Back in Taichung

Well, it has been a long time since postings. We were back in the US for a couple days before heading off to vacation (planned before moving to Taiwan). The trip had us flying into Geneva, Switzerland, driving to Oyannox, France to visit with Andrea (our daughter), pack her up and take her with us, then off to Lyon, Venice, Florence, Sorrento, Rome, and Manarola, before leaving back from Geneva. It was a great trip (which I will write about later) that covered a lot of ground in a little over two weeks. We walked our legs off and realized we are no longer as young as our 23 year old daughter. Mostly, the trip whetted our appetites to return to Italy in the future.

We are now back in Taichung for a much longer stint. We have sent off our passports to get our resident's visas and eventually our ARC. So no travel and lots of work.

After driving in Italy, I now better understand driving in Taiwan. The best thing to remember is that rules are more like general guidelines or suggestions. They are followed but only in a general way. My Mazda Tribute gets us to work and back, to shopping, and anywhere else we need to go. Our Garmin GPS (named "Dora" by Teresa) guides us when we are lost (mostly).

I try to think of driving as a zen thing. There is a certain flow and motion to traffic. People drift slowly across lanes as they lean into where they are going. This applies to people in the right lane deciding to turn left, or vice versa, as well as ambiguous lane markings. Scooters (and there are many of them) flock like swarms of birds from one side to the other and jockey for position at the traffic lights.  You learn to appreciate the flow and try to maintain your relative position.  Sometimes however, certain moves take my attention away from the flow. Like the car that races up to pass me on the right and then does a left hand turn from the right hand (scooter) lane. Or the scooter who weaves around me at the light and then decides when the light turns to go in a completely different direction than the traffic. Or seeing an entire family (mom, dad, kids, pets) all on one scooter.

After Italy (especially Sorrento), the streets now seem wider in Taichung. Many are actually two lanes in each direction, plus an additional (separate) outside lane for scooters and "local" traffic.

 

Some near our apartment are one way lanes where you feel required to breathe in before navigating the road. And occasionally meeting scooters going the wrong way on those narrow one way streets. At least, all my original Boston driving skills are being put to good use.

Sometimes you find cars doing things like the one below, deciding at the last minute to make a left hand turn from the lane marked straight.