I honestly haven't done much, but I'm so lazy that there's plenty to talk about anyway. Heheh.
I think I should finish telling about the little walk 家寧 and I took.
Alright, when I left off, we had just arrived in town. And I do mean town, as in a small settlement. It's on either side of a river, nestled down in some hills, and though it looks old, it's nice, in a run-down kind of way.
It was still drizzling rain, and we were both, for the best part, wet. And our legs were quivery from walking downhill so long; we both shook a bit when we stood still to rest (I have to say, though, 家寧 is a great walker - she'll walk just as far as I will - and she likes it! (or she's really good at faking...but she's the best actress on Earth, then)).
We needed to figure out where the bus stop was in relation to where we were: we'd come down far from our origin.
I was going to accompany 家寧 in looking around, but she saw a police station, and said they'd know where it was. I figured I wouldn't be much use, since I'm the equivalent of a really smart Chinese dog as far as language goes, so I decided to stay outside and take some pictures. The town, as I mentioned, sits on both sides of a little river, which flows over smooth-worn stones; the houses are built almost on top of the water, with steep concrete sides keeping everything in the proper order (river in its bed, houses out of the water). There's also a bridge I liked the look of. I'll post a few pictures at the bottom of this entry; you might like the place.
I was still taking pictures when my companion returned; I felt a little bad about not going with her. Sure, I'd be useless, but it would've been better. Eh, well. She did look a little angry, perhaps, that I was still staring at basically some concrete, while she'd gone and done something useful. Heheh.
We didn't have to go far; the bus stop was only maybe a half-mile away. The town was empty, but interesting; I hear it fills up on weekends, but when we were there, you'd think it was a town on its last legs (or perhaps pylons, given its geographical situation). 家寧 asked if I was hungry, and, being me, of course I answered yes. I'm always hungry. She said there was some interesting food there, and that we could stop and eat. I agreed, then I realized the time: 1:40. She had a meeting in 20 minutes. I told her, she said she'd just miss it at this point, we argued a bit, and finally we decided she could probably make it back before it ended, maybe an hour late. Besides that, I'm always hungry - I can always eat, but it's not like I have to.
So we waited a few minutes for the bus, it promptly showed up, and we had a couple seats all to ourselves. No standing!
The ride back felt good - we weren't being rained on, we weren't sliding, and when we did go downhill, it was the brakes protesting, not our legs. So we relaxed for the next ~45 minutes, and talked at our leisure.
Eventually it ended, of course, which was a shame - so we got on the subway, rode back to school, and started walking. I accompanied 家寧 most of the way to her meeting; after saying goodbye, I decided to look for food. It was about 3:10 or so.
Before I'd even gone ten feet, I took a more careful look at the restaurant I was passing by. I'd planned to go somewhere cheap and filling, and nice restaurants here usually aren't either of those things, but there was something different about this place. So I walked to the entrance - and discovered Sizzler is not dead. It just lives in Taiwan now (yes, I know there are supposedly some locations in the US, but I haven't seen one in years).
I thought I'd keep it in mind for later, since I really wasn't in the mood to spend so much - however, I was fairly hungry, and as I continued walking, I was reminded that they have a salad bar; it was well-stocked and fresh, like the super-walmart of salad bars. Man, did it look good. The thought went through my mind that it'd be exceedingly nice to get out of the rain and enjoy a huge meal in my filthy, wet, tired condition.
So I kept walking.
Heh.
Oh come on, you knew I was going to. Since when do I do sensible things?
So I kept walking. Several blocks drizzled by, and I didn't see much in the way of food. A lot of places close down between lunch and dinner here.
I came across a stand selling...something? It was fried, and smelled delicious, and I would tell you what it was, but there was a crowd of people there. Not that I'm terrified of crowds; no, they were huddled around the stand, and under the arcade, and they eyed me with great suspicion as I drew near. In fact, several were scowling when it looked like I'd gotten to close to the food-end of the line. I thought I might get jumped if I got close enough to actually see what it was. There must've been at least 20 people in line, at 3:30 in the afternoon, in the rain, so that must be some damn fine food. I didn't feel like waiting.
So I kept walking.
More blocks came and went, more restaurants were not open, or were, but were unappealing. I'd been thinking about Sizzler the entire time. I turned around when I came to some slightly inconvenient construction, and decided right there that I'd eat at one of the places I'd passed. I did not permit myself to think about eating at Sizzler - at actually eating there, not just considering it. I came back to the crowded stand; in the 15-20 minutes I'd been gone, perhaps 2 people had gone through the line, and several more were added to the end. There might've been 30 people then. I wanted to try it, but my hunger was getting a bit overwhelming, and I really felt like drying out a bit.
So I told myself if there was nothing else open before Sizzler, I'd eat there.
Sure enough, nothing was. Still, I stood in front for a good two or three minutes, debating whether I should enter or not. Eventually I convinced myself that, while it might be expensive, it was something I couldn't do back home, and I'd always sort of liked Sizzler. So I went in.
I was seated promptly, handed a menu, and told that there was a 'tea-time' special; this included the salad bar, for cheap. So, without even looking at the menu (I had wanted to see if they still had some of the old stuff, but, alas!) , I agreed to get the special. It was a choice of rosemary garlic chicken, or some other chicken; I of course picked rosemary, and didn't expect much. Then I got up for the salad bar.
It was as well-stocked as I thought. There was salad, of course, and it was good. There was spaghetti, which was surprisingly good; there was fruit, which was also good; an assortment of breads, most of which were good (and one that was good but strange, see the picture below), deserts, puddings, jellos, etc.
I'd finished off a few plates before my meal came. I have to say, I wasn't expecting much from the chicken, but something, some magical chemical, or a talented chef, or perhaps that old standby, greatest seasoning of all, hunger, made the chicken superb. I've been wanting to use that word for a while now - don't think I have in probably a year or two. Well, anyway, the chicken deserved that much-abused adjective; it was some of the best I've ever had. At a Sizzler! In Taiwan! Unlikely, right?
All told, I think I ate seven platefuls of food. And then there was the bowl of icecream. Man, now that's how you do gluttony. It was really, really good. And, it cost $330 or so NT - only $10 US! Expensive here, but good luck getting that sort of deal back home. It was worth it.
After all that, I was ready to go back to my room and relax. And then I remembered - I'd agreed to meet Morris and Chris for dinner! Which was only an hour and a half away. Ah.
Well, that went well, though I hardly ate anything (they were shocked to see me eat so little).
And so far as I can remember, that was my day.
I liked it a lot. It is a day worth memorializing. heh. And if a certain someone has a chance to go hiking again like that, you'd better believe I'll jump at the opportunity.
Houses, bridges, the road, and the river in 景美.
Looking the opposite way.
A bridge
The river
And now the rest!
Part of the salad bar at Sizzler
Yes, it is evil cake. I'm not exactly sure why, though - it tastes pretty good. I think the Chinese name is something like "ghost devil biscuit" - is that in reference to us light-skinned folks? eh?
Yes, that down-home favorite...
Outside Sizzler
All for now - and there's still much more to write!
