Yangmingshan is the northernmost of the 8 National Parks in Taiwan, and the one which is right on my doorstep, being within a very few minutes by taxi or bus. It is part of why I chose Keelung as my home. Yangmingshan is just to the west for hiking and hot springs, while Fulong Beach and Long Dong offer, respectively, surfing and rock-climbing to the city’s east.
This was my first proper adventure in Taiwan and a memorable one. I can tell I’m going to be returning to this National Park frequently. I will shortly tell you about the geothermal vents, the beautiful waves of grass, weird flora and fauna, etc., but first …
THE CHARACTERS
LASKA
Laska is actually his last name, but it’s what he goes by and by this he shall be referred to on Life of Adventure. Laska was the first American I met in Taiwan. I don’t believe in fate, but I do believe in appreciating luck, and it was lucky that he and I were picked up by our company together at the airport, roomed together, and consistently grouped together for most of our first two weeks in Taiwan. Since then, it has been clear to me that whenever we are together, we find the best things: hot springs, hooker alleys, everything stores, bookshops, good hikes, markets, restaurants, etc.
In many ways we are opposites. The guy watches team sports, whatever those may be, and he’s more of a pub and live-music kind of guy than the techno-nightclub enthusiast. But we first set foot out of the hotel to explore together and since then, he’s kind of like my new good luck charm — or maybe it’s just that this Wisconsonian late of South Korea possesses an infallible good-humor, gameness for all manner of fun and hi-jinx, and the wisdom born of travel that I’ve come to appreciate, respect, and seek in foreigners abroad. Our cramped little hotel domicile, packed with ALL our worldly belongings was truly a home by way of our frank and compromising practicality, mutual bohemianism, and brotherly willingness to vacate the premises into the Taipei night at a moment’s notice if either of us was likely to have a female visitor. My nights there were far better for his presence, whether we were playing cards on the side of a rolling suitcase placed between the beds with others, exchanging ghost stories, or philosophizing about comparative Asian culture, the opposite sex, or various other items relevant to free spirits roaming the globe. We sat through 9+ hour training days together, ate breakfast together almost every morning, did our laundry together, went shopping for shampoo together. On my birthday, this guy, and our friend Huy, bought me dinner even though we were up to our ears in training assignments, and during our late-night study-session of stress before the following morning’s big 25-minute teaching demo, in comes Laska with a birthday cake for me.
In short, he is the closest thing to a wife I’ve had, except I didn’t mind living with him. And how shall I ever forget the night he came in at a slightly irregular hour and fell on top of me, thankfully with the comforter between us, saying only, “HUUUUUUUUUG!” He got up, but returned a moment later to repeat this greeting. Then he wandered around doing I-don’t-know-what, then gave me a third good tuck-in with the same clearly labeled action. When he found his way to his own bed, I heard a vague, slightly slurred, “I love you,” which I returned through stifled laughter.
Laska is a true brother-in-arms, a man’s man, and one I shall be proud to adventure with again.
JOSH AND SARAH
If the Taiwanese want to learn about the true nature of Western culture, they should learn it from Laska, who reminds me just how much we swear (ah, it’s like a warm blanket to hear all my favorites) and who insists that it’s “rock, paper, scissors” in a society hard-wired, in the most militant way, that it’s “paper, scissors, stone.”
However, when I want to learn about Chinese culture, I don’t want to live in the squalor of Beijing working in a factory for more thorough research.
America needs more cultural ambassadors like Josh and Sarah. There are a few atypical-American qualities this married couple shares: they are extremely fit, health and diet conscious, disciplined, and unattached to security. I shall elaborate on the last of these. They gave up what seems to me to be a fine and comfortable state of living in the U.S. to come out here to an alien land and adventure.
As a very few words may often suffice to describe a person, such as to say Bruce Lee was wise, so too can I summarize Josh efficiently. He has impressed me as being unimpeachably well-intentioned, honest, giving, and, more than anything, humble. A rare trait indeed and a label I cannot attach to many. Men know the hearts of men and the subtleties which betray deeper flaws, like little black spots that indicate a fruit’s rot. Yet in Josh one would find a solidity of humor, honor, and character that befits him for a task as stressful and important as impressing young minds. He reminds me, in many ways, of Tim Frasier, with a touch of Jason Eaves, and like them he possesses the athletic prowess, quick grasp of practical mechanics, and calmness of mind that recommends him for, say, a high alpine excursion. I shall do my best to lure him up where fixed lines are involved when the weather warms.
The first thing most people doubtlessly notice about Sarah is that she is hot-beyond-all-reason. As one trainee put it, “I don’t even want to know how perfect Sarah’s body is.” It is a factor that can color analysis instantly, and I’ve seen how a pretty face can earn complete loyalty even if moral bankruptcy lies behind it, as well as how a good soul with the fortune of beauty can make quick enemies of new acquaintances, for who, male or female, has not been damaged in some way by another’s attractiveness?
Beauty casts a fog thick as wool over personality, for good or bad. But fortunately yours truly is not inexperienced in said cases. Sarah is more properly defined as being highly secure, discriminant, with the cork-like ability to ride the waves of changing circumstance. Her humour is most similar to the military and former military men I’ve known. It is a humour that is quick and incisive, with more movement of eyes than facial expression, complimented by a genuineness of interest in new faces and a quick-flashing but authentic smile. Moreover, she shared her clove cigarettes with me and that’s what I call winning friends and influencing people.
YANGMINGSHAN IN THREE VIDEOS
We climbed the highest peak, we descended valleys of fumaroles, and Laska and I ended up taking the wrong bus, but it took us to a slice of paradise.
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