way when I was riding the Suzuki to the station this morning, but the difference in weather between north and southern Taiwan is huge sometimes. It’s days like this that make me want to move to the central or southern part of this island.
As I write there is a wedding party coming in to the station for their wedding photos. Not really the most romantic setting, in my humble opinion, but what do I know about romance? The man of many failed romances, that’s me. But the trend in this country is for casual wedding photos. The modernity of the HSR station, the leather jacket and sneakers worn by the man, the traditional strapless white wedding dress being worn by the woman, for me it just does not work. A wedding should be either traditional OR modern. Some things don’t work, and this – for me at least – is one of those things.
As the train pulls out of the station, the mountains in the November haze in the background, I wonder what I have done this year. Have I moved forward in my life? Have I done much at all? My old mucker, the Fat Boy, suggested recently that as I constantly get shafted anyway, perhaps I should move somewhere else. My retort simply was that as I enjoy my life in Taiwan, why would I want to move anywhere else? If I am going to get shafted, I may as well get shafted in a place I enjoy. And no, that does not mean up the arse. Although that tends to happen too – only metaphorically speaking thankfully!
Sunshine tends to work wonders on the mood, and with an interesting business meeting in store, I am hoping that the time of being shafted may be coming to an end shortly. But life is a strange thing – see posts passim – and you never know what is going to happen from day to day. You can make all the plans you want, but essentially life has its’ own ideas of what it wants, and you just have to go with the flow. Maybe this all sounds so laissez-faire, but how much control over the future do any of us truly have?
After my meeting today I will head back up to Jubei where I will have dinner with Linn – freshly back from her 5 day trip to USA – and my good mucker Volksmeister and his wife Monika. It is nice for the 4 of us to go out together and eat dinner, pretty much a tradition for our Wednesday evenings. There are a few restaurants that we alternate between, but the plan (although Linn does not yet know it!) is for us to go to a nice little Thai place which serves excellent food. I get the feeling that all three of the Hsinchu people are happy to have this evening with someone else, a change in the routine which is most welcome. Perhaps a state of loneliness, perhaps a state of being in a place where no one really understands you. For Volker, perhaps it is good for him to be able to speak English or German with someone who understands his mentality. Perhaps for Linn and Monika, it is a place to air their grievances and issues about being in a relationship with a non-Chinese. I am sure that it must be a huge culture shock for every one of them.
With the trips to Europe, UK and South Africa now pretty much out of the question, what I am asking myself is … what about Chinese New Year? I want out of this country during that time because I hate it in the cold and rain. Linn however will probably want me to stay around, as she will want to be there with her family. Her niece is 1 year old now, and so her brother’s family will undoubtedly be spending time shuttling between Miaoli (where his wife’s family is) and Hsinchu.
Still I think that the finances will not be healthy enough for me to afford the trip I want, especially with the Bangkok tournament in Easter. Linn – as yet – does not know about this one, so perhaps I should not take the piss too much with my liberties. Better to accept a cold, wet, mega-boring Chinese New Year and have the freedom of the City of Angels than zoom off somewhere for sunshine during CNY and miss out on the footballing spectacle that is the Bangkok Easter tournament. Compromises… I never would have done this when I was young. I must be getting old!
