#life's just a wee bit hectic atm!!

[havethetouch]

Gen Life Update (a bit ranty tho)

Figured I write a thingie because I noticed some time has passed me by again because stuff got hectic and ehh the radio silence was not intended but might hold for a bit.

Here is the thing - back in November 2022 my best friend and I had some talks about the future, we are roommates, she has a boyfriend who wants to move in together and our lease will end this year and well.. we put a maybe on moving out in general or extending the lease for a year back then, mainly because such a talk was a bit scary and weird.

For context, we both moved out at age 19 from our family homes and moved in together because were we life living alone is not feasible it is too expensive (and it has only gotten worse since) so we have been cohabitating for over 10 years now and such a big change is just... damn.

Anyway fast forward to the beginning of the year were we got back to that talk and decided yeah, moving out it is we do not like the flat much we hate our landlord because he is a piece of shit but we also have no energy nor want to find a new flat that is kinda affordable (almost impossible) and meets our standards because we are in our 30s now and are not willing to go back to living in a small flat like we used to before this one we have right now (even more impossible these days we pay too much for too little space already)

Now we are suddenly at "fuck this we goin!" because roughly two weeks ago our landlord decided to send a formal letter to inform us that we should pay him more money by the beginning of March. Which: fuck off. Pissed off is a cute way to describe how I regarded this shitty piece of paper from a piece of shit person :) So we went from "maybe" to "we gonna write a formal termination letter today weeehhh~"

What our landlord don't know is that in our first year of living here and noticing that he is difficult (example - one off the electrical outlets is broken, has apparently been broken for a while, this is a wee bit not good and he basically gave us a formal warning that this is our problem we should pay to fix that which is legally not true and just bs but I kept the letter so if he wants to fuck us over I have proof that he was aware of the issue and did not care There were other issues with the flat too like heating did not work at first, a window mechanism broke in winter and every time we called to have this fixed he dragged his feet, screamed a bit at us and was a lil bitch about it. For the record, I fixed the window myself after training myself on youtube videos and other stuff to identify the problem and then get creative with fixing that because a part was simply broken in the metal frame which would have meant to replace the whole window mechanism and he would not have paid that shit so I had to made do so my roommate would not freeze in the night bc her window was not closing properly (fuck this man so much eyyyy))

Anyway so we noticed he was a prissy bitch which probably was fueled by the fact that he is both rich and a lawyer and therefore two people he clocked as young as stupid clearly can't outwit his greatness and be too difficult because clearly we would not fight him or whatever. Jokes on him, we joined the tenant union in our first year of his bs and dutifully paid our fees to have help on standby when things get even more dicey. So things are dicey now and I know he will probably try to fight us tooth and nail to keep as much of the security deposit as possible and make things hard he is just this kind of a douchebag. But since we are members of this union we have a right to a lawyer from them at no additional cost (which is a perk you reach after 1 year of memebership god bless them) and they are already alerted of the situation and will help us not only combat his rent increase demand (which he technically can do but he did not do it the legal way and so we have grounds to refuse atm, also hitting us well into February with a sudden "this new price at the beginning of the next month" is also not quite legal either soooo) And yeah so we prepare ourselves for a big blow up on our landlords part because he is deeply allergic to people who do not cower and know their rights. So we are down to "moving out? Nah, exit strategies are planned over here now". My bestie will move out in two weeks we currently pack her stuff and dismantle her furniture and I will not stay here for long either. We will have to adhere to the notice period of our termination but hey maybe he just throws up his hands and terminates from his end to make the time shorter so he can get new folks in asap. It will be fun to deny him prominent viewing spots for new prospective tenants simply bc I work from home and have meetings and can't reasonably be expected to be disturbed by viewings and also can not be expected to vacate the premises bc work. I mean I will fuck off from here asap too I am done with the flat, the landlord and if I'm honest, I'm kinda really tired of the city too. Don't get me wrong i love Vienna with all my hart but there is also lots of bs that happened in this city and I am so ready for just getting outta here and go rural.

As for a more positive note to end this on (kind of) I will be moving into my forever home (possibly). We had some deaths in the family in the last four years and some of you know one of them was my dad. he left me this house and while i have still some reservations to call it my own, I am ready to start my life there and make it my own. Still have to go through some stuff because a lot of the stuff from our dead relatives ended up in the house because we had nowhere else to put it than there so we have to make some room to store my stuff at least and then I can slowly work on the rest. I am still kinda apprehensive about a lot of stuff because there are just many ghosts in this house and it will be hard but it also probably will be freeing and good and I want to tend to my garden and despair on the possibilities on so much space like the house is big, I am used to live out of one room and now soon will have two extra rooms to do as I please with and this is wild to me. all of this is kinda wild to me because I never had much money and with how expensive everything is in the city never had much opportunity to put money aside in the first place I was unemployed for a while some years ago i am used to surviving on little and worked myself into somewhat comfortable as i am currently. Moving into this house will be a game changer because it is paid off. This will absolutely change my life in so many ways, many many good ways. I have rich people dreams on renovating the bathroom because I would love to have a bathtub and it doesn't sound as crazy anymore to think along these lines. Wild. But first I have to pay off some debts and my teeth and then watch me go willllld I guess xd It also is a bit bittersweet bc like I said, my best friend and I (we met at 15 and have been inseparable since then) have been living together for so long and I personally have never lived on my own ever in my life and this is kinda exciting but spooky and I look forward to it but also stress out already over all the stuff I have to think about ahead and plan but ehhh for the first time in 4 years I am actually looking forward to the future and feel tentatively hopeful and this is also kinda heavy because it's been a while since I did that, the last 4 years were just a bit too hard to look past the next day or even beyond that. But now I look at my plans for just 2023 and I'm like "fuck yeah, screw surviving I'm ready for thriving" So... Imma be a bit more busy in the next days than I had expected due to vacating my flat as fast as possible and I hate moving but i love the idea of this being the final time so bear with me I work on art still in my downtimes when I need some cleansing but yehhh bit busy. Wee bit busy but finally busy with better things. Hopeful things. Life stuff, you know?

Love ya~

[theopenroadbeforeme-blog]

It’s been an adventure-less summer.  Breaking my leg at the end of April meant that I spent most of the season getting to the point where I could walk again.  While I’m still not 100%, I am finally able to be active, so I was eagerly awaiting my trip to Taiwan to meet up with my friends Grizz and Tam.  We’d planned it out: we were going to road trip on scooters down to Hualien, check out the epic Taroko National Park for a few days, then make our way back to Taipei.  I couldn’t wait, so when Grizz and Tam unexpectedly had to make a trip back Stateside, I decided to carry on and do the trip myself.

Day 1: Taipei to Hualien

I’d made arrangements to book the bike through Bike Farm.  Jeremy, the owner, is well-known among the expats and travelers who ride scooters around the island, and his service has gotten great reviews.  So, to start off the journey, I met him in southern Taipei and we took the bike to get the fuel gauge fixed.

When that was done, I headed off down Highway 9, only making it a short way before the bike died on me.  Deciding one occurrence might just be a fluke, I carried on, only to have it die again mere minutes later.  Deciding it was better to be safe than sorry, I turned around and took it back to Jeremy.  We managed to replicate the problem, and he ordered a new carburetor to fix the issue.  After an inconvenient but pleasant enough wait (listening to Taiwanese pop and Linkin Park while eating some sort of bao) I headed off again, this time with no bike troubles.  Or so it seemed…

The drive to Hualien starts off through city streets, but the road swiftly narrowed and I found myself switch-backing through a thickly forested range of foothills.  Small clusters of buildings lined the roadside, with temples and rice paddies making the occasional appearance.

It was a beautiful day — stunning blue skies with puffy white clouds scooting across them, the damp, earthy smell of Nature, and — most worryingly — the slow warmth of the sun slowly turning my skin into leather.  It was a day for multiple applications of sunscreen, which I was diligent about!

When the road finally reached the coast, the views were amazing.  Taiwan’s coastline (at least that part of it) isn’t a beaches and piña coladas type of affair.  It’s epic cliffs, mountains rising out of the ocean, hairpin turns on roads with sheer plunges over the edge if you happen to miss one.

It was a fantastic route, but the delay of earlier had cost me, and darkness fell when I was still far away from Hualien.  The last two hours were a scary slog, along winding roads with trucks and other traffic coming from both directions.  To top it all off, the problem we thought had been fixed resurfaced during the last 25 kilometers.  By the time I got to Hualien, I was in a foul mood and ready for the day to be over.  ‘It was 90% awesome,’ I told myself, over and over again.

Luckily, my AirBnB turned out to be a wee gem, and I immediately felt comfortable there.  Which was good, because it was time for a shower.  I was an absolute mess — I had dirt caking my face and arms.  No wonder I’d been getting strange looks!

Hey! Want to help me travel more?  If you haven’t signed up for AirBnB yet, do it by CLICKING HERE, and we’ll each get a credit with AirBnB.  How’s that for awesome?

Hualien was a great little town, which I’ll write more about HERE.  I stayed for three nights, which was a pretty good amount of time to get a feel for the city and do what I wanted there.  Want to know what that was?  Read the post linked above 😉

Day 2: Hualien to Sqoyaw via Taroko National Park

Thursday came quickly, and I left my AirBnB and headed for my keynote destination: Taroko Gorge.  I was nervous, unsure if I could trust the bike to get me through the difficult terrain.  Luckily (kinda), it decided to act up before I even entered the national park, so I was able to stop at a mechanic who tinkered with it, fixed it, and sent me on my way with a wave, only accepting my ‘thank you’ as payment.  He was the first of many that day who would show me kindness.

Taroko Gorge is Taiwan’s premier natural tourist attraction, and for good reason.  Even its name gives a clue.  Taroko means ‘magnificent and splendid’ in the native tribe’s language, and it is an entirely apt description.  Huge mountains tower around as the access road hugs their sides and winds its way above the river bed.  Taroko is the deepest marble canyon in the world, and when you’re down inside it’s not too hard to believe.  The place is jaw-dropping.

Even after the main part of the gorge, the views in Taroko are phenomenal.  Sure, things widen up a bit and it’s not so looming and in-your-face, but the scenery is awe-inspiring nonetheless.  I stopped more times than I can remember, checking out waterfalls, pagodas, and anything that caught my fancy.  Nathan was in paradise.

Further on, a sign caught my eye, indicating the road would soon climb to over 2500 m.  Another one past that marked 3000 m!  A trio of motorcyclists had stopped on the roadside ahead to take pictures of the vista, so I joined them.  It was like watching a painting come to life.  The clouds rolled like waves over the peaks and gorge, blanketing the landscape.  Minutes after taking the picture below, the clouds were pulled like a shroud over our eyes and all we could see was white.  The stress of the morning and its scooter problems disappeared, and I felt absolutely ecstatic.  This… this was the grand adventure I’d come seeking…

I mean, c’mon… How can views like this be legal?

I carried on and went from looking out over a sea of clouds to being in the sea of clouds.  Mist enveloped the road, limiting visibility to mere meters ahead.  I went slowly, as the steep drops on my left and cliff face on my right both promised uncomfortable outcomes if I made a mistake.

I realized something, as I drove those roads.  I was cold.  At those elevations, the cloud forest of Taroko National Park is not a balmy place, and I began seriously having doubts about my plan to sleep in a hammock outside.  Maybe not such a good idea.  I decided to back-burner that decision and see how the temperature and weather were closer to evening.

That time drew near, and I was still high (altitude, Mom) and cold.  It was time to look for a hotel.

I finally made it to Lishan — my way-point of choice — and was immediately repulsed by the place.  I’m not sure why; maybe it was just a little too touristy, dirty, and hectic for me in my road-weary state.  Whatever the reason, I didn’t even stop on my way through and decided to look for accommodation further along the road….

…which led me to the tiny village of Sqoyaw, shown on Google Maps as Pingdeng Village.  Home to the Huanshan tribe of Atayal natives, Sqoyaw is a tiny little place nestled among the surrounding hills.  The thing which had initially attracted my attention there was a small cafe by the name of Sqoyaw, which has a perfect rating on Google Maps.  I was intrigued.  We were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by farms and tribal land.  What would the cafe be like?

Turns out, freakin’ awesome.  Not only was it awesome, it might just be my favorite cafe in Taiwan!  Great interior design, fresh-baked goods, fantastic coffee, and a super friendly barista hooked me immediately.  In case you don’t realize how much I appreciate coffee and cafes, here’s some perspective.  I actually entertained the idea of moving to Sqoyaw.  Just for a moment or three.  But still, I did.  Because of the cafe.  It only helped things when the barista gave me my berry roll for free. How wonderful…

Warmed both inside and out, I said my goodbyes and made my way to the village proper.

The access road to Sqoyaw is small and steep, and the rain had just started as I made my way down.  Finding a hotel was tricky, as there were no signs in English, and I hadn’t done any research whatsoever.  Luckily, a man who noticed me driving in confused circles flagged me down and led me to a building when I signed that I wanted a place to sleep.

An older woman came out, shooing me inside as the rain began to dump in earnest.  My room was a small one, with a comfortable double mattress and sliding rice-paper and wood doors.  It linked to a huge living room area and shared a bathroom with a similar room, which was unoccupied.  It was perfect.  I pulled out my wallet to pay and realized I might have a problem.

“How much?” I asked, making the universal sign for money.

“Ee chun,” she replied, which I was actually able to understand (1000 TWD).

Crap.

I had exactly 735 TWD to my name, as well as a bank card which — I had a feeling — was going to do me very little good.

“Card?” I asked, pulling it out.

She laughed and reached for my 700 TWD in bills.

“Okay, okay.”  She communicated through sign language that she wouldn’t be able to include food in the rate, but I hadn’t expected her to, so that was fine.

I fell asleep that night in a wonderful bed, with the sound of rain drumming the tin roofs of the village around me.

Day 3: Sqoyaw to Taipei

Morning came, and with it came hunger.  See, my money problems extended to food as well.  I didn’t have enough cash for food, no places took credit or debit cards, and there were no ATMs for an hour in either direction.  Getting the hotel had depleted my cash reserves, and I was in a pinch.  I’d eaten a bag of dried nuts for dinner, which hadn’t done much for my 80 kg frame, and my stomach was scolding me for it.  But when I left my room and made to leave on my bike, the hotel owner waved me into her restaurant and fed me rice and pumpkin porridge and a roll.  The rest of the spread looked fantastic, but that was for people who had paid the full rate.

I scarfed my free meal, thanked the owner for all that she’d done for me, posed for a photo in front of the hotel, and left the tiny town of Sqoyaw behind.  “Welcome to Sqoyaw!” a worker shouted at me as I left.

Close enough.

The Ayatal village of Sqoyaw

I had three very pressing concerns as I started my final stretch of the road trip.  One: I was ravenously hungry.  The rice porridge had been a drop in the abyss that is my belly and merely served to waken the demon inside me.  Two: I was running a little low on gas.  I had enough to get me another hour or so down the road.  And three: I had almost no cash, only 35 TWD to my name.  That’s just over $1 USD.

So when I made it to Nashan and found out the petrol station there accepted cards, that was an immense relief.  When I found a Family Mart down the road, I just about squealed. Family Marts (for those of you back home) are little convenience stores which happen to take cards AND have ATMs.  I was able to withdraw some money, get a real meal, and carry on with all three of my concerns dealt with.  All within a couple hundred meters of each other!  Way to use up all your good karma in one go, Nathan.

The road wound down through fields and along a huge river basin before joining Highway 7.  I went west on the Cross-Island route, which rose quickly to high elevations — leaving the riverbed behind and working its way into a thick pine forest dripping with mist.  The area was gorgeous and almost felt like Olympic National Park back home.

I wanted to stop and stay in those hills, to pitch a tent and just chill for a few more days, but one-week vacations don’t allow for that type of crazy, and I had to keep moving.  I was meeting Jeremy from Bike Farm at 4:00 in Taipei, so I kept a good pace throughout the day and didn’t linger too long at any one spot.

That said, a definite must for those with time is the Mingchi National Forest Recreation Area.  The forest there is amazing, and waterfalls can be seen along the side of the road.  Honestly, parts of it reminded me of Fiordland in New Zealand, but with slightly smaller trees.

By the time I hit Daxi, I was ready to be done.  It had been an amazing journey, but the road was getting more and more urban and my bum was sore.  So when the rain started to fall, I gritted my teeth and pushed on, only stopping for a little more gas and a fantastic pee on the way.  I even managed to get to the meeting point 30 minutes early!  Scooter problems aside, it was a fantastic trip, and I was buzzing with excitement for the rest of the day.

Feel like doing the same trip?  Well, you’re in luck! I’ve gone ahead and made a Google Map of the route.  Each day is its own section, and I marked several key points (the hotel in Sqoyaw and Sqoyaw Cafe, specifically!).  I HIGHLY recommend taking Highway 7 up through the center of the island.  Cheese and crackers, that’s a beautiful drive!

Ever been to Taroko National Park? How was your experience? Any recommendations? Fill me in down below in the comments! Riding a Scooter from Taipei to Taroko and Back Again It's been an adventure-less summer.  Breaking my leg at the end of April meant that I spent most of the season getting to the point where I could walk again.