The day started off slow today. We began with a lecture on how the curriculum in the ICLP program works and then moved on to our life in Taipei. These lectures weren’t super interesting, but I guess the information within was necessary.
In the spirit of keeping my promise to do at least one exciting thing, Rauful and I decided to rent YouBikes and drive to the riverside. For the sake of clarity, and not at all to fluff this post up 😉 , let me explain how YouBikes work.
You have two options: rent one using a credit card or become a member. By using the credit card, you pay an NT$2000 deposit to rent one out and simply grab your bike. When you become a member, you use your Taiwanese phone number and EasyCard (all-in-one Public Transport Card, Digital Wallet, etc). When you’ve registered, you simply tap your card and grab your bike. At just NT$10 per half hour for the first 4 hours, it’s a great deal.
Riding a bike for the first time in eight years was a problem. When they say you never forget how to ride a bike, they’re lying. And, I wasn’t even good at riding a bike when I first started. So naturally, I crashed several times in the first half hour. Once I got the hang of it, it was more or less smooth sailing.
When we got near the river, we were met with a problem. There was a highway separating us from the river, and so we had to change plans. Instead, we rode around the city a bit, getting a sense of where everything was.
While today wasn’t jam-packed with super exciting experiences, that bike ride was certainly memorable.
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