Tasty Taiwan

When I stepped foot in Taiwan, I had to walk over a disinfection mat that instantly brought back memories of a Dutch congress I organized during the foot and mouth disease outbreak in Europe. Back then, the government decided that gathering veterinarians from all over the Netherlands—and beyond—would be just fine, as long as we all had a good scrub on those mats. Spoiler alert: it wasn’t. But here I am in Taiwan, an island fiercely guarding its borders from the world’s nastiest bugs, even if that means deploying an army of disinfection mats.

My first night in Taiwan? A total nightmare. I dreamt of a giant funnel-web spider, no doubt inspired by that Insta post I saw right before bed. This beast was enormous, with a black-and-white belly, luring its unsuspecting prey into its little webby lair. Now, I’m no dream interpreter, but I’m pretty sure that can’t be a good omen. It reminded me of my intern days when I got a call during night duty about a spider named Harry with an infected pedipalps (a spider’s pedipalps are a pair of appendages located near its mouth. They look somewhat like small legs, but they serve different purposes. In male spiders, the pedipalps are often used for reproduction, as they are adapted to transfer sperm to the female during mating. In both male and female spiders, pedipalps can also help manipulate prey, assist in sensing the environment, and play a role in feeding. They essentially function like small, multi-purpose “arms” for the spider). The owner had run out of antibiotics and wanted me to apply them to Harry’s belly. I agreed to an appointment, but the owner never showed. To this day, I’m convinced it was a prank pulled by one of my fellow interns. We were a mischievous bunch, but oh, the friendships that came out of it!

During this trip, I’m sporting a little red bracelet given to me by a young cancer survivor I met at the Ronald McDonald House. They do amazing work there, supporting families with kids battling cancer. We’re lucky enough to sponsor their two therapy dogs, who bring so much love to everyone they meet. “This bracelet beat cancer twice,” one mother told me. It’s a powerful reminder of resilience and hope.

Just a few days ago, there was an earthquake in Hualien—par for the course in Taiwan, where the ground likes to keep everyone on their toes. My host assured me it wasn’t as big as the one in April, and while aftershocks are expected, the buildings here are built to handle even the mighty ones. Speaking of buildings, Taipei 101 once reigned as the tallest building in the world, but it’s since been dethroned to 15th place. Still, it’s a breathtaking part of the Taipei skyline and definitely worth a visit.

Over lunch, the conversation turned to favorite vacation spots, and my translator excitedly shared her plans to visit Norway. Originally, she had her heart set on Banff, but the cost steered her toward Norway instead. She’s hoping to see huskies in the snow, sleds and all, but then it hit her—there’s not much snow in September. No worries, though! She’s found a local husky gathering with 200 dogs. Just imagine 200 huskies howling at the moon! She’s beyond excited.

I’ve visited Taiwan a few times, mostly for lectures and conferences, and I’ve fallen in love with the food and, of course, bubble tea! Did you know you can customize it with five levels of sugar and five levels of ice? My host calls it “sophisticated,” though I think “complicated” might be more accurate. The food here is a true adventure, with flavors varying by region.

Taiwan might be small, but its tastebuds are mighty diverse. Some areas have a sweet tooth, with a sugary undertone to just about everything. Even the air feels sweet! There’s also an ongoing debate about how to prepare pyramid rice dumplings. Should you steam them like they do in the north or boil them as they prefer in the south? I’m told this disagreement is even more heated than the political divide!

One of the highlights of Taiwan is the Queen’s Head rock formation. To me, it looks like Queen Nefertiti, with her elegant profile. It even has a live cam! Why, you ask? Because we’re all waiting for her neck to snap. Erosion has thinned it so much that it’s only a matter of time. It reminds me of Queen Mary of Taiwan—or maybe the Little Mermaid in Copenhagen, who lost her head a couple of times to pranksters before they finally installed a sensor to prevent any more shenanigans.

On my way back to the airport, I was mesmerized by the continuous smacking of my cab driver. He was going at that chewing gum like it was an Olympic sport. Funny side note: the pictures of cab drivers here look way younger than they really are. This guy looked about 12, smack smack. Maybe I should update my speaker photo next time too!