depending on bus #11...

A special seat on the scooter

   Depending on bus #11 - which is to say:  we depend on our 2 legs, an expression we used when we were kids.  Everyone rides a scooter or drives a car here, except for us.  So, we depend on walking or using our legs (#11) a lot.  Since a lot of the people in Taiwan use scooters, they have developed something we've never seen before.  They have a car seat built-in that sits between the handle bars and the driver's seat on the scooter.  Some are simple seats, but others are quite sophisticated.  Unlock it and it becomes a stroller when you arrive at your destination.  It's quite interesting.  It's quite an event to go out and be surrounded by lots of scooters and motorcycles.  They go on sidewalks, one way the wrong way and just about anywhere they can get through quick.  We have to look out for those drivers around us all the time. 

Bus route and running timetable

     Red #33 bus has become our good friend.  Walking takes about 7 minutes from our apartment to the Red #33 bus stop.  There is a timetable that we have photographed, but you also can follow it online to see where the bus is at any time.  We'll get a phone with wifi to check the bus location since we were stuck waiting for the bus to come for almost an hour a couple of times already.  The cost is unbelievably low.  For NT$12, or US$0.40 for two, we can ride one way to almost anywhere in town.  But, the bus depot nearest to us (has 5-6 bus routes) is about a 20-minute walk, very exhausting when it's hot and humid out there. 

     Gaoxiong also has an "MRT", much like Hong Kong does, except for the fact that they only have 2 lines.  It takes a 30-minute ride on the bus to catch the MRT.  Even though it comes every 4 to 5 minutes, it's too far for us to take advantage of it.  The cost is about NT$20 or US$0.70.  Quite inexpensive either on the bus or on MRT.  

     Our favorite has been the Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR).  Traveling at 214 miles an hour, we can be in Taipei in 90 minutes.  It used to take all day on a slow train, and 4 1/2 hours driving.  The distance is about the same as from Salt Lake to St. George.  For assigned seating from Gaoxiong to Taipei, the cost is NT$1500, or US$50 one way.  Since we get half price on THSR, that would cover both of us for one way.  It does take NT$200 or US$7 to take a taxi to the THSR station.  

Taiwan High Speed Rail

     We contemplated getting a car to get around.  But the cost of the car, the gas and insurance, the lack of parking spaces, and the craziness of the traffic make us have second thoughts about the convenience we think we may have.  We asked to ride a scooter, but were told "absolutely not".  So, that was that!  We actually have both driven in Taipei when we lived there back in 1977-81.  But we had a driver most of the time, so we didn't have to do too much driving.  The traffic back then was already pretty bad.  But, now they have super highways and freeways to ease the traffic a little, well, may be not too much.

Taipei traffic

Traffic Jam in Taiwan

       So we do spent a lot of time on the road getting to places.  On a P-day (preparation day), we walked to find a place to get a hair cut, then we walk to find lunch.  After that we continued walking to find Carrefour (French Wal Mart) to do some grocery shopping.  We took a taxi home because it was a 3-mile walk and we couldn't do it with the grocery. 

      New places, new challenges!  We are surviving just fine.  The gospel is true and we enjoy working with members on their family history.  More on that on another post.