When I took my first trip overseas alone, I got lost in the jungle, got attacked by a bat while caving, had to get rabies shots, and came back with an intestinal illness that put me in the hospital for three days. My mother said to me “I bet you’ll never want to travel again.” I told her I couldn’t wait to get back on the road. Despite everything that happened, I loved Costa Rica and fell in love with traveling.
That experience also describes my time in Taiwan. A lot of bad things have happened. I got dumped by a girl I really liked. It’s always raining. The visa situation here has been very complex and time consuming. The kids at my school are wild and don’t listen. The food is less than stellar, and I got dumped by a girl I really liked. (Did I mention that already? Oh yeah, I did. Well, I just wanted to emphasize how much it sucks! It’s probably karma for my last breakup…but anyways…)
I’ve decided to leave Taiwan when my current visa expires. Getting a resident visa here has proven very complex and expensive. It’s not worth the time or money for a job I’m not going to stay long with anyways. And given the other recent events, it’s time to move on. I have nothing left to really keep me here.
But it wasn’t all bad. I met some really great people who I’ll stay in touch with. I got to experience a place I’d never been to, and I found that there are places in the world crazy enough to offer people all-you-can-drink alcohol. I’ve had a lot of fun here—more than I thought I would. Taipei has pleasantly surprised me, and I’d recommend visiting it to everyone.
Leaving early means I won’t get to explore the island like I’d hoped, and I have serious catching up to do with my sightseeing so I can get it all in before I leave. I’m going to join my friend in Bali at the end of the month before heading back to Thailand. I have some serious web and SEO work to do so I can afford traveling Europe this summer.
Eventually, I’ll spit out some interesting posts about seeing stuff in Taipei , but for now, my life moves on.
