I could go down Mahengheng Boulevard and turn right onto Highway 11. No breakfast restaurants on that route. I'd be taking Highway 11 down to Jerben, to the big intersection in front of the Jerben Police Station, and turning right up the hill to my school. Google Maps tells me this is the fastest route, but I hate driving the stretch of road near Taitung University.
I spell it "Jerben" by the way. Some people spell it "Zhiben" or even "Zhirben," but I prefer "Jerben" because that's how 知本 sounds to me. ㄓ, ㄅ and ㄣ, yeah, that's how I spell it.
...but maybe I want McDonald's. McDonald's means I'll have to drive downtown, take Chuanguang Road from my apartment building, and then take a left on Xinsheng Road. I can actually get to the Junghua Road McDonald's faster, but I don't bother with that one because the left turn into their parking lot is difficult.
From McDonald's I'd take Xinsheng Road down to Boai Road, Boai Road to the vegetable market, and from there I'd take a right onto Junghua Road, braving its many traffic lights and scooter riders until it joins the highway on the other side of town. On the other side of town this is the same route I would've taken from Mahengheng.
How would one translate "Mahengheng," by the way? "Horse Prosperous Prosperous?" Or does "Mahengheng" represent a word from one of the local aboriginal languages? Maybe Puyuma or Amis? I suppose the answer is online somewhere, but I'm too lazy to look it up.
...or maybe I don't want breakfast today, and maybe I'm tired of all the lights and trucks along Highway 11. Maybe I want to go in the other direction, along the mountains behind RT Mart.
In such an instance Google Maps will tell me to take Highway 9 all the way to Jerben, to the other 7-11 on the hill in the town of the same name. From there I'd take a right into the Hot Spring Area.
This route, for me, is almost as stressful as taking Highway 11, given that both routes pass through high traffic areas and have a lot of lights. I've seen my share of near-accidents on both routes, the chief offenders being trucks with a fondness for tailgating.
Taiping Village is just off the Highway 9 route. Taiping Village is an odd little area. I haven't visited in a while, but I bet there are a lot of new houses in that village. Not long ago a foreign friend told me he'd moved up there. I suppose the houses in Taiping are cheaper that what you'd find downtown.
Is Taiping Village named after the river? Or is the river named after the village? Or are both named after something else?
But wait. Where are my keys? Oh, there they are.
Routes? Oh yeah, I was talking about the various ways I go to work. I also forgot to add that there's a way to circumvent most of the traffic on the RT Mart route.
If I follow Jungxing ("Zhongxing?") Road down to the bridge over the Taiping River, I can take a right onto a new road that goes all the way up to Taiping Village. But instead of going all the way to Taiping, I take a left onto a smaller bridge over the river, and this bridge leads me to another, even newer road that joings Highway 9 well past the RT Mart. This route, I've found, is by far the least stressful way to drive to my school.
Oh, look at the time. I'd better get going.
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