Green Island: A Rough Start

I have never gone on a trip with just my dad before... and so especially now that my family and friends are mostly scattered all over the world, I have this weird self-imposed urgency to make each reunion count to the fullest. This year, I flew to Taiwan to spend Christmas with my dad, and took him on an adventure to Green Island (綠島), located just off the south-eastern city of Taitung (台東). 

So why did I select Green Island for our first father-daughter vacation? To be honest, I had originally envisioned us going somewhere that would totally open his/my eyes (like Cambodia or Burma) but things just didn't pan out... and so Green Island was the only place that felt adventure-y enough that was still located within the country of Taiwan. I had heard about this place through friends who have been, documentaries, and also from my scuba instructor in Taipei. This place is supposed to be A-MA-ZING. I wanted to soak in one of the three saltwater hot springs in the world, check out its untouched sealife, and explore its prehistoric looking igneous rock formations. A perfect Cap'n Miffy Adventure!!! So yea... I had a lot of heavy expectations, which was then compounded by the filial pressure of showing my dad a grand ol time. Good thing I was proven right at the end! But all that pressure made me a bit of a grouchy traveler for the first day when lots of things went down the shitter... starting with [his] brilliant plan of taking the overnight train from Taipei to Taitung...

Taitung Train Station after enduring a 7.5 hour ride on an upright seater train.
Not a happy camper. You don't want to know what was going on in my head, from aggravated assault to arson (typical range of felonies that is).

We arrived at Taitung at 5:50am, an hour which you will NEVER find me awake unless due to jetlag or some unshakable superhero duty to save mankind. Unlike China, Taiwan doesn't have trains with sleeper bunks because you can basically get anywhere on the island in less than 6 hours. The sleeper train drove extra slow to allow its passengers some shuteye, but all the lights were left on. The seats were as comfortable as they could ever be without being full reclining, similar to business class on an airplane, but my neck and back felt like rigor mortis. Then came the question of -- what to do now??? In a place where we have 6 hours to kill but everyone is still asleep???

Thanks to my trusty iPhone and international data roming (Thanks boss lady, sorry for the extra charges!), I found a list of places to eat in Taitung compiled by foodies. One of the must-gos was a local breakfast joint called Breakfast King (早點大王), similar to Taipei's Yonghe Doujiang (永和豆漿). We ordered warm sweetened soymilk (豆漿), a couple sticks of fried dough (油條), and a Chinese pancake (燒餅). I'd need to do a side-by-side to figure out which joint takes the grand prize, but my dad said that soymilk at Breakfast King was incredibly rich (not watery) and very good. So there you have it, go to Breakfast King in Taitung if you have a craving for traditional Chinese breakfast or are looking for the one store open at 6am. It seems like everyone in Taitung descends on this joint for breakfast too!

Then Dad and I headed over to Taitung Airport, where we attempted to board an earlier flight (full) and then I passed out for like 4 hours. Even though our flight was at 12:10pm and we got there at around 7:00am, we still somehow managed to miss our flight and my dad was forced to board the last plane of the day at 3:50. We are geniuses. Seriously, how did we manage to do that?! 

Well international travelers usually assume that when you buy a ticket that you're guaranteed a seat. You know, you can check in anytime before the flight takes off and then you get assigned a seat? Well not so for Daily Air (德安航空) and their tiny 16 seater planes. If you don't check in hours before your flight, they give your seat away... fuckers!!!!!!!!!!!!! So imagine my reaction when I learned that there was only ONE seat left on our plane when we checked in again, after we had already taken an overnight train from Taipei to Taitung, spent nearly 5 hours in the airport with no duty-free shopping to amuse us, and that we'd have to wait another 4 hours for the last flight to Green Island WHICH WASN'T EVEN GUARANTEED. Oh, I flipped major shit. It could have progressed to Youtube-worthy footage but my dad told me to calm down since there was nothing we could do about it (except firebomb Daily Air). So I took the one seat that we had so I could go arrange everything with our hostel hosts. I did so dragging my feet and with a heavy heart, feeling like a total FAIL for not taking care of my dad well.

The 15 minute flight to Green Island was a bit scary, but everyone else on the plane seemed very nonchalant so I assumed they were mostly Green Island residents. Like with small planes you don't have to ramp up much speed before you take off, you just take off. That was weird, like it took literally 3 seconds to be in the air. It was sunny in Taitung when we took off, but raining when we arrived at Green Island. SIGH. Just another reason for me to feel like a total failure in planning this whole trip. Rainy days are really really bad on small sea islands because of the wind chill factor, plus we had gone during low season so all the shops were closed too. It just looked like a mess and I was mentally punching myself in the solar plexus for picking Green Island... all I wanted to do was bring my dad somewhere nice to relax. And it wasn't looking very good. :(

5 hours in Taitung Airport.

Little planes. O_O

When I touched down at Green Island, several people from the hostel that I booked (its called "Love in Sanasai" 戀戀火燒島) came and picked me up. They were absolutely fantastic and cheered me up instantly. The boss who runs the hostel was going to Taitung for a supply run, so he met up with my dad at Taitung Airport and then brought him around the city for several hours (even treating him to a meal) before heading back together to Green Island. That definitely eased my worries, but then I was told that it had been raining continuously for the last 2 weeks. Uh oh.... so now I realized that it was wet and cold and windy and we were stuck on a small island with no stores open except for 7-11 for the next 2 days. I mope.

THE NEXT DAY -- overcast with intermittent showers. Our host brought me and my dad on a tour around Green Island, which was famous for its... prisons. O_O Yup, it all makes sense... where else to construct prisons for all those repeat felons and political no-gooders than on an isolated tropical island? The Japanese were the first to build jails on Green Island, but its infamy comes from the heyday of Kuomingtang martial law when they imprisoned thousands of political criminals (政治犯) for the fear of Communist spies and internal uprisings. There was a saying that the government was willing to put away a thousand people if it eliminated one Communist threat. Yea, so that's goes against human rights. But still, I think we all have to reflect upon the situation that the KMT faced... we're quite lucky to never have personally experienced a wartime environment.

A faded propoganda wall painting.

"堅定反共", Staunchly Oppose the Communists.

"I love the country, I love the flag"

Haha what's with that expresssion, dad? Don't miss your military days??

After checking out the prisons, we checked out some of Green Island's most famous geological formations. People just love using creative names to define lumpy stones... I think it's healthy for your imagination and healthy for tourism. :) Regardless of whether you see what they see, Green Island's landscape is breathtaking even under cloudy skies. 

The view at the end of the path.

The lumpy rock on the left is called "哈巴狗" (Pekinese Dog) and the one on the right is called "睡美女" (Sleeping Beauty).

So I was told that Green Island has amazing diving, so I came with every intention to experience it myself, especially since getting there was SUCH a pain in the butt... but there was one problem. I was with my dad, I wasn't about to ditch him, and he has never dove in his life. Imagine my surprise when it took little convincing for him to try a discovery dive! A discovery dive is one where you actually do not need a license (Padi, SSI) to dive. Instead, you get a one-on-one instructor to go walk you through basic moves (breathing, expelling water from mask, head pressure regulation) and stay by you in the water. I was soooo happy that he was game even at the age of 62 -- MY DAD is a freaking badass!!!

Also, in Taiwan there's a rule where discovery divers are not allowed to wear fins. That's really no fun since other countries don't have this rule, but they want to prevent first-time divers from wandering off and somehow endangering themselves. So instead the instructor holds onto your back the entire time, basically walking you like a dog (or as they poetically put it, "your shadow"). I found this hilarious, because my dad ended up being "carried" by his instructor for about 45 minutes, didn't even have to move at all. So leisurely.

Children, cover your eyes!

Dad, don't kill me for posting this, but your expression is priceless. I know that putting your suit on backwards and then putting it on again was a truly harrowing and traumatizing ordeal. But I don't care. :)

Feeding the fishies with sliced white bread. 

Watch out for your fingers... o_o

This is my favorite photo of the dive.

1) Shows the beautifully preserved and rich coral environment that we saw. I was more interested in the "trees" than the animals. Green Island >>>> Thailand.

2) Shows my dad moonwalking through the ocean

As we head back to the hostel from the dive shop, dad asked me "How long does it take to get a scuba license?" That was seriously the best thing I heard all week, because I knew from that comment that he had a grand time. Great success. :) Dad then took the time to edit the dive video (they gave him a camera to play around with while he floated around) and post it on Youtube -- if you can read Chinese at the speed of light (my cousin Sunny couldn't even read the text fast enough), his comments are quite funny but you may find it a bit boring to watch me swim around for 10 minutes. It was fun for us! :D

I really want to make another Green Island trip to see the hammerhead sharks, but it's an advanced dive at ~35m and I don't have enough experience to do yet. I really need to start logging my dives more consistently and then take another course. With due time... :p

NEXT UP -- Could it be, is that the... SUN?!