The next day I took the subway in the wrong direction a few stops trying to meet up with Zoe, luckily, she was late as well. I almost didn’t recognize her as we met, she was wearing a mask, and her hair was short, she took me to a lovely vegan spot she knew about, as she had become one some years ago for a time; it was really nice, but way more expensive. $15 a dish, a far cry from $3.15, but then much higher quality. From there we walked around and found e-bikes which are scattered throughout the city called U-Bikes, available to everyone using the subway cards which function as debit cards as well in many places, a genius system, but I didn’t register mine yet, so we plan on doing it tomorrow.
Loving my hostel, I booked three more nights and got to know the immediate area around it better until the night called me home. The next morning, I had more toast, tea and coffee for a boost, and met up with Zoe in Daan Park Station, a really cool subway set at the heart of a sprawling jungle park filled with exotic birds, turtles and other spirits. It felt like the safari zone or something in there. It was such a hot day too. We took some great pictures, walked barefoot on a stone challenge course, felt like I was trying out for Indiana Jones, so painful! But we both made it.
From there we went to a cafe called Oh-Cha for lunch, which had very nice Boba Tea and sandwiches. It was also right next to a market where hundreds of vendors were selling jewelry of all kinds, food, animals, and other exotics. I didn’t buy anything, but I certainly saw much which caught my eye.
We found some U-bikes, which aren’t anything to write home about in terms of quality, but they are far better than normal bikes if you want to go far on the cheap, and without much effort. It was fun, reminded me of our times together in Indonesia driving a moped around. The day drew to a close, I took her to the same bus station I used to arrive in the city from the Airport, bought a Pepsi because I thought she wanted it, she didn’t, I drank it all and felt like a bull in a China shop, she said so too, but she had been drinking liquor, so I felt the change in her too.
She suggested a route for me to take on the U-bike and departed. I followed her advice, getting a U-bike from a nearby lot, and rode around the riverbanks of the city on a bike path more glorious and well managed than any I’ve seen in the States, or anywhere else for that matter, again, very surprising, and I’m here for that, always. Nothing gets your life going faster than breaking through ignorance. There were so many riders and walkers too, though not nearly as many vending machines as Japan, here there are maybe 1/10 as many in general, though they are placed in very logical places, and always well managed. I tried several new drinks I’d never seen before, each one stranger and sugarier than the last.
Finally, I was pooped and returned to the hostel, where sleep came hard, and fast.