Getting jostled and stared at, drowning in the humidity, dodging giant cockroaches, packs of stray cats mating in alleys ... Looks like we're back in Taipei. After a week in uber laid-back Okinawa it's a shock to my system, but a welcome one. Beaches, island time and exceeding politeness are great but I feel more at home in the chaos.
Naha was amazing though. We managed to get extremely sunburnt and met some great people. My birthday was on our second to last night there and the staff organized a suprise party which turned into a late night of confusedly translating drinking games from English to Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean. I have a whole new respect for the skill level required to play King's Cup in a second language.
Things that were particularly neat:
Awamori. We mistakenly got a bottle of this, thinking it was sake. The decision went something along the lines of "Wow, it's 30%? And 600 yen (about $7 Canadian)? Sure!" After offering it to someone at the hostel we found out that it was indeed not sake, but a sort of Okinawan vodka that was the island's signature hard liquor. Got drunk.
Will continue.
I wish you luck in your travels. It looks like you're having a smashing time.
ReplyDeleteGreetings from London.