Taiwan Revisited, Part IV: Taroko, More Gorges

My Taiwanese expedition continues. For the full photoset go here.

1/5/10

Dearest,

It's been pretty uneventful since my last missive to you. After I e-mailed you last night Simon and I cracked open a couple of Taiwanese beers and watched movies in the abandoned men's dormatory. It felt like we were the only guests in the entire hotel. We watched "Wristcutters: A Love Story", which I want to watch with you sometime and I think you'd really love, and "Terminator: Salvation" which was totally silly. The next morning I got up and we walked over to the (actually not very impressive) temple across the way and gawked some more at the gorge. It was actually a amazing day so the gorge was particularly gorge-ous (warning: I may have been making this pun all weekend).

Then we ate some more greasy food and started out on what turned out to be an epic journey from the north to the south end of Taiwan. First we took a bus from Taroko Gorge to Hualien (1 hr) and then we took a train from Hualien to Kuasung or whatever the name of this town is (4 hrs). With various delays it took all frickin' day. I wanted to visit a hotspring but we ran out of time and so Simon bought me some apology stickers instead (not actually stickers that apologize but stickers as an apology). It was fun though. We talked a lot about kind of inconsequential easy things and I kicked his butt at Gin Rummy. Then when we (finally) arrived in Kaosiung we dropped off the bags at his enviably appointed apartment and met up with some of Simon's friends to go eat burritos at this ridiculous western-themed restaurant called Smokey Joe's. It was actually kind of awesome, if you miss burritos as much as I do. I also had a mango mojito which was extremely delicious. Good times.

Right now I'm sitting in the lofted guest bed in Simon's apartment with his netbook in my lap and his warm rent-a-kitty purring at my side. Macaroni (for that is his name) is a foster kitty who Simon gets to keep indefinitely as long as once every month he brings him in for an adoption auction where other families can see if they want to give him a permanent home. It actually sounds like a really nice deal, and I am totally envious. He's a very talky kitty and we've been having nice meowing conversations since I arrived. I think we'll be best buds.

I'm going to get some water and go to bed now. I love you so much! Write me.

Yours,
S