Interesting Night and Late Morning

I had quite the night yesterday. Got off work and went home for a shower and some relaxation. At 8:30ish I met up with my neighbor and co-worker and a lady friend of his and we all hopped on the free bus into Xinzhu. I know we make quite the odd pair on the bus and around Xinzhu--me, a 22 year old pasty American and him, a late-30s early-40s colored South African (which is not an offensive term in South Africa). We got into downtown Xinzhu and went to what is fast becoming our usual spots. I'll be sure to get a picture of it, but it's a side road with a few small bars and one of the bigger bars/clubs, the Pig and Whistle. I say usual because these are the only places I have been to more than once. That being said, I am still enjoying sitting in TJ's and talking or sitting outside the Pig and Whistle and talking, or sitting inside the Pig and Whistle and trying to talk, but I can see it stagnating sooner or later. But for now, the night life here is still pretty exciting.

What made last night interesting, though, wasn't the above "usual" stuff but the bar I went to afterward. I met a guy from the States while at the Pig and he showed me this small hole-in-the-wall place called Madonna's. It was basically one room with a small bar, a massive karaoke machine and plush couches all along the walls. Oh, and it's Japanese. Apparently, there are Japanese-only bars around Xinzhu. The only way gringos such as myself gain entrance into these places is by invitation. So I made sure to be extra nice to the bartender at the Madonna's and drink myself stupid on Jack and Coke's. A brief note: there is no tipping whatsoever in Taiwan. I have tried to tip again and again, but it either ends up being used toward the next drink I order or it is flat-out refused. Oh, and you can walk around outside with your beverage of choice--open containers are a-okay in Taiwan! Anyway, my night ended after 4 beers and 4 heavy Jack Jack and Cokes at about 3 am when I asked for a taxi, the bartender made a call, and I stumbled into an unmarked black car. I thought nothing of it at the time, and it wouldn't have amounted to anything anyway, but it is kind of the perfect scenario for a mugging or, heaven forbid, a kidnapping, or, even worse, a murder. But I made it home safe and sound am now much wiser as to the workings of Xinzhu night life thanks to my fellow American ex-pat friend.

This morning another co-worker-cum-friend picked me up and drove me around Zhubei and Xinzhu on a quest for scooters. I've ridden on his scooter many times before, but only ever around the school. Today I went all over the city and I think we were pushing 80 km/hr, so just the driving was quite the experience. I ended up seeing a couple scooters that were nice, but I didn't buy anything today. I wanted to check as many shops as possible, and it turned out that we didn't have time to go back and recheck the two promising scooters because my friend had class (some sort of master's business program). Points of interest: We ate at a decent Japanese fast-food restaurant that I hadn't tried yet (I have eaten at Mos Burger a lot but this place was new to me; I think it was called Yokinasha or something); I paid my apartment bills at 7-11 in 30 seconds; I spoke Chinese and was understood by every shop owner; I met my friend's mechanic, a Taiwanese guy named Adidas who spoke decent English; and I finally got familiarized to the area. Also I was drunk pretty much the whole time. I crashed hard when I got back home.

All in all, exciting stuff. It almost makes up for the ridiculous hours and demands of my job.

PS TJ's might be a gay bar. Which means I've been hanging out in a gay bar on 5 different occasions, which means some people undoubtedly have the wrong idea. But in my defense, it doesn't look like a gay bar, there are tons of mixed gender groups that hang out there, and I haven't seen anyone hitting on a person of the same sex (nor have I been hit on). I think the person who told me it was a gay bar was confusing it with someplace else. Or at least I hope so, because some of the prettiest girls I've seen so far have been there. The Pig and Whistle girls are not quite on the same level.

Also, there are lots of Indians running around on weekend nights. I think they all work at the Science Park but I'm not sure. I'll have to ask sometime.