Day 336: First Day in Taipei
Freedom.
Honestly though, I had a hard time leaving my cocoon this morning. You’d think that after two weeks of being isolated in a room all by myself that I’d be eager to get out, but I had become quite comfortable with the stillness and focus that solitude brings.
I moved from my quarantine hotel to a hostel and spent all day wandering around the city, so for today’s post, here’s my day in pictures:
Goodbye, room. You were good to me.
Goodbye, other quarantiners. Goodbye, next door neighbor who’d I’d sometimes hear burping through the wall.
Nature!!!!! Hello trees!!! Hello plants!!!
Hello person on the street!!!! I sent this picture to some friends and they made fun of my mask.
what r u wearing
a whoopie cushion?
Screw you guys!!!
Stuff I didn’t take pictures of:
- Checking into my hostel which is nearly empty — means there are only 2 people in my 8-person room. So much space!!!
- Walking around and gorging on snacks from random food stands
- The 7-Elevens and Family Marts on every corner which make me feel like I’m in Japan
I decide to take advantage of my newfound freedom and take a class at an Ashtanga yoga studio online located about 25 minutes away. Class starts in 30 minutes so I hurry on over and make it with 10 minutes to spare. (The traffic lights take forever to let pedestrians walk here.) But when I arrive, I can’t find out where the heck the studio is. I have no idea why instead of listing an address, the only directions provided on the website are “50 meters from Exit Y13 of Taipei Main Station at the intersection of Taiyuan Road and Zhengzhou Road”. After much craning my neck up at various buildings and trying to make sense of characters I cannot read, I give up.
I walk back to a gym nearby where some people had tried to hand me a flyer when I had rushed past them earlier, and a guy named Zac gives me a tour of the facilities. I’m not sure whether I’m going to get a gym membership here (depends on if there’s any equipment available at the BJJ studio I’m planning to join), but I figure this would be a nice opportunity to learn about what’s available.
At the end of my tour, Zac has me do an “InBody test” whose results you see above. I’m 146 lbs at 17.3% fat.
Another staff member walks me through the detailed results and tells me that my nutrition is good, although I have no idea how standing on a scale and holding onto handles with both hands could possibly detect that.
She says that my body fat percentage is too high and that I should get it down to 12-15%. I ask her if she’s calling me fat and she and Zac are quick to reassure me that I’m not fat but that I could be leaner. I forgive them for their blatant fat-shaming.
The lady can’t believe that I don’t speak any Chinese and I think about how I should learn. When she struggles to translate some term (turned out to be “basal metabolism”) and I bust out the Google Translate app to use the live camera translation feature, their minds are blown.
Zac tries to sell me on a membership by telling me that if I sign up today, he can cut my enrollment fee from NT$5699 ($201 USD) to NT$800 ($28 USD). I find it hilarious that the enrollment fee exists purely as a scarcity tactic to pressure people to join the gym. I tell him that I’m not going to decide today but that I’d probably know by next week when I have a better sense of my living situation and routine. He adds me on LINE. He asks about my hobbies and says he can give me some recommendations on where to live and places to go.
Do you like going clubbing?
Not really.
Oh, so you’re more into bars then.
Not really. I don’t drink.
I don’t think I can give you many recommendations.
Very progressive of Taiwan to accept alternative forms of payment for transportation. (But actually, someone please tell me what “Kiss & Ride” means.)
I find a vegan spot nearby where you put a bunch of vegetables and other ingredients in a bag and they cook it for you. Yum.
Despite the complete absence of local cases, most people wear masks and tables in the mall are split up by glass panels. Go Taiwan.
I stumble across a night market. I’m startled at how many people are out and about on a Monday night.
I detect the unmistakeable stench of stinky tofu.
It’s amazing to be in a place where families and friends can sit together and eat without fear of getting sick.
I already love being here.