RACH left Manila for Taiwan a month ago. She had a cool job offer, plus the chance to be indie. Even before her departure date, we've talked about scheduling my visits. Last June 12 holiday, I was finally able to fly out of the NAIA Terminal 3 (spanking new airport adjacent to the main terminal). In under two hours, I've landed in Taiwan and passed immigration without fuzz. I've converted pesos to NT$, chomped on a chicken sandwich, and found my bus to Taoyuan City. I took off near the train station where I was supposed to meet with Rach, peeking every now and then at the hand-drawn map she earlier emailed. It's a wonder suddenly finding myself on a foreign land, having no clue what words and calligraphy around me meant.



But Taoyuan is much like Manila's Binondo and Sta. Cruz districts, only really clean and with less people and cars. Killed time observing the humdrum of locals: office workers with chic hairdos, students in uniforms but without backpacks, people in scooters. Rach made it at quarter to six. Her cab drove her to the wrong (misunderstood) location. We crossed an underpass and then had a short walk to her second-floor condo unit. What pleasant surprise to see her place! When we went out for dinner, the night already bustled with neon billboards. Since I have lame chopsticks skills, I had to scoop my Yoshinoya chicken bowl with a soup spoon. Everywhere we turned to were small shops selling shoes, electronics, even lingerie! We had a bubble tea each before calling it a night.



Early next day, Rach showed me the eatery where she usually have breakfast. We then scouted Taoyuan for household essentials that her furnished apartment lacked. To and from Wellcome, a grocery store, were dotted with at least four Buddhist pagodas. At the store, we looked for items ranging from ceramic plates, bathroom slippers, to huge tissue rolls. We had lunch at this place where we picked food from a spread, paying only for how much we got. It rained in the afternoon, but we resolved to buy a microwave for her kitchen. This took us to the other side of the city, stopping by a coffee shop to wait out the downpour. When we got to the appliance store, Rach struggled to explain that she wanted to test the product first. But man, can she get by with basic Mandarin! Whenever locals talk to us, I panic and just blank out. Microwave in tow, this time we took a cab back to the condo.

Sunday was my last whole day in Taiwan for this trip. We ate at a rather posh restaurant, but only because we were lost and terribly hungry. More business: looked for an LBC branch (where Filipinos congregate) for wire transfer. I also bought some stuff to bring back home: fried noodle snacks, anyone? We heard mass at the expectedly Filipino-filled Catholic church. The whole time we were out that day, we spent solid 5 hours walking! Back at Rach's place, I dozed off while she cleared our dinner of more takeout fried chicken, washed dishes, and packed my bag. Such a drag for Monday to come and for us to part. Taoyuan life is simple and efficient. I liked it and would definitely be back for my Rach soon.