Left Hand Drive

The sun had set about an hour before we picked up our luggage from the Ramada. We taxied it from downtown Vancouver to the International Airport in silence. No radio. Passing over the Granville Bridge one last time brought the sense of loss I was expecting but hadn't experienced yet. It's only a twenty minute ride past the glowing hi-rise apartment buildings that seem to float on the harbor, the neon of the city only fading for a few minutes before you arrive at the airport. Blessedly we were not charged for excess baggage even though we were way over the ridiculous twenty kilogram limit China Air places on its cattle class passengers.

Kat decided to contest security's decision at the X-ray about our 113ml container of moisturizer they removed from us on the grounds that the limit for carry-on liquids is 100ml. I think she was peeved after they took her shoes, made her sit down and waved the beeping paddle over her feet. She called their decision ridiculous and the workers incompetent, tearing open the container to prove that we had used some of the creme and that it was obvious it was now under 100g, spilling it over her jacket in the process. My attempts to get her to calm down and just give them the moisturiser were cut short, glared at and brushed aside in the wake of her rage. Blessedly they took the container and did not lead us to a holding cell. Kat stormed off towards the gate, I followed a wise four paces behind.


The flight was uneventful and we arrived in Taipei thirteen hours later, just after dawn. We located a hotel in the transit lounge that offered rooms by the hour and we took one for three. After showers and a few hours of prone sleep we were yanked upright by a wake up call. We were allowed to leave our unwieldy amount of carry-on baggage and instruments in the storeroom to avoid having to drag them around for the next sixteen hours. We found a place on a free half day tour to Taipei which left at one pm. We went through immigration and a fancy infrared fever detector where I had to remove my hat on passing. Clear of the airport we were loaded onto a white minivan that had seen better days. Our tour operator's stories were hilarious, his broken English delicately displaying his pride of Taiwan's democracy.
"In China, Communist, no freehalfdaytour"
"If Japan beat us in the war, no freehalfdaytour"
He wore a blue hat and held an umbrella high, instructing us not to get lost as we pressed through thongs of people worshipping at temples. We were awarded visits to the Longshan Temple, Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, The Martyr's Shrine where we saw a changing of the guards ceremony and Taipei 101, the worlds tallest building. Back at the airport we waited an additional five hours before boarding the flight to sydney.



Nine hours later after passing customs and quarantine and through an automatic tour, we walked the corridor to the arrival hall and Sydney International with our luggage piled on two trolleys. Gail and Jeanette were waiting for us, pressed up against the railing, Kat's mum waiving and mine wielding a camera. Dad was at the Arncliffe RSL saving on parking and brought the car round to the airport in a matter of minutes. I was back on the left side of the road.