How I travel door-to-door from Boston, MA, USA to Puzi, Chiayi, Taiwan
從美國麻州波士頓到台灣嘉義朴子的漫漫長路
（這次把中文版放在英文版後面，往下捲動就可以看到唷，啾咪 ^.＜）

Alright, now I'm finally back home :D This long, long journey can be broken down into 7 steps:

1. Walking from my apartment in Boston to Logan Airport Terminal E (1.5km)
2. Flight from Boston to Zurich (6,151km; 2 meals)
3. Flight from Zurich to Shanghai (9,753km; 2 meals)
4. Flight from Shanghai to Taipei (975km; 1 meal)
5. Subway from Taipei Airport to Taoyuan High Speed Rail station (9km)
6. High Speed Rail from Taoyuan to Chiayi (210km)
7. Rapid bus from Chiayi High Speed Rail station to my parents' place in Puzi (10km)

Total: 34.5 hours, 17,109.5km, 7 meals (including 2 at airports). Some highlights:

* I always like to observe how a country thinks about its public space through airports. The two terminals on my way, Zurich terminal E and Shanghai Pudong terminal 2, happen to show very interesting contrast. The former is relatively small compared to other contemporaries; however, the use of fair-faced concrete and wooden materials makes its texture exceptionally pleasant. The latter is a typical contemporary Chinese public space. It's incredibly huge! And the curvy giant roof adds some dynamic to the architecture. It impresses people with curves and size.

* I've heard that there is an asfarviridae pandemic going on in Asia, but didn't experience how serious it is until I was on the flight to Taipei. Ban on bringing meat into the country was announced again and again, and several detection dogs are deployed around luggage claims to identify suspicious items.

* Since my parents are not in my home city Taipei anymore, the destination of this going home trip is a town called Puzi in southern Taiwan. I have to take a high speed train to cover that 200+km between the airport and home. Many people were doing the same thing. The train was crowded and had little room for our luggage, and we had to stand while holding the luggage for at least half of the train ride. I think now I finally know how challenging it could be for people who live outside Taipei to get home from the airport.

經過一天半的長途跋涉終於見到家人啦 :) 我的行程大概是這樣：

1. 從波士頓住家走路到機場 (1.5km) （你沒看錯，因為住家離機場太近，我都用走的）
2. 從波士頓飛蘇黎世 (6,151km; 機上吃兩餐)
3. 從蘇黎世飛上海 (9,753km; 機上吃兩餐) （在上海還要先入境、領行李、清關之後重新報到、掛行李、出境）
4. 從上海飛台北 (975km; 機上吃一餐)
5. 從桃園機場坐機場捷運到高鐵桃園站 (9km)
6. 從桃園坐高鐵到嘉義 (210km)
7. 從高鐵嘉義站搭（假的）BRT到朴子 (10km)

總共花了34.5小時，走了17,109.5km，吃了七餐（含機上五餐與機場兩餐）。以下條列式總結一些心得：

* 我喜歡透過機場觀察一個國家建造公共建築的思維，蘇黎世機場的E航廈（2003年啟用）與上海浦東機場的2號航站樓（2008年啟用）正好形成有趣的對比——前者就氣勢而言比不上許多同期的新機場，但建築本身使用清水模，再加上歐洲人善於把木料融合到建築或傢俱中，以細部質感取勝；後者就是中國近年的標準大型公共建築，超大跨度加上氣勢驚人的挑高，屋頂的弧線還讓空間多了動態感，以線條和格局勝出。

* 之前一直在新聞上看到非洲豬瘟的疫情，在遠方不覺得，到了自家門口才了解情勢有多緊張——從前往桃園的飛機上一直到落地之後，身邊不斷地散佈著攜帶肉製品入境將重罰的資訊；在桃園等待行李的時候，好幾個檢疫人員帶著檢疫犬在周圍繞來繞去，連乘客從機上帶下來的剩菜都被要求入境前吃掉。

* 這可能是我第一次落地之後直接南下（以前都是先上台北）。原本想說問題應該不大、只是坐稍微久一點的車吧？沒想到這一路其實還蠻艱難的。從機場、機捷一路到高鐵，身邊有一大群和我一樣直接從機場南下的人，每個人都提著至少一個大行李箱，在機捷普通車上努力hold著行李箱不讓它溜走；上了高鐵，自由座車廂幾乎連走道都站滿，行李箱也只能靠在腳邊，直到彰化之後才比較不擁擠。這下終於體會到所謂南部人的悲哀了，只好期待韓總當市長之後南部發大財，高雄台南嘉義開通國際各大城市直通航班（誤）XD。

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