I keep hearing a ringing music noise drive by my hotel a couple times a day. It can only be described as ice cream truck music. I checked myself to see if I am getting Chinese fever and perhaps losing it in the head a bit. It took me a couple days but finally I was walking to dinner when the music started coming closer. Dah dah Daah Dee dah dee daaaah. Closer. Dah dah Daaah Dee dah dee daaaah. Almost there. Dah dah Daaah Dee dah dee daaaah.
I should mention that the sidewalks in Taiwan are (if they are even present) not even. It looks like the store behind the sidewalk is responsible for building the pedestrian walk. So depending on the property owner’s mood the side walk is concrete, asphalt, or tile. Also they don’t have to make them match in height so every new store (roughly 10-20 feet) the height of the sidewalk can be interrupted by a step that goes up or down six inches. Make sure you watch your feet as you walk. Also there are no parking spaces on the street so the sidewalks are full of little motor scooters. The sidewalk *would* be 8 feet wide but instead there is a 2 foot path between the motor scooters.
As I said, I was walking and trying to keep from running into hot scooter exhaust pipes or trip over the random gradient changes and the music was coming closer. I could sense that people were making for the street. Perhaps it is a famous movie star or a politician with loaves for the masses (which interestingly enough happened last year during the election the pols
bought the random masses of people banquet dinners). Dah dah Daah Dee dah dee daaaah. It is here. Dah dah Daaah Dee dah dee daaaah.
And. . .
I. . . see that it is a. . .
…bright yellow singing garbage truck.
The garbage trucks play ice cream music to call the people to them. People then have to throw their own garbage in the truck. Also since it is such a tropical climate and things rot and smell quickly the garbage trucks come everyday.
© Kaj Iversön