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<title>We Ate Taiwan: 98年 3月 1日 – Arrival</title>
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<h1><a href="index.html">We Ate Taiwan</a></h1>
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<h1 class="tyfont-size-h3">98年 3月 1日 – Arrival</h1>
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<img alt="Dǐng Tài Fēng" data-lazyimage="resources/photos/arrival_large.jpg" src="data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' /%3E">
<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">Dǐng Tài Fēng</figcaption>
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<p>It is no fun to fly in Economy class for 15 hours. It is no fun to have a cold. It is not by choice that I am experiencing these two conditions simultaneously on the first day of my vacation. Despite the discomfort, I really feel bad for the people trapped near me on this flight to <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/taiwan">Taiwan</a>. A sniffling, coughing, pink-eyed American is infecting their flight. Traveling by plane is a common way to catch a virus. You hear about it all the time. This time, I am the carrier.</p>
<p>This <a href="http://www.cathaypacific.com/">Cathay Pacific</a> <a href="http://www.boeing.com/commercial/777family/longer_range/index.html">Boeing aircraft</a> seems built for persons with an average height of 5'8". In engineering, we learned about the “standard man” approximation for human physical parameters. The standard man is 5'10". I don't think Cathay Pacific is aware of this. As a result, the seats and aisles felt tiny. Moving in and out of my seat is an unnatural physical procedure. I guess it could be worse. The seats themselves are comfortable enough (for such a long flight), the crew is professional and extremely fast, the bathrooms are mostly clean throughout the trip (although on a full flight with many children, the inevitable deterioration of circumstances occurred after about 12 hours), and the food is on par with other international flights I've been on – maybe a little better.</p>
<p>Even with those positives, I don’t know that I will recommend Cathay to anyone. They really made me upset. Our flight was oversold and they did not give Monica and I our reserved seats. Instead, they had us sitting about 20 rows apart. Fortunately, Monica had been assigned a seat between an older couple in the middle section. The gentleman was willing to exchange seats with me since I also had an aisle seat – his preference. His name, which I know because we exchanged ticket stubs, is Chen LiangYun. I am very thankful for the gesture. I wasn’t able to really thank him properly because he didn’t speak English, but I suppose Monica made sure the message was understood.</p>
<p>It’s amazing the ways a person will find to intentionally while away 15 hours. The first 12 were actually easy, but the last three have been really slow. I tried to sleep, listened to a Chinese language podcast, played games on the in-flight entertainment system, listened to music, and played Risk on my iPhone.</p>
<p>The flight to Hong Kong from JFK goes literally over the top of the world. From New York, the course is almost due north, through Canada and the Arctic Bay until, when there is no more North, the course turns south over Russia and China to reach Hong Kong. As with many flights now, I am able to view a world map display showing the current position and orientation of the aircraft along the projected course. I can now say I have been very close to the North Pole, if only for a moment.</p>
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<figcaption class="tymedia-caption">The tea cup from our Cathay Pacific meals.</figcaption>
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<p>Food service aboard the plane (we were served 2 meals and 2 snacks) featured some cutely designed plastic dishes and tea cups with a stylized botanical motif. I kept one of the tea cups as a souvenir.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.hongkongairport.com/">Hong Kong</a> comes and goes in a haze of low clouds and fog and a blur of motion as we rush to make our connecting flight. Monica and I have time only to grab some fresh <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya">dragon fruit</a> juice in the terminal. Unfortunately, the juice – perhaps in combination with the other food we had eaten – caused me a minor case of traveler's diarrhea.</p>
<p>The descent into <a href="https://www.taoyuan-airport.com">Táoyuán Airport</a> is a bit like flying into <a href="http://www.rdu.com/">RDU</a> in North Carolina. There is lots of countryside and many low buildings – the real urban areas are hidden somewhere else. Also similar, the airport is aging but clearly serviceable like RDU’s Terminal 1. A stoic immigration officer says nothing as he stamps my passport and then I am officially in <a href="https://www.taiwan.gov.tw">Taiwan</a>.</p>
<p>Even on the 80 minute flight from Hong Kong to Taipei, the airline served us a complete meal: Canton-style pork and rice with broccoli rabe, fruit, juice and tea. Combined with the food served on the long haul from JFK, we ate about 4 meals in 18 hours. I don’t eat that much at home. Even so, March 1st is Monica’s birthday so we have planned to go to 鼎泰豐 (<a href="http://www.dintaifung.com.tw/">Dǐng Tài Fēng</a>) for dinner.</p>
<p>小籠包 (xiǎolóngbāo, “tiny buns”): this is what Dǐng Tài Fēng is famous for. They do not disappoint. The buns are certainy tiny, but they provide quite a few of them in each order. What impresses me about the restaurant, more than the very attentive service, are the other items that we are served: 炒飯 (chǎofàn, fried rice) that is a revelation; awesome 擔擔麵 (dāndānmiàn, spicy noodles); spicy wontons; and fish (!) dumplings. And, of course, they provide all the jasmine tea we can drink. As we finish the meal I am barely conscious as a result of the <a href="http://www.medicinenet.com/jet_lag/article.htm">jet lag</a>. It seems like we will eat very well during our time in Taiwan.</p>
<p>The Tang family home is very nice. They have the top floor of a four story building and the rooftop which they have converted into a garden and small apartment. The rooftop apartment is not airtight, so before getting some much needed sleep we hang a mosquito net. It’s still technically winter, so this is more of a precaution than a requirement, but it’s better to play it safe. My guide book warned me about mosquito-borne diseases, so why take a chance? Then again, with my illness and the fatigue, would I even notice some new malady?</p>
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<h2>Journal Entries</h2>
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<li><a href="98-03-01.html">98年 3月 1日 – Arrival</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-02.html">98年 3月 2日 – First Outings</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-03.html">98年 3月 3日 – Beef Noodles</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-04.html">98年 3月 4日 – Dànshuǐ</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-05.html">98年 3月 5日 – College</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-06.html">98年 3月 6日 – Yángmíngshān</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-07.html">98年 3月 7日 – Sightseeing</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-08.html">98年 3月 8日 – Běitóu</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-09.html">98年 3月 9日 – Shìlín</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-10.html">98年 3月 10日 – Huālián</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-11.html">98年 3月 11日 – Taroko Gorge</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-12.html">98年 3月 12日 – 101</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-13.html">98年 3月 13日 – A Taste of Home</a></li>
<li><a href="98-03-14.html">98年 3月 14日 – Return Trip</a></li>
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<h2>About My Trip</h2>
<p>In 2009, my girlfriend and I visited her home country of Taiwan. During our two week vacation, I wrote daily notes of my experiences and together we took over a thousand photos. Those notes and photos have been compiled into this travel journal.</p>
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<p>© Copyright 2009—2020 by <a href="http://www.aaronpinero.com/">Aaron Pinero</a> except as noted.</p>
<p>Photographs may not be used in any other medium without permission. In most cases, we’d be glad to let you if you ask.</p>
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