It was 3pm on Saturday and Ed's last class was about to be finished. We met at the school to drive to Fulong beach. We picked up two bottles of coke and two fifths of whisky for the drive. We weren't going to be in the driver's seat and figured there was no harm in starting a bit early after a long day of teaching zombies and the Saturday English warriors.
The two hour drive was fine. We had a detour in Jiufen, a scenic mountain side town that is half tourist trap and half overlook with a view of the port city kilong (jilong). I recommend stopping in "condom world" if your in the area. Its worth the embarrassment of walking into the alter-esque shop. After jiufen, we continued toward Fulong beach and the music festival that was on a beach. literally. When we got to the stage area there must have been a couple thousand people on a massive sandbar who all used one bridge to get back and fourth.
White eyes was the highlight of the night without a doubt. Their singer is great and lets herself go. They are very distinct among Taiwanese underground bands and have a good sound though they might look to the "yeah, yeah, yeahs" for too much guidance. We made it back to the car only after sand cartwheels, Ed out running a car and I leapfrogging to his back in celebration causing us to fall over in the street. On the way back is when we ran into trouble. Or perhaps, what didn't run.
On the way home we stopped by the store for some post music snack and beverage. When we got back to the car the engine wouldn't turnover. The car wouldn't even try to start. That was about the time my breakdown instincts kicked in. I have had my share of experiences with cars leaving me for dead and now was the time to put that past torture to use. Three of us pushed the car while the fourth started it. It worked! now we just had to get in a moving car. One by one we jumped in and after a scrap or two and losing some loose "baggage" we were on our way back home.
The car didn't like the idea of driving though and quit. Magically, after a cigarette, the car started again and we were back on the road only to breakdown for a final time on a nice, big hill next to the ocean. Ahhhhh....what a view. After some passersby and a few phone calls I was asleep in the back seat while we waited for an hour or so for the tow truck to arrive. When the truck finally showed up it was 3 in the morning and I wasn't in the mood to be awake. Our trip ended with Ed and Mei in the car that was being towed while Wei Wei and myself rode in the truck with the driver.
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