TAIPEI AIR STATION

John Hurst Remembers….

 

I remember…..

I remember the sidewalk restaurants that popped up at night; my favorite dish was beef and green peppers (and no Hepatitis B)

I remember the taxi ride was 40NT to the 63 Club

I remember the first three words I learned in a taxi (cho-bien, yo-bien, and ting)

I remember the Falcon Club Happy Hour; 10 cent mixed drinks till 7 PM

I remember the penny slot machines – and wasting hours just to win 50 cents

I remember the TAS Chow Hall – some of the best food and Hennessey Trophy Winner in 1972?

I remember ordering toast at the NCO club - and always getting peanut butter too

I remember the drink tickets with every Happy Hr drink at the new NCO Club; and the drawing for bottles of booze every night

I remember the Commander provided a keg of beer after Commander’s Call

I remember buying a round-trip airline ticket to bring my American spouse over without ‘sponsorship’, and the return ticket was held by the 1^st Sgt – with the threat of returning your spouse if you screwed up

I remember the best Mongolian BBQ place in Tienmou – it was all you could eat on Tuesday’s for $2; my personal best was 3 bowls

I remember early night vs. late night barhopping – late night was always better

I remember the ‘steam-bath’ massage parlors – enough said

I remember the motorcycle lanes on Chong San Pei Luo – and the crazy scene when 50+ motorcycles took off at once

I remember the crazy things I saw transported on a 3 wheel pedal-cart – I saw an old man transporting a 25 foot long light poll

I remember the drive from TAS to Taoyuan – and the winding country road and Isuzu trucks hauling everything

I remember burglar bars on all apartment windows and balconies

I remember my first stereo system – receiver, turntable, and speakers

I remember buying a new Datsun (station wagon) for $2050, and selling it 18 months later for the same price

I remember downtown Linkou Club – great place to get pre-loaded before barhopping

I remember my 1^st camera – a Ashai Pentax

I remember McCauley Beach – lots of fun at the beach and a great snack bar

I remember golfing for the 1^st time – and everyone had to hire a caddy (all were ladies)

I remember the Bruce Lee mania – and all the Kung Fu movies

I remember the hotdog stand in on the front covered walkway of the NEX

I remember the frozen meat at the commissary – and the re-constituted milk

I remember my APO 96263 (but not my PO Box !!!)

I remember my 1^st typhoon – taping windows and pulling in butt cans

I remember membership night at the clubs – usually prime rib or steak

I remember some very classy floor shows – Philippine singers and bands

I remember the TAS pool – had a toddler pool for the kids

I remember the barracks houseboy – took care of the bed, shoes and laundry – cheap

I remember eating 1973 Thanksgiving dinner for Shu Linkou dining hall for BAS rate – what a bargain

I remember 1973 New years Eve party at the Falcon Club –  $5 per person which included steak dinner, midnight Champaign and breakfast, and overhead dance floor balloons filled with tickets for free bottles of booze (we took home 8+ bottles)

I remember that at least one friend or another had a party going just about every weekend

I remember my boss lived in the BOT housing – nice big house and no burglar bars

I remember the American Express bank

I remember free Chinese language classes taught on base on duty time

I remember golden flow – and ‘witnesses’ watching the event

I remember HoJo pot stickers – 10 for $1

I remember sidewalk vendors selling sweet sausage links (only good if you were drunk)

I remember benjo ditches – large and small

I remember the sulfur pits and ‘ta tofu’ (very stinky)

I remember the fantastic value of teak-wood furniture

I remember custom embroidered jackets with nickname on the front and dragon on the back

I remember prawns with garlic – the biggest shrimp I ever saw!

I remember the chop man – couldn’t wait to buy my Sony TV

I remember carrying 5 gallon water jugs up three flights of stairs

I remember my neighbors’ wife was Vietnamese and we all knew when she made ‘nuk-mum’

I remember Datsun 240Z rally races at Shu Linkou

I remember Hibachi’s on the balcony – cooking BBQ pork tenderloin with local charcoal

I remember point-of-use hot water heaters and getting burned in the shower…

 

 

 

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